"Working with Jane was an absolute pleasure. Right from the start she was on top of everything; drawing up charts, finding schools with programs and degrees that I was interested in and sensitive enough to my geographical and demographical desires while pushing me to explore and look into schools that I wouldn't normally look twice at. Whenever I had a question about a school or a part of an application Jane would either already know the answer or provide me with articles and find facts to answer my question. And after working with Jane, I felt that my application presented me in my best form, conveying everything about myself in the manner that I wanted colleges to see. Based on Jane’s sage advice, I even included information on extracurricular activities that were important to me that I hadn't realized might be of interest to colleges.
And as a person, Jane is a joy to work with. She’s funny, knowledgeable and easy to have a conversation with. Going into the college process is scary at first. Jane maximizes a student’s options for the future and makes applying to college a no-stress, exciting process. " -- Ben D., New Rochelle, NY

"Jane Hoffman helped my son do the impossible - get into an Ivy League school!! Her approach is thorough and thoughtful. She is a diligent researcher, and because she knows the schools so well, she was able to present us with many options and to suggest the schools that were a good fit. She helped him think about what he wanted and tailored the school choice to his individual interests. She knows what colleges are looking for in a student, in terms of academic profile, curriculum, extracurriculars, and essays. She also knows how they read applications.
Jane was skillful in working with my son, and had a sensitivity to him as a person. She is respectful of family values and worked well with our family system. She was sensitive to his feelings and he felt comfortable asking her anything, no matter how seemingly trivial. She was always able to bring out the best in him, and to advise him about what she thought was best for him, without pushing her own agenda.
I cannot recommend her highly enough!!!" -- Nancy J., NYC

"Not Perchance or Happenstance ...
We have used the services of College Advice for both of our children. And both got into their first choice - Ivy League & Top 10 Schools.
Acceptance at Very Competitive schools is not random. It requires great academic and activity based backgrounds (that goes without saying) but it also requires packaging and great presentment skills. Anyone can write an essay. Anyone can write a good essay. Writing an essay that makes a difference; writing an essay that puts your student front and center in the eyes of the admission's counselor - that takes real skill. Acceptance at a top 20 university is like a painting - it's more than the right idea, colors or canvas - it's how you present it.
Jane Hoffman of College Advice made a difference in my children's application - she took their raw talent and turned them into a Picasso.
We are very very happy with her diligence and professionalism and ultimately with her knowledge of how to help our children achieve greatness. " -- Ira S., Jericho, NY

"Our son was late to the college selection and application process. Big mistake given the complexities and technicalities involved. Had we done our son a disservice by not forcing him into gear earlier? If we had, we put things right by introducing him to Jane. In very short order, our son had his sights set on his dream school. Jane went the extra distance to understand and align our son's academics, extra-curricular activities and potential with the desires and requirements of various schools. She painstakingly tailored a strategy that ultimately saw our son accepted to his number one choice, which is a highly selective school. Our son couldn't be happier and we could not be more grateful to Jane." -- Brad B., Larchmont, NY

"I think you do an incredible job, Jane. You’re available, attentive to detail, knowledgeable, and supportive. Even before our son was admitted to his early decision choice, we were very grateful for your insight, guidance, intelligence, and hard work. Afterwards, we were even more so!" -- Eileen K., New Rochelle, NY

"Jane, thank you for your help throughout this past year. You helped us every step of the way, from deciding which colleges to visit to completing the applications and essays. Our daughter got into her first choice school and she is thrilled. We sincerely appreciate all the time and effort you put into our college process; we could not have done it without you." -- Debora Z., Larchmont, NY

"I have to thank you for your help in the college process. Your advice on picking the 'best fit' school, instead of the school with the most recognizable bumper sticker, kept me sane. I am the only person I know of who had fun applying to college." -- Audrey W., Larchmont, NY

"After assessing my daughter's strengths and preferences, Jane gave us a list of colleges that fit her interests. We weren't overwhelmed with choices. She helped us through the whole process, including reminders of important deadlines. I also appreciated the pertinent articles she gathered and forwarded to us. It could have been a lot more stressful and confusing without Jane." -- Catherine W., Larchmont, NY

"Jane, we can't thank you enough for bringing sanity and clarity to the maze that is today's college application process. Your insight into the colleges was invaluable and you kept providing the most updated information right up until the end. You never stopped! You also provided us with a strategy to follow both for our campus visits and the applications themselves. This gave our family a measure of confidence that made the experience so much easier. Thank you again for all you've done". -- Robert S., Larchmont, NY

"Jane Hoffman was very helpful in our search for a college for our daughter. She went above and beyond what was required to research options for us, placing calls to her contacts regarding specific questions and generally providing us with a lot of material about each school in which we were interested. While I knew a lot about some schools, I knew nothing about others and she was very helpful in trying to match schools to our daughter's strengths and interests. I would not hesitate to recommend Jane for the college guidance process." -- Deborah M., Larchmont, NY

"Jane was an absolute pleasure to work with on our daughter's college search and application process. She is professional, very thorough, and knowledgeable. She is willing to work hard and remained accessible to both us and our daughter throughout the process. She also has or finds answers to every question any of us had. And the best part is that our daughter got into several schools, any of which would be right for her, so Jane's guidance and suggestions were right on target. I highly recommend her as a college guidance person. It really eases the process to have her on your team." -- Deborah W., Larchmont, NY

"When our son, Nathaniel, entered the last quarter of his high school junior year, the college search was no longer something around the corner. It was staring us in the face. The daunting challenge it presented was quite different from the days when my wife and I applied 30 years ago. Nowadays there are so many choices of colleges, each one with differing permutations of academic programs, campus settings and financial aid programs (merit money and such) that we did not know how we would find the time to research all this, not to mention helping focus our son's energies on the most appropriate choices. The good news is that this gargantuan task of preparing for college turned out to be manageable and comprehensible once we hired Jane as a college consultant. She took the time to get to know our son's academic strengths and weaknesses, tirelessly researched and answered hundreds of questions, helped create a strategy to find colleges that fit our son, provided a timetable of tasks that needed to be accomplished and most importantly collaborated with Nathaniel to develop a portfolio that accurately highlighted the unique person he is. A happy ending to this journey is that Nathaniel has been accepted to all the colleges he applied to. My wife and I have no doubt that Jane's enthusiasm and expertise helped get him there. I highly recommend that you add her to your team." -- Paul R., Stamford, CT