Why Choose College Zoom
Knowing Your College's Rubric Inspires The Best Version of Your Child.
"I just got off of the phone with my son and I don't even recognize him! He is more sure of himself, focused, organized...he sounds a lot like you. [Laughing]. The way he reacts to things is different, too. He is no longer reactive, flustered, and anxious. What have you done with my son!??? [More laughing]. Wow. I'm so glad we found College Zoom."
— Surja H., Son matriculated to UC Berkeley, Class of 2021.
Posted on GoogleTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. If I could give 100 stars, I would. Our son, Jack, is now attending the University of Southern California (Fight On ✌🏼) after a stressful transfer appeal due in large part to his hard work and the miraculous help of David and Griffin from College Zoom. I truly wish we retained College Zoom when Jack first applied to USC while in high school. We were especially excited when he was personally interviewed by a faculty member in his major. But then the rejection came. Undaunted, Jack told us he would apply again during his freshman year at his second choice. My research showed the odds to transfer from his first year were much lower than if he waited until his second year. Nevertheless, he was determined. Jack applied to transfer in February with only one semester under his belt. On the last day of decisions, he learned he was denied. He only had three days left to appeal. Frantic, defeated, distraught, we turned to College Zoom based on high recommendations from friends. The appeal would need to cover more than a technical glitch beyond Jack’s control. The thoroughness of David and Griffin was unbelievable. They studied every aspect of Jack’s applications and interviewed him at length to get to know him. Together, they worked on one last effort to demonstrate Jack’s distinction. With the appeal filed at the midnight hour, we were told to expect a decision by the end of August. Jack received his admission notification in earl June! We are convinced that it was David and Griffin’s unique insight, their personalized care and the white glove treatment that helped get Jack over the finish line. We are eternally grateful and the stellar reviews are well deserved.Posted on GoogleTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Got into USC for Fall Through an Appeal At the start of the college admissions process, I chose not to get outside help. I figured I could manage everything on my own. I was told by many that I had a good shot at my top schools including Ivies, but the results were disappointing: waitlists and rejections, including from my dream school, USC. I was heartbroken and sadly began to accept I wouldn’t be going to a top school. Then I came across a College Zoom TikTok about appealing USC decisions. I decided to try and wrote an appeal on my own, but I knew it wasn’t strong. With just three days left before the deadline, I reached out to College Zoom. They responded immediately and set up a meeting with Preston, who helped me completely rewrite the appeal from the ground up. For the first time, I felt like I was telling my real story. He encouraged me to include parts of my journey I never realized were important. Yesterday, I got the news: my appeal was accepted. And not just for spring—which is already rare—I got in for fall. I truly could not have done this without College Zoom. They didn’t just help me write a better appeal; they reminded me that it was still worth trying. I’m so thankful I didn’t give up, and I will be recommending them to my younger family members and friends. Thank you College Zoom!!Posted on GoogleTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I am currently a senior and joined college Zoom junior year. With the help of College Zoom, I was accepted into USC's Iovine and Young Academy, Tufts, Emory, Georgia Tech, Northeastern, U Miami, University of Richmond, University of Maryland, Loyola Marymount University, University of Santa Clara, Chapman University, and Fordham University. A'Lira helped me develop my extracurriculars starting junior year, which was a crucial piece in my acceptance to most of the schools I got into. Griffin and Riley helped me develop essays and common app components, which I could tell were significantly more detailed and compelling compared to my classmates who used other counselors. My biggest worries were making sure I had the right academic qualifications and impressive extracurriculars. A'Lira helped guide me to take the right classes along with flushing out my extracurriculars. I chose College Zoom because they emphasized the importance of using all parts of the application to make myself stand out, as well as their track record. What I found particularly impactful was that A'Lira was able to help me make my entrepreneurial mindset shine in my application. Overall, my College Zoom experience has been amazing, and with their help, I was able to get into my dream school (USC).Posted on GoogleTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I cannot