Overview: CollegeAdvisor.com Client Success Stories
Every year, thousands of high schoolers successfully navigate the complexities of the college application process. Through personalized advising, CollegeAdvisor has helped thousands of students approach the process with confidence. Whether it’s writing college essays or creating a college list, our advisors help students get started, stay organized, and submit their best applications.
Of course, each student has their own unique path toward higher education. All of the students we work with have their own achievements, interests, backgrounds, and goals. In our Client Success Stories, we highlight their stories and get a look at what it’s like to go through the admissions process with the support of an expert college advisor. Through sharing these stories, we hope that other students feel encouraged and motivated in their college admissions journey.
In this Client Success Story, we spoke with Luca Rubini, a driven student who will enroll at his top choice school this fall.
Meet Luca
Luca Rubini grew up in a rural town in Massachusetts. While he has enjoyed growing up in a small town, he has big aspirations of moving to a big city. “I really want to have a career in investment banking in New York City,” Luca told us.
With a clear vision for his future, Luca was motivated during high school to get the best grades possible. He also understood the importance of getting involved in extracurricular activities.
“I did cross country and track, and I did pretty well at that,” he said. “I made it to nationals for DECA. I also did student government. I was my class treasurer, and then executive board treasurer. I also volunteered at a local beach [with] an environmental protection agency.” Alongside his extracurricular commitments, Luca worked part-time as a busser and participated in a summer job-shadowing program at a financial firm.
With plans to study finance, Luca’s leadership position as class treasurer was one of his most meaningful activities. He said, “In my own student government, we did a lot of things. For a small amount of people, we really accomplished a lot… It wasn’t a position where you just had a title. It was something where you actually do a lot of things that then come to fruition.”
Luca’s Feelings About the College Application Process
Coming from a rural town, Luca didn’t necessarily have the in-school support available to students in other areas. He said, “Because of where I am geographically, our school system’s good for what we have and our resources, but we’re just really small. There’s not a ton of emphasis on preparing for the college application process.”
While Luca had the full support of his family, no one had actually been through the college application process in the US before him. Luca explained, “My dad is an electrician, and my mom went to college in Italy, which is very different. They accept everyone. You just go to your regional university. That’s how it works. And my brother is also an electrician. So no one in the close family knew how to navigate the process.”
Without much experience to go off of, and with minimal support and resources at school, Luca was understandably concerned about the college application process. He told us how he felt before starting with CollegeAdvisor.
“I was already overwhelmed with school, very overwhelmed, and I was stressed, especially ’cause I didn’t have a good SAT score. And I really thought that was what was supposed to be the thing that sets you apart if you’re from a real rural community. But I didn’t have a good SAT score, so I thought I was stuck. I remember being really stressed thinking, ‘I need to figure out a way to navigate this.’ I had been trying, but it just wasn’t competitive enough for a lot of the schools that I wanted to go to.”
With big aspirations when it came to higher education and future career goals, Luca knew he needed to get some support to build a competitive application. Feeling stuck, he decided to consider outside support and guidance.
Getting Started with CollegeAdvisor
Through the power of a good old-fashioned internet search, Luca came across CollegeAdvisor. He recalled, “I just found [CollegeAdvisor] by looking on the internet. I was looking through reviews and stuff like that because I was trying to find [a college advisor], and I saw them and they had a lot of good reviews. So that’s when it first piqued my interest.”
After the initial search, Luca brought the idea to his parents. He told us about how it all happened: “It was a discussion with my parents. We spoke to someone, like a representative at the beginning. After that Zoom call, my parents definitely understand the process a little bit. But it did take a lot of me explaining to them the position I was in and how much I really did need that help… I feel like it was me talking to my parents, trying to convince them a little bit, and I think that did help me move forward.”
Once his parents were on board, Luca began meeting with his main advisor, Chi Chan and secondary advisor, Jack Zhang.
College List and Priorities
Luca came into the advising process with a pretty good idea of what he was looking for in a school. Apart from just academic programs, he was really focused on the campus culture and the feel of a school — an important part of finding your best fit college.
He said, “What I was looking for was a good student culture, because I didn’t wanna go into an ultra-competitive, cutthroat culture. And I wanted a very collaborative environment — [a school] that was still academically, semi-prestigious at least, was kinda the goal. Just because I feel like if you’re around people who have a lot of goals and aspirations, you’re bound to do better if you surround yourself with those types of people. And those were my non-negotiables I think for my school that I wanted to go to.”
Size and location play an important role in a college campus’ feel. However, Luca was open to all different options in his college search. He said, “I think size-wise it was pretty diverse. I went all the way from small liberal arts colleges to some schools that were a lot bigger. I will say, I think location-wise, most of mine were on the East Coast. Some were in Illinois and stuff like that, but other than that, it was mostly East Coast schools.”
