Educational support outside of school has traditionally been in person for direct intervention. Parents and caregivers would schedule additional drop-offs and pick-ups at an office building or personal home for tutoring, therapy, and other educational commitments. Today, students can access an independent educational consultant from anywhere in the world through a virtual session and be just as effective as efficient with time.

More than 25 years ago, my parents hired an IEC for my college journey. I vividly remember going to her house during senior year, passing through the many one-way streets in downtown Santa Barbara in my white Jetta, taking myself to math tutoring and then my IEC after school. I always had a newly printed copy of my Common Application essay and college list scribbled on the margins for her review at each session. Today, access to an IEC and maintaining student-centered support can be provided virtually, at an office, or in the comfort of the student or consultant’s home. Yet, the commitment and passion of an IEC have always remained the same.

Most clients prefer virtual sessions for convenience, efficiency, and privacy in my practice. Educational consulting, goals for college placement, and completing college tasks do not change regarding the attention to detail, service, and support when guided virtually or within the student’s home. Some learners prefer virtual, while others need face-to-face interaction within an intimate learning environment. Each college program, virtual or in-home concierge service, has limited spots available for each admission cycle.

Educational support has traditionally been in person and face-to-face. The student would be driven, dropped off, and picked up in an office building or personal home for tutoring, therapy, and other educational support. Today, students can access an independent educational consultant from anywhere in the world from the comfort of their homes through virtual sessions. These sessions are just as effective and more efficient with time and everyone’s schedule.

Catie is an expert in her field, an educational thought leader, and confident in her ability and approach as an independent educational consultant (IEC). She engages as a consultant within a one-on-one opportunity with her students and partners with parents as allies, providing guidance at each phase for college readiness. She is dedicated to collaborating with educational stakeholders such as educational therapists (ET), professional tutors, psychologists/therapists, and schools in public, independent, homeschool, or online programs across the country to coordinate care for student support. Further, Catie is highly engaged with colleagues as a current provisional member of the Higher Educational Consultants Association (HECA) and the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She contributes to the IEC profession by writing educational articles, attending and presenting at annual conferences, and participating in professional development virtual workshops and organizations and schools as an expert in the field as an educational consultant, learning specialist, and emerging adult life coach.

Each program is uniquely designed to support a student-centered journey toward college readiness and adulthood, not just to “get into” college. The college planning and admission experience as a high school, transfer, or graduate student, is an ideal time to build modern skills to launch into adulthood with confidence and purpose. Each semester, action steps for college mapping, balancing one’s expectations, and pursuing their dreams during the admission season is an opportunity to assess with structured support toward goal-oriented tasks, exploration, and reflection. The college journey is not different from the approach for neurodiverse learners; however, understanding the diverse learning profiles, college readiness skills, academic accommodations in higher education, and additional college considerations that will best support the student’s journey. The Road to College program is informative that establishes a strong foundation for admission planning and future college placement decision, considerations for GAP year, or alternative strategic admission plans for optimal growth that will lead to positive results for all learners.

In higher education, should you wish to consider academic accommodations in higher education, you must have a current or updated neuropsychological or educational assessment from a licensed professional outlining the diagnosis that is a fundamental limitation, known as a disability to your everyday living or learning.

the law supports ….
Students will need to

College application writing is an emotional process as teenagers are rarely asked to write about themselves, let alone know how. As an educational consultant, learning specialist, and life coach, I use different learning strategies to support students’ confidence and facilitate their skills in action. We use sessions to make significant progress on the benchmarks needed for application writing (as it is very different than a lab report or Shakespeare paper for school).