College Planning2023-03-23T09:27:25-07:00

College Planning (8th-11th Grade)

Gaining admission to a dream school goes way beyond academic achievements. Your teen must demonstrate that they are engaged and active in the world in a unique way.

Blue Stars gives your teen the guidance and inspiration necessary to grab the attention of their dream schools through demonstrating initiative and drive. We want to show schools your teen makes things happen. A great way to do this is through independent projects. Blue Stars guides your teen in identifying projects they can develop and complete. We will encourage them to take the initiative, take chances, and learn from the experience.

It is important that your teen try new things. All the best leaders have failed, often several times in their lives. Trying new things can open doors to areas of life beyond what your teen has imagined.

Is your teen interested in technology? They could code a game or intern with a startup.

Do they want to give back to the community? They could organize a volunteer initiative.

Do they want to try something new but don’t know what? We have some great exercises to help your teen figure all that out. The possibilities are endless.

Together we can discover your teen’s passion, let the ideas soar, and map out a plan of action. We’ll help your teen each step of the way.

Not sure how your teen can juggle their high school class load while navigating the intricate process of preparing for college? Working with a college counselor helps your teen stay organized and on time in the face of competing high school demands and a busy extracurricular schedule.

Blue Stars works with your teen to outline a clear plan and make important decisions along the way. We’ll help them learn about colleges of interest. And we’ll inspire them to be curious about the world, define their interests and pursue their goals. That’s the fun part.

Now. While most of our students start in 9th grade, we have worked with students as young as 8th grade and as advanced as 12th.

They can be. Pre-college summer programs can boost your teen’s admissions chances. They can help your teen gain experience and more specialized knowledge in the intended subject. And they give your teen an opportunity to explore passions and potential fields of study.

Preparing for college is a complex and rewarding process

We can help.

Through our long-term coaching, students have:

  • Become more focused, more mature and more organized

  • Developed well-rounded profiles that demonstrate their character and academic strengths and

  • Realized their dreams of attending a top school such as Stanford, Brown, and Carnegie Mellon

Our programs span from 8th through 12th grades. We help families in a systematic, multidimensional way. The students who work with us long-term get much better results than those who start with us in 12th grade. Our long-term students, who have worked with us all four years of high school, report they feel ready to go to college.

College Planning Foundations Program (8th-10th Grade)

We recommend this service for young teens who want to start planning for college early. Through six or seven one-hour sessions, Blue Stars Certified™ counselors guide students through the College Planning Foundations Workbook, helping them lay the groundwork for a successful admissions journey. At the end of the program, counselors meet with the family to report on the student’s progress and discuss next steps.

Workbook topics include:

  • Identifying the key traits important to top colleges
  • Writing a compelling personal narrative
  • Exploring skills and interests
  • Goal-setting
  • Creating a college-planning timeline

Full-Service Annual College Planning Package (8th-11th Grade)

This service is for families seeking in-depth, sustained guidance. Students meet with a Blue Stars counselor once a month for strategic planning and for 1-2 holistic check-ins between strategic meetings. They work in close contact with their counselor throughout the year, and parents talk with Dr. M monthly. As Founder and CEO, Dr. M holds regular bi-monthly meetings with her staff and discusses each student in depth.

  • Monthly one-on-one meetings with your Blue Stars Certified counselor
  • Check-ins with Blue Stars Certified℠ counselor between meetings, as needed
  • Quarterly parent-only check-ins
  • Life coaching on time management, stress management, social media, and decision-making
  • Customized month-by-month timeline for each academic year
  • Guidance in setting SMART goals each semester
  • Volunteering and internship readiness training
  • Career exploration resources to help you find your passion
  • Major exploration resources for your academic development
  • Critical thinking resources for profile building and definition
  • School research so you can begin to explore colleges
  • Comprehensive records of all student achievement data
  • Detailed progress reports sent to parents after every meeting
  • Tailor-made list of summer programs and assistance with summer program applications
  • Independent Project Coaching

Summer Planning Package

Competitive colleges expect much more than excellent grades and test scores. That means it’s essential for teens to develop their unique interests through summer and extracurricular activities, starting in the summer after ninth grade. To help students and their parents choose among the many options, we provide the following services:
  • Assistance with applying to summer programs, including editing essays and reviewing applications
  • Internship-readiness program for developing a resumé and LinkedIn profile
  • Interview preparation and training
  • Expert coaching for developing a unique summer project
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Blue Stars is proud to partner with a research program for high school students - Polygence. Through our partnership, students have the chance to work with top academic experts from R1 universities on individual research projects! Students who come through Blue Stars are offered a 10% discount to all research programs at Polygence. In addition, Blue Stars students have the unique opportunity to participate in the Polygence Career Sampler Pathfinders Program for free!

“I still remember her telling me that a student with a 3.5 GPA can also go to a good school.”

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– Niki S., Blue Stars parent
“We cannot thank Amy and Laura enough for making an incredibly difficult year more manageable and sane.”

…read more

– Blue Stars parent
“I still remember her telling me that a student with a 3.5 GPA can also go to a good school.”

…read more

– Niki S., Blue Stars parent
“We cannot thank Amy and Laura enough for making an incredibly difficult year more manageable and sane.”

…read more

– Blue Stars parent

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