Blue Stars Services: College Planning and Admissions Consulting

Our most successful students have worked with Blue Stars through all four years of high school in an extended college planning and admissions program. Through our long-term coaching, students have realized their dreams of attending top schools including Stanford, Penn, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Swarthmore, and Dartmouth, to name just a few. Students have benefited immensely from continuous work on developing exceptionally well-rounded profiles that demonstrate their depth of character as well as their academic strengths.

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

We recommend this service for young teens who want to start early. Through 6-7 one-hour sessions, Blue Stars counselors provide students with individualized guidance through the exercises in the Blue Stars Teen Power Foundations Workbook, helping them lay the groundwork for a successful admissions journey. At the conclusion of the program, counselors meet with the family to review a personalized report of the student’s progress and recommendations for next steps.

Workbook topics include:

  • Identifying Key Traits Important to Top Colleges
  • What’s your Story? Writing Your Own Hero’s Narrative
  • Exploring Skills and Interests
  • Goal-Setting to Help Activate Your Interests
  • Creating a College Planning Timeline

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

We recommend this service to families seeking in-depth, sustained guidance. Students meet with Dr. M and a Blue Stars counselor once a month for strategic planning and a holistic check-in, they continue working in close contact with their counselor throughout the month, and parents get to have their own, private monthly conversation with Dr. M! Blue Stars helps families in a systematic, multidimensional way. The students who work with us long-term get much better results than the students who start with us in 12 grade, and they show up to college with a sense of confidence unmatched by their peers. Here’s what our personal-growth oriented service includes:

  • Monthly one-on-one meetings between student, Dr. M and a Blue Stars Certified counselor
  • Regular check-in meetings between parents and Dr. M
  • Life coaching on time management, stress management, social media, and decision making
  • Customized month-by-month timeline for each academic year
  • Volunteering and internship readiness training
  • Career exploration resources to help you find your passion
  • Major exploration resources for your academic development
  • 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 3 summer program applications, or 10 hours of Independent Project Coaching

Summer Planning Package

  • Summer program application assistance including essay editing and application review
  • Internship readiness program for developing your resume and LinkedIn profile
  • Interview preparation and training
  • Expert coaching for developing a unique summer project

Summer Planning Bonus Package

  • Expert coaching for developing a unique summer plan with a Blue Stars Certified counselor to identify and activate college and summer planning goals
  • Summer program application assistance including essay editing and application review
  • Internship readiness program for developing your resume and LinkedIn profile
  • Interview preparation and training
  • Five extra meetings reserved for college planning guidance on time-management, exploration of careers, and/or class selection

Independent Project Coaching

  • Ten 1-hour customized sessions to launch an independent project: improve your creative writing, create an art or maker portfolio, start an organization or business, set up a website, determine a leadership or community project.

Want to supercharge your college planning experience?

Join us for the following one-on-one intensive services:

College Counseling

A large part of the college planning process (and life in general) has to do with the ability to make good decisions. Our College Counseling program focuses on “considered decision making,” teaching you the skills necessary to make informed, sound decisions that will help you reach your full potential. You will learn to organize, prioritize, research and weigh options and be shown positive ways of coping with life and leadership challenges. Prepare to gain powerful tools you can use the rest of your life!

Individual Project Coaching

With so many qualified candidates in the application pool, how do you get noticed? Develop your individuality! Individual projects are customized to your specific aptitudes and are a great way to showcase your creativity and uniqueness. While exam scores and grades are important, an individual project showcases the qualities that make you an extraordinary candidate.

Want to advance your writing voice and skills in ways that go far beyond what you learn in high school? Sign up for a mentorship in flash nonfiction, the personal essay, or critical thinking and writing. Want to give back to your community? We can get you organized and inspired so you launch that charitable organization. Design a personal website? Our Blue Stars mentors work side-by-side with you to identify and develop a stellar project that will capture the attention of your dream school. We give you the courage and focus to take initiative and create something spectacular.

Summer Program Application Assistance

Summer programs make a major difference along the road to college. Through them, you will more deeply define your core interests and competencies, further developing the uniqueness of your admissions candidacy. Admissions officers appreciate students who use their summers wisely.

Blue Stars Summer Program Application Assistance will guide you in gaining admission to the top summer program of your choice. Our essay writing mentorship offers you the opportunity to hone your skills in preparation for college applications, empowering you to begin mastering the art of the personal statement prior to formally applying to your dream school. Blue Stars Summer Program Application Assistance will take you to the next level! Through the essay-writing process, you’ll write your way into a spectacular summer program that will expand your mind, diversify your experiences, and heighten your competitiveness. It’s a win-win!

You will learn to write about yourself in a reflective style that is not traditionally taught in high school. By the end of the process, you will have written a unique essay that showcases your interests, experiences, and accomplishments. You will emerge from our Summer Program Application Assistance more confident as a writer and a student with valuable skills that can be used in your academic and professional career.

