Our CollegeAdvisor Client Success Stories provide a wonderful opportunity to showcase the incredible students who have worked with us to achieve their college goals. The stories highlight positive experiences that our clients have had while using our personalized advising program. These stories help us show just how professional support can help students confidently and successfully apply to colleges all over the country.
We aim to support students from all backgrounds, creating unique programs for different needs. In our Client Success Stories, you’ll see how students gain a wide variety of help during their time with CollegeAdvisor. From building a college list to applying to financial aid, our advisors support students through every step of the process.
In this edition of our Client Success Stories, we spoke with Judith Mire. Let’s learn more about how CollegeAdvisor supported her on her journey to an Ivy League acceptance.
Meet Judith
Judith is from a small town: Los Fresnos, Texas. During her time in high school, she not only excelled academically but has been heavily involved in extracurricular activities. Her interests range from music to forensic science, and plenty in between. However, one activity that was present throughout most of her high school experience was band. She even held a leadership position.
Involvement beyond academics
“I did marching band all four years, and my last two years I spent serving as a drum major, meaning that I got to conduct [and] lead the band. I basically played mini band director.” Apart from marching band, Judith was also in jazz and concert band as well as a local orchestra.
Of course, as we mentioned, Judith’s interests are varied, so she got involved in quite a spectrum of activities including the Texas Public Safety Association. She explained, “…it basically puts together a bunch of different scenarios for different areas like law enforcement, public safety, fire services, EMT services. It’s a competitive thing. You have the regional and state level, and I competed for two years.” Judith impressively made state both years that she competed — even placing third in her first year! She was also president of mock trial at her school and did varsity journalism and literary criticism her freshman year.
Volunteering was also a big part of her high school life. “I spend every summer volunteering for the Gifted and Talented (GT) mentorship program,” she told us. “So…I get to host summer classes for the GT students in elementary [school].”
One class she hosted was on forensic science, another was an art class, but her favorite was a social emotional learning class, where she taught young students how to cope with stress and learn good study habits. She shared that this class played an important role in setting her up for future success. “I felt that that was really important to give back to the next members of the community.”
Judith certainly had an ample list of activities on her resume. But, how did she feel about college and beyond?
Before CollegeAdvisor: Judith’s Goals and Expectations
You might have known from her extracurriculars list that Judith has always been quite the go-getter. So, when it came to college, her goals were pretty much the same. “I always knew I wanted to shoot big for the stars. But going into freshman year, I kind of looked into it and I was like, ‘Oh. That’s hard, never mind.’”
Unsure of the college application process, Judith even went so far as to have a fallback plan. She said, “My junior year, I enrolled in a program with the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch and I received my certificate with honors to be an emergency telecommunicator. So I basically had my 9 1 1 dispatching certification and to me, I was like, ‘This is a great backup option if the college thing doesn’t work out.’”
Not really knowing where to start or how to get ahead in college applications, Judith was already preparing for a worst case scenario when it came to college admissions. However, everything started moving in a new direction once she began working with CollegeAdvisor.
Getting started with CollegeAdvisor
In her junior year, Judith signed up with CollegeAdvisor based on the recommendation of an upperclassman at her school. She said, “They were like, you should sign up for this. You should just look at what it has and what it has to offer. I feel like that would help you a lot more than doing things on your own.” With a tendency to be independent, Judith’s friends pushed her to reach out and get some support.
Finding CollegeAdvisor gave her some relief about where she was in the college application process. She recalled, “[CollegeAdvisor] made it seem a lot easier than I was making it seem. In my mind I was so behind, there were all these people in my community I was seeing that had passion projects and random things and I was like, ‘I did not start any of this, I’m years behind already.’”
While Judith was worried about being behind, working with CollegeAdvisor helped put her mind at ease. “They kind of guided me through,” she said, reminding her that “where I’m at is an okay place to be. I’ve done everything that I’m passionate about and that’s what matters. And with that is all I need to apply. I don’t think I would’ve known how to apply if it wasn’t for CollegeAdvisor.”
As a first-generation student, it makes sense that Judith was feeling overwhelmed. Without anyone to guide her through the process, it felt impossible. However, CollegeAdvisor reassured her that she was in a good place. Indeed, pursuing activities you are passionate gives you an edge in college admissions if you’re able to weave it into your application narrative.
