At College Counseling Pathways, Melanie Nazareth offers a wide array of services during the planning and application process from 9th through 12th grade and during students’ premed training. She guides students to systematically develop their interests, talents, and persona with a solid academic and extracurricular plan, to portray their best selves in their application.
She offers the following services for student success:
- Academic assessment & development of course design based on students’ abilities, interests, and career aspirations.
- Career/major exploration
- Testing strategy and recommendations for test prep.
- Suggestions for extracurricular activities based on student talents and interests.
- Research and suggestions of summer academies, enrichment activities, internships that will boost the student’s candidacy.
- Identifying criteria that are important to the student’s college and medical school choice.
- Research and development of a realistic college list of likely, target reach colleges and medical schools.
- Tips for college or virtual visits.
- Guidance on showing demonstrated interest.
- Formulation of an application plan
- Guidance on creating a strong resume.
- Guidance on brainstorming essay topics, supplemental essays, writing effective personal statements for Common, Coalition, and medical school applications, work and activities lists, UC Personal Insight Questions, listing extracurricular activities, and multiple reviews of student drafts.
- Check on the timely progress made on applications.
- Tips on interviews
- Guidance on writing letters of continued interest after being deferred or waitlisted.
- Assessment of financial aid offers and help on appealing for additional aid.
- Guidance on making a final choice with decision letters received.
- Tips for a successful college transition.
The ideal student signs up just prior to or during their freshman year in high school which allows parents and students to get acquainted with the admissions process that will enable them to make meaningful decisions about course planning, choice of extracurricular activities and summer activities. During the freshman and sophomore years College Counseling Pathways helps students to explore their interests, majors, post-secondary options, talents and abilities which helps keep them organized and focused on their plan to achieve their goals. While many students also start their college admissions journey in junior or senior year, it is cost effective to start working with Melanie as a freshman or sophomore.
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” ― Pablo Picasso, painter