Lisa is an incredible investment in your child's future. We reached out to a few experts because we simply were not able to keep up with the research, timeline, and steps necessary to be competitive for private school (elementary). It was clear from our first conversation with Lisa that she had expansive personal knowledge of the private school environment, compassion, and the competency required to take control (in the best way). She got to know our son, recommended (with clear backing) schools we hadn't even considered, was our personal reminder system for deadlines, editor for written materials, invaluable for prep, and just a wonderfully kind person to have on our side. Her responsiveness is off the charts. She is right there with you every single step of the way. I thought I knew what these schools wanted to hear. I was wrong. But Lisa knows. She worked with us as we needed to be worked with - every family is different and Lisa comes in ready to find out how she can best help your individual family on day one. Result? Our son is THRILLED (and so are we!) to be at his new school (she found us a slot for the 4th grade which is not at all common) and it could not possibly be a better fit - at a school we had never heard of - a very small school with, in our opinion, even higher quality of personalized education than bigger schools we had been prioritizing. Looking back, those would have been fine but in no way compared to how well a fit as the one at which Lisa found us a home. We were lucky enough to have quickly found our dream school but there is no question in our mind that if we'd had to continue the process for the following year, she would never have left our side. Lisa is a choice you'll never regret. read more

Our family highly recommends Lisa and her expertise when it comes to any school application. Our daughter was applying to middle school and Lisa made the entire process smooth, organized and more simple. She met us personally and with our daughter to prepare her for interviews. She kept everything organized and reminded us for upcoming appointments and events. She made sure we knew to send out thank you letters and a first choice letter. With her help our daughter is in the school we imagined her to be and we couldn't be happier! read more

It was our first time working with a consultant for our kids' high school entrance, therefore I didn't know what to expect. The first talk we had with Lisa on the phone gave me the assurance that she is the one for us! Her warm, kind, and calm manner helped us all the way through the whole process. She was quick to respond, organized with all the events and due dates of applications, very communicative with the school staff, and has deep knowledge of all the private schools in LA. She made the intense stressful application process manageable for us. We couldn't be happier with the fact we found and chose her for our consultant!! read more

Let me start by saying our daughter was accepted to all four schools she applied to. No way this would have happened without Lisa's involvement. Lisa's guidance was essential for navigating the kindergarten application process. Not just for getting accepted, but also for really getting to know the options and which was the best choice for our family. And I could not have made it through this process without Lisa's help. I honestly would have probably just sent my daughter to public school I was so stressed by the whole thing. If we ever have to apply to schools again I will hire Lisa without hesitation. She is worth every penny you spend and such a kind person. 10/10 recommend. read more

I just wanted to add to the chorus of families who love Lisa Marfisi as one of the region's top private school consultants. Lisa was incredibly kind and generous with her time and insight, and I'd have no hesitation working with her in the future. read more

Lisa Marfisi was a wonderful resource for us when we applied to middle school (6th grade) in Los Angeles private schools. We were very impressed by her years of experience, deep insight into the application process, as well as a good knowledge of the strengths and weakesses of the various schools. The application process was challenging because we were also relocating, but she helped us to stay informed, focused, and on top of deadlines by being extremely organized and sending us a list of tasks and timetables which was very manageable for us. Lisa was kind, patient, and straightforward with us and provided us with constructive feedback on our applications and interviews. Lisa took the time to get to know us and our child and what we wanted from a school, and sugesting schools that would be a good fit for us, instead of just giving us a list of "top-ranked" schools . We felt comfortable following her advice because it allowed us to highlight our child's strengths and accomploshments without any falseness or overstatements. She made herself readily available during the whole application cycle. Her guidance was especially invaluable during the selection/ wait-listing process and she was instrumental in helping us secure our child's first choice school. We appreciate Lisa's expertise and recommend her wholeheartedly to anyone seeking a private school for their child in the Los Angeles area. read more

Lisa is a true pleasure to work with. She's a total pro, really and truly knows how to navigate the challenging private school admissions process in Los Angeles, and consistently provides invaluable advice to her clients. Before we hired Lisa, the whole process seemed so daunting for us and our son, who was applying to high school. Lisa made it all seem easy and provided expert guidance, encouragement and extraordinarily useful feedback along the way. From discussing and strategizing about applications to prepping for interviews and all the little things you need to do, Lisa is an incredible resource. Best of all, with Lisa's assistance, our son was admitted to his first choice high school and is now enjoying his freshman year. If you have questions about schools and the admissions process in the L.A. area, having an expert on your side is so important. I recommend Lisa without reservation. read more