express my gratitude and utmost respect for the professionalism, dedication and kindness of David, Aisa and the whole CollegeZoom team. Our daughter just graduated a high school in California. Since the 9th grade, I knew she had a bit of uncertainty about her abilities but she really wanted to go to a top college when the time comes. As we have not graduated our higher education in the US, it was hard for us to comprehend and navigate through the complicated State and national college system. But we knew our daughter deserved to have a fair shot. Therefore. i decided to use David and the team. I was skeptical to use the most popular and expensive companies on the East coast for counseling and, I also couldn’t really find the value behind the service. And this is how I started exploring options and I found CollegeZoom and David. I was sure, by reading the reviews, that they were the perfect match for my daughter and never disappointed. CollegeZoom helped shape my daughter into a better person, taught her how to focus on the important things, invest her energy in the things she enjoyed, and focus on a consistent approach / strategy for her applications. While she did all the work, they support was invaluable - they are the counsel that would help shape the qualities of a candidate in order to stand out from the crowd. The most important thing is not the college admission - that was just the outcome. The important thing was that nu daughter became a better, more confident, more motivate and inspired person and grew significantly in the last 3 years. She was accepted: 1) USC - merit scholarship 2) UC Davis 3) UC Santa Barbara - merit scholarship 4) UC Berkley - merit scholarship / Honors program 5) UCLA 6) NYU - merit scholarship While we still have to decide where to commit, knowing that you have a choice of a few top schools in her field of interest makes us feel really proud and happy. I highly recommend CollegeZoom and the whole team - I am extremely thankful, grateful and satisfied with their services.Posted on GoogleTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Excellent experience. Guided us about where to focus our application journey and we’re pretty spot on in predicting where my daughter would get in with her profile.Posted on GoogleTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. As a graduating senior who started college zoom as a junior, I can say that they helped me tremendously throughout the whole process with finding schools, and bringing my application to the next level with things I would've never thought about if they hadn't taught me. I got into all my top schools and didn't get one rejection (just waitlist) from my highest reach schools. I think this company is an excellent option to go with.Posted on GoogleTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. The College Zoom Team are literally angels on earth; they work miracles!! I am a transfer student from a midwestern public state school that is now attending the University of Pennsylvania (an Ivy league)! When I came to College Zoom, I felt like a lost case. I had previously been rejected from my dream schools, so I had settled on attending my hometown university for two years with the goal of working hard enough to try again as a Junior transfer applicant. Additionally, I had a lot of high intensity hardships to unpack that I was very nervous about sharing in my essays. College Zoom helped me craft my experiences and personal adversities into an application that demonstrated my perseverance while highlighting my commitment to community impact throughout these struggles. Though I had been rejected from the University of Pennsylvania as a high school applicant (when I applied with no help, significantly lowering my chances to be admitted in the future), I was accepted with a lower than 4% chance as a transfer student! I was also accepted to New York University, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Boston University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Fashion Institute of Technology! Overall, I would not change my experience applying to universities as a transfer student in the slightest because College Zoom was there to support me through the entirety of the process. Though I started working with them merely weeks before my first application was due, the team stepped up to help immediately, meeting with me within 48 hours of my first consultation request. They emailed me back immediately when I messaged them undignified hours of the night as I stressed over last minute concerns, providing personalized & proactive input throughout my application. Further, they provided a safe space for me to share my personal traumas in order to effectively express my experiences in essay format. I want to especially thank Griffin Damron, Wendy Liu, David Reynaldo, Jackson Burgess, and Aisa Castro for their diligence and kindness throughout this process. I do not believe I would have been so successful as a transfer applicant without their support. I would choose College Zoom again