Collegewise Avis 

Through Collegewise, I accessed SAT tutoring and had an amazing experience working with Patricia Hatcher! With over 20 years of experience, she was extremely helpful, and her tips and tricks were easy to understand and apply. Not to mention, she always kept her eyes peeled for relevant updates to the testing material and promptly updated her lesson materials accordingly. She was overwhelmingly positive and I truly appreciate all of her help!

We are in our second year with Collegewise and so far the college counseling seems to be good. Not sure how it will all unfold once my high schooler nears application season but we like our counselor Ian.

However, my biggest complaint is their tutoring services - leadership academy, success skills, SAT/ACT prep - as we have had the worst experience just getting meetings scheduled with some of their tutors. It is hit or miss with their tutors and their communication styles. And we also had to switch out of another tutor because they decided to exit their program for the summer. Our current tutor for leadership academy is amazing, but she is only one in at least a handful we have had to work with after a lot or scheduling and communication problems. Not a great track record for tutors.

Three times now we have had their tutors/ops coordinator completely neglect to respond to scheduling requests, leading to delays in starting these programs. Just recently, our high schooler was away for a month for a summer program and was supposed to have some test prep tutoring but only when she returned did I realize the tutor never scheduled anything for an entire month. This is not acceptable, especially given the steep pricing and our busy schedules. School starts soon and now we have to cram test prep - we cannot make up for lost time and the onus falls on us.

At this point, I do not recommend Collegewise given the amount of scheduling issues we have had. Unless you're willing to take a risk with your assigned tutor or counselor, there are better services out there that have more professionalism and do not require parents/students to constantly monitor scheduling. This is extremely inconvenient and stressful for a program that costs as much as Collegewise. I'm sad to have to make this negative review, but will be taking my other child to another service.

Both of my daughters used Collegewise and Ali Springer. Ali took so much stress out of applying to college, especially when it came to navigating the application process and crafting their essays. What impressed me most was how she adapted her approach to each child. My daughters have very different personalities, yet both felt completely supported and encouraged throughout the process. We are grateful for her guidance and the positive impact she had on both of my daughter's college journeys.

I worked with Ali during my college applications process, and it made everything easier. The service itself has great built-in tools for organizing your essays, ranking your colleges, and adding additional notes if you’re still on the fence about applying. Having Ali as my college counselor helped me set deadlines and write essays about better/more relevant topics. I’d fully recommend this to anyone who needs help with the college process!

We used Collegewise for our kids based on positive reviews and feedback from family members. Ali Springer was our kids' counselor. My kids clicked with her from the beginning. She is knowledgable, patient, friendly, offering suggestions in a direct, but not pushy way. She helped both of my kids with their college lists, making sure they had the right number of schools across competitive levels. The regular meetings were crucial to keep the kids on track, make sure they were working on their applications so that they weren't rushing and stressed. The Essay Lab service was instrumental to this entire process. Every year, the college process, applications, requirements change. Ali and Collegewise were so helpful in making sure we were informed so that we could make the right choices while minimizing the stress. Thank you so much for all of your help, Collegewise Team!. Ali was the best...try to request her if you can!

All 3 of my girls used Collegewise. Most recently, my twins both had Fayelah as a counselor, and we couldn't have been more pleased with the process, as well as the results. Fayelah opened their eyes to possibilities, challenged them to analyze a multitude of colleges to determine where they might be happiest, and supported them in every step of the application process. One of my twins will be entering a nursing program, while the other will be majoring in musical theater. Even though their needs were very different, Fayelah managed everything with compassion, professionalism, and expertise.

The counselor is good, experienced, respectful and diligent.

Tanner was an amazing SAT tutor and I would easily recommend to anyone whose struggling on the SAT. Tanner was kind, funny, easy to work with, and made studying feel less stressful and more like a hangout with a friend. He explained things in a way that actually made sense and helped me feel more confident each week. Most importantly, his tutoring was extremely effective. My score improved from an 1180 to a 1420, and I could not be happier with the results. I wouldn't think twice to refer him to anyone looking for SAT help.

Tanner Reive is an excellent SAT tutor. He is professional, reliable, and very easy to work with, but what really stood out was how he relates to students.

Tanner is approachable and funny, which made the tutoring process less stressful. My son stayed engaged, felt comfortable asking questions, and gained confidence as the sessions went on.

Tanner also clearly understands the SAT and was able to explain concepts, strategies, and test-taking approaches in a way that was practical and easy to apply. He knew how to identify areas that needed improvement while still keeping the tone positive and encouraging.

We had a great experience and are very grateful for his help. The score my son earned after working with Tanner for a month was a 100 point improvement in his score!

Our family worked with Jared Rivers and I can’t say enough good things. He took the time to get to know our daughter and family and helped her through the college process beginning to end. He helped us make lists and compare options and organize applications and writing, every step of the way. When she got into her ED school, Tufts University, he celebrated alongside us! It was so helpful to have someone else for our student to be accountable to (other than us!) and to provide unbiased feedback and structure. Highly recommended!

Our daughter received excellent support from Kelly Praskovich in her college application journey. Kelly provided excellent guidance and advice for building my daughter’s college list and preparing her applications. Kelly helped our daughter think about the experiences and skills she wanted to highlight in the application process, and helped her brainstorm the topic for the common app essay and for all the supplemental essays. Crucially, Kelly helped our daughter keep up with the pace of college applications, at a time when there were also heavy demands in terms of schoolwork, so that she could stay on track and submit everything on time—which spared us as parents from having to be nagging our daughter all the time. Our daughter got into one of her top choices. We highly recommend Kelly and Collegewise.

