Planning for college doesn't need to feel stressful or overwhelming. BestFit College Advisors, led by Educational Consultant Cheryl Coughlin, offers expert college counseling to smooth the path to college for Kennebunk High School students and their families.
What Does a College Advisor Do, and Why Should You Hire One?
The college admissions process can be complex, but a college advisor—also known as a college admissions consultant—guides students through each critical step. College advisors offer personalized support and customized strategies to improve a student's chances of getting into their top choice colleges and universities.
Unlike school counselors, who manage many students at once, private college advisors provide one-on-one attention tailored to your student's needs. With a firm understanding of their client's goals and aspirations, college advisors are best positioned to guide and support your student's planning and execution through the entire college admissions process.
The Role of a College Advisor
College advisors assist students and their families with every part of the admissions process, including:
Creating a Personalized Plan: They develop a complete college admissions strategy based on the student's needs. This plan details everything from identifying student preferences to choosing colleges and meeting deadlines.
Course Selection: Advisors help students improve their academic profile by selecting high school courses that will meet future college admission guidelines. These may include core classes, electives, AP, or IB classes.
Extracurricular Activities: They help students find activities that match their interests, build critical skills, and enhance their college profile and applications.
Test Prep Guidance: Advisors suggest test prep resources and strategies to improve standardized test scores, like the SAT or ACT.
College Essay Help: Advisors assist with brainstorming, editing, and polishing essays to make them stand out to admission officers, which is vital in competitive enrollment environments.
Application Review: They oversee applications to ensure they are complete, error-free, and submitted on time.
Interview Practice: Advisors can conduct mock interviews to help students prepare and feel confident when applying to colleges that hold in-person interviews with students.
With this personalized support, college advisors help students present their best selves to colleges and improve their chances of acceptance.
How a College Advisor Differs from School Counselors and High School Guidance Counselors
While school counselors play an essential role, they have to support many students, limiting the amount of personalized guidance they can provide to yours. In contrast, a private college advisor offers focused, one-on-one support and has in-depth knowledge of specific colleges and current admissions trends. This allows them to deliver targeted advice that maximizes a student's potential when applying to college.
The Benefits of Hiring a College Advisor
Hiring a college advisor offers numerous advantages for both students and families:
Customized Strategies for Student Success: Advisors take the time to understand each student's strengths, interests, and goals. They recommend courses, extracurricular activities, and even summer programs that help showcase a student's talents at application time. Advisors also help students choose colleges that best fit their academic and personal preferences, ensuring they apply to a variety of schools to maximize their chances for success.
Improving College Acceptance Chances: With deep knowledge of what colleges are looking for from their applicants, advisors help students create stronger applications that target desired student profiles. From guiding the best written college essays to coaching students to achieve higher test scores, educational consultants direct students toward boosting their chances of acceptance to preferred schools.
Reducing Family Stress: The college application process can undoubtedly feel overwhelming. It's a long process that demands careful preparation long before application time. College advisors provide a structured, organized approach that best positions their students, ensuring no deadlines are missed and nothing is overlooked. This guidance relieves much of the stress families often feel during this critical time, knowing their student has the best possible support from an expert in the field. Having this support system builds confidence and allows students and parents to focus on making informed decisions.
BestFit College Advisors' Comprehensive College Package
At BestFit College Advisors, we offer a Comprehensive College Package designed to give our students the tools they need to succeed in every step of the college planning and application process.
Our services include:
A complete application strategy and timeline creation to keep everything on track.
Financial aid and scholarship searches to help defray the high cost of college tuition and other expenses.
School selection and evaluation to find the best fit college for every student.
College essay topic development, critique, and proofreading for the best possible submission.
College interview preparation, including practice using mock interviews and ideas for appropriate responses.
Application review and finalization so that everything runs smoothly and nothing is overlooked.
Best Fit College Advisors also offers a Senior Rush Package for students getting a late start on college application preparation. This package provides most of the services and programs as the Comprehensive Package but in a compressed timeline. It's the next best option to ensure your student meets every important deadline and scholarship opportunity.
Cheryl Coughlin's Local Expertise in Kennebunk, Maine
Cheryl Coughlin, founder of BestFit College Advisors, has a deep personal connection to Kennebunk. She lived and raised her family here, and her familiarity with local schools and the unique needs of Kennebunk students makes her services especially valuable.
Over the years, Cheryl has worked with many Kennebunk students, creating strong college and university applications to help students achieve their academic goals. She also assists in the college search process and offers insights for students considering community college options.
Her extensive experience, including her work with students with learning differences, guarantees expert support and attention to every student. Her passion for helping students find their "spark" has made her a trusted college advisor for families in Kennebunk, southern Maine, and seacoast New Hampshire.
Take the First Step Toward College Success
If you're a Kennebunk, Maine family seeking expert guidance for your student's college preparation and planning, call Cheryl at BestFit College Advisors today at 207-229-8603 to schedule your FREE 30-minute consultation.
Take the stress out of college planning and receive the personalized help you need. From improving test scores to perfecting your college essay, your student will be prepared to confidently face admission officers at their choice colleges and achieve their goals.
BestFit College Advisors serves students in person across the seacoast of Maine and New Hampshire, including Kittery, York, Eliot, Kennebunk, Maine, and Portsmouth, NH. They also serve students nationwide online.
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