When To Start College Counseling Services?
How early is too early to start college counseling services? I believe it's important that students have time to enjoy high school and be "kids" without feeling as if every movement is geared towards fulfilling the college resume. Starting the process early with a professional college counselor can give students more time to do just that. By starting as early as the 9th grade, the goal is to decrease stress for my clients and allow them more time for career and interest exploration so that there aren't as many steps being crowded into the Junior and Senior years, which will already be packed with the college search and application activities. The earlier a student starts working with me, the more time the student has to distribute college steps to allow for a less overwhelming experience, allowing for more recreational time to be enjoyed by students and their families. Although I have clients who hire me at all stages of the college application process, including as late as October of Senior year, I can do more to help students to prepare, plan, and maximize their potential if more time is allotted. However, I am happy to be part of the journey whenever parents find me.
How early is too early to start college counseling services? I believe it's important that students have time to enjoy high school and be "kids" without feeling as if every movement is geared towards fulfilling the college resume. Starting the process early with a professional college counselor can give students more time to do just that. By starting as early as the 9th grade, the goal is to decrease stress for my clients and allow them more time for career and interest exploration so that there aren't as many steps being crowded into the Junior and Senior years, which will already be packed with the college search and application activities. The earlier a student starts working with me, the more time the student has to distribute college steps to allow for a less overwhelming experience, allowing for more recreational time to be enjoyed by students and their families. Although I have clients who hire me at all stages of the college application process, including as late as October of Senior year, I can do more to help students to prepare, plan, and maximize their potential if more time is allotted. However, I am happy to be part of the journey whenever parents find me.
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All-inclusive academic year contracts |
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The All-Inclusive Academic Year Contract is the gold standard for college counseling services and allows me to invest an unlimited amount of time in your student through the duration of the contract in order to address all of his, her or their college counseling needs. I aim to provide superior, professional, and ethical college consulting, which results in a time intensive process. I do not cut corners when it comes to the college application process, which is why I do not offer less expensive, piecemeal contracts that limit the services I can provide while assisting students. In my 19 years of experience, providing services at this level of personalization is what I have found best helps my clients to succeed.
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This option allows me to initiate contact with the student to help keep track of deadlines, inform him/her/them of new opportunities, or send relevant college information as it becomes available to me. This option also gives parents direct college counseling access on an as-needed basis. All college counseling services listed below are personally provided by me and personalized to each family I work with. Each academic contract is all-inclusive for the contract term and includes all phone calls, texts, emails, and in-person meetings with students and parents. I spend an average of 40+ hours with my academic year contract seniors in meetings alone, and 75+ hours for a senior contract including outside research, meeting prep, essay editing between meetings, parent communications, etc. My services cater to families seeking first-rate, comprehensive college counseling from a highly experienced professional. All contracts can be adjusted to begin on a different start date, depending on the circumstances. Please inquire for pricing. Below are examples of services provided for each grade level, although, services are personalized to address each student's needs:
all Services are currently being offered virtually for the added safety and convenience of my clientele
I only take a limited number of Academic Year Contracts in order to keep my client list small so that I have adequate time to devote to each client. Once my contract placements fill up, I will only accept hourly clients. If a client wishes to purchase a multiple year contract, it secures the pricing for those years and also reserves a spot for the student for future academic years.
9th grade academic year contract includes
- Strong Interest Inventory- this is an in-depth interest and career assessment also given at the career offices of many colleges and universities
- Creating a college resume
- Light College Exploration- beginning to find schools to research and visit from a very low-pressure approach- this should be fun at this early stage! (this also includes conducting my own individualized research to recommend schools that fit the student's interests and career goals)
- Evaluation of high school transcript and resume, and providing recommendations for course selection and extra-curricular activities.
- Academic Advising
- Assistance exploring and applying to summer opportunities
- Meetings at least once a month
10th grade academic year contract includes
- Strong Interest Inventory- this is an in-depth interest and career assessment also given at the career offices of many colleges and universities
- Creating a college resume
- Light College Exploration- beginning to find schools to research and visit from a very low-pressure approach- this should be fun at this early stage! (this also includes conducting my own individualized research to recommend schools that fit the student's interests and career goals)
- Evaluation of high school transcript and resume, and providing recommendations for course selection and extra-curricular activities.