in a heartbeat.Posted on GoogleTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. As a low-income student from a competitive high school within the Bay Area, trusting College Zoom with the college process has been one of the best decisions I have made for my future. With their help I ended up being accepted into all 3 of my top choices: USC, Claremont Mckenna, and UCLA. I was the only one to be admitted EA from my school into USC. Furthermore I was accepted into a program in Marshall with a below 5% acceptance rate (WBB) + earned the Presidential Scholarship. Now, I had consulted with many other consultants before choosing College Zoom and out of all of them, College Zoom is the only one that was genuine. For example, many consulting firms skew their success rates by persuading students to make more 'accessible' schools their top choice. David and Jackson never did this with me. I came into the process wanting the three schools above, and they supported me through and through. Even when I felt as though I could not compete with those around me and that the odds of acceptance were stacked against me, they encouraged me take risks and showed me how to skillfully do so. I nearly did not apply to WBB out of fear of rejection into both the program and USC in general, but it was David and Jackson that pushed me to take the step towards my dreams. The applications they have helped me crafted are a true representation of who I am, and it will forever be something I am proud of. College Zoom does not try to gain acceptance by changing any of their students or through the use of any loopholes or depending on any brand names etc etc. The only thing College Zoom does is help their clients reach their own maximum potential. Especially with college being so competitive now, I have noticed how many of my peers' consultants charged them 2x or 3x the price of College Zoom while not investing into them half as much as College Zoom did with me. Many of my peers that had other consultants dreaded their counselor meetings and sadly many did not end up with the results they had hoped for. While working with David and Jackson, I felt and saw that they cared for my future AND my well-being as much as my parents did; this is very rare in this industry. The uniqueness of College Zoom's methods is what used to scare me (at one point I almost made the mistake of not choosing them because I was blinded by other firms that were more 'stats driven'), but now that I have been through the process my only regret is not starting my process with College Zoom earlier. If I had College Zoom's mentorship earlier on, I believe my high school experience would have been less confusing and stressful. Before College Zoom, I was a carbon copy of a stereotypical high achieving Bay Area student — spreading myself so thin trying to do everything those around me were. Although I do have gratitude for the lessons I learned from the chaos, I am sadden that I had wasted nearly half my high school career doing things only for the sake of an application that actually turn out to be ineffective. Only College Zoom made me realize this and showed me how I could use my energy and time doing much more rewarding and enjoyable activities. My efforts most definitely would have been placed elsewhere and I would have had more time to enjoy my beginning years of high school if I had College Zoom's mentorship earlier on. When I trusted College Zoom, I found that the college process truly does not have to be a draining and difficult journey. I came out of this process as an individual who now understands that a title or brand name is not what makes you stand out. Instead, it's how you lean into your uniqueness and use lateral thinking to make an impact that will drive you to success. Only at College Zoom was I taught this lesson, and it will be one that I will carry on with me at USC and beyond!
The Top 10 Reasons Students & Parents Choose College Zoom
1 Make Your College's Rubric Your Personalized Answer Key
2 See If You Meet Any College's True Minimum Bar of Admission
3 Adjust the Bar's Height to Your High School's Specific Curve
4 Tailor Your Strategy to Fit Your Teen's Gaps and Personality
5 Demonstrate Intellectual Fit Authentically for Each College
6 Use the Entire Application to Compel, Not Just the Essays
7 Let Us Manage Deadlines, Milestones and Timelines
8 Execute Plans With Close 1-on-1 Guidance That Motivates Teens
9 Get Smarter Action Steps, Achieve More In Less Time
10Think Ingeniously for Life, Well Beyond Admission
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We Decode the Rubrics Your Colleges Grade Your Teen On
College Admissions Isn’t a Mystery When You Have the Admissions Office's Answer Key
We’ve transformed the evaluative rubrics that are used by elite admissions offices into strategic planning tools. Instead of guessing how favorably your teen will be judged, we start with a personalized gap analysis to evaluate your teen the way their colleges will. Know exactly what your teen is missing for their desired colleges.
