Transition to College: Find and Apply to Your Great Fit Schools!

  • Class of 2025: Open for Pro-bono or tiered-pricing students or those who won’t have access to college counseling, past client families or their connections, or students who can start a meeting at/before 3 pm PT M, T or Th

  • Open for Students in the Classes of 2026, 2027, 2028 and beyond

Current Students and Families, log in to Counselmore
College students counseling admissions

So many choices—where do I start?

We’ll work with you and your family to discern what is important to you, what your strengths are, what your possible career directions might be, and what you want to get out of your time at college.

After we do a series of values surveys and personality/career assessments and your family considers its financial values, you’ll have a clearer idea of what you’re looking for and then we’ll do a match process to find likely, target, and reach schools that have what you want and also offer you a chance to contribute and thrive. We’ll take it one step at a time, so it won’t be overwhelming.

 
College application writing high school student

What should I write about in my essays?

Application essays and activities lists are totally different from any writing we learn about in high school. Schooling Doula has extensive experience and training in the top essay formats with tons of examples to help you create great story-pieces to help colleges see what makes you special and why you’d be a great fit for their campus community. Brynnen has done many hours of counselor training and has supported many students in getting into their first choice schools through essay guidance.

Again, we break essay and application writing down into manageable chunks so it isn’t overwhelming. We know you need to fit it in with school, work, extracurriculars, and family commitments.

Package and Hourly service options

Package prices rise July 1

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Schooling Doula Transition to College Services

We can help you answer:

  • Where should I apply? Where should I start looking?

    • We use a state-of-the-art, data-rich comprehensive search and app management platforms Counselmore, College Kickstart and college financial planning software College Aid Pro to help build a list that meets your needs and your values. We offer suggestions for schools to start looking at, coaching in how to do college research, a template for organizing information in a shared online platform  (that will come in handy during essay-writing), deadlines for getting it done, coaching for preparing for virtual and in-person visits, listening and consulting as you reflect on your research--what do you like and what do you dislike? What feels like a good fit? Liberal Arts College? HBCU? Big State U? College Promise and then transfer?

  • What am I looking for in a school community? What do I have to bring? We do a series of short questionnaires and values exercises to help discern what makes you amazing. Clarifying your values and strengths helps with everything from deciding what activities and coursework to pursue in high school to which majors to pursue in college to which colleges are the best fit for you and what you want to write about in your essays. 

  • How should I spend my time? What courses should I take? Should I do Running Start? Which extracurriculars are a good fit for me? What might I do in the summers and on breaks? What are colleges looking for? Should I try to continue my activities or sports in college? 

  • What is the timeline for applying? Should I apply Early Action or Early Decision? What’s the difference? How can it fit with my existing workload?

  • What am I good at? What majors might be good fits for me? Which majors lead to careers I’m well suited for? You get access to a research-based interest and aptitude assessment to help discern strengths and possible majors/careers. We can support your resume writing and your LinkedIn profile creation.

  • What if I am undecided and want to use college as a time to explore? (Great!) Certain schools are better for this than others—we can help guide you.

  • What should I write about in my essays? We will help you find a simple way to share who you are, what’s important to you, and what skill, values and qualities you’ll bring with you do college—we’ll do this one step a time so it will feel pretty easy.

  • What are colleges looking for in an essay? College essays are a unique genre unlike what we are taught in school. They want to be shown who you are—just tell an authentic piece of you.

  • What activities should I put on my college resume? You have a limited amount of space to fit it all—we will prioritize those activities that help you tell the story of who you are and what you will bring to the college community. We will help package your activities and interests in a format that helps colleges see how much they need you on their campus. 

  • Will college accommodate my learning needs? If you have an IEP or a 504, we can support you in finding a good-fit school and in getting the support available once you enroll. We subscribe to College Supports for comprehensive data from each college’s accommodations office so you don’t have to, plus have first-hand experience with schools that are strong for students with learning differences.

  • Can we afford it? Financial Aid Fit Coaching: We will support you and your family in completing the forms and financial aid and/or scholarship applications to help determine what your target schools might be before you create your college application list. This is an important family conversation Brynnen has supported with many families, including two-household families. Our shared subscription software offers Financial Fit and a professional version of CollegeAidPro both of which will help evaluate projected costs to guide college list-building and also help you complete the forms step by step.

  • Should I take the test? Which one? Should I submit my scores? ‘Depends on which schools you’re targeting; we’ll do the research and make a plan to prepare, test, and submit if that’s what’s needed, or to apply without scores if that’s what’s indicated. Take a practice ACT and SAT and decide which test shows your best result. The shared software has data to compare your performance to currently enrolled students at most colleges so you see “what your chances” are.

