Advisors

Hi everyone! My name is Mattia Mahmoud, and I am a Harvard College graduate (Class of 2020) and a current MD/PhD student at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. I am excited to help students get accepted into their dream colleges! I have extensive experience in advising premed and public health students about college decisions, essay editing, standardized test prep, and preparation for college interviews. I know that the college admissions process can seem very daunting, but I am here to both alleviate the fears of and instill confidence in parents and students that a top tier school is in reach for them!

I am a proud immigrant, first-generation college student. My professional career started upon earning my B.A. in Geography from the University of Texas at Austin in 2019. A few months after graduating, I started working for Advise TX (a partnership program between UT and the College Advising Corps, the nation's largest nonprofit in college access) as a college adviser at a high school in Austin. My caseload for the 2 years I was a college adviser was 600+ students each year so I've advised all types of students with all types of interests (Engineering, Pre-Med, Humanities, Business, etc.) get into all types of schools (Ivies, Highly Selective Schools, Private, Public). I advised students (and their families) who were interested in out of state schools, but my expertise is concentrated in Texas colleges and universities. I have a passion for getting students to and through college, so much so that I went back to school to earn a Masters in Higher Education Administration in 2023. I currently work full-time as an academic advisor for a Student Support Services-Disability (SSSD) Program where I help college students with disabilities persist and thrive in their university setting. Previous students appreciated me for my enthusiasm to help and my knowledge base on everything college related. I highly value higher education and together, we can make sure that you can go on to receive a quality education, too!

My name is Manuel Stefano Castaño. I am an international student that graduated with honors from the B.A. Politics program in Princeton University, and with the LExS Award in the M.P.A. program in Leiden University in The Hague, Netherlands. I am currently a PhD Candidate at the same school. Throughout my academic career, I have been fortunate to have won multiple awards and honors. I have been advising high school, university, and adult applicants for over 7 years, specializing in College Admissions Counseling, Applications, Essays, English/Verbal sections of standardized testing (ACT, GRE, etc.), Interviews, and related areas. I have helped applicants stand out and be accepted into schools like Harvard, Columbia, U Chicago, Berkeley, and UCLA, amongst others. During my time at Princeton University, I founded the "College Crash Course," a service initiative in cooperation with an NGO called MIRA USA. This was a service initiative based on helping vulnerable student populations understand the application process and succeed in it. I worked as the coordinator of this program for four years, helped hundreds of students apply to their choice universities, and it is still running to this day. Outside of College Advising, I am a self-motivated and results-oriented international consultant, political advisor, editor, writer, translator, and interpreter with knowledge and experience in national and international governance. I have professional experience with international organizations like the United Nations, as well as political parties in Colombia. I have founded and led public service projects, as well as cooperated with NGOs in various human-rights related programs. Facilitating intergovernmental cooperation, sacrifice, and change through diplomacy to increase the normative and socio-political legitimacy of people's welfare are my prime motivators. I was born in Colombia in 93', where my mother and I escaped the Armed Conflict in 99'. Knowing the struggle of those who are most vulnerable, my passions are justice, peace, and honest governance.

I graduated from the University of Virginia in May 2023 with a Bachelor’s in Sociology and a minor in Entrepreneurship. I loved it! I spent my first year of college at Occidental College, where I was recruited to play lacrosse, and after I realized my academic and personal goals had changed, I transferred to the University of Virginia; with this in mind, I am familiar with recruitment admissions as well as transfer admissions processes. Prior to joining CollegeAdvisor.com, I served as a college advisor at College Contact, where I helped students craft creative, authentic, and compelling essays. I have also served as an Entrepreneurship Advisor for the University of Pennsylvania’s Social Innovators Program. At the end of the day, I am passionate about working with students to craft essays that both creatively tell their authentic stories and allow them to stand out in the college admissions processes. The college admissions process requires self-reflection and authenticity, and I am here to prompt such introspection and help students achieve their true dreams…and have fun doing it!

Hi there! My name is Madeline Schloss and I am a former admission officer and college counselor. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and then earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from The Ohio State University. After graduating, I worked on the international admission team at Ohio State and then at Northwestern University, supporting students through the application process, reviewing thousands of applications, and learning the ins and outs of the university admission landscape. I then switched sides of the desk, working as a college counselor at a high school in Guatemala, prior to joining the CollegeAdvisor.com team. My experiences at two very different universities, and on the other side of the admission desk, have given me a unique insight into the university admission space. Throughout my career, I've had the pleasure of working with domestic and international students applying for both freshman and transfer admission to universities in the US and abroad. I can't wait to support you and your family in the college admission process as your Admission Officer through CollegeAdvisor.com!

