Every year, millions of students stumble through the high school and college application process without a clear idea of what admissions officers really care about or how to meet those unknown standards. After spending dozens--in some cases, hundreds--of hours putting together their applications, they may be thrown into the reject pile after only a couple minutes of review.

We think you deserve better.

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That's why Dr. Iain Lampert developed the C.R.A.S.H. model of admissions counseling. It's a system that helps students develop the important skills they'll need to succeed in ways highly selective institutions will recognize.

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C stands for COMPETITIONS. Colleges want to see evidence that students can demonstrate ingenuity, strategy, resilience, and dedication in a competitive environment. Think about contests like the iGEM Competition, the Academic Decathlon, the National Science Bowl, the International Olympiads, the National Speech and Debate Association National Championship, the National Ethics Bowl, and the Mock Trial National Championship. We help students determine the right contests to enter and the right training plans to excel.

 

R stands for RESEARCH. Colleges want to make sure their students show a rigorous devotion to intellectual pursuits. We support students to identify year-round research opportunities for them to deeply understand, study, and, ideally, produce public-facing research to demonstrate their college-readiness.

 

A stands for ACADEMICS. Colleges want to see an impressive transcript that demonstrates a students' multidisciplinary abilities to succeed with challenging coursework. We supply course suggestions, extracurricular learning opportunities, and up-to-date recommendations regarding the quickly-changing field of standardized testing.

 

S stands for SERVICE. Colleges want their students to take ownership of their community's problems and tangibly contribute to solutions. We assist students with identifying where the needs in their community lie, determining how they can help, and managing projects that create substantial change.

 

H stands for HOBBIES. Colleges want students who show genuine joy, passion, and commitment to interests that fall beyond the normal scope of school. Whether it's a senior who turned her love of baking and experience as a peer counselor into a social media movement, a junior who wrote, produced, and directed musicals with local middle schoolers, or a sophomore who's been updating their blog about game shows and interviewing famous producers, we're here to help you accelerate your activities.

 

We are not in the business of coddling students or doing their work for them. Our service does not involve begging unmotivated applicants with reminders to get their work done. Rather, we learn about our clients' passions and provide them with a productive pathway to succeed. We give them all the tools they need to achieve their goals and make clear that it's up to them to use those tools as they were intended. 

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That's why, as you'll see, our terms and conditions guarantee that all emailed student or parent questions will be answered--but that it's necessary for the students to reach out to us, rather than the other way around. Your college experience will reward proactive students who seek their own solutions, so that's the sort of student we support.