In-person, and frequently remote, services typically begin with an Initial Consultation, a 90-minute meeting where you get all your questions answered and get over an hour worth of advice to set you on your way. From there, Options for College typically provides five admissions services:
Full service, in person
Full service, remote
Focused service, in person
Full service, transfer
Full service, graduate school
This service provides comprehensive guidance through the college admissions process. This service includes 10 hours of in-person counseling hours, and phone and e-mail support through all aspects of the college process (typically, this support is in the range of 50-100 hours). Full service families and students are taken through the three stages of the college admissions process, receiving college comparisons, practice interviews, help negotiating the guidance counselor and teacher recommendations, and any other type of advice consistent with providing comprehensive guidance (ranging from art/music portfolio reviews for art students to sport recruiting). Applications are held to the standard of the best application possible, and there is unlimited help on all essays, supplements, writing samples, and correspondence. This service is appropriate for families and students that need help choosing schools, planning the process, and getting in. It is the most commonly used OFC service. For students who are not in their application year (which begins in January of the junior year), this service is frequently extended to cover course-choosing, resume development and growth opportunities, applications to summer programs, and standardized test planning.
The second most common service is used by students who are not in the New York Metro Area, and has been the service of choice for domestic students in CA, LA, MA, NY, VT, and WI, and international students from Belgium, Canada, China, England, Hong Kong, India, and Spain. This services provides support through phone and e-mail solely, and, like the full service, provides comprehensive service including full application support. Families who use the remote service are also invited to visit with us in person when in New York on college visits. This form of remote, comprehensive guidance can provide both a world of perspective and information from certified expertise on finding the right college, and a competitive advantage in regions where most students do not have access to up-to-date admissions advice.
Families and students who have already decided where they are applying and why (typically with strong first choices) who want a service that focuses on preparing an application for one college (usually includes the Common Application plus one set of supplements), along with interview/resume support choose the focused service. In other words, it is the service where you know where you want to go, and you want to give yourself the best chance of admission. This service include 5 hours of in-person counseling hours, with phone and e-mail in support of that one application.
Full service, transfer
Current students who are looking to move on to a new setting during college use the transfer service. This service takes you through the application process in full, and includes 10 hours in-person service as well as phone and e-mail, but can also help you address time off, making new connections, and all the reasons that one might want to leave his or her current college setting.
Prospective graduate students often approach the graduate school admissions process in an identical way to the college application process. Especially for pre-professional and doctoral programs, this is a tremendous error, as the graduate school admissions process has completely different standards, goals, and processes. Graduate students who are qualified should approach the process in anticipation of being the best candidate for all merit awards and admissions, and our graduate school service currently has a 100% success rate for first-choice placements.
Contact us
Please call Options for College at 914-357-0781 to set up an appointment. You can also e-mail us at info@optionsforcollege.com.