Hello! My name is Madeline and I cannot wait to help you on your college journey. I was an early decision student at Northwestern University, where I received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Psychology, receiving minors in Dance and Theatre for Young Audiences. While at Northwestern, I directed 10 theatrical productions, was the president of two theatre organizations, and produced the largest student-written musical in the United States. Prior to attending Northwestern, I grew up in the international school system, attending Shanghai American School and The American School of The Hague. I worked at the admissions office of Northwestern University for three years, first as a tour guide and then as a senior admissions counselor. My strong suits in the college process are essay development and, for non-seniors, learning how to fill in any of those blank lines in the extracurricular space. I have a particular affinity for the performing arts, both as a performer and as a director who worked in casting at an educational and professional level. I hope to help my students in making the best decision for them, whether that be in selecting their university or cultivating the most attractive application to have a host of schools to choose from.

I earned my B.A. from Davidson College, where I graduated Cum Laude in 2020. I am currently working towards my Masters of Social Work at UNC-Chapel Hill and plan to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker after graduating. I spent two years (from 2020-2022) working as a College Advisor through College Advising Corps. I served at a rural, Title I school in North Carolina, where I guided approximately 200 seniors (and their families) each year through the college application process, both remote and in-person. I helped them consider, prepare, and apply for college, while striving to increase the number of low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students who enter and complete higher education. While working in this role, I helped my students research different schools, create their school lists, write and edit essays, fill out applications, claim residency, prepare for interviews, and more. I also helped my students fill out the FAFSA, apply for scholarships, and consider loans. I helped hundreds of students receive federal, school, and scholarship funding. My students were accepted to schools such as UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, and Elon, often with generous scholarships. In my second year with AmeriCorps, I was selected as a Team Leader for Davidson's group of College Advisors. In this leadership role, I assisted in advisor training and recruitment and was a point person for other advisors to come to for help. I love working with students and their families and helping them get through this process that can so often be murky and confusing. I find joy in assisting students in sharing themselves with the world, starting with their college applications. This is an exciting time in students' lives, and I hope we have fun working towards their futures together!

I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Media Promotions from Greenville College (now Greenville University). I also hold a Master of Arts degree in Communication from University of Illinois Springfield and a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education & Student Affairs from Indiana University. I started working in higher education in 2011 at the University of Illinois Springfield as an Admissions & Records Representative, later moving into an Admissions Officer role and specifically assisting those applying for freshman admissions to our institution. Later on, I became an Associate Director of Admissions for a competitive graduate online MBA program at Indiana University. While I enjoyed assisting students with the admission process, I wanted to see what working with matriculated students looked like and had the opportunity to advise both undergraduate students throughout their freshman through senior years, as well as graduate students. I have worked in higher education as a whole for 10 years. Some fun, extra tasks that I got to take part in while in these roles were acting as a Designated School Official (DSO) processing international documents, reviewing paperwork for visas, and issuing I-20's for students; participating in professional development to achieve the Administrative Professional Certificate in 2017; regularly meeting one-on-one with a student on academic warning as a Progress Counselor; conducting New Student Orientation for freshmen and transfer students; and teaching a First-Year Seminar class to freshmen students. I'm here to help! I remember when applying to colleges, I didn't really feel like I had much guidance or knowledge of various schools or programs to know where to even apply. I found out though that I enjoyed researching this information and later in life, encouraging and helping others in their admissions application process. It doesn't have to be daunting, and I can help you keep organized, focus on goals, and prepare your application to be strong, complete, and to stand out. Let's work together to find a school that will be a great fit for you and where you can thrive, then let's get you admitted!

Hello! I am Linda Ayala, and I am excited to work with y'all! I graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A. in Sociology and Policy Studies in 2016. I have worked with public, charter and private schools for the past 4 years to guide mainly first-generation students through the college application process.

I am a graduate of Texas State University and have spent 5 years of my career as a college advisor and university liaison for an oil corporation helping to place students in top schools including Ivy League, State, and small Private universities. Much of my experience stems directly from conversations with admission officers from these universities and their application procedures. I am dedicated to the pursuit of helping students to obtain higher education.

Hello! I am a Houston native who is first-generation college graduate, alumni of St. Edward's University (BA in Liberal Studies with the concentrations of English Literature and Religious & Theological Studies) and Abilene Christian University (M. Ed in Higher Education), Educator at Heart, Christmas Queen, and a fanatic of Harry Potter, books, cooking, Shakespeare, movies, and traveling.

