Admissions consultants for financial aid and scholarships
We compared 107 admissions consultants who focus on financial aid and scholarships using their public profiles. Besides financial aid and scholarships, the most common focus areas are college admissions, college essays, athletic recruiting and international students. They most often work with students, parents and professionals. Most charge $90 to $250 per hour or session.
What admissions consultants for financial aid and scholarships charge
Admissions consultants for financial aid and scholarships to compare
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Abigail Hagan
Abigail Hagan scored 331 on the GRE and was admitted to Harvard's 2+2 deferred MBA program. She works on PwC's AI Strategy team and has coached 100+ clients into PhD, master's and undergraduate programs.
Virginia Blackwell
Virginia Blackwell has been an Independent Educational Consultant since 2001, after directing and associate-directing admissions at Hollins University in the 1980s and interning in Harvard's scholarship office.
Adam B
Adam B spent seven years at Citi before attending London Business School as a Merit Scholar, and now works in post-merger integration at Accenture. He coaches MBA applicants and finance and consulting candidates, with particular experience helping international applicants and women from the Gulf.
Ade Dedeke
Ade Dedeke earned a full-ride Columbia MBA on a third application attempt after years as a management consultant. She coaches applicants on essays, interviews and waitlist strategy.
Amrit Hassaram
Amrit Hassaram coached 250+ students at Chicago Booth on consulting and pivots and founded AmritAdmit, which says it has helped 300+ candidates and won $10M+ in scholarships. He has switched industries and countries multiple times and worked at McKinsey.
Andrew Ghadimi
Andrew Ghadimi runs Predenting and has helped 500+ pre-dental students, with an average of about 4 acceptances each. He sits on the AADSAS Advisory Board and worked with the American Dental Education Association.
Claire Mangrum
Claire Mangrum runs Bright Futures Consulting after 5 years as Assistant Director of Admission at St. Edward's University and time with the El Nomad gap year program in Ecuador. She uses the Birkman Assessment as part of her college and career consulting.
Jackie Postelnick
Jackie Postelnick founded Conscious College Planning in 2022 after starting as a Financial Aid Advisor in 2012 and working with a private college planning firm since 2015, and has helped more than 800 students get into best-fit colleges.
Steven Antonoff
Steven Antonoff runs Antonoff Associates, Inc. Over nearly 40 years as an independent educational consultant, he has worked with more than 3,800 students and previously served as Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at the University of Denver.
Timothy O'Hair
Timothy O'Hair, a longtime entertainment executive and film school instructor, combines a Dartmouth and Columbia MBA background with a UCLA college counseling certificate and British Council UCAS training to help students apply to US, UK, and international film schools using narrative techniques from his twenty years in the film business.
Adwoa Boateng
Adwoa Boateng is a first-generation graduate who spent five years in international development oversight and foreign policy. She has helped over five applicants gain admission to Wharton with scholarships of 25% to full tuition.
April Paris-Joseph
April Paris-Joseph runs Paris Educational Solutions and holds a Certificate in College Counseling with Distinction from UCLA. Her class of 2022 students earned rostered spots on D1, D3, or NAIA athletic teams and were admitted to over 50 colleges with more than $2 million in combined merit aid.
Ellen Chao
Ellen Chao runs South Bay Educational Consultants, founded in 2015, after an early career as an investment banking analyst and an MBA from NYU Stern; as a parent of two recruited athletes, she brings added expertise in athletic recruiting and financial aid.
Hamid Arbab
Hamid Arbab was admitted to Harvard Law two years early through its Junior Deferral Program and is now a Marshall Scholar at Oxford. He has coached 60+ applicants across college, law and policy school admissions.
Kim Anderson
Kim Anderson founded Spotlight College Advising after 3.5 years at Partners For Achievement, where she led student workshops on resumes and paying for college and oversaw the firm's essay program. Her comprehensive package runs 35 to 45 hours across 12 to 15 meetings.
Robin Johnson
Robin Johnson began volunteering in Cleveland High School's College and Career Center in September 2013 and completed the UCLA College Counseling Certificate program with distinction. She visits more than 25 colleges a year and is certified to administer the Strong Interest Inventory.
