Collegewise Reviews 619

Jared was an incredible resource throughout my college search. He helped me build a well-rounded college list that actually fit what I was looking for, and guided me through the application and essay process every step of the way. He always stayed organized and on top of deadlines, which made what could have been a really stressful experience feel manageable. I'd highly recommend him to any student navigating the college process.

Sarah was very helpful and on top of every deadline

Jared Rivers has been an exceptional counselor for my son through Collegewise. His guidance has been thoughtful, strategic, and genuinely personalized. He took the time to understand my son's strengths, interests, and aspirations, and translated that into a clear, confident college application approach.

What truly stands out about Jared is his ability to balance high expectations with encouragement. He provided honest feedback while keeping my son motivated and focused throughout the process. His insights into college selection, essays, and overall positioning were incredibly valuable and made a noticeable difference in both clarity and confidence.

Beyond his expertise, Jared is approachable, responsive, and deeply invested in his students’ success. We always felt that our son was in very capable hands.

I would highly recommend Jared Rivers to any family looking for a knowledgeable, supportive, and results-driven college counselor.

I had Sarah Turner as my college counselor, and I couldn’t recommend her more. She was extremely helpful in keeping me on top of my deadlines and assignments. Sarah is an excellent communicator and was always quick to set up meetings after I reached out. In addition, she was very accurate in predicting admission decisions and helped me build a well-balanced college list. I wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without her support and guidance. I ended up getting into—and enrolling in—one of my reach schools, which I believe is largely due to Sarah’s strategic counseling. If you’re looking for someone reliable, supportive, and helpful throughout the college application process, I highly recommend working with Sarah Turner and Collegewise.

I am so grateful that my son had such an outstanding experience working with Jared Rivers at
Collegewise.
I was first introduced to Collegewise through its free webinars. After that, I had a long
conversation with one of the intake counselors, who thoughtfully matched our son with Mr.
River. He is incredibly experienced and turned out to be the perfect fit for our family.
As immigrants and a first-generation parent, Jared’s help meant a tremendous amount to me.
He was always thinking ahead, taking his time, and guiding us with care through every step of
the process. He created a college application action plan that worked around our son’s very
busy schedule, and he truly listened to what mattered most to him.
Mr. Rivers was not only patient with our son, but with parents as well. He took the time to
answer all of my questions and made me feel supported throughout the entire journey.
With Mr. Rivers' help, my son was recently admitted ED1 and will be attending his first-choice
college this fall. Thank you! I would highly recommend him to any family that needs help
navigating the college application process.

Our experience with Collegewise—and especially with our counselor, Lori Jones—was truly exceptional. From the very beginning of our college search journey, Collegewise made what can be an overwhelming process feel manageable, personalized, and even exciting. Our son is passionate about pursuing a major in Marine Biology, and Lori helped guide him thoughtfully toward finding universities that were the best academic and personal fit.
We began working with Lori during our son’s sophomore year of high school, and her guidance from that early stage made an enormous difference. Lori took the time to work directly with our son, getting to know his interests, strengths, goals, and expectations for college. With that foundation, she helped him realistically narrow down schools and refine his expectations, while always keeping his long-term goals in mind.
Lori was instrumental in advising our son on course selection to strengthen his academic profile, helping him decide between the SAT and ACT, and guiding him through every decision point with patience and clarity. As the application process approached, both Collegewise and Lori provided invaluable support with college essays, applications, deadlines, and all the details that come with applying to universities.
What truly set Lori apart was her accessibility and dedication. She consistently made time to meet with our son and with us as parents, answering our questions and helping us navigate this process for the first time. Her extensive experience was especially reassuring when it came to understanding the financial aid process, and her calm, knowledgeable approach helped reduce our stress every step of the way.
Overall, we cannot recommend Collegewise strongly enough—and Lori Jones in particular. She was a key factor in making this long and complex journey not only successful, but also positive and reassuring for our entire family. Thanks to Lori and Collegewise, the college search process felt less intimidating and far more empowering. Our experience was truly outstanding.