Hi everyone!! My name is Lauren! I am from the Inland Empire in sunny Southern California. I graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2018 with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Public Health on the pre-med track. (GO BEARS!) I am a first-generation college student who spearheaded revamping the Black Students in Health Association to increase the Black social network for pre-meds on campus. I also served as an Intern for Northern California Recruitment for the Black Recruitment and Retention Center and served as the President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, Rho Chapter. I have been involved with college applications and mentoring students through the process for over 8 years. I love to work with students from all backgrounds and help them illustrate their uniqueness, especially those who struggle identifying what makes them stand out (I was that student). I love hearing what motivates my students and assisting them in streamlining that motivation through storytelling via their personal statement and their extracurricular activities. I love to reassure my students that there isn’t a “cookie-cutter” mold for college applicants and encourage them to be bold and authentic in their application. I look forward to working with students who want to enter STEM specifically or Pre-med. I have a ton of experience (leadership, research, clinical etc.) in the pre-med journey and am actually in the process of preparing for medical school applications. My perspective on medicine is unique and I love encouraging young students to continue to pursue STEM regardless of the barriers/ challenges. In my spare time I like to work out, hang out with friends, eat and play with my fur baby! I look forward to working with you and your family during this application process. Get ready to dig deep and put in the work!

I am a true military child, having grown up around the country and overseas. I am a proud alumna of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi where I received my BS in Health Sciences. I am also a graduate of The George Washington University where I received my Master of Public Health in Health Communications and Program Planning & Evaluation in January 2020. For over 8 years I worked in Admissions for TAMUCC including 3 and a half years recruiting in Houston and helped over 5,000 students. I currently work as an Academic Advisor for students pursuing graduate certificates, MD/MPH, Ph.D./MPH, DDS/MPH, MS/MPH, MBA/MPH, MSW/MPH, and JD/MPH programs at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. I am very passionate about helping people in any aspect of their life. College is such an amazing, exciting experience and I love to be a guide for students to find their true fit for college. Can't wait to meet you and help you on this journey!

I graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from UC Davis in 2001. From there, I obtained my P.P.S. School counseling credential from CSU Stanislaus and a M.P.A. from University of Arizona's global campus. I have always had the desire to continue learning, which is why world travel and immersing myself in other countries has been a big part of my life. I have had the opportunity to live, work and travel through many different countries and have enjoyed volunteering for NGO's in both Bolivia and Cambodia. I have been a school counselor in California for over 15 years. My favorite part of the job is assisting students meet and exceed goals, especially when it comes to post-secondary planning. I look forward to being able to assist you with the entire process: planning, exploring, and applying for university, financial aid and scholarships. I've acquired a lot of knowledge over the years and I am excited to be a part of your journey!

I started my career in financial aid at the University of Dayton in 2003 while in graduate school. After graduating, I moved to Columbus, Ohio and worked for a college access program, supporting students in their college search process. I missed working on a college campus and took a position at The Ohio State University in financial aid. After three years, I took a position in the admissions office at OSU and worked my way up to assistant director where I oversaw hundreds of OSU alumni volunteers all over the country who recruited future students as well as the regional recruitment team. After a total of 8 years at OSU, I became the associate director of admission at Otterbein University. I spent 6 years at Otterbein, overseeing daily operations of the undergraduate recruitment team including international recruitment. Currently, I work for the largest public school district in the state of Ohio, supporting students interested in dual enrollment. I believe I bring a holistic approach to the admission process having had experience in both admission and financial aid. As a mother of three children, I bring patience and understanding to this role in a relatable way to both students and parents.

Hello! My name is Kate (she/her) and I am so thrilled to be a part of your college search and application process. I hold an honors B.A. from St. Lawrence University, where I graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2015. I majored in Government and double-minored in Education and African Studies. While in college, I worked as a campus ambassador/tour guide, studied abroad in Kenya, and served as the President of a community service organization focused on reducing food waste and fighting food insecurity on college campuses and in food deserts called the Campus Kitchens Project. After college, I spent two years working as an Admissions Counselor at Hiram College, a small liberal arts school in Northern Ohio, specializing in experiential learning. In 2018, I received my Master's in Education, with a concentration in Higher Education, from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. While completing this program, I worked as a Graduate Assistant in the Harvard Graduate School of Education Admissions Office, and served as an advisor to five university chapter of the Campus Kitchens Project. Below, please find some relevant examples from Master's coursework:

-Inventing the Future: Building Connections from School to Career
-The Economics of Higher Education
-The College Admissions Process: Practice, Policy and Research

-Data and Decision-Making in Higher Education

After receiving my Master's, I worked as an Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admission at Northeastern University for 3 years. I evaluated over 3,000 applications per cycle, participated in committee evaluations (Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision), and oversaw both domestic and international recruitment territories. While in this role, I also participated in a number of college readiness workshops and informational panels. I was also involved with the Torch Scholars program, a scholarship program for historically underrepresented, low-income students. Currently, I work full-time as the Assistant Director of College Counseling at a preparatory school in Boston. I am excited to use my professional experience from a variety of institutions, as well as my academic training to help students find their perfect college match!

As a school counselor for 16 years, I have worked with students on all aspects of the college, scholarship and financial aid application processes. While my strength lies in supporting students with applications for Texas public and private universities, I have been fortunate to work with students as they navigate the application process for schools throughout the country.

