Collegewise Reviews 542

After suddenly becoming a single father, I was trying to keep my head above water as we began the college process. It was such a different landscape from when I went to school, and being busy with our new life, I knew I couldn't give the college application process the attention it needed. Luckily, we discovered Collegewise and Kaila. It was worth every penny. Kaila, my daughter's counselor, was perfect in guiding her through it all. I didn't have to worry about anything; all the application deadlines were met, and my daughter had someone to lean on as she figured out which direction she heads toward in college. Kaila was just absolutely amazing, and so is collegewise. You won't regret it.

Collegewise and their counselor, Annie, were an invaluable guide through the complicated college application process for both my children. Her professionalism and deep knowledge made an extremely stressful experience far more manageable, and her insight was invaluable. She consistently went above and beyond, especially during the most stressful and time-sensitive parts of the college application process. I would recommend their service to anyone. That said, I would stress that interviewing a few advisors first, as finding the right personality fit for your child is just as important.

Our experience with Collegewise has been excellent, and working with Aaron this past year with our son was truly a highlight of the process. Aaron’s communication is exceptional—he was consistently clear, responsive, and thoughtful with us as parents, while also connecting in a meaningful and encouraging way with our son.
Aaron has a real gift for working with students. He knows how to guide them without overwhelming them, and he communicates in a way that makes them feel supported, capable, and confident. Our son genuinely enjoyed working with him, which made a stressful process feel manageable and even positive. And as a result, our son has been extremely successful in his application process and has wonderful college options to choose from.
We are now working with Aaron again for our youngest daughter—our third child working with Collegewise!—and we are so excited to continue the journey with him.
We are incredibly grateful for Aaron’s guidance and highly recommend Collegewise—and Aaron in particular—to any family navigating college planning.

Kaila Brown was such a supportive partner during my daughter's college application journey! From the very beginning, she helped brainstorm and refine a list of colleges that truly aligned with my daughter’s interests, strengths, and long-term goals. Kaila brings an aura of calm to what can often feel like an overwhelming process, serving as a reassuring sounding board that significantly eased my daughter's anxiety. Her exceptional organizational and communication skills ensured my daughter stayed ahead of every deadline, dramatically reducing stress and allowing her to focus on presenting her best self. Just as important, Kaila strikes the perfect balance between positivity and realism—encouraging without overpromising. We are grateful for Kaila's expertise and would highly recommend her without hesitation!

We can’t say enough good things about Tanner. He’s been working with our son Eddie for years, and as a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, finding someone this patient and understanding means everything. Tanner truly connects with Eddie and makes learning feel comfortable and positive. Eddie always looks forward to their sessions, which says so much. We’re incredibly grateful to have Tanner as part of Eddie’s journey

Tanner Reive was attentive, professional, and truly invested in my daughter’s progress. He gave thoughtful, honest feedback and struck a great balance between pushing her to improve and allowing her to take the lead. It was clear that he genuinely cared about her growth, and we were very pleased with the experience.

We are so grateful for the support of Dr. Summer Amorosino who guided my sons through the arduous college application process. They were both accepted to their dream schools (UT Austin Class of ‘29 and University of Michigan ‘30). We are beyond thrilled! Summer created a sense of urgency and kept them on track with all their key dates and deadlines. She inspired them to be authentic, creative and engaging in their essays. She is extremely dedicated to her craft!

Our daughter started working with Nikki Rawson in her sophomore year to get a head start, knowing that athletic recruiting would start early junior year. She made it smooth and easy from the beginning and worked closely with our daughter so that we could stay out of the process almost completely. Nikki worked with her on how to research potential schools and key elements to consider, recommending a wide range of schools that she might not have considered otherwise that perfectly matched her criteria. They then brainstormed essay topics, developed them and ran feedback cycles such that my daughter’s essays were all essentially complete by the end of summer before senior year. Nikki was extremely helpful during the writing process with specific feedback, and she was also very responsive over email so that our daughter could reach her at any time.

Overall, Nikki made the application process so seamless that we as parents didn’t need to get involved at all and felt fully informed with only Nikki’s updates and sitting in on one or two meetings. We are so grateful as our daughter got into her top choice stretch school ED with minimal stress on our (the parents) part. We and our daughter felt that she was in good hands with Nikki and all the Collegewise resources.

My experience with Collegewise was A+, from day one. They spent a lot of extra time with our family to find just the right package to meet our needs. It was clear that they wanted what was best for our child, and it wasn't just a bottom line for them. Thank you to the team, Amy, Shannon, Brett, Caitlin, Albert, and our amazing college counselor, Emily S.

My son had an outstanding experience working with Lynne O'Shaughnessy at Collegewise. I was introduced to Collegewise through their free webinars. Then, I had a long conversation with a Collegewise intake counselor who paired my son with Lynne, who was the perfect fit. Always thinking ahead, she created a college application action plan that worked with our son's busy schedule and deeply listened to the things that he cared about. She was also available to my husband and me to answer any questions that we had. With Lynne's help, our son was recently admitted ED1 and will be attending his first choice college this fall. Thank you, Lynne!

My son worked with Courtney Jusko at Collegewise on his college applications and clarifying what he wanted. She did a great job drawing him out and helping narrow his choices. As a parent, it was a huge relief—I didn’t have the bandwidth to guide him through the college application process myself.

Working with Christina Mangano at Collegewise was truly life-changing for our kids. From our very first meeting, she transformed what felt like an overwhelming, high-stress college process into something thoughtful, manageable, and even empowering. Her calm, compassionate approach immediately put our entire family at ease.

