Laurie's Process

Laurie developed her writing and editing skills during a decade spent working for The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News. Laurie uses these abilities to help guide the college application process. When she first meets a client, she interviews the student about his or her life, trying to find the most compelling anecdotes to help bring that student’s story alive. She also separately interviews the student’s parent(s) or guardian, knowing that adults bring a different perspective.  At that point, Laurie and her client brainstorm together for ideas for the college essays and personal statements. Once essay drafts have been written, she works with the student on countless edits to make sure every single word is used effectively. Laurie is used to meeting tight deadlines while maintaining high quality.

Since leaving journalism, Laurie has significantly invested in counseling and career education. She received her Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA Extension in early 2020, and she attends an annual University of California (UC) conference for college counselors to learn the latest news directly from the nine UCs. Before Covid, Laurie visited 15 college campuses a year on counselor tours, and she looks forward to returning to this schedule after the pandemic. In the meantime, she attends the online Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC) and the Higher Education Counselors Association (HECA) conferences. She is conversant with the college database Naviance, and believes Naviance is a great resource from which to build a college list. Laurie helps her clients determine a range of target colleges, and then maps a strategy to gain admittance.  A parent herself, Laurie understands firsthand the stresses of applying to college and the need to start thinking about college by the sophomore year of high school.