With his sights set on a handful of competitive schools, Luca was ready to start working with his advisors on one of the most challenging parts of the application: his essays.
Writing the Essays
Before beginning with his advisor, Luca struggled with how to approach his application essays. He said, “Essays were, for me personally, very difficult because I’m a very analytical person. Even writing in school is very argument based, very “prove a point,” and it’s not like creative writing. So it’s a lot harder for me to do things like that.”
Since this type of writing felt quite foreign to Luca, having a team to support him through it was crucial. “It was a lot easier having someone reading through [the drafts]. And once I wrote a few essays with a lot of help, then I started being able to write a few more college essays.”
With so many essays to complete, Luca relied on his advisor to push through roadblocks and stay on track. Most importantly, Chi helped Luca find a clear direction for his essays and begin putting his story into words.
Luca explained, “I would just go on a Zoom call and talk things out and brainstorm things. After that, I’d get my ideas on paper, and then after getting my ideas on paper, we would go through together editing things. [My advisor] always made sure I was conveying the message that I wanted to convey, but while also making it a little bit more presentable. [He helped] make the diction a little bit better, and it flowed a lot better in that sense. But he didn’t take over to the point where he wrote it for me.”
Feeling like he had support but also independence in the writing process was important to Luca. His voice and personality were primary on the page; he just had some guidance to get his writing to its best version.
Luca’s Favorite Part of College Advising
Like many students, Luca felt overwhelmed and stuck before starting the college application process. However, with an advisor, he felt supported the whole time.
When asked about his favorite part of the advising experience, it wasn’t necessarily just one thing. Luca said, “I would say [the best part about advising was] being able to have someone to ask all your questions and having someone to guide you in an area where you don’t really know where you’re gonna end up. And, especially for me specifically, I feel like at my school it’s really tough to figure out where you’re gonna end up. It’s not an ultra-competitive school where the school’s talking to you about college every other day. It’s kinda like, if you want it, you have to go out and do it yourself. So I feel like having someone guiding me made it much better.”
Receiving guidance was a game changer for Luca. When speaking about the support he received from Chi, he was grateful for all of it. While essays were the most challenging part for him specifically, Chi helped him through every aspect of the application process. Luca said, “[Chi] was really helpful because I had a ton of questions. I’m someone that asks a lot of questions when I’m nervous about something. I feel like he had an answer to everything. He was really knowledgeable, not only about writing essays, but just about the whole process itself. Any sort of logistical questions, he knew. And then he also knew a lot of questions about how to format essays and things like that.”
So, after everything, how did Luca make out in his college admissions process?
Luca’s Admissions Results and the Road Ahead
Luca had a pretty clear idea of his top school and decided to apply early. He told us, “I applied early decision to BC, so I only ended up applying to about five or six schools… If I had not gotten into BC, I was ready to apply to 15 or 16 schools.”
With an early acceptance to Boston College, his top school, Luca was able to complete less applications in the end. He also earned acceptance to Villanova and Providence, though he withdrew those applications after receiving the exciting decision from BC.
What helped Luca feel confident in choosing Boston College? Well, seeing the campus for himself really helped seal the deal. He said, “I had toured other schools, and I think personally the students there matched myself. I feel like their culture there matched the culture I was looking for. I walked on campus, I went in the dining hall, and all the students were talking and everyone seemed happy and collaborative and that was the vibe I was looking for… I also love the campus. It’s a really nice campus.”
And, he’s already thinking ahead to his future. Luca reaffirmed his long-term goals, “I don’t know if I want to live in Boston or New York City yet, but I already know that I really like Boston, [and] to have a finance job in Boston, it’s a great school to go to.”
Luca’s Advice for Future Applicants
With an acceptance and enrollment to his dream school under his belt, Luca had some advice to share to those about to start the application process:
“I would say to tour your schools a little bit earlier, because I feel like sometimes people say, ‘Oh, after you get in, tour.” But if you’re planning on ED-ing somewhere or you don’t know, if you’re debating between two schools, I think [it’s best to tour] the summer before.”
Apart from touring, Luca also had some words of wisdom on the most challenging part of the process for him. He said, “Especially for me, it took a while to get my first essays out because it was hard for me to write that way. So it’s good to start earlier.”
Why CollegeAdvisor?
Luca was able to not only get through the application process, but excel in it. He’ll be heading to his top-choice school, BC, this fall to study finance. We’re so thrilled for him to begin this new adventure and can’t wait to see where his ambitions take him, from college to a future finance career in NYC or Boston.
For many students, the college admissions process can feel like navigating the unknown alone. But for Luca, working with an experienced advisor helped turn an unfamiliar process into one he could approach with confidence.
If you’re looking for support throughout your own college admissions journey, reach out to learn more about our personalized advising.
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.