- Academic Advising
- Assistance exploring and applying to summer opportunities
- College Fairs (event dates, guidance with colleges booths to visit, and how to interact w/admissions counselors)
- Timelines for college standardized testing (SAT & ACT)
- Meetings at least once a month
11th grade academic year contract includes
- Strong Interest Inventory- this is an in-depth interest and career assessment also given at the career offices of many colleges and universities
- Creating a college resume
- College Exploration- researching viable schools based on interests and admissibility to research and visit (this also includes conducting my own individualized research to recommend schools that fit the student's interests and career goals)
- Assisting student to create a college list by the end of the year
- Evaluation of high school transcript and resume, and providing recommendations for course selection and extra-curricular activities.
- Academic Advising
- Assistance exploring and applying to summer opportunities
- College Fairs (event dates, guidance with colleges booths to visit, and how to interact w/admissions counselors)
- Timelines for college standardized testing (SAT & ACT)
- Guidance with college recruiter visits taking place at the high school
- College essay writing
- Meetings 1-2 times per month
12th grade includes
- Strong Interest Inventory- this is an in-depth interest and career assessment also given at the career offices of many colleges and universities
- Creating a college resume
- College Exploration- researching viable schools based on interests and admissibility to research and visit (this also includes conducting my own individualized research to recommend schools that fit the student's interests and career goals)
- Evaluation of high school transcript and resume, and providing recommendations for course selection and extra-curricular activities.
- Academic Advising
- Assistance exploring and applying to summer opportunities
- College Fairs (event dates, guidance with colleges booths to visit, and how to interact w/admissions counselors)
- Timelines for college standardized testing (SAT and ACT)
- Creating a college list
- Guidance with college recruiter visits taking place at the high school
- Assistance filling out college applications
- Assistance keeping track of deadlines and making sure all materials are sent and received
- College essay and application supplement writing guidance
- Preparation for college interviews
- Assistance researching and applying for scholarships
- Assistance with financial aid forms such as the FAFSA and CSS Profile
- Assistance comparing financial aid offers (Contract C)
- Guidance with writing waitlist and financial aid appeal letters (Contract C)
- Assistance with selecting final college to attend (Contract C)
- Bi-weekly meetings
Senior Contract A Term: As early as June 15th - December 1st
-for students who will mostly be applying either in-state or out of state with early deadlines (Early Action and early Decision)
Senior Contract B Term: As early as June 15th - February 1st
-for students who will be applying in-state and out of state with both early and regular admission decision deadlines
Senior Contract C Term: As early as June 15th - May 1st
-for students who will be applying in-state and out of state with both early and regular admisssion decision deadlines that may fall as late as February or March, and who would also like post-deadline assistance ranging from scholarship applications, comparing college offers and guidance with college selection
**Senior Contracts are also available to students needing college counseling services during a gap year, or for students not located in Austin.
transfer admissions
Assistance with all parts of the transfer admission process, from college selection to applications, essays, and financial aid.
hourly services
Hourly rate$500/hr
Hourly appointments can be booked in one-hour increments for any of the services offered in the all-inclusive contract. Hourly services only include assistance during the hourly appointment and do not include contacts (text, emails, etc.) in between appointments, all advising to answer questions or help with any part of the process takes place during the hourly session.
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strong interest inventory$550
Includes a digital copy and a one hour interpretation session of the student’s Strong results.
"The Strong Interest Inventory® assessment provides robust insight into a person’s interests, to help them to consider potential careers, their educational path and the world of work. Built on psychologist John Holland’s theory, it’s backed by more than 80 years of research, and helps students uncover their career interests and identify which areas of study are appropriate or required for a particular field. Students become more engaged because they are focused on classes relevant to their goals. |
the college list$1,100
Includes a one hour college counseling meeting and a personalized college list.
Students will spend 30 minutes to an hour of discussion with Mrs. Espinoza in which she will also give guidance on the college research process. Students will be sent a pdf report of 10-12 college matches within 5 days, and if time is remaining from the initial 1 hour session, a follow-up meeting will be scheduled to debrief. |
Purchase Hourly College counseling services
Hourly services can be purchased below. Once your transaction has been completed, Yvonne Espinoza will contact you to schedule your appointment and give further instructions for the selected service. Please fill out the Contact Information page to inquire about pricing for all-inclusive contract services.
