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FAQs

Q: What is an Independent College Consultant?

A: An Independent College Consultant helps high school students and their families navigate the murky waters of the college selection process.  Our job is to provide one-on-one, personalized attention to student's needs.  UniVarsity follows  a proven process to guide students through high school to maximize future college options. UniVarsity offers professional guidance to help students find a great college match, coach students through the application process, and help families with admissions and scholarship decisions. UniVarsity also specializes in helping student-athletes become recruited athletes at the school of their dreams.

Q: What is a "good college match?"

A: A good college match is a college in which a student will THRIVE!  There are several areas to consider when making this determination:  academic, social, geographical, and athletic.  UniVarsity will help your child carefully consider and answer the following questions and more:

Academic

  • Is the school a good fit for the student given their academic record and test scores?

  • Does the school have the major(s) a student is considering?

Social

  • Does the student want to attend a large or small college?

  • Does the student want to participate in a Greek system?

  • Does the student want to attend college that is:  Diverse?  Politically conservative or liberal?  Religious?

Geographical

  • Where in the country does the student want to be?

  • Do they want to be able to come home on weekends?

  • Do they prefer city life or rural?

Financial

  • Is the college affordable?

  • How much financial aid is available at this college?

  • Are merit scholarships available?

  • Is this school "need-blind"?

Athletic (if applicable) 

  • Can the student be a recruited athlete?

  • Which division/association is appropriate: (NCAA, Division I, II, II, NAIA, NJCAA?)

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Q: How will UniVarsity help my child find their "good college match?"

A: UniVarsity works one-on-one with students and families. Every family has unique considerations and every student has his or her own dreams and goals. Through assessments, discussions, and instructed research, we help high school students explore their goals and passions. Based on students' and parents' values, we put together a list of potential good fit schools. UniVarsity provides many tools for students to research potential colleges.  Then, we give guidance on college visits and help with essay brainstorming and editing.  Throughout the process, we use a software management tool to manage all the intricate details. Families can feel secure in knowing that everything will be completed on-time with reduced stress.

Q:  What are the benefits of working with UniVarsity?

A:  At UniVarsity, we have found that families face one or more of the following issues:

  • The college application process is daunting.

  • Choosing a college is a critical financial decision.

  • During the application process, communication between parents and teenagers can be difficult.

  • Families are not familiar with the athletic recruiting process.

UniVarsity can help in the following ways:

  • We help you make decisions about appropriate college choice through our knowledge of colleges by building a relationship with your student.

  • We help lesson the financial burden by identifying both merit and athletic aid opportunities.  

  • We do the nagging for you!  Our goal is to be an intermediary and as such, to reduce friction between students and their parents.  We find that suggestions from an objective third party usually get fewer grumbles than suggestions coming directly from the parents. 

  • We manage the athletic recruitment process with your student so you don’t have to worry about the intricate rules and important deadlines.

College choice is a life-altering decision for both students and parents! We take pride in recommending schools that will be a great college match.  We work to ensure that your student will attend a school in which they will be able to accomplish their academic, personal, and athletic goals.

Q: When is the best time to start working with UniVarsity?

A: Once a student is in high school, the sooner the better.  Our approach to the college admission process tends to be more introspective and deliberate when students start as early as possible.  Starting early helps to alleviate pressure and to reduce stress. Freshmen and sophomores can take advantage of our services such as course planning and advice on extracurricular activities.  Parents of freshmen and sophomores have also found our services to be useful as a motivational tool – students become excited and more thoughtful about their choices while exploring future college possibilities.  Families typically start with UniVarsity before junior year. We will also work with seniors on a space-available basis.

There is no disadvantage to beginning the process early.  Our package price is the same no matter when students begin the process. Please contact us for detailed pricing information.

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