Christina worked with both of my children, who had very different needs. Her ability to meet each of them exactly where they were was remarkable. Our daughter is dyslexic and has attentional weaknesses. Christina instinctively understood what she needed from the onset. She broke the process into manageable steps, explained everything patiently, and helped her identify not just where she 'could' get in, but what she should actually be looking for in a school. The combination of steady emotional support and clear, strategic guidance set our daughter up for long-term success and confidence.

Our son, a recruited athlete and a classic procrastinator, presented a completely different challenge for Christina and still she handled it with equal parts insight, organization, and good humor. She helped him thoughtfully weigh competing at D1 versus D3 schools, while also encouraging him to consider what life might look like if he chose a different path altogether. Just as importantly, she kept him on top of deadlines, saving us from countless family arguments and a lot of unnecessary stress.

Watching friends’ families make frantic, extremely expensive decisions based on limited or inaccurate information made us especially grateful to be working with Christina. We always felt informed, grounded, and in control, knowing we had a full-picture and an up-to-date understanding of the process.

Today, both of our kids are thriving at schools that are excellent fits for them. They each received substantial merit scholarships that we wouldn’t even have even known to pursue without Christina’s guidance. She came highly recommended to us, and we have since enthusiastically recommended her to many others. The investment in working with Christina paid for itself many times over, and we are profoundly grateful for the impact she’s had on our children’s lives and futures. Christina is the absolute BEST!

We started working with Collegewise during the Summer before my daughters Senior year. Elizabeth Majors is our College counselor assigned to us and we have been extremely happy working with her through this entire college process. She has given my daughter step by step instructions and timelines to keep her on track with deadlines and task. Liz has completely treated my daughter as her own through this somewhat frustrating process from beginning to end. She continues to provide her with so much encouragement and empathy no matter what news she receives and helps her in overcoming some of her feelings. Her knowledge is amazing about it all coming from a Mom who knows none of this and she has been very patient with us both. We are truly grateful for Liz and all of her guidance and support she has and is continuing to give to us. We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with Liz for my senior daughter as she makes her final decision and of course starting to work with my freshman daughter soon!

Sarah Turner was my counselor and she was the best!! She was extremely helpful, especially throughout the essay brainstorming process, and supportive of my ideas. She also ensured that I stayed on track and started the application process early. With her help, I got into my top school!

Working with CollegeWise and our counselor, Ida Lonnqvist, was an absolute game-changer for our college application process. Ida not only helped us to focus and organize our timeline - but she also made the process enjoyable and FUN for our family! We highly recommend working with her and CollegeWise!

Overall, Collegewise offers great resources to support students, and I 100% recommend working with them!

Specifically, I am so grateful to have worked with Lynne O'Shaughnessy throughout my college process. She consistently helped me stay calm and confident during such a stressful time. At the same time, she made sure that I stayed organized and on top of every deadline. Her guidance and feedback truly strengthened my applications. I’m extremely grateful for her support.

We truly could not be happier with our experience at Collegewise. Lynne O'Shaughnessy was our daughter's counselor, and she was exceptional in every way. She brought professionalism, clarity, and structure to a complex and stressful process, while always remaining deeply human, supportive, and understanding. She offered constant support, thoughtful guidance, and genuine care for our daughter and our family every step of the way. The outcome was the one we were hoping for, and we are so grateful for Lynne’s expertise and kindness.

Our daughter worked with Sarah and we are extremely pleased with how the process worked from start to finish. Sarah is extremely knowledgeable, professional, respectful, and patient! She was quick to respond to questions, flexible, and was great to work with all around. These qualities, and the fact that Sarah is very easy to talk to, made the college application process smooth for our daughter and with limited stress. Sarah's depth of experience was invaluable and our daughter's school counselor was also extremely impressed with the support our daughter received, esp with the common app essays.

Collegewise really helped me see beyond the haze of college application anxiety as a high schooler. I was able to center my application on my authenticity and communicate to colleges exactly who I am. I LOVED that they approached my application from an individual perspective by asking about my stories, experiences, passions, and little obsessions I never thought to write about.

Super duper big shout out to my #1 cheerleader in this process, Lori Jones! Even after my admission to Cornell, she always regularly checks up on me, catches up while cracking our inside jokes, and reminds me of how far I’ve made it. Her research and attention to detail were also impeccable, and she pointed me towards a ton of programs I may not have considered otherwise. Finally, her ability to let applicants speak through the page with warmth and joy is a unique talent you won’t be able to find elsewhere. I’m endlessly fortunate to have had her as my counselor.

I also worked with Matt Ihling for ACT prep and he was a delight. Incredibly patient, knowledgeable, and adaptable to goals that could be set even as an involved high schooler.

Collegewise’s counselors truly care about their kids, and it really shows from how they walk every step of the way alongside us. Couldn’t recommend them more to families as they begin such an involved process, it really passes by in a flash with them!

Our experience with this company has been excellent, mainly because of our phenomenal college counselor, Christopher Logan. Christopher ensured that both our daughters were on track with their applications and catered their approach to the girls’ different personalities, interests and skill sets. Christopher helped the girls through the stressful application process, calmed them when they were panicking, and encouraged them to pursue their passions— all the while peppering their guidance with a healthy measure of humor! We could not be happier with the results in both 2023 and 2025. Christopher has remained a friend of the family and we look forward to working with them again when it’s our youngest’s turn to apply!