We are so grateful we found Sam Mikhail and College Made Easy. They were recommended to us by our…read moreson's high school at one of the College Financial Education nights. We thought we navigate the financial aid application process ourselves, filling out the FAFSA and CSS on our own... It was way more complicated than we thought. Sam helped us understand our current finances and really supported us in making some important choices that made a valuable difference. Everybody's situation is different, but If we could quantify the savings over the next four years, it's easily over $200k. His services has helped us figure out how to stretch our son's current college saving and really make it last.

We are so grateful we found Sam Mikhail and College Made Easy. They were recommended to us by our…read moreson's high school at one of the College Financial Education nights. We thought we navigate the financial aid application process ourselves, filling out the FAFSA and CSS on our own... It was way more complicated than we thought. Sam helped us understand our current finances and really supported us in making some important choices that made a valuable difference. Everybody's situation is different, but If we could quantify the savings over the next four years, it's easily over $200k. His services has helped us figure out how to stretch our son's current college saving and really make it last.

I wanted to make sure my previous review (based on my distasteful experience with Gerald and Ashton…read moreat the Bright Mind) is not moved to the not recommended section: AFTER GERALD CONTACTED ME REGARDING MY REVIEW: My negative review is because of TBM's lack of transparency and sub-par customer service as I stated in my conversation with you, Gerald. INITIAL REVIEW: Keeping it short, I do not recommend doing business with TBM. Gerald and Ashton, you don't need to search through your records because you know me. In fact, I am surprised only when the review is negative, you cannot find the reviewers' information on your file. SAME COMMENT AS I HAVE IT ON GOOGLE REVIEW.

Mike and Gerald put together an amazing plan for mu daughter. She did the SAT test prep and worked…read morewith them on her college applications and essays. 3 weeks before she started hearing back from her applications, she was so depressed. She was convinced she wouldn't get in anywhere. My child came up with some of her list, Mike and Gerald came up with others. They were with her from the very start. Not only did she get into 80% of the schools she applied to, she got into here first 3 choices. I tell everyone I know with high school aged kids - if you have any concerns about the college counseling process at your childs school - or they might need some tutoring and help with college applications... Help with financial aid, help with filling out the forms, who needs what form where and by when....This was SUCH a help to us.

Ms. Kate Her is very professional and caring. She patiently explains all available programs that…read morefit your goals. Highly recommend this institution.

Elite helped my kid get into Princeton! This was always my kid's dream and Elite helped make it…read morecome true!! This place is VERY understated and probably could be charging quadruple what they do. A lot of places have good staff but I think what sets this place apart is the company culture, which is no small factor when your kid is trying to thread the needle through all of the little details that matter in the application process (and those little things do matter if your dream is one of the top schools). The staff members all work as a team, surrounding your kid with an army of people who not only know what they're doing, (you can get that at a lot of places) but who ACTUALLY CARE and personally go above and beyond to see them succeed. They almost feel like extended family, an army of support. You can pay someone to help your kid out with applications, but you can't pay Somone to actually care! That is the difference with Elite. I don't know what or how they go about hiring people or what they do to foster that type of culture but the benefits of it go to your kid and in our case the results speak for themselves. Sure my kid is smart, has near perfect grades and test scores but so do thousands of other kids with near identical profiles. Elite helped my kid stand out from the crowd. They truly know what they are doing. Thank you thank you Elite!! A true trajectory changer for my kid. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME on all of those "fancy" places that charge double or in some cases quadruple. I almost did and I'm so glad I didn't.

We truly appreciate you and CL team's efforts put into my daughter's college application journey…read more The success we called wasn't about getting into the highest ranked school, it is about the confidence we gained thru out the process, also the college fits her best interests!

Tammy as owner is hands-on, very personable and manages a fun team of college counseling experts…read morewho will take time to listen and help you with your college applications from A-Z!

