Our Consultants Help High School Students with the Entire College Journey – from Finding the Right Fit Schools to
Application and Essay Guidance

The college search and application process is not an easy one. Identifying the best schools to suit you on academic, social and financial levels can be daunting. Creating an application that features you in the best light possible is also a herculean task. Never mind figuring out everything you should be doing, where to start, and how to stay on top of all the things on your to do list! Don’t stress. Our team of experienced college consultants are here to help you with it all. Believe it or not, we actually turn this overwhelming and stressful process into an exciting experience!

We assist students and their families with:

• College Search
• Application Process
• Essay Guidance
• Interview Prep
• Career Assessment
• Financial Aid Forms
• Final School Selection

Working with Signature College Counseling, you receive one-on-one counseling to find the schools that best fit YOU. Our services include ongoing meetings and constant communication to keep you on track. We have counseled hundreds and hundreds of students and families throughout New York’s Hudson Valley. We invite you to read some of our Success Stories, peruse our List of Colleges to which our students have been accepted, and read our Google Reviews, which provide a better feel for the results of our work.

Below is one example of a student we worked with. His name has been changed to maintain his privacy.

A Signature College Counseling Cornwall, NY Success Story

Jared, from Cornwall, NY is one of the nicest young men you will ever meet. Respectful, sociable, hard working, incredibly diligent in everything that he undertakes. During high school, he took all of the most challenging courses. When it was time to apply to colleges, however, he didn’t have a clue what he wanted to major in – but that was OK. After all, he was only 17 and why should any 17 year old be expected to know what they want to major in. I know this is something that students have been asked from a very young age. Ridiculous is all I have to say!

Learning of Academics and Activities to Identify College Options

Jared had an excellent GPA, graduating in the top 10% of his class. He was determined to achieve a standardized test score that met his goals. After taking the SAT and ACT multiple times, he was successful. He was an accomplished varsity swimmer, participating on the swim team since 8th grade. He also played on the baseball team as a second baseman and pitcher and was a member of the varsity team since his freshman year in high school. When I first met Jared, he wanted to potentially pursue playing baseball in college, but always said that his first and foremost priority were his academics as well as finding a college that is the right fit for him, socially, academically, financially and emotionally.

Fleshing Out Interests to Find the Best College Fit

Although Jared was unsure about what he wanted to major in, he had a passion for writing and wished to minor in creative writing and have an option to potentially pursue journalism. In addition, as we went down Jared’s college admissions path, he decided he would like the schools on his list to have various business majors, in particular finance. He wanted to be in or near a city, or with a town close by. He was fine with being a two to three hour plane ride from home.

Narrowing Down the College Search

Since Jared was a high level student, I wanted to include honors colleges and programs within a university on his list to provide him with options. Although we decided that including schools of all sizes was fine, focusing more on mid-larger in size schools was more appropriate for Jared based on his criteria and my read of his personality. He also preferred to be in a warmer climate, which meant we were going south, but he would consider some schools in a cooler climate as well.

Jared had some significant stretch schools to which he wanted to apply, such as Vanderbilt, Emory, Duke (where his uncle attended), University of Virginia and University of Texas Austin. His brother attends University of Miami, so we had this school on his list as well, which I thought would be an excellent choice for him. We added Clemson, Tulane and University of South Carolina, amongst other schools. Jared was able to visit many of the schools on his list and fell in love with Tulane.

The Final College Selection

He was accepted to all of the schools that we added on to his list, such as University of Miami, and he was accepted to the honors college at University of South Carolina. Unfortunately, the significant reach schools didn’t pan out. He didn’t waiver from his love for Tulane and that was where he decided to attend. He absolutely loves it there and has never looked back. We couldn’t be happier for him.

If you are looking for help with the college search and admissions process, our consultants are ready to help. Call or email us today to learn more.