Karen Hott
College admissions consultant helping students and families with the move to college
| Hourly rate range | $70 to $130 an hour |
|---|---|
| Focus areas | |
| Works with | Students and Parents |
| Credentials | IEC certificate from UCI (earned September 2019) |
| Practice | Two Bridges College Consulting |
Karen Hott is a college admissions consultant who helps students and their families with the move from high school to college. She runs Two Bridges College Consulting. Before consulting, she taught AP English and journalism, and she has helped students with college essays since 2016. She earned her IEC certificate at UCI in 2019. Her service covers assessments, college lists, essays, applications, and comparing financial aid offers. She stays available into the student's first year of college.
What Karen helps with
Karen helps students pick colleges that fit them and get applications done on time. She also helps families understand admission decisions and aid offers.
- Building a college list that fits academically, socially, emotionally and financially
- Learning how to research and narrow down colleges
- Writing and revising college application essays
- Filling out applications, including the activities section
- Tracking application deadlines
- Choosing recommendation letter writers
- Comparing financial aid packages and spotting loans that look like gifts
- Essays for transfer and graduate school applications
Who Karen works with
Karen works with high school students and their families. Most students start in junior year, but she has taken on students as early as ninth grade and as late as fall of senior year. She also helps undergraduate, transfer, and graduate students with essays on an hourly basis.
How Karen works
Karen starts with personality, learning, and skill assessments and long interviews about the student's values and preferences. She teaches the student to research the schools using CollegePlannerPro and to record findings in a Google doc table to compare them. For aid, she uses the Education Department's College Financing Plan to compare offers side by side.
Background and qualifications
Karen Hott taught AP English and journalism and has been a lifelong teacher of writing. She began helping students with college application essays in 2016. She earned her IEC certificate through UCI in September 2019. During that program she worked pro bono with three students, and all three are happy at the schools they chose. In 2020 and 2021 she worked pro bono with two students through Matchlighters, one of them a Questbridge finalist.
Karen Hott pricing
Programs and services
- Comprehensive college counseling
- Hourly essay help for undergraduate, transfer, and graduate applications
- Support into the student's first year of college
Karen Hott reviews
The CoachVouch take
A former AP English and journalism teacher who combines essay coaching with full college counseling and financial aid review.
Best for families who want help from college list to aid comparison, starting in junior year.
Common questions
How much does Karen Hott charge?
Coaching with Karen runs $70 to $130 an hour. Request an intro for an exact quote.
What does Karen Hott help with?
Karen Hott helps with building a college list that fits academically, socially, emotionally and financially, learning how to research and narrow down colleges, writing and revising college application essays and filling out applications, including the activities section.
Is Karen Hott certified?
Karen Hott lists: IEC certificate from UCI (earned September 2019).
When should a student start working with Karen Hott?
She likes to begin in the student's junior year. She has taken students as early as ninth grade and as late as fall of senior year.
How do I contact Karen Hott?
Request an intro on this page. It's free, and we'll connect you with Karen and, if you want, 2 or 3 similar coaches to compare.
Similar coaches to compare
Tick "Compare" on any coach to add them to your intro request.
Ferah Aziz
Ferah Aziz is a college admissions coach and Certified Educational Planner. She helps students in grades 9 to 12, college transfer students and graduate school applicants. Her coaching covers college lists, essays, mock interviews, scholarships and choosing a major. She also helps college students and recent grads find internships and jobs. She runs launchphase2 LLC and taught college classes as an adjunct for 19 years before starting it.
Hailee DeMott
Hailee DeMott is an Independent Educational Consultant who helps students and families plan for college and graduate school. She owns DeMott College and Education Consulting. Before starting her practice, she worked in student recruitment and admissions, academic advising, and as a faculty member. She is a 2013 Fulbright Scholar who studied in Berlin and Strasbourg. She also serves as the Las Vegas Community Coordinator for the Higher Education Consultants Association.
Denise Baylis
Denise Baylis is a college admissions consultant and the owner of Open Door Educational Consultants. She helps high school students, college transfer students and graduate school applicants with college search, applications and essays. She is a former Vice President at a Fortune 500 media company. She uses her marketing and branding background to show how a student fits a school. She also offers career advising to current students and new grads.
Elizabeth LaScala
Elizabeth LaScala is an independent college advisor who helps high school, transfer and graduate school applicants get into the schools they want. She has worked with students for over 15 years and added graduate and professional school advising 8 years ago, after former clients asked for it. She handles medical, dental and vet school applicants in small numbers with a team of experts. Her clients have gotten into at least one school they applied to every time.
Browse related
Last updated September 2026. Request a correction.