Judith started working with her advisor, Bonnie Hale, the summer before her junior year. The guidance Judith received allowed her to figure out her own voice.
Judith’s Advisor: Bonnie Hale
Here’s what Bonnie had to say about her first impressions of Judith: “I think you would agree that from the very first minute that you started working with Judith, you recognized that she’s high energy. She’s such a dynamo, and that came across immediately for me. It’s unmistakable when you see that in a student, you know they’re going places. I knew that she was self-driven, self-motivated, managed her own time, [and had] great parents.” While not all students are so independently motivated, Judith certainly was. Understanding this was key to Judith and Bonnie’s relationship.
Judith said about working with Bonnie, “She knew what I needed. She got a feel for what type of person I was, where I would fit best. You know, she gave me a few recommendations on other places to apply that she feels that I would be very happy with. She took the time to get to know me as a person, get to know what I wanted to do and guided me through that. So she very much was very well suited for what I needed.” Having found a good match in her advisor, Judith was ready to tackle the once intimidating idea of applying to college.
What was Judith’s biggest challenge as an applicant?
Like many students, Judith struggled with the motivation to get through writing her essays. She recalled thinking, “I need to write the personal statement. I need to write the supplemental. Once I’m in the flow I can do it, it’s just, getting to doing it…” However, luckily, Judith had Bonnie to hold her accountable and keep her on track.
Judith mentioned the importance of her advisor during that time saying, “[Bonnie] gave me the nudges that I needed to get it done. I feel like if I didn’t have her, I would’ve procrastinated a lot and then that wouldn’t have been a happy me at midnight.” Saving her some extra stress and late nights, Judith was able to stay on top of her essays and applications to meet her deadlines.
Bonnie supported Judith even when she wasn’t feeling her best or most confident. She was able to keep her on track and help her to manage her stress and priorities. Judith confirms her experience with Bonnie was always a positive one: “It was everything that I needed at the time.”
How Judith’s Advisor Helped Her Stay on Track
You might think that Bonnie was able to keep Judith on track to complete her applications with strict meeting times and firm deadlines. Well, not exactly. Of course, Judith and Bonnie set clear and tangible goals, and they knew the deadlines for her list of colleges. However, Bonnie’s attention was personalized to Judith’s needs and strengths.
Motivation and encouragement
Judith recalled, “I think [Bonnie] was very good about letting me come to her for things…I know what I need and I’m very independent, like I said, so it was very like, if I have a question, she was always available over email for me. You know, we met every time there was something coming up like, ‘okay, let’s talk about what’s right for your personal statement.’”
For Judith, it was the perfect balance of independence and accountability. She affirms, “And anytime there was a big thing like [the personal statement], after it was very like, ‘okay, do you need anything?’ And I’d be like, ‘No… I can do this on my own and then I’ll come back to you when I’m ready for the next step.’ So it was very self-paced, but also there were a few nudges where it’s like, okay, let’s get a move on things. So it was very much what I needed.”
Essay guidance and feedback
As an advisor, Bonnie is used to guiding students through one of the most challenging parts of the application process: college essays. She has a simple take on the matter, which allowed Judith to write genuine and authentic essays with her support.
Bonnie said this about college essays: “When I first met with Judith and talked about the essays, I said, ‘It’s a story. It’s a story that only you could tell.’ And we talked a little bit about the short story structure, what makes a story. I said, ‘Look, your only goal here is to connect with your readers and be likable and memorable. Which you are.’ And she did it beautifully. She really did.”
Navigating the QuestBridge Application
Judith has a unique situation in that she decided to go through the QuestBridge application process. QuestBridge is an organization that connects high achieving, low income students with top universities. However, the application process is extremely competitive.
Recalling her decision to apply to QuestBridge, Judith said, “I had done a summer program at Princeton and they had encouraged [applying], and I went to my advisor and I was like, so they suggested this, what do you think?”
Bonnie was realistic but encouraging. She saw that Judith was up for the challenge, so she supported her through the application process to give her the best odds of becoming a finalist. Judith recalled some other useful CollegeAdvisor resources in the process: “[Bonnie] also had sent me a lot of articles from CollegeAdvisor about tackling certain applications like QuestBridge and things like that. They were really helpful.”
