Best College
Admissions Consultants
Navigating the selection of college admissions consultants can be challenging, with many wondering how to gauge the effectiveness of different firms. To address this, we’ve developed a comprehensive rating system that evaluates the top admissions consulting firms across seven key areas. Our site serves as a valuable resource, providing context and guidance for those considering the benefits of a college admissions coach. As the landscape of college admissions grows more competitive and costly, even highly talented students may find themselves at a disadvantage.
Consider Harvard University, where the acceptance rate hovers around 4%. The 96% rejected were not sub-par applicants; many boast very impressive resumes. Often, these candidates applied to highly competitive majors or didn't present a compelling narrative in their application essays. Rather than crafting a story of diversity, resilience, and future aspirations, they might have simply listed their achievements. This is where a college admissions consultant becomes invaluable. With their expertise, writing, and editing skills, and unique insights, a top college admissions coach can transform an application.
Explore our rankings of the best college admissions consultants below. Delve into the profiles of the top 50 consultants and discover how they can assist in your college admissions journey.
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We've done this exercise for a few years now, take a look at our previous years' rankings:
Best College Admissions Consultants 2024
College Consultants Ranking 1-10
2. Quad Education - Score: 4.35
Quad Education is a New York City-based college consulting company. It offers college consulting programs for aspiring college students, starting from Grade 6 to prepare for the college admissions process. Its website indicates admissions outcomes that are significantly higher than the national average.
3. CollegeWise - Score: 4.28
CollegeWise primarily offers college admissions consulting, test prep, and tutoring services. It offers tutoring services for the ACT, SAT, PSAT, PLAN, and ISEE/SSAT. CollegeWise allows students to pay as they go on an hourly basis or purchase a bundle of college admissions services.
4. IvyWise - Score: 4.21
IvyWise was founded in 1998 and offers personalized college admissions counseling services to students around the world. IvyWise's team consists of former admissions officers – each with at least 3 years of experience – and experienced consultants who tailor strategies for each student. They aim to enhance their clients' academic profiles and improve their chances of admission to top programs.
5. Empowerly - Score: 4.14
Empowerly, launched in 2018 with CTO Changxiao Xie, presents students with a numerical score evaluating their strength as an applicant, taking grades, test scores, essays, and extracurriculars into account. Empowerly combines automated software with feedback from former admissions officers to give students tips to boost their resumes.
7. Spark Admissions - Score: 4.00
Spark Admissions prides itself on a strategic, data-driven approach. They focus on providing skillset development for high school students to improve their resumes through internships, maximize leadership and communication skills, and explore academic and extracurricular opportunities.
9. Bright Horizons College Coach - Score: 3.71
Bright Horizons College Coach is a Newton, Massachusetts- based college consulting firm founded by Stephen Kramer and Michael London in 1998. It has expanded to open branches in 14 U.S. states with offices in many large U.S. metropolitan cities. It offers online college admissions counseling, for those located in other U.S. or global locations where there is no office presence.
College Consultants Ranking 11-20
11. Ivy Coach - Score: 3.42
Though based in New York City, Ivy Coach works completely online with students located around the United States and the globe. They provide admissions consulting services for undergraduate programs, business schools, medical schools, law schools, or any other master or Ph.D. graduate programs.
12. The Ivy Institute - Score: 3.42
The Ivy Institute provides personalized college admissions counseling services with an emphasis on its trademarked services: Predictive Admissions, which aims to assess students’ chances of admissions, and App Identity, which helps students focus on a personal quality or aspect to underscore their application positioning. Other services include comprehensive application guidance, essay editing, interview preparation, and academic and extracurricular planning.
13. The Princeton Review - Score: 3.28
The Princeton Review is a massive multinational educational conglomerate that assisted more than 1.6 million students in 2017. It has offices in the majority of US states and maintains offices in 17 countries, primarily wealthy nations in Asia and the Middle East. In addition to college consulting, its core business is college rankings, advice, applying to college assistance, and financial aid assistance.
15. Signet Education - Score: 3.14
Signet Education, based in Cambridge, MA, offers academic tutoring, test preparation, and admissions consulting for high school, college, and graduate school applicants. Signet Education's team consists of experienced educators and consultants who provide customized assistance tailored to each student's needs and goals.
