CollegewiseReviews of collegewise.com

Collegewise and Sam Joustra did a wonderful job guiding our youngest daughter during her college application process. She got into her top choice via ED in December. We wish we had used Sam and Collegewise for our older two daughters. I recommend them without reservation. Prompt, caring and very professional, Sam won our confidence early on. Our daughter is very independent and organized but this is such a busy time for high school kids! The extra help really makes a difference. She supplemented my daughter's research into colleges with a lot of valuable suggestions. She was also a coach guiding her on time and stress management. We let our daughter navigate the process mostly on her own with Sam's guidance. Sam was always prompt in giving us email summaries of the meetings and answering my questions or providing additional information.

Holy moly the college process is SO different than when my husband and I did it! Our experiences and knowledge were based on a pre-internet world with a relatively simple application process. Our goal in finding a college counselor was always focused on finding experts who could streamline this very complicated system as much as possible for our daughter. For us, it was not about "the best" school, but the "the best fit." Our daughter knew she wanted to go to college but didn't have any sense of what she wanted to study beyond "nothing to do with math or science." The college process is overwhelming to begin with and much more so for a student without a clear sense of study or destination. We considered a couple programs and landed with Collegewise -- we couldn't have been happier. Their approach and process had logic and deep expertise behind it all. I loved the way our counselor Laura talked with, listened to, and learned about our daughter directly from her. Laura moved the ball forward and narrowed the path. The updates we received assured us that all was on track. This allowed me to just be mom and not have to nag about deadlines or the long list of "shoulds" that exist during these high school years. It allowed me to thoroughly enjoy my role as director of field trips during our college visits knowing we were only visiting places that made sense. By the start of senior year, there was a manageable and strategically curated list of colleges for my daughter to submit applications to. On the list was a college we had never heard of. It was a recommendation Laura had given our daughter and it ended up being the place she decided to attend. She had many good acceptances but Laura's recommendation has been the perfect fit for her. After one semester, she is thriving and I can't imagine her at any other place. The funds we used for Collegewise were dollars well spent. Our daughter's high school didn't have any post-graduation assistance so it would have landed all on our laps to manage it. I'm thankful we could remain mom/dad and not have to be coach/teacher/counselor. Our daughter is thankful too! I can't imagine having gone through that process without Laura and Collegewise. They get 6 stars out of 5. PS: The emails and webinars for parents, along with the Collegewise podcasts, were fabulous bonus items along the way. It often gave me perspective and helped me feel up-to-speed on the current college application process realities.

I got into my top choice college. My advisor, Sam Joustra, provided helpful insight into researching colleges and brainstorming ideas. It would not have been as smooth of a process without her.

We were so impressed with our first introduction to Collegewise, and what would be offered. At first we were very reluctant to "waste" a lot of money on something that didn't initially feel necessary. Our daughter's private school has a built in college advising team, and we are very involved parents who had the time to guide our daughter throughout the process. However, due to the fact that "everyone was hiring a consultant,' according to our daughter, we gave in so she wasn't the "only one" without a consultant. We hit the jackpot when our daughter was assigned to work with Sam Joustra. It took no time to realize that "giving in" to our daughter's request for a consultant was the best thing we could have done! From the beginning we identified that Sam was not only diligent and organized, but genuinely kind and caring. She followed through with everything she promised, and kept our daughter on top of everything throughout the process. In addition, Sam sent summary notes to us after every meeting she had with our daughter. This was so helpful because we didn't have to bother our daughter about all the details of the meeting. When these kids are going through this process, sometime they want to talk all about it and sometimes they don't. Sam was honest, yet encouraging with our daughter when she started to make her college list. During the summer before her senior year, our daughter had already written most of the essays (20+) to the schools she was applying to. Collegewise has an editing team that reviews the essays. When our daughter entered her senior year with a heavy class load of many AP, honors classes and sports, she did not have the added stress of doing college applications. She applied EA to most of her schools and ED to one school. In early December our daughter learned she was accepted at her ED school. We owe Collegewise, and Sam Joustra especially, for helping to pave the way for our daughter to submit a successful application to her top school.

I am a senior in high school and I worked with Sam Joustra this year trying to find a school that was right for me. She was very helpful in the process of narrowing down where and what kind of environment I wanted to be in and was very organized which made things much easier for me. I started this experience feeling very stressed and overwhelmed and once I started meeting with Sam, it started to feel fun and exciting. She was a great listener and was able to help me find programs and schools that were right for me.

I have a heartfelt appreciation for the outstanding college counseling service provided by your team, and in particular, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to @Courtney Flint & @Kim Haselholf for their exceptional professionalism and patience throughout the process. Both are evident in every interaction we had. They are not only knowledgeable about the intricacies of college admissions but also took the time to ensure that we were well-informed and comfortable with each step. Their attention to detail and commitment to delivering high-quality service made a significant impact on our experience, and we are grateful for the positive influence on Aiden's college application journey.

My wife and I were looking into college counseling for our niece whose parents are pretty hands off. We wanted to make sure we “got it right” for her and interviewed a bunch of companies like IvyWise, Crimson Education, local counselors and Collegewise. Collegewise was the first company we really felt heard. We initially spoke with Shannon who was honest, transparent and patient. We’ve really enjoyed the webinars and hearing from Kevin. Collegewise really seems to care a lot about each student which is refreshing to see. There’s not this pressure we felt with other companies to push students to top schools if that’s not their goal - I think this is really important. We’re waiting a few more months to get started as our niece is still quite young but look forward to working with Collegewise soon.

Collegewise was an excellent decision for me and my family. It eased much of the tension out of the innately stressful college application process. My Collegewise counselor, Mrs.Ashley Meyer, helped me to write stellar essays and get into my dream schools. She helped me through hard times and tough deadlines, and I am eternally grateful. If you want to help your child through this process, Collegewise is a fantastic program.