Lisa couldn't have been more helpful to our family. She was very organized, provided us with expert advice and found many options that our family hadn't even considered. We got into every school we applied to and much of that is due to Lisa. We couldn't be happier with her, the entire process and the end results! read more

Our family had a wonderful experience working with Lisa Marfisi. First, Lisa brings experience in admissions at independent schools in Los Angeles. This makes her not only very knowledgeable about schools, but she also has a deep network of educational connections. We also really appreciated her explaining subtle nuances of the application process that were not apparent to us. Lisa has a warm, calm, and supportive manner which makes working with her a pleasure. We were also so impressed with her responsiveness whenever we had a question or needed to communicate. We are so thankful for her guidance, expertise, and advocacy in helping us navigate a stressful application process and finding a school that is a great fit for our children. read more

We have worked with Lisa for some time. She absolutely made the difference in getting us into our first choice middle school for our daughter. She is highly professional, scrupulously honest and detail oriented and has a delightful personality. Her relationships and knowledge of the various private schools in Los Angeles made her indispensable as we navigated multiple school evaluations. While the process is not easy, she made it fun and provided coaching and insight we could not have gotten anywhere else. I can offer an unhesitating and unqualified endorsement of Lisa and her services! Thank you Lisa! read more

I grew up in Los Angeles and attended private high school, and I was dreading how we were going to navigate the process 30 years later since it had become even more selective and difficult to navigate. It's even more intense, in my opinion, than how college admissions were back then. Our son is gifted but we were unsuccessful in jumping from public to private for grades 6 and 7. Before we started our 9th grade applications, we decided to contact Lisa Marfisi based on a word of mouth recommendation. It was the best investment we've made in our son's educational journey. Lisa runs a very organized and high quality service. Among other things I really valued about her was her "personal" approach; she really invested in getting to know our son's personality, his strengths and opportunities, and she gave good advice upfront on which schools could be a good or even a poor fit. After we decided upon the schools, Lisa was very "hands on" by keeping us up to date on what was due when. She was on top of everything. Based on her deep knowledge of the schools in the L.A. area, she also helped us tailor our essays so we had a better chance of conveying who our child was. Thanks to Lisa's program I feel like all the schools really got to see our son's gifts and we were blessed with multiple acceptances. I highly recommend Lisa and her services, and like I said, it was the best investment we could make in our son's education. read more

Lisa is a patient, delightful, kind, funny, caring, gorgeous human being. She has an intricate knowledge of the process, all its many nuances and how to navigate them with precision and patience. And not just through general guidance or pointers, but a specific, custom plan for us with tangible answers to every question asked. She is a marvel and we are supremely grateful to have worked with her. We had confidence throughout because of her, we found the perfect fit for us and our child and we made a friend. Ultimately this all boils down to us wanting to get in to our first choice school and thanks to Lisa, we did. She knows everyone at every school and is very hands on with us and them throughout. Much much praise and gratitude. read more

Navigating the private school system in Los Angeles felt so confusing. Everyone has a biased viewpoint, a horror story or two and the blessing of Lisa is she helps navigate the waters! Lisa listens by first asking for your thoughts; she really gets to know what you value because so much of a fit also deals with a schools culture. She learns your child's personality and helps guide you along the initial tours, interviews and then application process. Lisa is attentive and helps you understand the years climate- do you have a son in a year full of girls? Is your child more of a free spirit but that school in Santa Monica you're looking at more "traditional"- will that work? Finding a school is a lot like looking for a partner. You have to date, lots of dates, you have to see if you like them, so they like you. Will it be a match? Is marriage on the cards?! Lisa is the match maker- she has the wealth of experience to help navigate the "dating" life which happens with school transitions- due to kindergarten, a move or middle school/high school bring. We used her with our daughters when we lived to Los Angeles and I would unequivocally recommend her! We will likely use her again for our eldest next school chapter and fundamentally Lisa is also a nice person so she's easy to work with. Best wishes with your school hunt. Lisa is like hiring the best wedding planner but for LA schools- it just saves you time and stress! read more

Lisa is one of the kindest and most helpful people I have ever met! We hired her for our son's private school application process and she was a true guiding light. She made the process so much more manageable. She's extremely knowledgable, resourceful, and pointed us to schools we weren't even aware of. She has a great grasp on each school's "personality". My son absolutely loved her and after he got into private school this year even wanted to continue his talks with her! She's a wonderful person and perfect for her job. We just loved working with her. read more