  • Should I consider a gap year? Many students do this and we can consider whether this is a good fit for you and what you might do with that year. Brynnen has done 10+ hours of training with the Gap Year Association.

  • Transfer? If I want to transfer to a different college or university—how does that work?

Coaching is also available to:

  • Prepare for visits with college reps 

  • Prepare for a college interview 

  • Prepare for a virtual or in-person college visit or plan a college visit itinerary 

  • Communicate with college admissions counselors and financial aid officers

  • Review offers and/or aid packages prior to enrollment 

  • Work the waitlist 

  • Support for FAFSA and CSS 

  • Apply as a recruitable athlete—can also refer you to PerfectCollegeMatch.com or rlopezcoaching.com for complete services for aspiring college D1 or D2 athletes. 

  • Answer any other questions/issues. 

Brynnen is a trained Ph.D. researcher and loves to learn—she also loves connecting people with resources, so if you’re wondering about something she’ll find the person or place that can get you the answer.

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Schooling Doula

College Admissions Coaching

Are you ready to jump into finding your college home?

  • Client College Acceptances

    Universities

    Stanford University

    University of Washington Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Foster School of Business, Biology, Psychology, Social Work, Marine Science + UW Honors College, Presidential Scholarship+

    University of California — Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego, Davis, Irvine, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz Scholars

    Cal Poly-SLO — Computer Engineering, Engineering, Marine Science, Biology, Exploratory Studies

    American University

    University of Arizona Honors College — Arizona Tuition Scholarship for Out of State Students + Architecture

    Arizona State University, Barrett Honors College

    Baylor University

    Boston College

    Boston University

    University of British Columbia

    Case Western Reserve University

    Cal State U -- Monterrey Bay, Cal Poly Humboldt+

    Chapman University

    Clarkson University

    Colorado School of Mines

    Colorado State University, Fort Collins

    College of Charleston

    DePaul University

    Fordham University -- Full Tuition Scholarship

    George Washington University

    Gonzaga University

    Lehigh University

    Loyola Marymount University

    Loyola University Chicago, Honors Program

    Indiana University, Luddy School of Data and Computer Science

    Marquette University

    McGill University

    Montana State University, Honors Program

    University of Montana, Honors Program, Presidential Scholarship

    New York University

    Northeastern University

    Oregon State University, Honors College, College of Engineering, Selective WUE Scholarship

    Penn State University, Schreyer Honors College

    Purdue University, Engineering, +

    Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

    Saint Louis University

    Santa Clara University -- Engineering, Psychology+

    San Diego State University, Aerospace Engineering+

    Seton Hall University

    Seattle University — Computer Science, Social Work, Business

    Stevens Institute of Technology

    Syracuse University, Film and Computer Science

    TCU

    TCNJ

    Tufts University

    Tulane University

    Washington State University -- Full Tuition Scholarship

    William and Mary

    Wentworth Institute of Technology

    Western Washington University + Honors College

    University of Colorado, Boulder, Honors College and Aerospace Engineering

    University of Denver — Merit Scholarship

    University of Georgia

    University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Computer Engineering+

    University of Maryland Gemstone Scholars

    University of Massachusetts, Amherst Engineering

    University of Oregon, Honors College

    University of Pittsburgh, Honors College

    University of Redlands

    University of Southern California, Viterbi School of Engineering

    University of Tennessee Knoxville

    University of Victoria

    University of Vermont -- Life Sciences and Business+, Honors College, Presidential Scholarship

    University of Virginia

    University of Wisconsin, Madison — CS, Data Science+

    Liberal Arts Colleges

    Pomona College

    Bard College — Merit Scholarship

    Brandeis University

    Colorado College — Merit Scholarship

    College of Wooster — Merit Scholarship

    Connecticut College

    Davidson College

    Franklin & Marshall College

    Haverford College

    Knox College

    Lafayette College

    Lewis and Clark College — Merit Scholarship

    Mt. Holyoke College — Merit Scholarship

    Macalaster College — Merit Scholarship

    Oberlin College — Merit Scholarship

    Occidental College — Merit Scholarship

    Pacific Lutheran University

    Pitzer College

    Scripps College — Merit Scholarship

    Simmons College — Merit Scholarship

    Skidmore College

    Smith College

    St. Olaf College — Merit Scholarship

    St. Mary’s College of Maryland

    St. Martin’s University

    University of Puget Sound — Merit Scholarship

    Vassar College

    Wesleyan University

    Whitman College — Merit Scholarship

    Whittier College — Merit Scholarship

    Willamette University — Merit Scholarship

    Gap Year Opportunities

 

Book an Initial Meet & Greet or an Hour or More for Advice

We support your journey to finding your best fit schools!