"Don't let your struggle become your identity" Unknown Regardless of the circumstances, the challenges of college admission can be daunting. When one's path is complicated by mental health struggles or other challenges the process can seem almost impossible. David Montesano clearly believes that higher education is obtainable for all regardless of past struggles/circumstances. We reached out to David with hopes of getting help with a complex situation. We were met with care and understanding along with respect and guidance. I would characterize him as simply amazing! David worked diligently and very respectfully with our son to help him define his goals and make a solid plan to guide him through the application process. He readily recognized and focused on his strengths and academic successes while strategizing on how to present his struggles in a positive and productive manner. As a parent, conversations with David were always calming and helpful, honest yet hopeful. He identified many schools that would be a "fit" for our son; those that were likely to accept him and those that were reach schools. Our son has chosen a particularly rigorous field of study. Although he had struggled in the past with mental health issues, which affected his academic performance, David readily realized his potential academically, socially and as a musician and helped to set up a profile that really told his story. He will be entering a wonderful program in Molecular and Cellular Biology this fall and we are certain onto graduate school in a few years. I highly recommend David to anyone who needs guidance whether they have taken a typical or more complicated path in their young lives. His knowledge about the process is amazing and his calm yet honest approach refreshing. SK, Illinois read more

My stepdaughter Catalina began her search & application process for graduate schools relatively late in the process, with just a few weeks before the deadline. Right off the bat, David was very accommodating with his time. From the initial consultation, I could tell that David was very skilled at determining her strengths & weaknesses & how they fit into various graduate MBA programs. He quickly got an intrinsic understanding of ''who she is'' & was able to devise an action plan to highlight her strengths for her school of choice. Based on a couple initial conversations we had, he generated a terrific list of core values which helped drive the rest of the process. Just to be safe, I shopped around a bit and found that David's fees were very favorable compared to some of the other well-known admissions strategists around the country, in some cases less than half as much. So we decided to stick with David. David would promptly answer our questions & provided strong recommendations for my daughter on how to articulate herself in the both the application and essay. He was always available either by phone or email and always made us feel like his top priority when we needed his assistance. I have to recognize that we called him perhaps much more than we should have, but he took it all in stride and was extremely accommodating, reassuring, patient and attentive. He was also excellent in researching the most recent admission trends for her top choice university so we could appropriately strategize the application and pitch her strengths in a way that helped turn the tables on the college admissions process. I would highly recommend David if you are looking for an expert in the graduate admissions process. He's worth every penny. - TT (stepdaughter), admitted to Stanford MBA read more

My stepdaughter Catalina began her search & application process for graduate schools relatively late in the game just a few weeks before deadline. Right off the bat, David was very accommodating, from the initial consultation, I could tell he was very skilled at determining her strengths & weaknesses & how they fit into various graduate MBA programs. He quickly got an intrinsic understanding of ''who she is'' & was able to devise an action plan to highlight her strengths for her school of choice. Based on a few initial conversations we had, he created a list of core values which catalyzed the rest of the process. Just to be safe, I shopped around a bit and found that David's fees were very favorable compared to some of the other well-known admissions strategists around the country, in some cases less than half as much. So we decided to stick with David. David promptly answered our questions & provided strong guidance for my daughter on how to articulate herself in the both the application and essay. He was always available either by phone or email and made us feel like we were his top priority whenever we called. I have to recognize that we called him perhaps much more than we should have, but he took it all in stride and was extremely accommodating, reassuring, patient and attentive (you know how parents can be!). He would also research the most recent admission trends for her top choice university so we could appropriately strategize the application and pitch her strengths in a way that helped turn the tables on the college admissions game. Catalina was admitted to Stanford. I would highly recommend David if you are looking for an expert in the graduate admissions process. He's worth every penny. - Henry read more

College Match provides the most valuable service a high school student can receive. David gets to know every student individually on a highly personal level in order to use his substantial wealth of experience to generate personalized guidance. His success rates in the high 90s comes from a profound understanding of the University admissions system, and he gives specific, easy to follow instructions to each student in order for him/her to increase his/her appearance to their top choice schools, rather than spitting out the same list of "reaches," "safeties" and "mediums" solely based on GPA and test scores as most high school admissions counselors do. Alongside invaluable advise about which schools to consider, included in the service is professional-level essay help and interview coaching, two aspects of the admissions process which are often undervalued or overlooked altogether. Some parents may be off-put at first glance of the price of David's services, but it is a small value compared to the massive boost in the quality of the profile your student can expect as a result. I have experienced this first hand. After only working with David for a short time, I was admitted to my first choice of college, and while significantly below both the average GPA and SAT scores of my incoming class, earned a scholarship grant in the amount of $12,000/year alongside my acceptance. I am now a freshman at college excelling at my dream school, thanks to David. Why not give your student the chance they deserve? read more

David was fantastic throughout my dental school admissions journey! With his advising, I was accepted to several top programs, notably the University of Michigan (ranked #1 nationally) and the University of California, San Francisco (one of the highest specialty matching institutions and the #1 NIH funding recipient). My application was unique because of my interest in attaining an MD and a DDS degree and doing research (although not unheard of, it was a non-traditional dental school application), and David's counseling was imperative to putting forward the most relevant parts of my application. For a strong applicant, there's often so much on a resume that it's hard to pick what is important. Having David as a set of fresh, unbiased eyes meant that we could highlight what accomplishments were best for my particular story. Too much information and too many directions can be confusing if your student has worked very hard. If the student is passionate but may not have a CV that reflects it, David's support would still be beneficial in articulating where and how specifically that student will apply themselves in the future when they have more opportunities at their university. Addressing shortcomings in an application is very nuanced and difficult to accomplish alone. For example, I had to explain a 2.2 GPA in my freshman year of college. Overall, I was very satisfied with David's guidance. read more