16. Menlo Coaching - Score: 3.00
Menlo Coaching, founded in 2012, provides educational consulting services focused on MBA and undergraduate admissions. They offer personalized support in crafting compelling applications, including essay editing, interview preparation, and strategic planning. Menlo’s team comprises experienced consultants who assist students and professionals in navigating the competitive admissions process.
17. SOS Admissions - Score: 3.00
IvySummit is a Washington DC-based college consultancy that specializes in acceptance to Ivy League Schools and other highly selective universities in the US, UK, and Canada. The agency works with clients in-person in the Washington DC area and works remotely with other clients from around the world through online interaction.
18. IvySummit - Score: 2.85
IvySummit is a Washington DC-based college consultancy that specializes in acceptance to Ivy League Schools and other highly selective universities in the US, UK, and Canada. The agency works with clients in-person in the Washington DC area and works remotely with other clients from around the world through online interaction.
19. H&C Education Consulting - Score: 2.71
H&C Education Consulting, founded by Dr. Pierre Huguet, aims to guide students through the college admissions process with “mindfulness, focus, and grace.” Their team, comprised of former admissions officers, business leaders, and experienced educators, helps students navigate the college admissions process and improve their chances of acceptance into top universities.
20. Ivy Scholars - Score: 2.64
Ivy Scholars is divided between three physical locations: Houston, New York, and Los Angeles, which provides Ivy Scholars with a presence in three vibrant metropolitan areas with large populations. According to its website, this allows their team to gain intimate experience in particular geographic regions versus running a nationwide consultancy model.
College Consultants Ranking 21-30
24. Colledge - Score: 2.57
Colledge offers many of the typical services found in the majority of nationwide college admissions organizations. It works both online and in person, according to the information available. It offers help with major selection, college selection, essay assistance, resume development, college interview preparation, decision support, test prep, and extracurricular activities suggestions.
28. Prestige College Consulting - Score: 2.28
Prestige College Consulting has been in the admissions consulting game since 2004, initially serving clients in the Greater New York area, which also encompasses New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. They have since expanded and grown to serve clients across the U.S.
29. Sarah Harberson - Score: 2.28
Billing herself as “America’s College Counselor,” Sarah Harberson is an author, educator, and former UPenn Associate Dean of Admissions. She differentiates herself by promoting a positioning action plan intended to generate the strongest possible “Soundbite” to optimize a student’s chances of admission.
College Consultants Ranking 31-40
32. JRA Educational Consulting - Score: 2.14
Founded and led by Judi Robinovitz, whose experience in tutoring reaches back to 1980, JRA Educational Consulting is the college admissions consulting branch of the JRA family of companies, which include the Score At The Top Learning Centers & Schools located throughout Florida and the Score Academy.
38. March Consulting - Score: 1.71
Founded by Kat Clowes, March Consulting claims to “make the college admissions process make sense” with over 700 students served over the last ten years. In addition to standard college consulting services, March Consulting also offers packages aimed at students interested in the U.C. and California State University systems, scholarship consulting, and college selection help.
39. Club Z! Tutoring - Score: 1.71
Club Z! has developed a network of professional college admissions counselors to help students with the entire college admissions process, starting from the test prep process. Its college admission officers will work hand in hand with its professional and trained tutors.
42. Midwest College Consulting - Score: 1.42
Midwest College Consulting is a small, Ohio-based college consulting agency founded and led by Dana Rolander. MCC offers one unique service: admissions consulting that is intended to help high school sailors land at colleges with outstanding sailing teams. Beyond that, MCC’s offerings are pretty standard fare.
49. Cardinal Education - Score: 1.14
Cardinal Education is an admissions, tutoring, and test prep firm with offices in California and Washington. Their stated mission is “to help students maximize their capacities and equip them with the skills to thrive and become successful in and out of the classroom.”
50. Ivy Select - Score: 1.00
Ivy Select describes itself as a “boutique admissions consultancy specializing in helping high-achieving students seeking admission to Ivy League universities and other top-tier colleges in the U.S, U.K. and Canada.” Their website does not seem to have been updated since 2020.