The admissions process demands consideration, consolidation, and care. In an increasingly competitive and confusing environment, I provide hands-on guidance and support from start to finish, from anticipation to acceptance. I help parents, youth, and older adults survey the admissions landscape, navigate the selection process, stay on track mentally and emotionally, and compose masterful, meaningful essays.

Our partnership and my assistance is framed by a holistic assessment of each applicant’s unique story. We delve into talents and strengths alongside challenges and limitations—all the aspects and experiences that shape who a person is and will become. My feedback is targeted and strategic, drawn from an experiential base at elite institutions from the vantage point of both student and teacher.

Finding the right fit, appropriate range, and proper balance of target schools and programs is challenging. To help facilitate this process, I apply a wide lens and informed perspective in tandem with a focus on the admissions candidate’s unique needs, circumstances, and aspirations. I help devise a comprehensive list and road map that attends to individual hopes and concerns against the broader landscape of distinct institutional cultures and expectations.

The admissions essays present an opportunity to distill and distinguish. Together, we work to demystify and enliven the journey of reflection, expression, and revision. In a stepwise manner, we dig, expand, organize, synthesize, draft, whittle, refine, polish, then submit. I take applicants from bullet points to final draft, applying both granular and fine-grained attention to scope and detail. We craft for impact, then curate for precision.

My clients have attained admission at competitive institutions throughout the country, including the Ivies, small liberal arts colleges, the Claremont Colleges, major research institutions, prestigious women’s colleges, arts and technical schools, and the University of California system.

I typically begin with a phone meeting to learn about each applicant’s personal goals, the rationale and feasibility of their target schools, and how they feel about the road ahead. During this time, I also share broad strategies and key milestones in the collaborative process. Thereafter, we jointly develop a set of action items and deliverables and rough out a schedule, since there are many components of the admissions process, and it can become easy to get overwhelmed by them. Throughout, my guidance is well-informed, earnest, and holistically-minded to support the intellectual and emotional maturity demanded by the admissions process.

I work as efficiently and effectively as possible on behalf of my clients. I am also realistic about the scope of effort and time required to do the job right and to maximize an applicant’s chances of acceptance to their programs of choice, especially in today’s hypercompetitive admissions environment. I bring a high level of individualization and intention to each client. To build an equitable practice that honors the uniqueness and variation of client needs, I bill at an hourly rate that allows greater accessibility and flexibility for myself and for my clients. Overall, there is no doubt that the course of admissions assistance represents a significant investment in funds on the client’s part and a significant investment in time on mine. Depending on the number of schools applied to, I also offer packages that include full-scope support and essay guidance.

My approach is distinguished by the individualized model of guidance, care, and integrity I bring to each person I work with. I take on a limited client load to ensure that I can maintain the rigorous standards that I have built my practice on and so that I can support each applicant at every stage of the process. Please reach out to learn more about my practice and process: rosekindness@gmail.com

Fee: $200/hour. 

Please note: I reserve a percentage of my client load for people with limited resources. If this sounds like you, please get in touch.