Lisa Marfisi is the most professional, most respected, and the most "on top of it" placement consultant you could ever dream of hiring. We searched for a private school in Los Angeles while living in Austin (during covid), and we had the extra challenge of doing all of this stressful work remotely. Lisa coached us every single step of the way. Our daughter was accepted to Campbell Hall - which was her first choice. I can not say enough good things about Lisa. She returned our calls and answered every question in such a timely manner and with the upmost of care. I wish she could be my life coach! Best of luck for all who are searching for the right school - Lisa will hold your hand every step of the way. Lynn read more

Lisa is personable, interested and knowledgeable about the independent school application process. But these are not things that necessarily separate her from others in her field because there are probably many good advisors. What makes Lisa stand out the most to our family is she has a fantastic work ethic and is personally invested in getting the best outcomes for her families. She is competent, responsive, adaptive, empathetic, sincere, and stays with you every step of the journey. As a family who usually doesn't feel the need to "sell" ourselves, she was our advocate because she got to know what makes us rare or valuable to the private school community, and brought these attributes to the attention of admissions officers, who might otherwise not see these dimensions. We highly recommend Lisa when your family needs a true partner and teacher for this process. read more

We worked with Lisa for the middle school application process for our fifth grader for the 2023-2024 school year. We could not recommend her more highly. She helped guide us through the entire process, from narrowing down the list of schools, to which events to attend, to how to address thank you notes, to help with essays and interviews. Our daughter got into her first choice school, and is totally thrilled, and I know we would not have made it through that process without Lisa. Lisa was always available to talk to us and help us through various issues that arose, and her generosity with her time, and her clear passion for her work, made this as painless as this process could have possibly been. Thank you, Lisa! read more

Caring, Thoughtful, Supportive, Sensitive, Intuitive, Experienced , Intelligent and all around Life-Saver/Rock Star! This handful of adjectives doesn't even begin to scratch the surface when describing how we feel about Lisa Marfisi! We have no idea what we would have done without the incredible, unfaltering and spot-on guidance and support Lisa provided our family with in our search for a Middle School. Personally, we were in an unusual situation that required a great deal of sensitivity, thoughtfulness and emotional support ans well as urgency, and Lisa provided all that and more in spades. We were truly lost at sea, and we needed a nimble and experienced, as well as sensitive and nuanced navigator to guide us to stable ground. From the moment I reached out, Lisa became our rock and courageous leader through the challenging process of applying to private schools in Los Angeles. The time she spent with us- as a family, individually, and especially with our son, was astounding. She always made ample time for us and we always felt like her number one priority! From helping us select our schools, to essay writing and interview guidance, to calming our nerves, Lisa was truly incredible. Her years of experience in the private school world allow Lisa to provide knowledgeable, intelligent and a uniquely curated program specifically tailored to our family and child's needs. She spent so much time getting to know us and our son, who we all were as individuals, and what unique needs and wants needed to be considered. Our school list was concise, well considered, and spot on for our family, and I truly felt like she deeply understood and cared about what our personal values were when it came to our son's education. Our family can not say enough wonderful things about Lisa! We actually miss her as our son has now accepted his admissions offer to one of his top choice schools and we don't get to speak to her that often anymore! She became and integral and cherished part of our journey, and we are forever grateful for her expert guidance and support! read more

Lisa is truly a knowledgeable, kind, effective advisor for navigating the private school application process. She brings valuable insight based on her years of experience being on both sides of the process. At every step, she guided us and gave thoughtful input. Her mantra is to find the "right school" and she lives that. I agree with other reviewers that she has a true grasp on each school's "reality" vs the brochure and found it so refreshing when she shared her insight. Lisa was also available for any question that we had and at any time of the day, providing a" judgement free zone" that allowed us to feel confident in our applications and decision. Highly recommend Lisa and am so glad she was our partner in this process! read more

My husband and I used Lisa Marfisi to help us navigate kindergartners for our daughter. She came highly recommended from friends of ours, and she was hands down the best support system we could have asked for. I don't think we would have been able to do it without her! She was there every step of the way to help us make the best decisions possible! We absolutely love her and we'll definitely be turning to her when it comes time for middle school! read more

Our daughter is a freshman at Samohi. She's had a tough transition to a larger school, and we decided to apply to private schools for her sophomore year, only problem, we were past the generally accepted deadlines for private school applications. With Lisa's help we were able to review multiple schools, and apply to three of them. Given our short timeline, Lisa kept us focused on the deadlines and goals, she was a great sounding board for us and our daughter on written responses and essays, and helped prep our daughter for interviews. Lisa also followed up with all three schools to make sure our applications were received and being processed. Our daughter got accepted into all three schools she applied to. There was no way this could have happened without Lisa's help and input. Most importantly she treated our daughter with kindness and respect. We strongly recommend Lisa for anyone looking for guidance on their children's private school application and process. read more