Q. What exactly do you do?

A. From the initial search phase through final applications, we counsel our students to maximize on their educational opportunities by providing them with individualized support and meticulous attention to detail regarding all aspects of the highly competitive college admissions process. Once we have comprised a list of colleges, we encourage our students and parents to begin visiting these schools and we discuss the visits in an effort to find the most appropriate matches.

We help our students in planning the selection of courses and encourage them to excel in the most challenging yet appropriate classes. We discuss which teachers to ask for letters of recommendation and coach our students on how to "impress" their teachers and their guidance counselor so that their letters will eventually impress admissions counselors. We assist our students on how they can maximize on their extracurricular and summer pursuits and hone their passions. Our services also include: tutoring for SAT / ACT and other standardized tests, essay brainstorming sessions, essay revisions, resume and activity sheet construction, and assistance with "brag sheets" for letters of recommendation. We conduct mock interview consultations, help in the preparation of our students' applications, assist our students in demonstrating interest in particular colleges, and give ongoing professional advice.

Throughout the process, we have the expertise to help our students and their parents with all of their concerns and there are many! But, most importantly, we prepare our students to look their very best so that they will gain admission to the college of their choice and ultimately be successful and happy during their undergraduate or graduate years.

Q. My child has an excellent high school guidance counselor. Why do I need to hire an independent college counselor?

A. When high school guidance counselors and college advisors have case loads of 500 or more students and also have non-college counseling responsibilities, your child may not get the personal attention that he or she deserves. Also, not every high school guidance counselor is up to speed on the latest ins and outs of the college admissions process. The Ivy Coach offers that personal attention and individualized assistance with every aspect of the college admissions process.

Q. Why should I hire The Ivy Coach instead of another independent college counselor?

A. In the past twenty years, 100% of The Ivy Coach's students were accepted to one of their top three college choices and 93% were accepted to their first college choice. With our expertise in college admissions, we not only help our students get accepted at the college of their dreams, we help to alleviate the stress and frustration that students (and their parents) applying to college often experience.

There are several hundred independent college counselors in the U.S., very few of whom have relevant degrees, credentials, and experience. Many have put out a shingle and their "claim to fame" is that they have put their own children through the college admissions process. Bev Taylor, Founder of The Ivy Coach, worked for years as a high school guidance counselor on Long Island (New York) dealing with college admissions on a daily basis. During that time, she conducted an annual series of workshops for high school juniors and their parents to educate them on the most competitive college selection and admissions process.

As an independent college consulting practice, our team at The Ivy Coach has presented at seminars and workshops for guidance counselors and college admissions counselors through Peterson's, NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling), NYSACAC (New York State Association for College Admission Counseling), NCA (Nassau Counselors' Association), NJACAC (New Jersey Association for College Admission Counseling), the Scholarship Coordination Office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the Department of Education of the Government of China in Nanjing and Beijing, China, Johns Hopkins University: Center for Talented Youth Program (sponsored by Columbia University), the Youth Leadership Conference (sponsored by the Motorola Foundation), as well as for private corporations and high school college counseling departments in the United States and abroad.

In speaking engagements and seminars, our team at The Ivy Coach has addressed topics such as: the highly selective college admissions process, writing powerful college essays, preparing for alumni and campus interviews, writing inspiring letters of enthusiasm, obtaining dynamic teacher and counselor recommendations, understanding the early decision/action application process, discussing issues facing new counselors, and guiding students by employing their special talents and interests into internships, research opportunities, and summer college programs.

To provide the best possible service to our students, our team at The Ivy Coach attends regional and national conferences on college admissions. We continually travel throughout the United States and abroad visiting colleges and meeting with admissions staffs so that we can stay current on admissions trends and campus programs.

For the past twenty years, The Ivy Coach has been involved in educational consulting and independent college counseling. We work with high school students and their parents throughout the entire college admissions process from the initial search phase through final acceptances. It is our active involvement that facilitates our students' success in gaining admission to the most selective colleges of their choice.

Q. Since your name is The Ivy Coach, do you work with students who apply to all types of colleges or only with those who apply to Ivy League schools?

A. We have the expertise to help students gain acceptance at highly selective colleges and we use this expertise to help our students apply to all colleges.

