My Experience in College Counseling and Education includes:
> Fourteen years as an Independent College Counselor and owner of College Counseling Partners
> Current member of Higher Education Consultants Association
> Five years as Assistant Director of Admissions, Wheaton College
> Two years as Director of the Annual Fund, Babson College
> College Counseling Intern, Thayer Academy
> Assistant Instructor, Dale Carnegie Public Speaking
> President, Duxbury Education Foundation
In addition, I earned a Masters in Business Administration at Boston University (’81), a Bachelor of Arts & Secondary Teaching Certification in History at Hobart & William Smith College (’77), including World Campus Afloat, Semester at Sea, and graduated from Greenwich High School (’73)
My family members are, husband, Jim McClure, former Executive Coach and Managing Director/Partner at Korn/Ferry International and daughters, Lindsay, in medical equipment sales for Boston Scientific, graduate of Wake Forest University ’07 and Molly, a current transfer student at Chapman University, CA after two years at Boston College.
My Approach:
The college admissions process is one of the most exciting times for a family; it can also can be one of the most stressful. My goal is to help you navigate this process as smoothly as possible — ultimately finding the place that will be best for the student. I truly believe that finding the right school is “a match to be made, rather than a prize to be won”. When the right match happens, a student has an amazing opportunity to blossom, excel and find his/her place in the world. I am an experienced independent college counselor prepared to take on this challenge with your family, here is an overview of what I feel are keys to my success.
1) College Admissions Counselor Expertise
As a former college admissions counselor, I have interviewed hundreds of students and evaluated thousands of undergraduate student applications. I possess hands-on knowledge and an in-depth understanding of how a student applicant will be viewed by college admissions offices.
2) College Visits Connections
In order to advise families about colleges and to help students find the right school match, one of the most important (and fun) aspects of my job is traveling to stay current on the schools. For the last fifteen years I have found a way to hit the road quite often, either solo, on route with my family, or with other counselors. I have visited and revisited colleges across the country. My visits vary from spending half a day on campus in meetings with admissions counselors, touring the school and catching up with students I have counseled…. to grabbing a tour map and jogging around campus because I am short on time. However, I always make time to talk with random students to find out what they like and, as importantly, what they don’t like about their school. Please find a list below of some of the more distant schools I have visited in the last four years.
CA: Santa Clara University, UC-Berkley, University of San Francisco, Occidental College, Stanford University, University of Southern California, University of Redlands, Chapman University, Loyola Marymount, University of California- Los Angeles, Claremont College, Pomona College, Pitzer College, Scripps College, University of San Diego NY: Hamilton College, Syracuse University, University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Hobart & William Smith, Ithaca College, Colgate University, Union College, Siena College NC: Highpoint University, Guilford College, Elon University, Wake University, Duke University, UNC- Chapel Hill CO: Denver University, Colorado State University, University of Colorado- Boulder, Colorado College PA: Carnegie Melon, University of Pittsburg, Lehigh University, Bucknell University, Lafayette College, Haverford College, Swarthmore College FL: Lynn University, Florida Atlantic University, Rollins College, Stetson University, Eckerd College, University of Tampa, University of Miami SC: College of Charleston MN: Carleton University, St. Olaf College, Macalester University. MI: Washington University MD: Loyola University, Johns Hopkins University, Salisbury State University, University of Maryland, Goucher College, Washington College, McDaniel College, Towson State DC: Georgetown University, American University, George Washington University IL: Northwestern University, Lake Forest College, DePaul University, University of Chicago. DE: University of Delaware NJ: Princeton University, Drew University
3) Calm and Resourceful
My life experiences as a mother of two twenty something daughters and a mentor in various capacities for families and teens have prepared me for my role as an independent college counselor. This allows me to be both calm and resourceful when dealing with the many personal issues facing teens and their families.