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2
Each College's True Bar of Admission is Revealed
When Your Teen Sees the Bar, They Can Reach the Bar
We identified the true bar of admission by studying "miracle" acceptances. With below-average academics, they have the lowest viable profiles that are still rewarded by each college's rubric. We use this data in our College-Specific Gap Analysis™ to reveal (a) if your teen has already met the invisible bar of admission or (b) has gaps they must close to be competiitve .
Pictured
College Zoom founder David Reynaldo presenting at the University of Southern California's Summer@USC
3
We Adjust the Bar of Admission for Your Specific High School
The Bar of Admission Moves Up or Down Based on Your High School's Competitive Curve
How does a student get into an elite college with 6 APs while another needs 17? They attend different high schools. We measure the exact competitive curve of your teen's school to determine which advanced courses are non-negotiable. This context pinpoints exactly which advanced classes a school like UCLA expects from your teen’s specific environment—and which classes your teen can succeed without. No wasted effort, no missed opportunities.
4
Your Teen's Strategy is Personalized to Their Gaps
Our Students Love the Final Years of Childhood They Get to Design
We transform extracurricular planning into a real-world, choose-your-own-adventure game—one that’s fun, rewarding, and deeply inspiring. First, we use HeroType™ to identify your teen's innate "superpowers." Then, we create a differentiation strategy centered on a unique hero’s journey for your teen. Competitiveness for specific colleges is tracked on a personalized admissions office rubric, complete with a timeline for 'leveling up' and clear milestones.
5
Demonstrate the Intellectual Fit Your Teen's Colleges Expect
Your Teen's Intellect Can Stand Out Across Eras, Not Just Among Their Peers
Top colleges prize interdisciplinary thinking, especially in scientific research and innovative problem solving. Look closely: it's encoded into each of their educational philosophies and mission statements. We mentor students to find ways to integrate their natural silos of interests in ways they never would have imagined—like artificial intelligence and elder/grandparent care, or interior design and therapeutic intervention. This empowers teens to solve problems in the exact ways that elite colleges reward, step by step, phase by phase.
6
Narrativize the Whole Application to Shine, Not Just the Essays
College Applications are Reviewed Holistically—Write Them That Way
Did you know? Each college application requires 5 to 7 pages of writing. Essays are 28% of the UC application and 50% of the Common Application. We optimize every page. Our essay coaching is trauma-informed and therapy-based, empowering teens to uncover stories they never would have considered touching. The result: a tapestry of high-impact narratives.
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7
Managed Deadlines, Milestones, and Timelines
Maximizing Potential Doesn't Happen by Intention Alone—It Happens By Design
Over 17 years, we’ve distilled the college application process into a personalized, honed science—perfected down to the pacing of every meeting. We can finish a whole application in fewer hours than many college consultants can perfect a few essays. Off-the-shelf client management systems couldn’t keep up—so we designed our own from scratch so that our performance is always our best, and so is yours.
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Standing Out Scares Teens — So We Execute With Them, 1-on-1
Teens Won't Leave Their Comfort Zone Unless They Feel Heroic.
A stronger college application requires a stronger young adult. Every young adult transforms through a hero's journey, which reveals their hidden talent. Our HeroType™ diagnostic identifies your teen's hidden talent. Then, we design personalized quests that allow their inner hero to emerge. They get to choose their quest, style of play, and the prize that motivates their ascension. Then, we execute beside them, step-by-step.
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9
Clear, Actionable Steps That Accelerate Excellence
Every Student’s Breakthrough Becomes Everyone’s Advantage.
A Curriculum Honed Through 17 Years of Meticulous Innovation.
All sessions are led by in-house employees who collectively advance our curriculum as researcher-practitioners. We routinely study not only final applications, but also live coaching meetings—evaluating timing, impact, and student motivation.
When a breakthrough technique or a more efficient method is observed, it is protocoled and implemented across the entire team as the new standard. The result: our best methodology to date is also our fastest.
