Our College Counseling Program

In just a few years, Kathy Bressler has already helped dozens of local students get into excellent colleges that are great fits for each student. Because Kathy has become so popular, we no longer have space in our college counseling program for seniors or juniors!  We have a wait list for juniors and openings for sophomores who want to secure a spot in our program.

    Our College Counseling Package Includes:

  1. A comprehensive battery of assessments to help students identify latent interests and potential college majors.
  2. An extensive college search that culminates in a list of 10-15 relevant colleges that are great fits for your son or daughter. The list includes “safety”, “target”, and “reach” schools to ensure that your child goes to a good college and to give him or her an opportunity to attend a great college that is also a good fit.
  3. Exposure to lesser known, highly regarded schools
  4. Help with applications and essays
  5. Answers to questions about standardized tests
  6. Suggestions for interviews, school visits, and auditions
  7. Online tracking and management of applications and deadlines
  8. Financial Aid advice
  9. When necessary, a “kick in the pants” to motivate your child and keep him on task.
For each student, Kathy starts with a private family meeting to discuss a college admissions game plan for your son or daughter and for the whole family. You will also have opportunities to speak with Kathy privately and she will have many sessions with your son or daughter.  All meetings are scheduled at your convenience and fees vary based on your needs.

Professional Associations

Kathy belongs to several professional organizations and regularly visits different colleges across the country.  She is a member of the following organizations:

  • NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling)
  • WACAC (Western Association for College Admission Counseling)
  • HECA (Higher Education Consultants Organization)

Personal Information & Experiences

Kathy is also the co-owner of Lafayette Academy and proud mother of four daughters who have had significantly different academic profiles and experiences.  As a co-owner of The Academy, she is able to leverage our other resources to help her students improve their college resumes.

Her oldest daughter, Mallory, graduated from the University of Michigan as a double-major in Political Science and Sociology. Mallory spent the past three years managing after-school programs in Boston and NYC.  Her next daughter, Dana, graduated from U.C. Santa Barbara in 2010 as a Business Economics major with an emphasis in Accounting.  Dana is now a “global ad certification specialist” (or something like that) at Google. Her youngest daughters, Hillary and Becca, are sophomores at U.C. Davis and U.C. Berkeley, respectively.

Kathy graduated from the University of California in Los Angeles (I can’t say when) and earned her Masters degree in Communications from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California.  She also completed U.C. Berkeley Extension’s Certificate Program in College Admissions and Career Planning, one of the most highly regarded programs in the country for college counseling.