However, while Judith did her best on the application, she wasn’t super hopeful about becoming a finalist. In the end, she was surprised at becoming a finalist and being awarded a scholarship through QuestBridge. To students considering applying to QuestBridge, Judith gave this useful advice: “Don’t doubt yourself. Just do it anyway. ‘Cause I wish I had more confidence in myself.”
Sharing Her Story Through Essays
Like we mentioned, one of the most important parts of the application process for Judith was finding her unique voice through her essays. Bonnie was integral in this process, encouraging Judith to be herself. Judith recalled, “[Bonnie] kept telling me, ‘This is your story, this is your chance to be you. [Write] what you would say, it needs to sound like you’re talking.’”
Many students try to write their essays in a more formal or professional manner, using words that they never have before in their lives. However, admissions officers want to read real essays in students’ real voices.
About her essays, Judith thought, “I’m gonna use all these fancy vocabulary words that I know, but I wouldn’t use on a daily basis. And then I realized, no, this is more my story.” Bonnie also helped keep Judith on track. Judith recalled, “[Bonnie] had told me, ‘I want to hear your voice come through with this. I want to hear your story. It’s okay to be dramatic…put what you were feeling.’ That’s a really big thing that she had always emphasized. Put how you felt, you know, show them that you’re human, show them that you have emotions in [the essays].”
College essays are challenging for many students, but Judith’s advisor helped her to get out of her head and into her feelings in order to craft her most impactful essays.
Judith’s Admission Results and the Road Ahead
Judith was set on her top school for a while: Columbia University. She had always enjoyed reading as a child, and she absorbed the information and wanted more. “As a kid, I had a stack of books, I was always like, what do you want for Christmas? Books.” Seeing Columbia as the perfect environment to quench her thirst for knowledge, Judith had her sights set on this competitive school.
The deal was sealed when one exciting morning she found out that she had indeed matched with Columbia through QuestBridge. She described the excitement she felt upon receiving the email notification: “I just start crying. I’m bawling my eyes out. I can’t even manage anything else. I’m just crying. And I remember calling my mom …And she thinks that something’s wrong. Then I tell her and then she starts screaming and then [I] hear my dad in the background start screaming.”
Judith plans to attend Columbia University on a full ride scholarship from QuestBridge. All of Judith’s drive paid off in the end. Bonnie is also excited to see what Judith does next, saying, “I am thrilled that she got into Columbia.”
What will Judith major in?
With quite an exciting start to further education, Judith is looking forward to her future at her dream school. While many students go into college undecided on their major, that’s not the case for Judith.
In fact, she already knows what she plans to study and even her future career goals, “Political science for sure, but I was thinking of a double major in political science and international relations or something along that line. The end goal is to be an immigration attorney.”
Judith’s Advice for Future Applicants
There’s a lot to learn from Judith’s experience. Though overwhelmed by the college application process as a first-generation applicant, she was able to tackle the process and achieve amazing admissions results.
She has some words of advice for students getting started with the application process. Judith said, “You have time. Don’t stress yourself out. I feel like my sophomore, junior year, all of a sudden I was like college, college, college, college, college. And there was a point where my friends had to be like, ‘Hey, now that’s all you talk about. Don’t forget, you’re still in high school. You’re still a kid. You know, come hang out with us. Come enjoy yourself. You don’t have to be thinking about college all the time.’”
Judith stressed that the time to get serious is junior year:
“That’s when you wanna actually start looking into things. But don’t stress yourself out about it too much ’cause you’re gonna end up where you need to be…Rejection is only redirection. I feel like that’s been my mantra all year. Rejection’s redirection, it’ll be okay.”
With guidance during high school, the college application process became much more manageable. Judith was able to pursue activities she was passionate about and showcase them in a way that made her application stand out. Her advisor’s support kept her on track and helped her write her best essays — she even discovered her unique writing voice along the way!
Why CollegeAdvisor?
With experienced advisors who really care, CollegeAdvisor has supported thousands of students and families through the college admissions journey. Judith is just one success story of many. If you’re looking for personalized guidance toward achieving your admissions goals, CollegeAdvisor’s team and resources have the experience to help you put your best foot forward. From helping you choose colleges that are the best fit to writing essays and applying for scholarships, they’ll be there every step of the way.
Judith said this about her experience with her advisor: “Your advisor has your best interest at heart. What they’re saying, you know, just make sure you’re listening to that.”
This article was written by Sarah Kaminski. 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.
