patricia t. (parent), vienna, va

Nicole has a unique warm approach to engage students to take ownership of the college application process. She was able to get my son to brainstorm on essay and application approach that he and I would have never obtained without Nicole. So wish I had met Nicole when my older son went through this process.

joyce h. (parent), falls church, va

I highly recommend Nicole to help guide your student through the myriad of questions and choices when selecting a college. She met frequently with our daughter to determine the best assessment test (SAT or ACT) to take then evaluated her classes and grades to identify colleges that were good fits. A number of colleges were then selected in state and out of state that best meet our daughter’s skills and interest level. Nicole provided reference books and college printouts to provide the most information available.

The college essay is tremendously important; choosing the proper topic to emphasize experience, volunteer work interests and academics is essential. Nicole provided astute insights on drafting the essay and provided proofreading assistance. Then Nicole provided valuable guidance to complete the common application, evaluate tuition room, board and fees for each college. Being mindful of college deadlines is very important and Nicole gave us gentle reminders. She told us about college fairs in the areas and discussed how to prepare for interviews at the schools.

She was invaluable at each step along the way from assessment to final acceptance. Our daughter was accepted at a top school and we are very pleased with Nicole’s work. We strongly recommend her to the college bound students and parents. Nicole was supportive throughout the entire process and provided expert advice in answering technical questions.

Patricia M. (parent), Manila, Philippines

I was pretty confident about my daughter getting into the college of her choice since she maintained a 4.0 GPA in high school. This, together with the guidance of her high school counselor, would get her in for sure! What we greatly underestimated was the actual time a high school counselor can give to each child. 

When she started taking her standardized tests, she did well, but missed out on the opportunity to re-test, given her college choices. She applied for early acceptance into a very selective college, where she was flat out rejected. This is when we hit the panic button. She should have at least gotten a deferment. Where did we go wrong?

I called Nicole, with only a month for us to re-evaluate all her essays and applications. Nicole weeded through them in lightning speed. She fine tuned her college list in a week, making it a more balanced, and less emotional list, something my daughter definitely needed help with. My only memory of this time is the awe I felt in seeing how she and my daughter worked through the holidays. My husband and I both work full time - we had no idea where to even start with this whole process. We were dismally lost, and panicking that this 4.0 uber hardworking student of ours would not see the fruit of all her hard work.

All throughout the holidays, Nicole - a mother of 5, powered through every detail of her application package. She found the time to analyze my daughter’s essays and getting solutions back to her within hours. As I said, I was in awe. We had missed out on interview appointments at this point, something we would not have missed if we had Nicole on board earlier. 

In March, we got the unbelievable email from my daughter’s Early Decision choice. She was awarded a virtual full scholarship to her dream college! We were in tears. We found out later that Nicole was in tears too. This is the mother in her. 

Sherinna S.(Parent), Hong Kong

Nicole was so wonderful in helping my son Xander with researching schools and applications to U.S. universities. Even though we live across the world in Hong Kong, we never felt like she was far away with her timely responses through both texts and emails. She offers a full service with a positive and encouraging attitude with an obvious passion for her work. Nicole was always accessible and was extremely supportive during the entire application process. Her assistance with essays was spot on. She kept us abreast of deadlines, requirements for applications, and offered specific advice for each school. Nicole is a warm and caring person who made Xander’s goals her own. She definitely was key in getting Xander into his top choice university.

manny v. (parent), Manila, philippines

Nicole is not only efficient and dedicated to what she does - she is warm and so very easy to talk to. She made the effort to know my daughter and not make her feel like just a number. I guess that comes from being a mother herself.  My shy girl warmed up to her almost instantly. No second was wasted; she got to business fast, rolled up her sleeves in her no-nonsense way, and gave my daughter an amazing great start in her adult life. We are so very grateful for her and all that she did for us.