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About the Counselor

Sarah W. Brown, M.Ed, NCC

EDUCATION
B.A. in Psychology, Swarthmore College
M.Ed. in School Counseling, UNC - Chapel Hill
Graduate certificate in College Counseling, UCLA

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LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
National Certified Counselor (NCC)
former Licensed School Counselor

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PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Independent Educational Consultants Association
National Association for College Admissions Counseling
Western Association for College Admissions Counseling

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I am passionate about sharing knowledge that can help others. I have learned this information through mistakes I made as a college applicant, extensive education, and experiences guiding students all over the country.

 

As a parent of two college students, I know that the college admissions journey can be stressful.  Having someone else walk your child through the necessary steps can take a load off your plate and preserve your relationship with your child during critical years. 

 

I wish I had had someone walk these steps with me when I applied to college as an international student in need of significant financial aid. I wasted time applying to the wrong colleges, and my mistakes led to mostly rejection letters. At the last minute, a college counselor (and family friend) advised me to apply to Swarthmore College - the only college that accepted me with the financial aid I required.

 

I am incredibly grateful for this counselor's help.  She made me realize how a person who is both caring and knowledgeable can change the course of someone's life. I strive to be that person for others.  

My experience has lead me to focus on helping students find colleges that are an excellent academic, social, and financial fit for them. I believe this is the most critical part of the application process. I help students understand how to present themselves in their best light on their applications so they can have their best chance of getting accepted by those colleges.

 

I work with all kinds of students and specialize in guiding those who are homeschooled, twice-exceptional, military dependents, and/or applying to service academies and ROTC scholarships.

I am a lifelong learner and devote a large portion of my time to researching colleges, keeping up with the constantly changing college admissions landscape, improving my essay coaching skills, and networking with college admissions professionals. I take training, professionalism, and ethics very seriously.

 

I wish every student could have personalized college counseling. I keep my rates as low as I can, share what I learn via my blog and social media accounts, and provide 100 hours a year of pro bono services to low-income/first-generation students through my volunteer work with ScholarMatch.

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Schedule a free consultation here

to meet me and find out whether I might be the right person to guide your family through the college admissions journey.

HOMESCHOOLING EXPERIENCE

  • 5th-12th grades in Virginia, South Carolina, & Massachusetts

  • Planned the classes and assessments strategically, with selective college admissions requirements in mind

  • Successfully guided eldest child through the college admissions process and created his homeschool transcript, school profile, course descriptions, and counselor recommendation letter

COLLEGES I HAVE VISITED SINCE 2019:

Private - CA:

Caltech

California Lutheran

Chapman University

Claremont McKenna

Harvey Mudd

Loyola Marymount University

Occidental College

Pepperdine University

Pitzer College

Point Loma Nazarene University

Pomona College

Saint Mary's College of California

Scripps College

Stanford University

University of San Diego

University of San Francisco

University of Santa Clara

University of Southern California

University of the Pacific

University of Redlands

Westmont College

Public - CA:

Cal Maritime Academy

Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo

Cal State - San Marcos

San Diego State

San José State

UC Berkely

UC Davis

UC Irvine

UCLA

UC Merced

UC Riverside

UC San Diego

UC Santa Barbara

UC Santa Cruz

Public - VA:

Christopher Newport

College of William & Mary

George Mason University

James Madison University

University of Virginia

Virginia Tech

Federal Service Academy:

U.S. Air Force Academy

U.S. Naval Academy

Private - outside of CA:

American University

Amherst College

Colorado College

Davidson College

Denison University

Dickinson College

George Washington Univ

Gettysburg College

Johns Hopkins University

Juniata College

Landmark University

St. John's College (MD)

Swarthmore College

Trinity College

Union College

University of Richmond

Ursinus College

Wake Forest University

Washington & Lee University

Wesleyan University

Widener University

Williams College

Yale University

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