Overview: CollegeAdvisor.com Client Success Stories
Throughout high school, students make academic and extracurricular choices that can help set them on a path toward their dream school. But even when students share similar experiences, no two admissions journeys unfold in quite the same way.
Each one comes with its own challenges and discoveries, offering valuable lessons for future applicants just starting to think about college. Through our Client Success Stories, we get to highlight the experiences of some of the amazing students who have worked with CollegeAdvisor. We get their perspectives on the admissions process from start to finish, and learn how their advisors helped guide them along the way.
In this Client Success Story, we spoke with Agnes Gijo, who is excited to be attending one of the best colleges in Texas this fall. Her admissions journey began when she joined CollegeAdvisor as a sophomore in high school. Let’s hear how it all came together.
Meet Agnes
Originally from India, Agnes moved to California when she was five and later relocated to Texas. “I moved [to Texas] in the middle of COVID, which was the end of sixth grade for me,” she said.
When we asked Agnes about her favorite classes, she told us, “I really enjoy science.” While science was her favorite subject, Agnes says the people in the classroom often made the biggest difference. “I feel like a class is fun when you have good people around you and your friends are there,” she said.
During high school, Agnes was involved in plenty of extracurriculars. “I did a lot of stuff with violin,” she told us. “I was part of orchestra and chamber ensembles, and I also had a group of friends — we were kind of in a band together and we performed.” Agnes’s interest in violin also led her to work at a music school, where she taught for the last year.
Music wasn’t Agnes’s only commitment during high school. She was also active in several school organizations. “I was part of HOSA and Mu Alpha Theta, which were the two main clubs I was part of,” Agnes said. “Also NHS [National Honor Society] when I got to junior year. And I was also a part of Air Force JROTC all four years of high school, so that was a really big thing for me.”
Air Force ROTC
The Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps offers a variety of activities for students to get involved both in and out of the classroom. “I did model rocketry with ROTC…so we had little rockets that we built, and then for the competition we’d have different categories that we put those rockets in,” she explained. “I also did physical fitness competitions, and I joined the unarmed drill team.”
JROTC also gave Agnes opportunities to take on leadership roles.“I worked to be the PT leader within the classroom, or be the cadet in charge of the classroom,” she told us. Looking back, Agnes says the program had a lasting impact on her high school experience. “I think that was a really important class for me in my high school career.”
Getting Started With CollegeAdvisor
Before finding CollegeAdvisor, Agnes was intimidated by the college application process. “I was so daunted, because I feel like college is so different from high school. And also going through that college application experience — I just didn’t really know what to expect.”
Agnes also faced the challenge of being the first in her family to apply to college in the US. “Since we’re coming from India, my parents didn’t really have prior knowledge on how the American college application system works, because it’s super different from India’s,” she said. “Also I’m the older sibling, so I didn’t really have another older sibling that knew how all of that worked.”
Instead of waiting until senior year, Agnes and her parents began looking for college admissions guidance early in high school. After exploring some options online, they came across CollegeAdvisor. Even though the application process was still a long way off, they decided it was the right time to begin working with an advisor. “I believe I started towards the second semester of 10th grade,” Agnes recalled.
After her initial meeting with CollegeAdvisor, Agnes was paired with Brandon Mack, a former admissions officer and alumnus of Rice University. “He’s awesome,” Agnes said. “I’m really grateful for all the support that Brandon gave us.”
Building a Foundation Before Applications
Early on, Agnes and her advisor focused on building a strong applicant profile. That included keeping her grades up and making the most of her extracurriculars.
Maintaining her GPA
Part of Brandon’s support during that time was making sure Agnes had the resources she needed to do well in school.
“[His advice] was to keep my grades up,” Agnes explained, “and if I was struggling on some things, he’d tell me to go talk to the teacher and figure all that stuff out to get my grade up if I needed to.”
Your GPA is one of the most important parts of your college application because it showcases years of consistent academic performance. By starting with CollegeAdvisor during her sophomore year, Agnes had plenty of time to build strong study habits and ask for help when she needed it. Rather than trying to raise her GPA at the last minute, Agnes could focus on maintaining strong grades throughout high school.
Exploring leadership opportunities
Agnes’s advisor also encouraged her to focus on the activities she was already committed to rather than constantly adding new ones. “[Brandon] told me to not spread myself too thin and to focus on developing some of the extracurriculars I already had,” she mentioned.
If you’ve ever heard the phrase “depth over breadth,” you know exactly what Agnes is talking about. Colleges generally prefer students who demonstrate long-term commitment and growth in a few meaningful activities rather than brief involvement in many unrelated clubs. Taking on leadership roles and making a lasting impact also tells a much stronger story than simply building a longer activities list.
Gaining confidence over time
Brandon also helped Agnes feel more confident in the path she was already on. “Having someone check if what I’m doing is good enough and telling me that I’m doing enough, it just [gave me] a little bit more confidence for the college application process. Especially when you have so many people doing so many crazy things and you’re like, ‘Oh my goodness,’ like, ‘Should I be doing this?’ I had so many questions about, ‘Should I be doing a passion project or researching with a professor somewhere?’“
Even early on in high school, it’s easy to feel like everyone else has already accomplished more than you. But having an experienced advisor gave Agnes reassurance that she was on the right track. With that encouragement, she could focus on her own goals instead of constantly comparing herself to other applicants.
