Services for College-Bound Students

We offer various college guidance programs, ranging from single session consultations to ongoing, comprehensive assistance throughout the college admissions process, depending on the age and needs of each student.

High School Planning – Single Session for students in 8th-9th grades:

Suitable for students in the 8th-9th grades, the High School Planning single session will provide each student, and their parents, with an understanding of the key factors that colleges consider when making admission decisions and a personalized curriculum, standardized testing, and extracurricular activity “roadmap” to follow during their high school years that will maximize their college options when it comes time to apply in 12th grade.

Over years of guiding students, we have consistently emphasized the importance that college admissions officers place on academic achievement in high school. Our experience has taught us that students who take demanding courses, relative to their ability, who follow through on these subjects at the most advanced level appropriate for them and succeed in those courses, have the best chances for acceptance. We encourage you to challenge yourself.

Taking appropriate courses – at the advanced or regular level – requires foresight and careful planning. Wrong choices at the beginning of high school could impact a student’s ability to take appropriate courses in their senior year. Thus, the earlier we meet with a student during their high school experience, the more we can help them map out an appropriate curricular program for their high school years.

Comprehensive College Guidance:

Our ongoing, Comprehensive Guidance program is suitable for students finishing 10th grade, currently in 11th grade, or approaching 12th grade who would benefit from ongoing support throughout their college process. It consists of:

• an initial consultation with the student and parent(s)
• an overview of the college admissions process
• a review and assessment of the student’s academic record and academic curriculum
• advice on standardized testing
• advice on extracurricular and summer activities
• advice on how best to communicate with colleges regarding special talents
• assistance in developing a preliminary college list and continued development of that list throughout the process
• interview practice and advice
• guidance on writing application essays and comments on drafts
• “Best Fit” advice after acceptances in the spring
• Advice on Wait List situations

We communicate frequently and remain available throughout the process to respond to questions and/or concerns, and continuously refine the college list, ultimately giving each student our collective analysis of the degree of difficulty of individual colleges to maximize optimum choices. It is our hope that each student will begin, if they have not already done so, to take ownership of this process. We believe that students are in a position to learn a great deal and be successful if they fully participate in our program.

Single Session Consultations:

A single session consultation may be sufficient for some families to address their questions and concerns about the college admissions process. While topics may vary depending on the needs of each student, in a single session we typically provide:

• An overview of the admissions process and key admission factors
• a review and assessment of the student’s academic record and advice on their curriculum
• advice on scheduling standardized testing
• advice on extracurricular and summer activities
• assistance in developing a preliminary college list, if appropriate

Prior to our consultation, we will review the student’s transcript, standardized testing record, and responses to our questionnaires to prepare for our discussion. A written summary of the discussion is provided following the meeting.

Please contact us for information on our fee schedule for these various programs.

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Student Resources

FAQ's from High School Seniors

Making the Most out of College - Tips from our Current College Students

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Class of 2011 College Acceptances Congratulations to all our graduating seniors on a job well done; you inspire us by your willingness to challenge yourselves and by your achievements!		Colleges visited by Dunbar Consultants recently
American University Assumption College Auburn University Babson College Bard College Bates College Belmont Abbey College Bentley University Binghamton University Boston College Boston University Brown University Bryant University Bryn Mawr College Bucknell University Carleton College Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University Chapman University Claremont McKenna College Clark University Coastal Carolina University Colby College Colgate University College of Charleston College of the Holy Cross College of William and Mary Columbia University Connecticut College Cornell University Dartmouth College Drew University Drexel University Duke University Elon University Emerson College Emory University Fairfield University Fordham University Franklin Pierce University Georgetown University Gettysburg College Hamilton College Harvard University High Point University Hofstra University Hood College Imperial College UK Indiana University Ithaca College James Madison University Johns Hopkins University La Salle University Lafayette College Lehigh University London School of Economics Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Maryland Loyola University New Orleans Lycoming College Lynchburg College Lynn University Macalester College Manhattanville College Marist College Massachusetts Institute of Technology Marymount Manhattan College Menlo College Miami University Ohio Michigan State University Muhlenberg College New England College New York University Nichols College Northeastern University Northwestern University Oberlin College Occidental College Pace University NYC Pennsylvania State University Pepperdine University Princeton University Providence College Purdue University Quinnipiac University Randolph College Randolph-Macon College	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rice University Roanoke College Rochester Institute of Technology Roger Williams University Rollins College Saint Anselm College Saint Joseph's University Salisbury University Santa Clara University Sarah Lawrence College Savannah College of Art and Design Siena College Skidmore College Southern Connecticut State University Southern Methodist University St. John's University St. Lawrence University Stanford University State University of NY at New Paltz Stevens Institute of Technology Stonehill College Stony Brook University Suffolk University Syracuse University Temple University The George Washington University The University of Alabama The University of Iowa The University of Scranton The University of Texas, Austin Trinity College Tufts University Tulane University Union College University of California at Berkeley University of California at Davis University of California at Irvine University of California at Los Angeles University of California at San Diego University of California at Santa Barbara University of Cambridge University of Chicago University of Colorado at Boulder University of Connecticut University of Dayton University of Delaware University of Denver University of Georgia University of Hartford University of Illinois at Chicago University of Kansas University of Maryland University of Miami University of Michigan University of New Hampshire University of North Carolina at Charlotte University of North Carolina at Wilmington University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania University of Rochester University of San Diego University of San Francisco University of South Carolina University of Southern California University of Vermont University of Virginia University of Washington University of Wisconsin Ursinus College Utica College Vanderbilt University Villanova University Virginia Wesleyan College Wagner College Wake Forest University Washington and Lee University Washington University in St. Louis Wesley College Wesleyan University Wheaton College, IL Wheaton College MA Xavier University Yale University	Air Force Academy American University American University of Paris Amherst Bard Bates Beloit Bennington Bentley Boston College Boston University Bowdoin Brown Bryn Mawr Bucknell Case Western Reserve Clemson Colgate College of Charleston College Living Experience College of William & Mary Dartmouth Dean Denison DePaul Dickinson Drexel Duke Earlham Elon Emerson Emory Fairfield University Franklin & Marshall Full Sail Furman George Mason George Washington Georgetown Gettysburg Guilford Hamilton Hampshire Hartwick Harvard Haverford Hobart William Smith Johns Hopkins Kenyon Lafayette Lake Forest College Lehigh Loyola College of Maryland Lynn University Manhattanville Maryland Institute College of Art Mass Bay Community College McDaniel Miami University, OH Mitchell Mount St. Mary’s Mt. Holyoke Muhlenberg	New College New England College Northern Arizona University Northwestern Oberlin Ohio Wesleyan Pepperdine Princeton Quinnipiac RPI Regis College, CO Ringling College of Art & Design Roger Williams Sarah Lawrence School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston Skidmore St. John’s, MD St. Lawrence Stetson Stevenson Swarthmore University of Tampa Tisch School of Arts, NYU Trinity, CT Tufts Union Univ of British Columbia Univ of Chicago University College, Galway Univ of Connecticut Univ of Georgia Univ of Massachusetts Univ of New England Univ of New Hampshire Univ of North Carolina Univ of Pennsylvania Univ of Richmond Univ of South Carolina Univ of Southern New Hampshire Univ of Vermont Univ of Virginia Univ of Wisconsin Ursinus Vassar Villanova Washington College Wellesley Wesleyan Wheaton College Williams Yale