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10
Beyond Admissions — We Build Ingenious Minds for Life
The First Step to Becoming Extraordinary is Doing Extra to the Ordinary
We help students see beyond college admissions to become the kind of thinkers and leaders that admissions officers seek—more self-aware, more visionary, more reflective, more ingenious. That’s why many our students write their own testimonials. A process that changes you matters more.
Posted on YelpDaniel L.Verified College Zoom was instrumental in my success with college applications. I've gotten into more schools than I could ever even dream about, and Harvard is where I will be going for the next four years. When I started the CZ program, my vision was that Yale and the Naval Academy were my unlikely 10% chance dreams, while I'd realistically have a 50% chance of landing at Purdue (which is still a great school nonetheless), and a 40% at a Vanderbilt or Northwestern-level school. When I got into the Naval Academy, I thought that would be it. And then came Yale, where at that point I applied to Harvard and Princeton more or less to put my name in the drawing hat. But to be standing here at the end of the journey, having gotten into all of these top universities as an engineering major, I truly never could've dreamed it at the beginning. It was only possible with CZ's help, between the hours and hours poured into the personal statement, supplementals, cutting and rewriting the activity sheet. They told me exactly how to fill out each section of my applications in the optimal way, while leaving ample room for me to represent myself through my own words. And when it came to college interviews - the part I was most nervous for - CZ provided me with ample practice and resources to gain the confidence I needed. I know that without their guidance and organization, I would've been lost in the process and fallen behind quickly. Before applications started, its college planning package helped me by pushing me to create a Passion Project in high school. I tended to be someone with strong academics and average extracurriculars, and this concept pushed me to lead impactfully within the computer science club at my school - which, looking back, was both very important to my applications and is something I value even beyond college admissions. As someone who tended to shy away from leadership activities like these, without CZ's encouragement for me to pursue them, I would've missed out on a lot of opportunities for self-development in high school so I am grateful for its guidance in this respect as well. All in all, CZ's straightforward and effective guidance, in conjunction with its reasonable cost, made it the best choice for me! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this organization to others. It's been awesome working with them, and I owe my success with the application cycle to them.Posted on YelpTanay K.Verified I had the great opportunity to work with College Zoom through their high school counseling service, and also for my college applications. Before working with them, I was extremely tensed about college applications as I had no experience and extracurriculars in the field of major I intended to study due to all of my time being invested in playing a sport competitively. However, as I worked with Jackson, Aisa, David, Griffin, and Riley, I was able to successfully navigate the college application process, understanding what I needed to do and how I was supposed to approach it. Something College Zoom did really well was addressing their reasoning and rationale as to why a certain process had to be used, whether it was figuring out a topic to write my common app essay on, or even just the structure of my activity sheet. Everyone at College Zoom had a welcoming and proactive attitude, something that allowed me to push to make my application as strong as I could. Although I had a good GPA yet lacked the extracurriculars I needed for the field I was going into, with whatever small amount of time I had before applying to college, College Zoom was able to provide resources and ideas for me to pursue that would help strengthen my application. In the end, College Zoom and their guidance through the college application process allowed me to get into UC Berkeley, a dream school of mine that I did not expect being able to even get into. If I had to end on a single note, I'd say that College Zoom thoroughly allowed me to feel confident in my application, something I feel is absolutely necessary in the college admission process. I'm extremely glad to have chosen College Zoom to work with, and would wholeheartedly recommend them!Posted on YelpJulian C.Verified The team at College Zoom was the BEST!!!! I worked with Jackson since Junior year focused on college planning and then later with Adya on essay development for the applications themselves; as a result, I was admitted to my top choice UCLA, as well as UC Berkeley! Going into the planning process, my family and I were nothing short of stressed. Everyone has a different opinion on how to approach preparing for applications, however, College Zoom's tried and true, straightforward, in-depth