Nikayla Loy was an exceptional partner throughout my daughter's college application journey. The process was both difficult and highly competitive, and her guidance proved invaluable every step of the way. Nikayla's deep knowledge of college admissions, including acceptance trends, institutional priorities, and historical outcomes, helped us navigate the complexities of each application and build a thoughtful, well-balanced college list.

Her strategic advice, attention to detail, and unwavering support gave my daughter confidence during a stressful process. Thanks in large part to Nikayla's expertise and mentorship, my daughter achieved an outstanding set of admissions results. I highly recommend Nikayla to any family seeking a knowledgeable, dedicated, and effective college counselor.

Dr. Charles Lu was incredibly helpful to our son throughout the college application process.
Before working with Charles, we were really behind on the application essays (summer before senior year came and went with no real progress made on essays) and he felt so overwhelmed. Many advisors we had spoken with earlier seemed to steer us mostly toward safer options. Our son is capable, but he has also been more of a late bloomer with ADHD, so we really appreciated Charles’s patience, encouragement, and steady guidance.
Charles helped our son approach the process with more confidence and clarity, without making it feel overwhelming. Thanks to his support, he ended up with wonderful results and will be attending Northwestern in the fall to study Mechanical Engineering and Astronomy.
We are very grateful to Charles and to the team for matching us with him in August (few months before applications were due). His thoughtful approach made a stressful process feel much more manageable, and we could not be happier with the outcome.

Our experience with Collegewise was exceptional, due in large part to the guidance of our counselor, Anita Doddi. She significantly streamlined the process for our family and provided invaluable support for our daughter. As my wife and I completed our studies abroad, this was our first experience navigating the United States college application system, making the expertise provided by Collegewise essential.

In retrospect, we recognize that placing greater trust in their established process and advice would have further reduced the stress associated with these transitions. We have gained significant insight through this partnership and intend to apply these lessons to ensure a smoother experience for our younger daughter, who begins her applications next year.

With Collegewise’s continued support, we anticipate excellent outcomes similar to those achieved during this past cycle. I highly recommend their services to any family seeking the professional experience, specialized tools, and dedicated personnel required to navigate the competitive college admissions landscape.

My son started working with Jared Rivers at Collegewise during his junior year of high school. He developed a strong working alliance and gained confidence, focus, and motivation to pursue his college application focus. Jared was tremendously helpful, positive, and supportive, and my son completed his applications and was admitted to many of his top schools. I would strongly recommend Collegewise to parents and students going through the college application process.

Lori Jones and Sakhi Patel were amazing! What stood out to us from the first interaction with Lori and Sakhi is how they connected with our daughter and understood her motivators. Lori went above and beyond in guiding our daughter through the college application process, and empowering her to chart her own path. Lori turned what could have been a very stressful and complicated process, into fun and a personal growth opportunity for our daughter. Sakhi was a miracle worker in making our daughter feel comfortable with the ACT and test taking. We are grateful and appreciative of Lori, Sakhi and the entire team at Collegewise for their support. Our daughter got into her dream school and excited for what is ahead!

Melissa Royal from Collegewise was genuinely one of the biggest reasons I felt confident throughout the college application process. She helped me so much with building my college list, brainstorming ideas, organizing my applications, and especially improving my PIQs and personal statements.

I honestly thought my essays and English skills were already very strong, but the essay editors at Collegewise were incredibly detailed and helped me notice so many flaws and areas I could improve. Their feedback made a huge difference in the quality of my applications.

Melissa was supportive, encouraging, and always willing to help whenever I had questions or doubts. Thanks to Collegewise and especially Melissa, I was accepted into the College of Computing and Information at UC Irvine!

I’m extremely grateful for all the guidance and support throughout this process. Melissa is truly the best, and I would absolutely recommend her and Collegewise to anyone applying to college!

Where do I even begin?! Elizabeth Majors was the greatest person I think I’ve ever worked with! She was so amazing! She talked me through everything, guided me through the application process, helped me understand what colleges fit me personally, and helped me get into my DREAM SCHOOL. I don’t think I could have gotten in without her help! Thank you so much Liz, and thank you Collegewise!

We worked with Kate Strzelecki and Ali Springer at Collegewise to support our two seniors through the college application process, and we can’t recommend them highly enough. Each of our kids had their own counselor, which made a real difference. The guidance was personal, not formulaic. In our daughter’s case, she actually graduated a year early as a junior, and Kate and Ali navigated that timeline seamlessly.

Our kids are independent and driven, and they wanted to own this process themselves. Kate and Ali respected that completely. They guided without taking over. Their work, their choices, their future. An unexpected benefit: having Kate and Ali in the lead removed the tension that can come with parents monitoring every deadline and decision. The counselors held the kids accountable so we didn’t have to.

A few things that made the experience work well for other parents to consider:
• Start in junior year if you can. The earlier runway made a real difference in how organized and unhurried the process felt.
• Regular check-ins with the kids kept momentum without the nagging.
• The Collegewise app lets parents follow along, so you stay informed without hovering.

The result: applications submitted on time, acceptances at the majority of schools they applied to, and both kids genuinely thrilled with where they landed (Penn State and Fordham). If you ask our kids directly, they’ll tell you they don’t believe they would have been accepted to the schools they’re attending without Kate’s and Ali’s help. That’s the highest compliment we can give.

If you’re considering Collegewise, don’t hesitate!

We had the pleasure to work with Jessica Strange who partnered with our son on his journey to college. Not only he landed in a school of his dream, but Jessica made this journey so much less daunting and stressful. Her positive energy, planning skills, caring attitude and dedication was simply amazing. We really worked well together as a team, with open and constant dialogue, and this was the key to success.