Q. Do you work with students applying to boarding schools and, if so, how are the services that you provide different from those you provide for students applying to college?

A. We work with undergraduate and graduate school applicants, and, yes, we also work with boarding / prep school candidates. While the college and the boarding / prep school search and application process are very similar, the essay portions for the student and the parent on boarding / prep school applications are significantly more involved than most of the highly selective colleges. Each of these highly regarded and nationally known boarding / prep school applications have unique short answer and essay questions that require more work and time than a similar number of college applications. We work with students on all aspects of the boarding / prep school admissions process from the initial search, through applications, to final acceptances. However, unlike our students who apply for college admissions, our work doesn’t end with the student’s acceptances. Once completing this phase of the process, we then start on the college admissions process.

Q. I live in Montana so how can you work with my son?

A. Through telephone, e-mail, and webcam, we work with students from across the country and around the world. We are available seven days a week. Arrangements can also be made to have The Ivy Coach come to you.

Q. When should I hire The Ivy Coach to work with my child?

A. Many of our students come to us in their sophomore or junior year of high school, but we also work with students as early as eighth grade. The benefit to our clients in starting early is that we can help to maximize on the student’s academic curriculum, intellectual interests, and extracurricular activities. Another benefit of starting early is that since our fees go up annually, our clients are able to lock in our current rate.

Q. Do you work in conjunction with my child’s guidance counselor?

A. We have found that even though some guidance counselors may welcome the help from an independent college counselor, we prefer to work behind the scenes.

Q. Can you help my child get his best possible scores on the SATs or ACTs?

A. Yes. In addition to our college consulting services, we offer SAT, ACT, Subject Test and AP tutoring as well as GMAT, GRE, LSAT, SSAT, and ISEE. Our experienced tutors are all graduates of highly selective colleges, experts in their field, and have been able to help our students achieve significant increases in their standardized test scores. Our tutors' approach to test preparation is holistic, comprehensive, and targeted to boost the student’s areas of weakness.

Our tutors work with our students from across the country and around the world using cutting edge videoconferencing technology, making tutoring sessions totally interactive. The student and the tutor can see each other and chat just as if they are sitting next to each another. The instructor can upload problems to a whiteboard that both the tutor and the student can write on so that problems can be solved together, in a step-by-step approach. USB tablets make scribbling out notes a breeze whether they're solving an algebraic problem or analyzing a reading passage. If a student or parent wants to review a session at a later time, all tutorials are recorded in real-time and stored so that they can be easily accessed.

Q. What are your fees?

A. Our fees depend upon your needs. From our hourly consulting to our Unlimited-Hours Package, The Ivy Coach offers a variety of services. While one student may only require a 3-hour consultation, another student may require unlimited college consulting or our Unlimited-Hours Package. We currently offer 10-hour and 20-hour packages as well. We also offer an application review, a stats assessment, or hourly counseling on specific aspects of the college admissions process. If you would like more details as to our fees, please e-mail us with this request or complete our form.

Q. Thank you for all of your patience, knowledge, and advice for Colleen!! She was accepted at all three colleges to which she applied Early Action – Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Boston College Honors Program. We really appreciate how you took her on only a few days before the applications were due, how you worked around-the-clock and until the wee hours in the morning with our daughter so that she would finish all of her essays and applications to meet the deadlines. There’s just one thing - while we are so grateful to you, my husband and I are amazed that you charge more than a lawyer or a physician. There goes Colleen’s dream of having a car! Regards, Barbara

A. We like to think that our services are worth more than a car which depreciates in value as it’s driven off the lot. An education, on the other hand, continues to appreciate. Also, while we’re sure that there are very few doctors or lawyers who would work with a patient / client throughout the day and until 4:00 in the morning on consecutive days, instead of our fees being compared to a doctor or lawyer, it might be more appropriate to compare them to a consultant in an industry with a high demand for experts and few people with that expertise. Our clients hire us because they feel that they’re going to be investing over $200,000 in their child’s undergraduate education and to spend an additional 10-20% to get the best possible education, the most prestigious degree, and eventually the job of their dreams with a commensurate income, is money well spent. We’re thrilled that Colleen was accepted at all of her top three choices and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.