Shellee Howard
Shellee Howard is the founder of College Ready and author of "How to send your student to college without losing your mind or your money." She has been featured on Fox, CBS, and NBC and runs a structured, multi-year program for middle and high school students.
Abby Bittler
Abby Bittler runs Optima Educational College Planning and Coaching and has been an independent educational consultant since 2014, specializing in learning-different students including those with ADHD and dyslexia, after training at the Hill Learning Center, Landmark College, and Beacon College.
Joanie Till
Joanie Till runs Next Step College Admissions Planning and has guided approximately 40 seniors through the full college admissions process from start to acceptance. She has also advised roughly 50 additional students on specific aspects of their applications.
Mandee Adler
Mandee Adler founded International College Counselors, which has offices across Florida and New York as well as in Medellin, Colombia and Caracas, Venezuela. The firm offers admissions counseling in English and Spanish for both U.S. and international students.
Michael Davila
Michael Davila is a Partner at College Inroads LLC and has worked as an educational consultant since 2003, after previously serving as faculty at the United States Naval Academy in the late 1990s.
Nola Healy Lynch
Nola Healy Lynch runs Northwest College Search and previously created and ran a college resource center at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati from 2001 to 2004. She also has extensive experience as a professional editor for major publishers.
Patricia (Patty) Finer
Patricia (Patty) Finer founded Finer Educational and Immigration Consultants in 2007, guiding students through college admissions and immigration processes. Her firm supports recruited athletes, DACA recipients, and international students, including financial aid coaching.
Suzette DeGrange
Suzette DeGrange spent 17 years in undergraduate admissions at the University of San Francisco and 11 years at Stanford University directing a pre-college program for first-generation students before starting her own college consulting practice.
Anya Ilkys
Anya Ilkys founded College Starpoint after a career in higher education admissions and enrollment at a large urban R1 institution in Boston and a smaller private college, becoming an independent educational consultant in 2017.
Nancy Foushee
Nancy Foushee launched Nancy Foushee & Associates in January 2017 after years working in secondary and higher education. Beyond college admissions counseling, she offers career and personality assessments, post-graduate career planning, and resume writing support.
Penny Deck
Penny Deck, M.Ed., CEP, runs Champion College Counseling and is one of only four Certified Educational Planners in the state of Virginia, a credential awarded by the American Institute of Certified Educational Planners for the highest level of competence in educational planning.
Rya Carpenter
Rya Carpenter runs Balanced College Planning, offering in-person meetings within Santa Barbara County. She spent over 20 years as a school counselor, the last 11 years at a private high school focused on college admissions.
Sandra Lawrence
Sandra Lawrence served as Director of Guidance & College Counseling at Augusta Preparatory Day School from 1984 to 2002 before becoming an independent educational consultant, helping students find appropriate colleges and locate scholarships.
Kurt Goedecke
Kurt Goedecke runs Wise Owl College Planning and previously spent five years with the College Money Guys before going independent in January 2020.
Neal Schwartz
Neal Schwartz has run College Planning of Westchester LLC for 14 years, providing college admissions and essay guidance along with financial aid advice and career counseling.
Robert Powers
Robert Powers, founder of College Torch, has worked as a college counselor for seven years and volunteers reading finalist applications for a competitive national scholarship.
Julie Mozena
Julie Mozena runs On My Way Consulting, providing extensive essay support including UC Personal Insight Questions and Common App essays alongside financial aid guidance.
Nancy Lee
Nancy Lee has 20 years of experience in college admissions, including as lead advisor for the UC Berkeley College Foundations Program and lead counselor at two San Francisco Bay Area private high schools. She also spent over a decade in education policy research on college access and has reviewed thousands of applications as a scholarship committee member.
Jill Hall
Jill Hall runs Hall College Consulting after 10 years as a college advisor at a public high school and 25 years in marketing and public relations; she has served on the Board of Directors at Willamette University since 2021.
Paul Nicholas
Paul Nicholas has run his college counseling practice for 11 years after training at UCLA Extension and mentoring under Jodi Walder in Portland. He volunteers with the Los Angeles chapter of Minds Matter and has worked with student-athletes ranging from D1 to D3 as well as studio artists, performing artists, engineers, and film majors.
