College Admission Help

CAROL Safran told a 17-year-old client how to make the most of her past relationship with a squirrel.

Carol had been hired to help a high school senior get accepted to a good college, and they were brainstorming on topics for her college application essay. The student mentioned that she once had a pet squirrel. The girl described how an abandoned baby squirrel, his eyes still unopened, showed up on her driveway after a windstorm.

She researched how to feed and prepare a nest for it and nurtured it for several months. Eventually, the squirrel she named Sammy was ready to return to the wild. One afternoon, while playing in the yard, he ran up a tree and never returned.

At Carol's suggestion , the girl wrote an essay using Sammy as a metaphor for her own stage in life -
heading off into the wilds of college.

Lewis and Clark campus scene

This high school senior subsequently gained admittance to several schools and ended up at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore.

She also was accepted to Beloit College in Wisconsin, a well-regarded liberal arts college, which noted in its letter of acceptance, "The Admissions Committee enjoyed reading your thoughtful and well-written essay comparing your readiness to attend college to your nurturing of Sammy the squirrel."

Many people don't know that services such as Carol provides exist. There are different names for the profession: College adviser, educational consultant, college mentor or college coach. Carol prefers to describe herself as a "mentor" to emphasize the personal nature of her service, and the aspect of coaching, encouraging, and leading her clients.

Most high schools have counselors who provide similar services, advising students on finding and gaining admittance to an appropriate college, but the admissions process has become so competitive that some parents are turning to professionals.

An article in the Houston Chronicle in September 2003 featured Carol and described the kinds of help and support that she can provide to students preparing for the college applications process. The article is no longer available on-line, but subscribers can still find it in the newspaper archives.