Walking into Albert & Bryan's office was one of the best decisions I made in my college application…read moreprocess. Starting with outcomes: I got into all of my reach schools & my cousin (applying this year) is knocking out target/reach schools by the day. Of course, results never paint the entire picture, so I'd like to highlight a few behind-the-scenes aspects of their approach that I believe are quite conducive to great application delivery. 1. Crafting an authentic application. Every word on my application contributed to an accurate picture of who I am. Not once did I get the impression that Albert & Bryan were trying to fit me into a "template" of the perfect candidate (as a significant number of college applications guides tend to do). Their primary role was extracting notable points about my experiences and helping me with synthesizing/packaging them into compelling and genuine stories. Authenticity is one of the key characteristics of engaging college essay writing, yet it is often one of the most overlooked. Albert & Bryan know this, a fact that is reflected in their guiding principle: "If we anonymously drop your essays in the middle of the street and your best friends pick it up, they will immediately think of you. If strangers pick it up, they will feel as if they have already met you." I certainly believe that we accomplished this by the conclusion of the process. 2. Storytelling expertise. To put plainly, they are great storytellers. Albert & Bryan teach storytelling techniques that I haven't encountered anywhere else. Short, choppy phrases to convey excitement and thrill; sentence cadence to amplify any message you are trying to get across; sustaining a metaphor to create cohesiveness and make the essay a better read- a few of many techniques that I employ to this day. Telling a good story is a fundamental skill of any capable writer, one that is especially critical when trying to encompass your entire character in a few pages of paper. 3. Commitment to their students' success. Albert & Bryan had many other clients while I was there, yet they somehow made it feel as though I was their only student. They reviewed each completed application with the utmost care. I got emails from them at all hours of the day/night, pointing out the slightest of details (deviation in format, potential ambiguity, minor discordance in information) that I somehow overlooked. Every time I needed their help, they found a way to clear up a time slot. I've heard of instances where they devoted their entire night *after closing hours* to work on a mentee's last-minute submission. It goes to show how much they are willing to do to ensure that their students are supported. 4. Staying well-informed. They go to conferences every few months to keep up to date, not just with what application reviewers want to know from their applicants, but also general trends in what types of individuals thrive at which places. This- along with the personal network & bank of experiences that they built over years of being in the industry- means that they had well-informed and nuanced responses to any inquiry I had about the application process or the universities themselves. It's difficult to find guidance of this quality, especially for a process as convoluted as applying for college. Albert & Bryan's service is a gem in the space. I'd recommend them to anyone applying.

Royal Education provided an incredible amount of knowledge and guidance for me and my family during…read morethe college application process. I worked with Brian and I think his background as an Ivy League student from a family that was not well-off allowed me to connect very easily with him. I always felt like I was working alongside him to improve my applications, and it was very easy to joke with him and push through a counselor-student relationship. My family has never been through the American college application process and I would highly recommend Royal Education to anyone who would like clear and concise advice and guidance.

Patti really helped my son navigate his voice in his college essays. She was also instrumental in…read morehelping him decide where he wanted to apply (and why) and what majors would and wouldn't be a great fit for him, based on getting to know him over the two years they worked together. Once my son decided what he really wanted to pursue, she helped him back into choosing the best colleges within various universities, keeping location, size, campus vibe, cost and other variables in mind. As parents, it was wonderful to have a positive and knowledgable outside influence take the reins in aspects of the process that we didn't know much about. She kept him accountable and on track, while always being upbeat and a pleasure to work with. He submitted all his applications early and was confident that he'd done his best work. I highly recommend Patti to anyone looking for guidance at any point of the admissions process.

As a parent going through their first college application with their child, I strongly urge others…read moreto search elsewhere for college counseling. Despite the positive reviews others have left, my son, Christian felt strongly about Patti's various shortcomings during his college application process. He felt that his questions were left unanswered constantly and oftentimes would leave meetings more confused. He strongly felt that his time would have been better spent somewhere else. To other parents: Please be wary of the unrealistic promises made by this business!

When I found Julia, I was in complete despair. College application deadlines were around the…read morecorner, and my daughter hadn't even started the process. All of her UC prompts were just ideas at that point. Our first meeting with Julia was a long conversation, during which she helped extract a full list of extracurricular activities and developed ideas for the essays, personal statement, and Common App essay. Over the following weeks, I watched each essay come together and be finalized one by one. She created a list of schools and a structured calendar that kept my daughter on track. I'm happy to say this was the best investment we could have made. My daughter was accepted to UC Berkeley and several other colleges. The peace of mind I had knowing Julia was managing the college application process was priceless. She is knowledgeable and competent, and she brings so much compassion to her work. There were many times when I felt overwhelmed, and she was always able to calm me down. I only have one regret--not using her services for my oldest son during his college application journey. I am confident that Julia will continue to be a valuable part of my children's educational journeys, whether it's navigating college course enrollment, updating resumes and LinkedIn profiles, or applying to graduate school.

Joanne is the most amazing Career Counselor ever. She really helped me develop my skills and my…read moreresume to allow me to obtain my dream career. I researched so many other career counselors and I found her on Yelp. I even referred her to many different family and friends and she went above and beyond to help them as well. She was such a pleasure to work with. Her customer service, attention to detail, and professionalism were outstanding. 10/10 stars would recommend!!