1-on-1 Consulting: Live Strategy Session
Stop guessing. In one hour, an MIT alumni interviewer tells you where your student really stands and exactly what to do next.
The Problem This Solves
Most families are making high-stakes decisions on guesswork: which classes to take, which activities to keep, how to spend the summer, which schools are realistic. The advice they find online is generic, the school counselor is stretched across hundreds of students, and a full-service private consultant can cost $15,000 or more.
The cost of getting it wrong is rarely a single dramatic mistake. It's a year of effort pointed in the wrong direction, an application story that doesn't add up, or a strong student who reads as forgettable. Those problems are almost invisible from the inside, and by the time they show up it can be too late to fix them.
This session gives you what a guide can't: someone who has sat across from hundreds of applicants as an MIT alumni interviewer, looking at your student's specific situation and telling you the truth about what to do next.
What Families Are Saying
Real emails from real families. Tap any one to read it full size.
Make the Hour Yours
This isn't a scripted consultation. It's your hour, shaped around the problem that matters most to your family right now. Here's how families have used it:
Full admissions strategy deep-dive
Walk through your student's entire path to college: courses, activities, summers, testing, and the story it all adds up to. You leave knowing what to prioritize this year and what to stop worrying about.
Activities list working session
Talk through your student's activities and edit the Common App activities list live. We decide what to cut, what to lead with, and how to rewrite weak entries so they show impact in the limited characters you get.
Essay angle brainstorm
Stuck on what to write about? We mine your student's experiences for the stories that reveal who they are, and pick the angles worth developing before they sink hours into the wrong draft.
Admissions likelihood and school list assessment
Tell me the schools you're considering, even if the list is still taking shape. I give you a realistic read on where your student stands at each school, which reaches are worth the shot, and where the list needs to change to balance ambition with safety.
Not sure which one fits? Tell me where you're stuck and we'll point the hour at it. Many sessions combine two or three of these.
What You'll Walk Away With
An honest read on where your student stands
Not a pep talk and not a scare tactic. I look at the whole picture the way an admissions reader would: grades, rigor, activities, and the story they add up to, and tell you what is helping and what is quietly hurting.
The 2 to 3 moves that matter most
Families usually leave with a long to-do list from the internet. You leave with the few things that actually change how your student reads, ranked by impact, so you stop spending energy on the rest.
A plan built around your timeline
A freshman and a senior need completely different advice. Your action plan is sequenced to your student's grade, goals, and deadlines, down to what to do this semester.
A written summary you can act on
After the call you get a follow-up summary of the key takeaways and next steps, so nothing gets lost and your student has something concrete to work from.
“Jenny comes fully prepared to the meeting, so an hour with her easily feels like two. Her hourly rate is very reasonable, especially given the level of expertise she brings. I had all the classic parent anxieties: Is my child doing enough? Is the story coherent? Are we on the right track? Working with Jenny replaced much of that uncertainty with genuine clarity.”
How Your 60 Minutes Are Spent
Getting started
We skip the long introductions. Tell me about your student, your goals, and what's on your mind, and we spend the hour on strategy.
Where you stand
A frank assessment of your student's current position, including the parts most families can't see from the inside.
Your questions
Ask the questions keeping you up at night: course rigor, a summer plan, testing, whether an activity counts, which schools to aim for. Ask them to someone who has read the files.
What to do next
A customized plan with priorities ranked by impact, matched to your student's goals and timeline.
How It Works
Book your call
Purchase the session and you'll get an email with instructions on how to schedule a time that works for your family. You don't need to send me anything or prepare any materials first.
Meet with me live for 60 minutes
One-on-one, by video. Parents, students, or the whole family together are all welcome. Ask anything, and expect straight answers.
Leave with a plan
You'll receive a follow-up summary of the key takeaways and your ranked next steps, so you know exactly what to do first.
