College Admissions Counseling The college admissions process has become increasingly competitive and more and more parents are looking for outside assistance. Our counselors will help your student compile an appropriate list of schools to apply to based on their academics, extracurricular activities, personal interests, and other factors. We offer a comprehensive range of services from mock interview sessions to advice on extracurricular activities and letters of recommendation that will help your student standout from the rest of the field. Many students and parents think about high school as a means to an end: College. We believe that while college may be the most obvious objective for many high school students, there exists a natural correlation between the end goal and the work required getting there, or as Homer so succinctly said it, The journey is the thing. In other words, we believe that the activities and academics that a student participates in during high school should be self-motivated opportunities for learning and growth, instead of just something else to put on their college applications. College Admissions Essay For students who are applying to college or private school, the essay, or personal statement, is one of the most critical aspects of a students application. Admissions officers use the essay to evaluate a students level of proficiency in writing, as well as their ability to think creatively and make a clear and distinguishing statement about themselves. At Vertex, we provide students with the information they need to write a strong admissions essay. We adhere to the highest levels of academic integrity when working with a student in this capacity and our objective is to help a student complete an essay entirely of their own words and ideas. We begin by providing them with a framework for a successful essay and a discussion of possible topics the student could write on. We then help them develop the content for a rough draft and then ultimately refine and polish the essay into a cohesive, original personal statement that will stand out to admissions officers. A similar approach can be taken with the essay questions on specific college applications or the Common Application.