Spark Admissions is a college consultancy founded by Harvard doctorate Rachel Rubin and University of Chicago MBA Rachel Blankstein. Dr. Rubin first got into the college admissions field when she conducted research on how the 75 most selective U.S. colleges and universities make admissions decisions. She has applied her research knowledge to help aspiring students build their academic careers at all stages of their academic journeys. Spark Admissions is based in the Boston metropolitan area but predominantly works online, servicing domestic and international clients.
About Company
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. They advise on college admissions, transfer admissions, private school admissions, and other personalized support, claiming that 96% of their students get into one of their three top choices. They offer assistance for athletic recruiting, BS/MD programs, Art, Film, and Music consulting, and other programs.
They offer different levels of support to aspiring students for different prices, both hourly and package deals. For instance, they offer Common Application Essay Support, Common Application Packages, Common Application Plus 3 School Applications Packages, Common Application Plus 5 School Applications Packages, college counseling packages, a student assessment, assistance with creating a college list, college interview prep, college deferral or waitlist strategy, and other individualized assistance billed on an hourly basis.
Spark Admissions Score
Spark Admissions Review
Spark Admissions receives a 5 for both reputation and results, reflecting the strong resume of its founders and its commitment to client management. In particular, it has 73 independent third-party reviews, a reputable quantity in the industry. It fares worse with a 3 in quality of the team (five former admission officers). Alternatively, it scores better in the size of the team, receiving a 4 by maintaining a team of 19 college consultants. In web presence, it earns a 4 with a second-page Google organic rating. With only 41 YouTube subscribers and 118 Twitter followers, it receives a 1.5 score as an educational influencer. It receives a 3 in combined institutional knowledge with a total of 5 overall years of industry experience. Overall, Spark receives a 3.64 over the seven categories, making it slightly above average. They offer a sound, though expensive experience for students and parents, seeking to reach their academic potential.