Collegewise is a terrific service! We signed our son up during his sophomore year and it was one of the best decisions we made. Our son worked with Jessica Strange, and she helped him tremendously. In particular, she helped fine tune his college essays. He got into his top choice! I would wholeheartedly recommend Jessica and the Collegewise staff to help with your student's college planning

Our Collegewise counsellor was Jared Rivers, we first met with Jared in spring of 2025, having never gone through the college application process in the U.S., it was such a relief to have Jared hold our hands through the entire process from A - Z. There was instant connection between my college bound son and Jared. Jared would gently nudge him to complete essays, gave tips on taking ACTs vs SATs, plus he shared his personal college experiences which really brought it home to my son and I. He was always available to answer even the simplest questions, above all he personally contacted some universities on our behalf to get clarification on their requirements, he definitely spoke their language! Working with Jared felt like sharing our college application journey with an experienced and very calm family member! Jared was not fazed by my son's not too stellar GPA at the start of the process, he kept a positive spin on everything and encouraged him to keep working hard which paid off. We applied to a total of 20 colleges and he was accepted to 11 of them! We are grateful to have been connected with Collegewise and especially to our counsellor, Jared. It was definitely money well spent.
Thank you Jared, thank you Collegewise, we would highly recommend this College tutoring company to any family seeking college admission guidance.

Quality advice and caring support. I wholeheartedly recommend the firm. Our counselor Jared was insightful, responsive and patient throughout the process. He represented the firm well and was flexible to my son's situation. Undoubtedly the firm's guidance led to more acceptances and from better schools.

We had a great experience working with Tanner for SAT prep. He was easy to work with, encouraging, and really knew the test well. He adjusted each session to focus on what my son needed most, which made a big difference. My son is going into the SAT feeling prepared and confident, which is exactly what we were hoping for. I’d definitely recommend Tanner to other families.

I am so grateful for Lori Jones as my college counselor! On top of being very organized and patient, she was also very kind and provided so much support during the entire application process. Not once did I feel overwhelmed while writing essays or submitting college applications. She is very experienced with the process and offered great advice. Additionally, Tanner Reive was an excellent SAT tutor and helped me significantly with test-taking strategies. Thank you Collegewise!

We looked at several college counseling companies before choosing Collegewise, and it ended up being the right decision for our family. The college application process has changed so much since we went through it, and having someone who really understands today’s landscape made a big difference.

Lori Jones was a great fit for our daughter. She built a strong connection with her, kept her on track with deadlines, and guided her through essays and decisions without ever making it feel overwhelming. Our daughter stayed accountable, but also felt supported throughout the process.

As a parent, one of the best parts was being able to step out of the day-to-day management and just be there to support our daughter. That alone made the experience so much better for our whole family.

In the end, we’re really happy with how everything turned out and where our daughter landed. I would absolutely recommend Collegewise, and especially Lori, to any family going through this process.

We initially hired Collegewise to help my daughter navigate the complexities of college admissions, but unfortunately, it fell short of our expectations where it mattered most.
On a positive note, the online platform/tool they provide is genuinely useful. It helped my daughter stay organized and keep track of various application deadlines and requirements in one place. If you are just looking for a project management system, that part works well.
However, we did not pay for a tracking tool; we paid for expert strategic advice, which was noticeably absent. My daughter did not receive the high-level guidance necessary to make critical decisions about her application strategy. We expected the consultant to help her determine which schools were the best fit for ED1, ED2, and Regular Decision cycles based on her profile and the current admissions landscape. Instead, she was left to make these pivotal choices largely on her own without any real "insider" strategy or direction.
If you are looking for a firm that provides proactive, strategic counseling on how to actually get into competitive schools, I’m not sure this is the right fit. It felt more like administrative support than true admissions coaching.

I have found our college advisor, Shoshana, extremely supportive and highly valuable throughout the college search process. She was knowledgeable, insightful and responsive every step of the way. She helped my son optimize his content for all custom questions and personal essay to maximize the submissions. She provided key tips as we went through the Common App, things that I never would have known on our own. She provided clear guidance on strategizing test score submissions (or not!) based on each school, which can be a very daunting task. She explained the difference between Common App and SARS - who knew that there would be ANOTHER platform to deal with! I would highly recommend Shoshana and CollegeWise, I could not have felt confident about this process without her! My son was accepted to all 10 schools with one wait list and I can guarantee that is because of the support and guidance we received from Shoshana. We can't thank you enough!