We also counsel you in assembling your general application and gathering letters of recommendation so that the entire package gets you the academic, leadership, research, or volunteer experience sure to boost your admissions profile!

Premium 10-School Package

Admissions

  • Blue Stars Certified™ school selection program to determine your best fit schools
    • Customized school selection tools with comprehensive stats and in-depth descriptions
    • 6 organized meetings for in-depth college exploration and college list building
    • Final 10 school list with assessment of “Likely, Match, and Reach”
  • Work one-on-one with a Blue Stars Certified expert counselor to determine topics and edit all essays for your top 10 schools
  • Creative and strategic review of all essays
  • Professional guidance on application presentation and strategy, including activity lists and supplementary materials
  • Hands-on final review of all applications
  • Interview training package including interactive coaching and mock interviews

Pro 5-School Package

Admissions

  • Blue Stars Certified™ school selection program to determine your best fit schools
    • Customized school selection tools with comprehensive stats and in-depth descriptions
    • 6 organized meetings for in-depth college exploration and college list building
    • Final 5 school list with assessment of “Likely, Match, and Reach”
  • Work one-on-one with a Blue Stars Certified expert counselor to determine topics and edit all essays for your top five schools
  • Creative and strategic review of all essays
  • Professional guidance on application presentation and strategy, including activity lists and supplementary materials
  • Hands-on final review of all applications

College Planning & Admissions Combo Packages (11th Grade)

Deluxe: Full-Service College Planning + Premium 10-School Admissions

College Planning

  • Monthly one-on-one meetings between student, Dr. M and a Blue Stars Certified counselor
  • Regular check-in meetings between parents and Dr. M
  • Life coaching on time management, stress management, social media, and decision making
  • Customized month-by-month timeline for each academic year
  • Volunteering and internship readiness training
  • Career exploration resources to help you find your passion
  • Major exploration resources for your academic development
  • 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 3 summer program applications, or 10 hours of Independent Project Coaching

Admissions

  • Blue Stars Certified™ school selection program to determine your best fit schools
    • Customized school selection tools with comprehensive stats and in-depth descriptions
    • 6 organized meetings for in-depth college exploration and college list building
    • Miscellaneous correspondence and exchanges on school selection details
  • Blue Stars Certified expert editing for all essays for your top 10 schools
  • Face-to-face essay topic determination meeting with Dr. M
  • Creative and strategic review of all essays by Dr. M as “Editor in Chief”
  • Professional guidance and hands-on review of all online and paper applications
  • Interview training package including interactive coaching and mock interviews

Power Pack: Summer Planning + Premium 10-School Admissions

Summer Planning

  • Expert coaching for developing a unique summer plan with a Blue Stars Certified counselor to identify and activate college and summer planning goals
  • Summer program application assistance including essay editing and application review
  • Internship readiness program for developing your resume and LinkedIn profile
  • Interview preparation and training
  • Five extra meetings reserved for college planning guidance on time-management, exploration of careers, and/or class selection

Admissions

  • Blue Stars Certified™ school selection program to determine your best fit schools
    • Customized school selection tools with comprehensive stats and in-depth descriptions
    • 6 organized meetings for in-depth college exploration and college list building
    • Miscellaneous correspondence and exchanges on school selection details
  • Blue Stars Certified expert editing for all essays for your top 10 schools
  • Face-to-face essay topic determination meeting with Dr. M
  • Creative and strategic review of all essays by Dr. M as “Editor in Chief”
  • Professional guidance and hands-on review of all online and paper applications
  • Interview training package including interactive coaching and mock interviews

Admissions Focus: Five College Planning Meetings + Premium 10-School Admissions

College Planning Meetings (includes any of the following services)

  • One-on-one meetings with a Blue Stars Certified counselor
  • Life coaching on time management, stress management, study skills, and decision making
  • Volunteering and internship readiness training
  • Career exploration resources to help you find your passion
  • Major exploration resources for your academic development
  • 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
  • Assistance with summer program applications or independent project coaching

Admissions

  • Blue Stars Certified™ school selection program to determine your best fit schools
    • Customized school selection tools with comprehensive stats and in-depth descriptions
    • 6 organized meetings for in-depth college exploration and college list building
    • Miscellaneous correspondence and exchanges on school selection details
  • Blue Stars Certified expert editing for all essays for your top 10 schools
  • Face-to-face essay topic determination meeting with Dr. M
  • Creative and strategic review of all essays by Dr. M as “Editor in Chief”
  • Professional guidance and hands-on review of all online and paper applications
  • Interview training package including interactive coaching and mock interviews

Carve your unique path to college with:

  • Foundations
  • Full-Service College Planning
  • College Planning & Admissions Combined Packages