methodology helped me develop a solid framework from start to finish of the college application process. When I started with them, I was sort of just going through the motions and was socially reclusive. With the guidance of Jackson, however, I was able to find a passion project of my own to devote time into and ended up forming an entire global network with friends all centered around a common passion (Improv Comedy). Not only did they help teach me leadership skills via their unique resources on how to apply psychological concepts to developing a unique edge, but they allowed me to focus on topics that genuinely interested me. These are not the kind of counsellors that will force you to do a project for a project's sake; they are focused on long term development which is one of the reasons why we chose them in the first place. Overall, I really don't know what I would have done without their guidance. I feel completely at ease knowing I'm not only going to my dream school but also equipped with the social skills needed to take my learning outside of the classroom at UCLA. Thank you College Zoom!!Posted on YelpAndie Y.Verified Working with College Zoom, I was accepted by UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, Northeastern University, Boston College, University of Washington, Syracuse University, and Westmont College admissions. I ended up committing to UC Berkeley and have fallen in love with college. My biggest worry about applying to colleges was that I did not have a specific major or career in mind yet. I was nervous to apply as an undeclared major as I thought it would decrease my chances at admissions. Yet, College Zoom demystified this for me and helped transform my diverse range of interests and personal experiences into a compelling narrative that was uniquely mine. I chose to work with College Zoom because of how they believe strongly in each student's Passion Project. As someone who struggles with standardized testing, I really appreciate how College Zoom focuses on sharing a story through your Passion Project- more than just a GPA or SAT stat, your application represents you as a person. I was able to provide a story of my drive and compassion through my applications because of this. On a more personal note, College Zoom gave me more than just college/career counseling. Throughout the application process, I learned more about myself and my counselors' stories as well. This empowered me to become more proactive and open-hearted in my own life. Coming out of College Zoom, the relationships I've built with the team are something I will forever be grateful for.Posted on YelpF C.Verified College Zoom is a company we would wholeheartedly recommend. David Reynaldo and his team are not only brilliant, but also responsive, honest, and exhibit much integrity. We interviewed several college prep companies, and felt that College Zoom was the least commercial and never pushy. We trusted them in the application process (they are also very efficient/organized without losing the personal attention), and our son got offers from U Michigan and Carnegie Mellon, among others. He is now a Junior at NYU (Stern). As an international student, it was double as difficult to be admitted to competitive US colleges. We are very happy that we chose College Zoom.Posted on YelpSermon L.Verified College Zoom helped both of my daugthers and my nephew's college applications. I think repeat engagements speak loudly of their quality work and ethics. I highly recommend College Zoom if you or your child is a self-motivated student. For my first daugther, I interviewed 4 consultants over the phone or video chats in the very last minutes (October) during the pandemic admission cycle when I realized I had no idea how to help her stand out from mountains of applications for Ivys during this crazy period. College Zoom jumped out from the crowds with their lightling fast response by owner David, and the very structured and efficient program he showed me. In additions, David's insight into this unique cycle was refreshing. No other consultants pointed out the craziness, which prepared us well in terms of expectations. She was accepted to Stern at NYU, USC, and U of Virginia. They were not Ivys she wanted, but Stern ended up was a great fit for her. She is exceling and secured a full-time offer from a top bank a year ahead of graduation. My nephew who also applied at the same time was admitted to UC Berkeley. His family wasn't familiar with college admission counseling as they were immigrants. The family was not too worry at first because their other 2 sons got into UCLA (transfers), which was what they wanted. However, when SAT requirement was removed, we know he would be facing the same issue as my daughter. And he didn't have unique/difficult background, impressive extra-curriculum activities, nor any "projects" he did to put into his applications. They jumped on board as soon as they talked to David. The way they structured his personal statement refocusing the reviewers to his characters and potentials with interesting stories made him a memorable applicant. And my younger one who applied in 2022-23 cycle sweeped top 5 UCs. I was