I had Lori Jones as my counselor, and she was absolutely wonderful. I started with her during the middle of my sophomore year. I would give her 10 stars if possible. She was incredibly supportive and helpful in guiding me during both my application process and the years leading up to it. She is such a compassionate and caring person, always giving me a clear direction when I was confused on which extracurriculars to participate in, which activities to spend the most of my time on, and figuring out which classes to take each year. She was an amazing counselor, and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better.

I also wanted to acknowledge my wonderful editor, Nico Flint. I felt that she gave me insightful and strong feedback that turned my essays for both colleges and summer programs into truly competitive and authentic pieces.

I am truly grateful to both Lori and Nico for their help. I will be attending MIT in the fall, and I don’t think I would have been accepted without their help.

I rated the overall program as 4 stars due to some improvements that Collegewise can make, none of these related to Lori or Nico. I participated in some of the add-ons, including the Passion Project (I did not work with Lori on this). For me, I did not believe that this program was very helpful, as I ended up finding different and more meaningful extracurriculars to spend my time on. Additionally, I found the interface of Collegewise’s website to be confusing and non-user friendly at times. Due to these aspects, I rated the overall Collegewise program with 4 stars; however, I would give Lori and Nico as many stars as possible.

As a parent, I’m so grateful for the support Kate Strzelecki gave my daughter throughout the college admissions process. From our very first meeting, I had a great feeling with Kate’s warm, energetic, and encouraging style.

She was especially supportive during the stressful period from late sophomore year through senior year, always keeping my daughter motivated and positive. I also really appreciated the detailed notes she shared after each session, which helped me stay informed and see the progress clearly.

Kate was open to supporting applications to schools outside the U.S., which we valued a lot. With her guidance, my daughter discovered her passion for environmental and urban design and is now moving forward with confidence and a clear sense of direction.

I would definitely recommend Collegewise and Kate to any family going through the college process.
Thank you so much, Kate!!

I have had an excellent experience with Collegewise, specifically because of my amazing counselor, Sarah Turner. She was so helpful and encouraging throughout the entire process, and I recommend her to anyone looking for assistance with the college process!

Our son worked with Lindsey, and we had a great experience. She was always available to answer questions, and her experience working with students aiming from a pre-medical trajectory was truly insightful. Our son had a difficult time writing essays, and that is where her encouragement and honesty really helped him. By the time decisions rolled around, he gained acceptance into one of his dream schools with a great merit scholarship. Highly recommend!!

Working with Jared Rivers was one of the best decisions we made during my daughter’s college process. From the very beginning, he brought a level of insight and experience that immediately set him apart. Knowing he had spent years reading applications at places like Cornell, Brandeis, and Bates gave us a lot of confidence, but what really mattered was how clearly he understood how to position Laurel in a way that felt both authentic and compelling. He didn’t try to mold her into something she wasn’t, instead, he guided her on how to tell her story in a way that truly resonated with admissions readers.

Jared has an incredible ability to connect with students. He quickly built trust with Laurel, striking that perfect balance of being supportive while also offering honest, thoughtful guidance. He has a calm, approachable style that makes you comfortable, but behind that is a very sharp understanding of what top schools are actually looking for. He helped Laurel focus on fit, where she would genuinely thrive, and that perspective shaped every step of the process in a meaningful way.

His guidance was instrumental in my daughter's admission to Cornell, where she is now a graduating Senior. That experience became a strong foundation for everything that followed. With Jared’s help, Laurel built a clear and cohesive academic narrative that continued to open doors, including earning a St Andrews scholarship that will fully fund her MSc at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She will also be attending Yale University for her MPH as a recipient of the rare Horstmann scholarship the following year, which is truly a dream come true.

What stood out most about Jared is that he truly cares. He is thoughtful, responsive, and deeply invested in his students’ success, not just in getting in, but in finding the right path. We always felt like Laurel was in the best possible hands. We are incredibly grateful for his guidance and would recommend him without hesitation to any family navigating this process.