College Navigation & Guidance to Acceptance

Whether you are near one of our locations or in a remote part of the planet – we can help your student get into the college of their choice.

Our College Navigation Plan begins with a discussion with the parent(s)/guardian(s) and child and a review of applicable academic and test records. With this, the College Navigation Advisor will better understand your child’s and your family’s values, priorities, and preferences, as well as your child’s strengths, needs, and learning style.

Comprehensive College Navigation Plan: We ensure you win at college!

With our College Navigation Plan, students in the 7th-12th grades will receive a personal advisor from the Student Den walking them and their family through the entire admissions process including some – but not limited to – the following:

High School Planning and Guidance

Create a detailed plan for high school coursework that enables the student the best chances at college admission
Ensure that students are taking full advantage of course offerings at their high school

Extracurricular and Academic Interest Refinement

Help students apply their extracurricular and academic interests in novel ways, so as to deepen or broaden their experience in these pursuits
Create specific opportunities for the student based on extracurricular activities

College Selection Process

Develop, evaluate, and finalize a list of colleges to which the student will apply
Identify colleges to visit
Learn about what to look for on college visits and schedule college visits

Essay Advising

Brainstorm ideas
Assess common application and school-specific essay requirements
Review essay drafts

Application Review

Help the student highlight strengths
Review applications

Letters of Recommendation

Decide which teachers/professors to ask for recommendations
Learn how to approach teachers for the best results

Interview Preparation

Interviews are often optional these days and can be requested by the student to be interviewed by alumni near you. Brown University, Columbia University, Harvard College, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University and Georgetown University are some of the schools that require interviews. There are also, of course, schools of the arts and small colleges throughout the country that require interviews. Many schools recommend an interview, but do not require one.

If the interview is the path for you, we can help prepare you.

Prepare students for on-campus and off-campus interviews and meetings with admissions officers
Practice interview questions and perfect expert responses

Test Scheduling

Establish a standardized testing schedule

We help determine proficiency in ACT or SAT by assessing the student’s strengths
Explore test preparation strategies/classes

Summer Experiences

Provide opportunities to maximize exposure and experience

Exploration of Financial Aid and Scholarships

Discuss financial aid goals and how to achieve them
Review key financial aid strategies and options
Provide comprehensive scholarship listings

Wait List / Deferral

Develop strategies for acceptance if placed on the wait list or deferred

Read about the impactful positive experiences of our College Navigation students.

Learn More

Meet Our EmpowerMates ^TM

The EmpowerMate^TM is a student the same age as your child, or just a few years older, who is a peer mentor.

We added the element of the EmpowerMate^TM for students who need assistance — whether homework help, study skills, or just plain old emotional support — because we found students want to do better for other students than if it were a parent or another teacher. It's that simple.

Success Story

“If you are looking for SAT prep, I highly recommend the Student Den. My son did SAT prep there and did awesome on his test. One and done! We will be using them for the upcoming college application process. Highly, highly recommend!”

Loretta G.
Boca Raton, FL

Angelo Questo has been and remains my favorite colleague. His experience brings a wealth of knowledge to any student he works. He highly competent in all areas of school counseling, but his true passion is college advising. He is humorous, compassionate and relatable to all those around him. His reputation is extraordinary and his hard work consistently results in positive student outcomes. I most admire that Angelo incorporates a family approach when working with students; he treats his clients as if they were his own family. That says a lot about his character and the trust he develops with those he works with. I would highly recommend him to any high school student seeking the advice from a man who knows his way around the college landscape.

Melissa,
B.S. School Counseling, PhD

Mr. Questo has been a tremendous help through the entire college process so far. His connections, competency, experience and advice have gotten me so much farther than the college counselor that is provided by my school. He and I literally spent 4 hours in one session to get as 3 applications completely done. When I left our meeting, I felt relieved that I had finally begun the process of applying to college and will be hearing from the colleges soon. We only have a few more applications and essays to finalize, so I should be done by the middle of October. Thanks to him, I can rest easy knowing that I have represented myself in the best possible light. He is with you every step of the way from essay revisions to application submission. I feel very fortunate to work with Mr. Questo and would definitely recommend him to my friends.

Samantha

Mr. Questo started as my guidance counselor, but ended up becoming much, much more. I would consider him my friend. While he worked at my high school, he was someone I would easily be able to access if I needed help with something academically, socially or emotionally. Without Mr. Questo, my high school experience would have been much more difficult. I was upset to see him retire this year, but knew his work with students was far from over. If you
decide to work with Mr. Questo, he will totally engage with you and help you attain your college goals. As soon as I began the college application process, I reached out to him and he responded to me immediately. Before I knew it, we had completed 4 applications in which I am now awaiting decisions and it was only the middle of September. He is a firm believer in getting the application in as early as possible. Whatever the question or whatever time of day I always get an answer right away. Mr. Questo has significantly made a difference in my life in many ways, especially with helping me navigate through the college application process. I am very appreciative of his knowledge, expediency, and his concern for my personal well-being. I would enthusiastically recommend him to any high school student seeking admission to college.

Jake

“I got 1480: 780 on reading and writing and 700 on math.

Superscored 1510! Thank you SO much, Barton and Student Den.

You’ve been such a great help. Let me know when I can start as an EmpowerMate.

I really owe you one. :)”

Andrew (AJ) B.
Boca Raton, FL