“A lot of times I felt like I wasn’t doing enough, so [my advisor] was like, ‘No, you’re good.’”
Finding the Right Colleges
Around junior year, Agnes and Brandon started putting together her college list with the help of CollegeAdvisor’s college list team. “There’s a separate committee that helps with making your college list, so that was really helpful,” Agnes told us. “We based a lot of our decisions on which colleges I should apply to based on that.”
As a CollegeAdvisor student, Agnes received a personalized list of colleges to explore. With thousands of colleges and universities across the country, narrowing down where to apply can feel overwhelming. Having a curated starting point gave Agnes a manageable list of schools to research instead of trying to start from square one.
Choosing the right schools
Here’s how Agnes described the process: “It was very exploratory,” she recalled, “and Mr. Brandon definitely encouraged me to research about all the different universities and not just focus on the academic side, but also the social life and extracurricular[s]. And then I put that all in the spreadsheet to compare and contrast what I wanted in different universities.”
Working with her advisor, Agnes was able to narrow down what she was looking for. “I personally prefer not too big of a school, and I wanted a suburban kind of college, not too urban, not too rural. But that wasn’t too important for me. I knew I would be able to figure it out either way. So I still had a mix of urban and suburban universities.”
Academics were another major consideration. “Academics-wise, how good that university was…that was a really big factor,” Agnes said. Although she was open to changing her major, she prioritized colleges with strong neuroscience programs.
Cost also played a role in shaping her final list. “I also had a mix of in-state and out-of-state [schools],” she told us, “’cause obviously some of the in-state colleges are a little less expensive. So that was also a factor in which colleges we applied to.”
Tackling the Essays
For Agnes, the most challenging part of the application process was writing her college essays. It’s a common obstacle for students, which is why CollegeAdvisor has a dedicated Essay Review Team.
“I’m so glad that CollegeAdvisor has the Essay Review Team, because that was super, super, super helpful,” Agnes said. “I realized all the things that I was writing in my essay were not really useful for college admission teams. It was nice to have someone look over it and tell me, ‘Maybe choose a different topic’ or ‘Go more into this.’ That just helped me feel a lot more confident in my essays.”
In addition to feedback, Agnes was also glad to have someone helping her stay motivated. “I’m a big procrastinator, so it helped to have someone say, ‘You gotta get this done now so we can focus on this thing later.’” Having someone to keep her accountable helped Agnes stay on schedule and avoid falling behind as deadlines approached.
Agnes’s Admissions Results and the Road Ahead
Agnes ended up applying to 11 colleges. She submitted a mix of early action and regular decision applications to keep her options open.
After receiving her admissions decisions, she found herself choosing between several strong options. “My four main choices were UTD [University of Texas at Dallas], UT Austin, UNC [University of North Carolina], and Rice,” she told us. “I got into two UCs, but I didn’t really want to go to California, and I think the majors didn’t really align with what I wanted to do.”
As Agnes weighed her options, UNC and Rice quickly emerged as her top two choices. “UNC was our top choice, at first, so we were kind of comparing between UNC and Rice. They were about the same, tuition-wise and price-wise, but I just felt like I would fit better in Rice… UNC is a bigger school, and I’d also have to move to North Carolina, which wasn’t too big of a problem for me.”
Ultimately, it was the campus culture that helped Agnes make her decision. “I just felt like Rice, after looking into it more, fit my personality better because it’s a smaller school and more close-knit, and more collaborative and community-oriented. So I just felt like that fit me better.”
After years of preparing with CollegeAdvisor, Agnes is excited to begin studying neuroscience at Rice University this fall. She’s also considering pursuing a pre-med track. “I’m pretty happy with my choice,” she told us.
Agnes’s Advice for Future Applicants
Looking back on her admissions journey, Agnes encourages students to stay open to new experiences throughout high school.
“When you’re starting high school, just be open to exploring new things. You might find that your interests change. But also there’s just so much value in exploring new things. [To] do something new and realize that you could do it… It can be a big confidence boost for you, and I guess make you a stronger person.”
For Agnes, exploring new opportunities helped strengthen her college application. More importantly, they also helped her grow more confident and discover the interests that ultimately shaped her future.
“High school can be a pretty transformative experience, so I guess [the important thing is] just embracing that there’s gonna be new things and new challenges, but also a new and better version [of you] that comes out of that high school experience,” she said.
Regarding applications, Agnes encouraged students to start preparing for standardized tests early. “I always tell all of my friends to try the ACT,” she emphasized. “Don’t wait till the last minute to do your SAT and ACT.”
Giving yourself enough time to take both major college admissions exams can help you decide which format best fits your strengths. Agnes agreed: “Some people try the SAT and just stick with the SAT, but I also recommend that they try the ACT too, because it’s a different test format, and they might find that they like it better.”
When application season arrives, Agnes also recommends getting started on essays as early as possible. Her advice was simple: “Don’t procrastinate.”
Why CollegeAdvisor?
For Agnes, working with CollegeAdvisor meant having experienced guidance through every stage of the admissions process. By starting early, she had the time to strengthen her academics and build on her extracurriculars for a strong application. She also had time to explore colleges that matched her goals and approach each application with confidence.
Agnes’s experience shows that college admissions isn’t about checking every box or having everything figured out from the start. With the right guidance and a plan that evolves over time, students can make thoughtful decisions about their future and find a college that’s right for them.
This article was written by Stefanie Tedards. Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.