concerned about her candidacy for our 1st choice UCLA because of her "invisible illness", which inhibited her to participate in sports and even simply focus in classes or tests. Her counselor Griffin and David, were great in helping her frame her story and guiding her with additional projects she could do during the summer to stand out. Their strategy paid off. Their knowledge of the application review process helped her demonstrate qualities the universities were looking for. She got proficient in formulating personal statement "angles" and created a club to help many of her classmates in their UC applications as well. The UC acceptances definitely boosted her confidence in her ability despite her limitations. BTW, did I mention that they all went to public schools in Los Angeles and had no real help from their schools? CollegeZoom surely did magic on their applications! They are not going to satisfy everyone. Do discuss your needs in the info session to make sure they are a fit.Posted on YelpChris L.Verified Working with CollegeZoom as a transfer student was an unforgettable experience. As a high school senior, I was rejected by every school except for my safety (applied to T20s, UC's). It felt like all of my efforts in high school amounted to nothing. Motivated to try to transfer to a school I thought I deserved to be at and would be a better fit in, I asked CollegeZoom to help me through the transfer process (which was much more difficult than freshman apps in my opinion). Fast forward a few months, I was admitted to Chapman, Michigan, Tulane, Vanderbilt, and USC (attending!). I finally had the privilege of choosing which college fit me best-- a scenario I could have only dreamed of a year ago. Looking back, I've realized that CollegeZoom doesn't just help you with college apps. They transform you into a person who takes action and writes their own script in life. As a college freshman, CollegeZoom empowered me to become a leader on campus and pursue my passion for mental health advocacy using mindfulness techniques. Now, I'm implementing their lessons into my resume and interviews haha. My first year of college tested me more than ever, but the help of Aisa (especially with her psychology background), Wendy, Griffin, and Jackson definitely made the entire process that much easier and more impactful. I am so much more capable than I was a year ago, and I credit CollegeZoom for giving me the tools to maximize my potential and instilling in me the belief that I can make the world a better place if I put enough time and effort in the right place :)Posted on YelpParantap L.Verified I am so glad that we chose CollegeZoom as my son's college counselor. My son got accepted at UCSB with a major in Engineering he is really excited about. During the high school years when we were choosing an external counselor, we were really worried about making the right call. After talking to a set of counselors we decided to go with CollegeZoom, since we were impressed by David's direct no-nonsense approach of making my son feel responsible and accountable for the outcome of his college admission preparation. CollegeZoom provided not only a proper structure to identify the areas of additional work, but also helped him in brainstorming to identify them. They taught him techniques to study more efficiently and helped him all the way to the end by helping him write the essays. They were a trusted partner all through. This process brought out more maturity out of my son for sure, and I am indeed glad that we chose CollegeZoom for my son on this journey.Posted on YelpSophia B.Verified I had an absolutely wonderful experience with College Zoom. I am currently a senior in high school and will be attending UC Berkeley this coming fall. I had the privilege of struggling to make a decision between other colleges I was accepted to such as NYU, Boston University, Northeastern, Carnegie Mellon, UCSD and many more. This year, the college process was definitely one of the hardest, and many of my peers, were not accepted into any of their top choices, match schools, and for some, even safeties! I don't believe this is because of what they did in high school, as many of them had more impressive grades and extracurriculars than me. I think I was accepted to these colleges because College Zoom helped me accurately frame my application and story to my colleges. They had specialists for each application process, including essay writing, the activity list, and even advice on how to strengthen my current extracurricular activities before I started writing applications (love you Aisa). They also made sure I stayed on top of work through emails and meetings, and I did not suffer the last minute procrastination of college applications that I totally would have without them. I was definitely worried I wouldn't be able to show my voice as a person in my applications, and college zoom helped convey my personality to the admissions officers. Could not recommend them and their method enough, 1000% worth it.Pictured: Actual client to college to career.
Most College Admissions Advice is Oversimplified
The harder the college, the more nuanced the winning strategies are.