What's Included
- 60-minute private, live session with Jenny, an MIT alumni interviewer with 10+ years of experience (parent, student, or the whole family together is fine)
- Use it your way: a full strategy deep-dive, a live edit of your Common App activities list, an essay angle brainstorm, or an admissions likelihood assessment of your school list
- No prep required: just book, show up with your questions, and we spend the hour on strategy
- An honest assessment of where your student stands today, including what's helping and what's quietly hurting
- Straight answers to your specific questions about courses, activities, summers, testing, and your school list
- A customized action plan built around your student's goals and timeline
- Priority next steps ranked by impact, so you know what to do first and what to skip
- A written follow-up summary of key takeaways sent after the session
Who It's For
Families who want expert eyes on their specific situation, not generic advice
A great fit if
- ✓You're tired of generic advice and want someone to look at your student's actual situation
- ✓You're unsure whether your student's activities, course load, or summer plans are the right ones
- ✓You sense something is missing from the application story but can't name it
- ✓You want a second opinion before spending thousands on a private counselor, a summer program, or a test prep package
- ✓Your student is anywhere from 9th grade to 12th grade and you want a clear next step
Not the right fit if
- You're looking for a guarantee of admission. No one can honestly offer that.
- You want someone to write your student's essays. Our essay services are the better fit for line-by-line editing.
Who You'll Be Talking To
I'm Jenny. MIT Class of 2008, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and an MIT alumni educational counselor interviewing applicants for over 10 years. I've sat across from hundreds of students and seen which ones land and which quietly don't, and I've watched strong students lose ground to avoidable mistakes their families never knew to look for. On this call, I look at your student the way a real reader would, and I tell you the truth. No outsourced staff, no scripts: you get me for the full hour.
Why Not Just Hire a Private Counselor?
Full-service consulting can be a great fit for some families. But most parents don't need a multi-year contract. They need someone credible to look at their student, say what matters, and point them in the right direction. That's what this hour is for.
| Typical private consulting | This strategy session |
|---|---|
| Packages that run into the thousands, often $15,000 or more | One session at a single, transparent price: $497 |
| Often a hand-off to junior staff after the sales call | Every minute is with me, personally |
| Advice that can lean toward the next thing to buy | Honest guidance, including what you can skip and do yourself |
| A one-size-fits-all checklist | A plan built around your student's exact grades, interests, and timeline |
| A big commitment before you know if it's a fit | 30-day money-back guarantee if it doesn't deliver |
Common Questions
Who can attend the call?
What can we use the session for?
What grade does my student need to be in?
Is it too late to make a difference?
Do I need to send anything or prepare before booking?
How is this different from your guides and courses?
Will I be sold something at the end of the call?
What if the session isn't worth it?
“I didn't realize how much pressure I'd been feeling trying to navigate the next few months until the sense of relief I felt after signing up.”
“She got put on a waitlist for a competitive one-week medical summer program at Stanford. I had ignored the waitlist until I got your email, and I gave her some email talking points based on your material. She wrote a good waitlist email, and she just got an admit into that program last night! It's a fairly competitive one.”
“I really love your value proposition and believe your services fill a void! I'm in graphic design, so I just have no idea how to guide a STEM kid.”
Free Related Reading
Know exactly what to do next, in one hour.
- ✓Live, 1-on-1 with Jenny (MIT alumni interviewer, 10+ years)
- ✓No materials to send, nothing to prepare
- ✓Your student's situation, assessed live
- ✓Ranked action plan for your student
- ✓Written follow-up summary
If the session doesn't give you more clarity and actionable direction than you came in with, email me within 30 days for a full refund. No questions asked.
After your purchase, you'll receive an email with instructions on how to schedule your session. No materials to send and nothing to prepare. Just book and show up.
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One hour with Jenny can save you a year of guessing.
Stop wondering whether your student is on the right track. Get a live, honest assessment and a ranked plan from an MIT alumni interviewer with 10+ years reading applications like yours.
No prep or materials needed · 30-day money-back guarantee