American University

With over 20 years of experience in education, Erica is bringing her thoughtful, student-centered approach towards the college admission process to CollegeAdvisor.com. Having worked on both sides of the desk in college admissions and college counseling, she has built relationships with many admission officers and college counselors around the world. After graduating from Fordham University in the late 1990’s, she began her career working as an admission counselor in their Office of Undergraduate Admission. Her experience working there was not just limited to her alma mater. Being part of a larger network of Jesuit colleges and universities helped her learn and grow to understand the importance of relationships in the college admission world. Getting to travel around the US and visit hundreds of high schools every year helped her grow and expand her knowledge about the college search and college admission process as a whole. Working with the tour guide program at Fordham helped her become an expert on what students and parents were looking for in a college visit, and she often led panels and discussions on how to help a college build a better tour guide and student visitation program. Her quest for knowledge and a different perspective led her to pursue a position on the “other side of the desk” in college counseling. She spent five years working at a boarding school in Rhode Island where she helped hundreds of US and International students navigate the college search and admission process. The students and parents she worked with appreciated her behind-the-scenes knowledge of how an admission office would read and evaluate applications for admission. This led her and her colleagues to create an annual “Mock Application Workshop” for students at her school and a neighboring boarding school a few towns away. Deans and Directors of some of the most prestigious universities in the US would drive or fly-in to participate in this workshop. Each Dean and Director would lead a small break out group, and help their group read and review five student applications and present their cases to the admission committee. This annual workshop was instrumental in helping students understand the process, and how to present their best self in their own college application. Her students applied to and enrolled at a wide variety of different schools across the globe, but what mattered the most is that all of her students found a home, a place where they could grow and become the best version of themselves. Most recently, as a seasonal application reader at a large research university in the Mid-West, she has seen first-hand how universities post-COVID are relying less on the SAT/ACT, and aims to help her students navigate an always changing college admission landscape by keeping up to date on college admission trends and practices.

Over her career, Erica has traveled to hundreds of different colleges and universities around the country, and has enjoyed the opportunity to tour and see different college campuses first-hand. As a mom of four, with her eldest daughter currently in the tenth grade, she can empathize with parents as she is about ready to go through this process for the first time as a parent. She aims to help her daughter build a strong academic foundation in her early high school years, all while exploring new things and going beyond her comfort zone. She encourages all students to have a growth-mindset, and use the college admission process as a path of self-discovery.

Joshua Ford attended UNC-Chapel Hill as a Morehead-Cain Scholar in the Honors Program. Upon graduating, he received a Fulbright scholarship to study entrepreneurship in Mexico. He spent several years as a management consultant before moving to startups. He previously worked for Candid and Uber before becoming the CEO & Founder of HipTrain. HipTrain was acquired by FORME which Joshua helped bring public on the NASDAQ exchange in April 2023. He now serves as the Global Head of Redesign Health.

Hello! I'm so excited to start this journey with you! I have been in the college world for over 20 years. I started running specialty summer classes, in 2002, centered around the Common Application and the personal essay. I built my own curriculum and worked with rising seniors to help them navigate the college process. Later, I partnered with a counseling colleague to establish a business around standardized test preparation and admission applications. We worked one-on-one with college-bound students in all facets of college admissions. With a degree in English from William and Mary, a master's in teaching from American University, a college counseling certificate from the University of San Diego, and over 20 years of teaching experience in secondary English, including AP and pre-IB English, I know how to guide students through the college admission process and help them establish a voice in their applications. Currently, I work full time at an independent school as a college counselor. My goal as an advisor is to help demystify the college process and allow students to tell their story through their activities, personal essays, and supplemental materials.

Hi there! My name is Renee and I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Affairs from Northeastern University where I minored in both Business Administration and Social Entrepreneurship. I then furthered my studies at University College London and hold a Master of Arts in Education and International Development. After living and working in Cape Town, South Africa after the completion of my graduate studies, I have spent the past five years with Philadelphia Futures, an organization that provides low-income, first-generation-to-college students with the tools, resources, and opportunities necessary for admission to and success in college. Within my role as Senior Coordinator, I advised a caseload of 45 students and their families by sharing tools to help students find their best fit college and create a strong admissions plan. I have led admissions process and programming for these students by planning, executing and tracking all activities related to both their college admissions application and their financial aid application as well. This has included the FAFSA, CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE completion, as well as postsecondary list-building and postsecondary decision-making processes. My previous students have been admitted to a varied and diverse list of mid-range and highly selective institutions, such as Stanford, Penn, Vanderbilt, Boston University, and John Hopkins. I have worked with students who have pursued a degree in a wide range of majors including the Arts and Humanities, Business, and STEM as well. As such, I am well versed in the requirements and expectations of a wide variety of academic disciplines. Looking at my work from a financial aid perspective, I have decreased my students cash gap by an average of $25K or more per student, often to as low as $0. Additionally, I have helped students access and secure an average of $100K in external scholarships as well. As the college admissions landscape is continually shifting, I pride myself in staying up to date on the latest trends and data by attending various professional development opportunities including attending counselor information sessions, well as fly-in events across campuses around the country. I am also a NACAC and PACAC member as a classified independent educational consultant. Within this space, I have stewarded strong relationships with college admissions staff to advocate for my students and their families. Education has the power to be transformative. I know the college admissions process can feel overwhelming, but I’m dedicated to empowering students on their educational journey! I will leave no stone unturned and will provide the necessary expertise to help students live up to their greatest potential!

Hi! I'm Elana Grayson and I am a College Advisor and Assistant Director of Financial Aid from the suburbs of New York City. I graduated from Boston University's College of Communication, where I spent my time as a Dean's Host, London study abroad participant, and Sigma Kappa Sorority sister. In addition, I hold a Masters in Library and Information Science from Long Island University. I am currently enrolled in UCLA's College Counseling Certificate program while I work in the Office of Financial Aid at a local college. I have extensive experience editing college essays and am a volunteer college coach with a national college access non-profit for underrepresented populations. I am here to help reduce the anxiety and stress often associated with the college application process and help find a school that is a great fit for you!