The complexities of the college admissions process and the many different colleges and universities across the U.S. are a lot to digest. I decided it made sense to hire an expert who could inform my son and I about the realities concerning the college admissions environment. There is a lot of mythology about the process, therefore, it is important to determine the truth about the many colleges and the process in general. I talked to and interviewed at least 7 or 8 college consultants across the U.S. to find someone with the breadth and depth of knowledge to help my kid, who had no idea about where he wanted to attend college. We worked with Mr. Dave Montesano. His cost varies depending upon the service, as he has a menu of different services which he provides. I can say his cost is reasonable. His services cover the entire gamut of services critical to helping your son or daughter obtain the best advice, information and resources. My son was admitted to many excellent schools including Grinnell, Carleton, NYU, Whitman, Occidental, Pitzer, BU, Skidmore, Ithaca and others. The counselor spent a huge amount of time helping educate us regarding the pros and cons of the schools. Without his help, my so would have been lost, so I'd highly recommend Mr. Montesano. read more

My son attended a small public high school and wanted to attend an Ivy League school. He had a lot of diverse extracurriculars and achievements, and College Match's David Montesano helped him organize and focus his application in order to present himself optimally. He and his writing specialists guided him through the essay-writing process and provided invaluable feedback. They were always extremely thorough and detailed in their feedback, and provided much-needed and knowledgeable perspective on all application writing. David also encouraged my son to connect with professors in the departments of his interest, and with College Match's help he was able to have dialogues with and secure supplementary recommendations from several professors at the schools my son applied to. I truly believe that this networking made all the difference in getting him into his first-choice school of Brown. read more

David has been such a great help throughout my college process! I started with him as a sophomore in high school and he helped me research different schools and colleges and really find out what I was looking for, in terms of number of students, majors offered, and values promoted on campus. He assisted me in my journey of discovering what I want in a future career and what I needed to get me there. Eventually, we constructed a great list of schools that I was eager to apply to and he helped me take steps to ensure the best chances of admissions, including recommending summer programs and test prep centers and even editing my college supplemental essays and personal statement. He made the whole process a lot easier with less stress because I had someone there to help guide me through it all and who was always available for any questions I had. read more

My husband and I cannot express how grateful we are to have engaged David and his team at College Match to work with my son. Thanks to the timely insights, planning, and coaching he will be attending an Ivy League institution this fall. There is no way our family could have known of the opportunities available to him without David's direction. David created one of the most positive impacts on my son's future, an impact which will bear fruit for decades to come. Our investment in his future by arranging for College Match's services is unquestionably one of the soundest decisions we have ever made. We have already enthusiastically referred family and friends with college-bound students and we will be working again with David and his team in just a few short years when his younger brother begins his collegiate journey. read more

College Match was integral to my college search. David and Naren are true professionals to their craft and help you present your best self to colleges. Instead of treating me as a number, David's method helped me to find more about myself through this process, what I want to do in my future, and which colleges will help me best accomplish my goals. I was treated as an unique individual, creating a well rounded version of myself. David is always timely with responses, and helps greatly with the college apps that I developed for these top tier colleges. Working closely with David, I was accepted into all of my colleges, and am able to attend my number one choice. College Match helped me feel truly confident and happy with the process, making it less stressful for me and yielding great results. read more

College Match helped me so much with my application and admissions processes. I talked with my consultant about what I wanted out of a school and he provided me with a list of all the schools he thought would suit me. He even categorized them based on my academic standings as "Safety", "50/50", "Reach", and "Super Reach". He helped me strategize on my entrance essays and advised me on how to fill out my applications and financial aid forms. When all was said and done, out of the 10 schools I applied to, I was accepted to 9, including Columbia University, and wait-listed at one. Best of all, I received nearly full rides at almost every single school. Without College Match educational consultants, I could never have gotten into the phenomenal college that I will be attending this fall. read more

My sister and I worked on helping her son Will with the college admissions process, and we chose David Montesano because a family friend recommended him to us. Word of mouth came through as the service was helpful for us in really outlining what to expect and how to best prepare. David and College Match did a good job in positively pushing Will just enough to help him achieve his goals. The extra insight he provided was well worth the cost, and Will responded by taking action rather than just talking about stepping up. Required some adjustments, but super helpful. The end result was his admission to Colgate University. Me, my sister, and her family could not be happier. read more

We hired College Match first semester of my daughter's senior year. She attends a very small, private high school, which doesn't offer honors and AP courses. So we needed help. We really encouraged out daughter to aim for a Top 50 school. My daughter worked with the College Match staff, who were great about modifying her essays quickly. We really didn't have to worry much about the applications - what a relief. The kid was admitted to seven schools including University of Michigan -Ann Arbor, University of Illinois -Urbana, University of Washington and Boston University and Babson College. Will be sad to see her go, but am happy we have all these options. read more

I was a computer science student in Istanbul, Turkey and looking for an appropriate computer science program in the USA. I was worried about getting an acceptance from a reputable university. Then, I met College Match and worked with David and Naren. They helped me to find graduate programs based on my future career plan and supported me during application process. I got accepted to 6 reputable universities. Next year, I will attend to USC. I highly recommend College Match who needs coaching for university applications! read more

David Montesano not only helped us navigate the challenging waters of the college admission process but walked along side of us every step of the way. He supported both my daughter and mt husband and I as parents and was knowledgeable, accessible, helpfully critical, and strategic. It was well worth the money and resulted in some great college choices for our daughter. read more