College Application COACHING
Abacus is proud to welcome a college counselor for the first time to our family of services. James Highfill aligns with our academic philosophy of holistic assistance for students to tune in to their inner voice to guide them in their journey post high school. We firmly believe in honoring each students’ unique blend of talent, instinct and experience to hone their college choices.
College Consulting: A Values Based Approach
The first step in this process of college counseling is the discovery of a student’s values. It is best to start this process during freshman year. Once identified, these values inform all conversations about colleges, high school course selections, extracurricular activities, the assessment of schools for fit, the development of the college list, the considerations around tuition and financial aid, and the essays delivered in the applications. I support students of all backgrounds and interests and love to get creative with a mind open to all options, including a gap year and community college choices. When my students commit to a college or university, they understand that it is a perfect fit.
A Four-Year Plan
While the selection of a school represents the climax of the counseling process, I often continue to work with students to plan their time in college. There are two reasons for this support. First, because there has been a quiet revolution in the academic offerings from universities, college counseling often extends to graduate school advising. For example, in many universities, accelerated students can often start graduate level training in medicine, law, and business at the beginning of their senior years. They consequently can shave a year from their graduate degrees. Second, public debate about the meanings of college education has focused on the importance of professionalization as part of the education process. Fortunately, thousands of colleges have responded to this demand. I create four-year plans with students and families to make the most out of a college’s many academic, professional, and extracurricular offerings to create powerful and resonant professional resumes.
Services
Career Counseling, Coaching, Planning and College Transitions
College Admissions Counseling
Essay Guidance
Interview Coaching
Application Management
Matching Students To Colleges
Faculty and Program Research
Athletic Recruitment
Financial Aid Advice
Student Visas
School Dossiers
Graduate School Admissions Counseling: Law, Medical, Nursing, Physician’s Assistant, Dental, Social Science, Business and Humanities Programs
My Professional Story
While teaching and managing a summer reading program at a local community college in 2002, a parent approached me to tutor her children. Word spread fast and I was working full time as an educational consultant that fall. After earning my Master’s in American Studies from Cal State Fullerton, I pursued further academic work and teaching at UC Irvine. While earning my multiple subject teaching credential, I taught fourth grade for the LA Unified School district. For ten summers, I taught speed reading and comprehension for the Institute of Reading Development. While earning my Independent Education Consultant Certificate from UC Irvine, I worked with scores of students to create college and graduate school solutions. Now, as a member of the Independent Education Consultants Association, I am surveying the education opportunities for American students at Canadian, British, and European universities. I specialize in admissions to the University of California as well as the Ivy League, and to NESCAC liberal arts colleges. I further specialize in medical school, law school and graduate level applications to the social sciences.
We also work with students (mainly high school sophomores, juniors and seniors) to help prioritize and organize their college applications. We do not recommend one school over another, rather, we strive to make the nuts and bolts of the process as stress-free as possible.
This may include:
Research colleges with students and create a list of schools that may be the right fit
Organize a list of colleges of interest and prioritize each application, keeping in mind the option to apply Early Action or Early Decision
Work in conjunction with a college counselor (either James, from a school or hired privately)
Make personal connections with students that are invaluable when collaborating on application essays
Brainstorm ideas for essays: outline, write, edit and rewrite as needed
Draw from already-written essays to apply to additional essays as needed
“Nicole was amazing and I would never have been able to navigate all the college applications without her. I felt she always had my best interest at heart and was super invested in making an overwhelming task doable.”
- S. F., senior from Marlborough School, now attending Bates University
“Thai got me through my college process. As an incoming senior, the college application process as a whole feels like some indigestible process. With Thai’s help, I was able to take it one day at a time and maintain a healthy perspective. I am thrilled with the responses and acceptances I received and I credit a significant amount of that success to Thai!”
- MLC, senior from Crossroads School, now attending Northwestern University