Susanna de Chenonceau
Susanna de Chenonceau has helped high school students with college admissions for over 20 years, 17 of them as a full-time college counselor. She previously taught high school English and Journalism for 10 years, and she focuses on first-generation, disadvantaged, and francophone students, including expats.
Andrew Badinelli
Andrew Badinelli was admitted to 8 top MBA programs with over $1.5M in scholarships and graduated from Stanford GSB. He worked as a teacher and school network leader before business school and charges $89 an hour.
Claudine Vainrub
Claudine Vainrub is Principal of EduPlan and a UCLA Certified Educational Consultant who has run the firm for over 19 years, with more than 95% of her students earning unsolicited merit scholarships, and her admissions expertise featured in the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Forbes.
Colleen Lamon
Colleen Lamon owns Colleen's Creative Consulting in Yuba City, California, and has counseled students for 10 years, including mentoring a first-generation applicant to a Gates Millennium Scholarship through Oakland's College Counseling Collaborative, after previously working as a Senior Coach at the Sacramento-based ESM Group.
Cynthia Robey
Cynthia Robey runs College-Watch, LLC and has been a Freshman Reader for UC Berkeley admissions since 2011. She has worked as an independent college consultant since 2007, after 13 years in executive recruitment.
Deborah Donley
Deborah Donley ran Deb Donley College Counseling after 25 years as a college counselor for 125 to 150 seniors a year at New Trier Township High School. She also served as assistant executive director and faculty for the Academy for College Admission Counseling from 2009 to 2019.
Eileen Restrepo, MEd
Eileen Restrepo, MEd, runs College Nexus, LLC, and spent 10 years as Career & College Specialist at Thomas Jefferson High School, serving about 1,000 students a year, plus 2 years at Decatur High School, with added experience advising NCAA recruits and undocumented students.
Emma Wadiak
Emma Wadiak worked in higher education for more than six years, including nearly two years as Director of Admission and Financial Aid at Santa Clara University and nearly four years as a Career Development Specialist at Sacramento State University. She left Sacramento State in February 2022 to run Connect College Counseling full-time.
Jennie Kent
Jennie Kent runs Big J Educational Consulting and has ten years of experience guiding students through college and boarding school placement. She holds a B.A. from Skidmore College and a certificate in independent educational consulting from UC Irvine, and has personally visited more than 450 schools and universities worldwide.
Maria Woodruff
Maria Woodruff runs The Admissions Advisor, LLC. She previously spent 7 years as Director of College Guidance at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, advising about 250 students a year, and coordinated the MBA program at Loyola Marymount University.
Siri Omene
Siri Omene founded Chitown Tutoring in Chicago and has delivered over 10,000 hours of one-on-one instruction. She has helped 500+ students with test prep and admissions, and has a Booth MBA.
Susanna Ordway
Susanna Ordway earned a certificate in College Admissions & Career Planning from UC Berkeley after 10-plus years teaching in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. She has personally visited over 150 colleges and has worked with high school families on the admissions process for 6 years.
Tara Goodfellow
Tara Goodfellow owns Athena Educational Consultants in Charlotte, a career and college planning firm with a national client base. She spent years in higher education, including work as a financial aid director and a college career instructor, and earned her MBA from Queen's University of Charlotte.
Vera Murphy Trayner
Vera Murphy Trayner runs Veritas College Counseling in the Tampa, Florida area, where she has hosted a college search summer boot camp and workshops and partners with Sickles High School. She completed the UC Irvine college admissions certificate program with a 4.0 GPA.
Yvette Maragliano
Yvette Maragliano has run Students Organized for Success since 2002, after a long career at the YMCA of San Joaquin County and the City of Lodi's youth commission, guiding students through the full college search, application, and career exploration process.
Alida Smit
Alida Smit runs Alida Smit College and Career Consulting after 30-plus years teaching, including students with learning disabilities, and working as a high school College & Career Advisor. She specializes in serving first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students.
Ann Scheder-Bieschin
Ann Scheder-Bieschin runs Carina College Admission Counseling and has worked full-time as an independent educational consultant since 2012, after starting with pro bono clients in 2007.