I received my B.A. from Colby College in 2020 with a double major in Psychology and Education, and a minor in English. Currently, I am pursuing my Master's in Educational Policy Studies at Boston University. Upon graduating from Colby, I served for two years with College Advising Corps where I advised upperclassmen at Josiah Quincy Upper School to emphatic postsecondary success. While honing my advising techniques, I oversaw students' acceptances to an extensive list of elite colleges and universities, many of which were the first in JQUS' history. My work is driven by a fierce passion for guiding others to realize their fullest potential and the belief that the college admissions process can be an immeasurably valuable learning experience. With each advising relationship, I strive to not only help students gain admission to the schools of their dreams, but to cultivate the diligence, fidelity, and confidence to thrive in college and beyond.

Greetings! I am so excited to be on this journey with you! I really enjoy creating the college list, reading applications and of course finding a student's home for the next 4 years. I started in the world of admission at Utica University (Formerly Utica College). I traveled the entire country working with many different kinds of students and families. A few years later I transitioned to the role of Director of Diversity Recruitment at Hamilton College. It was an absolute joy to work with QuestBridge applicants, POSSE applicants and students enrolled in the Higher Educational Opportunity Program (HEOP). Currently, I am working at the illustrious Howard University where I am an in-house consultant for the admissions team. I truly believe that there is a college for every student. This journey is such an exciting time in a student’s life. I am so excited to take part and support you anyway I can.

Hi! My name is Joanna Cardenas, and I am really looking forward to working with you soon! I am a first-generation student from Los Angeles, CA. I hold a B.A. in African American Studies and Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Currently, I am a Ph.D. student in the African American Studies Department at Berkeley as well and have held many advising positions since my undergraduate career. Over the last 7 years, I have served many advisor and mentor positions since coming to the Bay Area. As an undergrad, I was a college advisor through East Bay Consortium, where I offered college advising to high school students across the East Bay. I assisted them with their college applications, scholarships, and financial aid applications. I was also a site director for a reading program at Berkeley, where I provided mentorship to elementary school children in Oakland, CA. Now as a graduate student, I serve as a mentor to many undergraduate students within African American Studies, Legal Studies, and abroad, to assist with graduate school applications and career advising. In addition to this role, I also serve as a graduate student mentor to students in the U.S. and internationally who are completing research projects for publication through Lumiere Education. As part of my praxis, holistic advising is essential to creating a space of care and support between my students and me. I really enjoy getting to know more about the students I work with, helping them navigate challenging, but rewarding processes, and overall, creating a system of support that will help students reflect on what they have accomplished and what's next! Outside of my advising positions, I have also engaged in a lot of community work myself and have expertise within the legal field. Through these experiences, I have provided mentorship to students inside and outside of UC Berkeley who are interested in connecting their academic trajectories to on-the-groundwork within communities through social, legal, policy, and academic work. I am very passionate about providing support for students in all stages of their academic careers! As the first person in my family to graduate from high school, graduate from college, and graduate school, I am very familiar with navigating the college process and the hardships that may arise as part of your own personal experiences. As a senior advisor, I want to be able to continue to provide holistic advising and mentorship that creates an inclusive and supportive environment for students to plan out their bright future!

I have a strong commitment to college education access, matriculation, transition and retention. I am currently in the pursuit of my PhD in Higher Education and Organizational Change at UCLA, have an MEd in Higher Education Student Affairs, and International Education Policy (University of Maryland, 2022) and a BA in Sociology and Ethnic Studies (UC San Diego, 2018). Throughout my undergraduate career, in addition to obtaining a minor in Education Studies, I actively worked with high schools by providing campus tour, hosting student for overnight programs, facilitating classes for a summer bridge program, presenting during high school conferences, conducting research at a high school and being an active mentor to high school students that were connected with me via personal networks. From 2018-2022, I was a College Advisor for the University of Southern California College Advising Corps where I worked predominantly with senior students and advised them based on their goals, aspirations and circumstances. I have given presentations on various topics (A-G, FAFSA, CalGrant, scholarships, transition programs, on-campus resources, etc.), have extensive resume, statement of purpose, and personal statement editing experience both for the college admission process and scholarship applications. I am a proud recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship (2013), which has an award rate of under 1% and has funded my bachelor’s, master’s, and is now funding my doctoral degree. In my 10 years of working with high school and college students in summer bridge programs, college access programs, outreach, programming, fraternity and sorority life, residence life, and research, I have developed an advising style that meets students where they are based on their knowledge. The premise of my advising style is to meet the needs of the student and their families/guardians with integrity and resourcefulness. I like to provide students with information to facilitate taking ownership of their decisions and can similarly have the confidence to answer questions and discuss topics with their families and guardians. I have enjoyed the process of involving parents to ensure they are equally informed as their students and together support students in their college-going process.