Cindy Laubenstein
Cindy Laubenstein founded Aspire College and Career Consulting in 2012 after starting in the field in 2009, and has worked with over 100 students on college admissions and career transition guidance.
Elizabeth LaScala
Elizabeth LaScala runs Doing College and Beyond, advising on high school, transfer, and graduate/professional school admissions. She has over 15 years of experience with college applicants and 8 years with graduate and professional school applicants, and reports a 100% acceptance rate to at least one school for every application she has taken on.
Hannah Serota
Hannah Serota runs Creative College Connections in Leesburg, Virginia, bringing three decades of experience including as Associate Director of Admissions at Oberlin College and as a college counselor at the McLean School.
Jodi Sears
Jodi Sears began volunteering in her local high school's College and Career office for almost eight years before working privately at The Academic Match and Synergy Academics while completing the UCLA College Counseling Certificate Program. She now runs Jodi Sears College Admissions Consulting, guiding freshmen through transfer and graduate applicants.
Kelly Riccardo
Kelly Riccardo has coordinated an International Baccalaureate program in Florida since 1997 and has counseled students on college admissions since then. She is now part of Debra Landesberg's My College Resource team and also offers career counseling using the YouScience Aptitude Assessment.
Mara Fiarman Jacobs
Mara Fiarman Jacobs has more than 10 years of experience as a college admissions consultant and holds a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She has participated in Penn's Alumni Interview Program for nearly two decades, serving as Burlington County Interview Coordinator for the past 10 years.
Michele McNamee
Michele McNamee runs Pinpoint College Planning and has worked with a growing caseload of students each year, from 17 in the class of 2020 to 18 in the class of 2023. She also works with under-served students through the ScholarMatch program.
Missy Yavasile
Missy Yavasile founded Soar College Planning in 2010 after retiring from 36 years in the public school system. She briefly merged her practice with Cyndy McDonald at McDonald and Associates before resuming her independent business.
Nicole Hosemann
Nicole Hosemann founded On My Way Consulting in 2014 and has worked as an independent educational consultant since 2013. Before that, she worked as a school-based college advisor and high school teacher, and her team now works virtually with students across the country.
Priscilla Vivio
Priscilla Vivio has run On My Way Consulting for 5 years, guiding students from high school course planning through the college decision, with a focus on financial aid and merit aid strategy. She has mentored first-generation college-bound students through 10,000 Degrees, Scholarmatch, and Junior Commissioners.
Robin Levi
Robin Levi spent 7 years at Students Rising Above helping high-achieving, low-income youth get into and graduate from college, building relationships with more than 50 colleges and placing hundreds of students. She now runs Robin Levi Educational Consulting and has visited more than 40 colleges across the country.
Sharon Weiss
Sharon Weiss runs Apply Savvy from the Philadelphia area, bringing 30 years of higher education experience and her own background as a first-generation and transfer student to help families plan around both college fit and cost, including merit scholarships and 2+2 transfer strategies.
Stephanie Adkins
Stephanie Adkins runs Open Gate College Advising, covering the most selective college admissions, military academy applications, athletic recruiting, and conservatory and vocal performance auditions, along with post-grad career consulting. She also has extensive experience mentoring gifted students and coaching Destination Imagination teams.
Susan Zinanti
Susan Zinanti runs StepWise College Consulting after working as an admission counselor and Assistant Director of Admission at the University of Denver. She served as 2022-23 President of College Consultants of Colorado and is a featured speaker on college planning and financial aid topics.
Andrea Tsahageas
Andrea Tsahageas is a sole-practitioner independent educational consultant based in Athens, Greece, working by referral with international students and families applying to the US and Canada.
Anna Seltz
Anna Seltz runs Higher Ed U, drawing on 12 years of direct college admissions experience and 9 years running her own consulting practice.
Anne Anderson
Anne Anderson runs Anderson + Krone College Admissions Advising and has volunteered for three years mentoring low-income, first-generation students through the Marin County program 10,000 Degrees, alongside part-time work with College Dream Team in San Rafael, California.
Barbara Bergman
Barbara Bergman runs Bergman College Consulting after more than 30 years in college admissions and counseling, including 16 years as Director of College Counseling at Georgetown Day School.
Cornelia Betschart-Fuertes
Cornelia Betschart-Fuertes founded Global College Advisers, drawing on growing up in Germany to help students explore both US and international university options across countries including the Netherlands, Germany, and Japan.
Erin Jensen
Erin Jensen runs Golden Ratio Northwest College Coaching. With over 15 years in college recruitment and admissions, she specializes in non-traditional students, including gap year, working adult, veteran, and foster youth populations.
Eve Cooper
Eve Cooper runs Eve Cooper Consulting and supported students at Novato High School from 2002 to 2016 before starting, in 2017, to counsel students at a small high school for at-risk boys.
Francine Schwartz
Francine Schwartz founded Pathfinder Counseling LLC in 2010 after developing the college consulting program at The Norwich Free Academy from 2007 to 2010.
Jeff Levy
Jeff Levy co-founded Big J Educational Consulting in Los Angeles and has worked as an independent educational consultant since 2008, currently advising about fifty students and families a year with an emphasis on financial fit.
Jennifer Dooher
Jennifer Dooher runs Hitting the Mark College Consulting and became a Certified Educational Planner through AICEP in 2019, after starting paid client work in 2014 following years of pro bono counseling.
Jodi Siegel
Jodi Siegel has 10 years of experience as an independent educational consultant, working with about 30 families a year as part of a four-person practice called College Bound. She previously worked in the undergraduate admissions office at George Washington University, where she reviewed freshman and transfer applications.
Kerry Traylor
Kerry Traylor founded College Strategy Experts in 2014 after working as an independent contractor for an educational consulting firm in Carlsbad, California. She has worked with more than 275 families on admissions and financial aid.
Liane Crane
Liane Crane founded The College Dollar after 10 years at a college consulting company, focusing solely on college finances. Her earlier background includes teaching, non-profit leadership, and work as a paralegal at a large New York City law firm.
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Side by side
| Coach | Focus | Works with | Based in | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abigail Hagan | Grad school and PhD and MBA admissions | Students and Professionals | Not published | |
| Virginia Blackwell | College admissions and College essays | Students and Parents | Not published | |
| Adam B | MBA admissions and Financial aid and scholarships | Students and Professionals | London, United Kingdom | Not published |
| Ade Dedeke | MBA admissions and Financial aid and scholarships | Students | $65 per hour | |
| Amrit Hassaram | MBA admissions and Financial aid and scholarships | Professionals | Not published | |
| Andrew Ghadimi | Ivy League and top schools and Financial aid and scholarships | Students | $350 per hour | |
| Claire Mangrum | College admissions and College essays | Texas, United States | Not published | |
| Jackie Postelnick | Financial aid and scholarships | Students and Parents | Not published | |
| Steven Antonoff | College admissions and Financial aid and scholarships | Students | Not published | |
| Timothy O'Hair | International students and Arts and portfolio | Students | Not published | |
| Adwoa Boateng | MBA admissions and Financial aid and scholarships | Students | Not published | |
| April Paris-Joseph | College admissions and College essays | Not published | ||
| Ellen Chao | Athletic recruiting and Financial aid and scholarships | Students | Southern California | Not published |
| Hamid Arbab | College admissions and Law school admissions | Students | Not published | |
| Kim Anderson | College admissions and College essays | Students | Not published |
Common questions
How much does an admissions consultant for financial aid and scholarships cost?
Based on 113 admissions consultants who publish their rates, the middle half charge $90 to $250 per hour or session, and the typical rate is $165.
What else do these admissions consultants help with?
Common focus areas include college admissions, college essays, athletic recruiting and international students.
Prices and research
- Are College Admissions Consultants Worth It?
- How Much Do MBA Admissions Consultants Charge?
- How Much Does a College Admissions Consultant Cost?
- Coaching Packages and Prices: Hourly vs Monthly
- Coaching Rates Per Hour by Coach Type
- Coaching vs Therapy: Cost and Key Differences
- Do Certified Coaches Charge More?
- Executive Functioning Coach Cost
- How Many Coaches Are There?
- How Many Coaching Sessions Do I Need?
Other focus areas
Built from public coach profiles and websites, written in our own words. Last checked September 2026. How we build profiles.