Kathleen is amazing! She's very personable and genuinly connects with her clients and their families.

I worked with Ginny at The College Coaches during my college application process, and honestly, I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through it without her! At the start, I thought this whole process was going to be stressful and confusing (which it kind of is), but Ginny made it feel a lot more manageable. She didn’t just look at me as another application. She took the time to get to know me, like what I enjoy, what classes I like, what I do outside of school, and even just who I am as a person. That made everything we worked on feel real and not forced. The essay part was probably the biggest surprise. I thought it was going to be painful, but Ginny somehow made it… not terrible. We did a lot of brainstorming, and instead of trying to make me sound like every other applicant, she helped me figure out what makes me different. She always said it’s not about fitting in, it’s about standing out, and that stuck with me. She also helped me connect ideas across my main essay and supplementals, so everything felt consistent without sounding repetitive. Ginny helped me build my college list based on my major, GPA and SAT score, with a mix of reach, target, and safety schools. I also took an SAT prep course during the process, and my score improved a lot, which helped open more doors. In the end, I applied to 11 schools and got accepted at 10. Ginny encouraged me to go after additional opportunities, and I ended up getting into the honors program at the school I’ll be attending. The best part was that Ginny wasn’t done when decisions started coming in. She kept checking in with me, talking through my options, and helping me figure out what I actually wanted. I went into the process thinking I already knew where I was going, but I ended up choosing a different school, and I’m really glad I kept an open mind. Ginny was a huge part of this whole process. She pushed me when I needed it, kept things relaxed when I was stressed, and somehow made something that’s usually overwhelming feel pretty manageable. She also put up with my sense of humor, which probably deserves its own five stars. I’d definitely recommend Ginny and The College Coaches to anyone going through this process. I’ll be reaching out to her again when it’s time for grad school. Thanks, Ginny!

Great folks to help set us up for success

We had a great experience working with Kathleen. She was very helpful through the application and decision process. Kathleen was very positive and reassuring, and our son ended up getting offers from his top two choices!

We had a terrific experience working with The College Coaches during the 2024-2025 school year! My daughter is now in her first year at her top choice college and loving it! We purchased The College Coaches' Season Pass package in my daughter's junior year of high school, when she was just beginning to think about her college journey. Over the next 9 months, my daughter was coached one-on-one by Kathleen Sparrow through all phases of the road-to-college journey. Kathleen immediately connected with my daughter and conveyed that she "got" her personality and desires for her college experience. Kathleen constantly focused on my kid's particular strengths and boosted her confidence. Kathleen understood my anxieties as a parent and helped me to relax and support my daughter without over-controlling every step of the process. As I often told Kathleen, my daughter and I left every coaching session feeling renewed and more relaxed, which was incredibly helpful given the ultra-competitive, high pressure environment of our Northern Virginia community. I'd also like to give a shout out to Becky Bowlby, who Kathleen referred me to for a conversation about financial matters pertaining to college. Becky was great to talk to and knowledgeable about college financing. As a final component of the Season Pass package, my daughter met with Sara Lacombe to discuss her possible college major and career interests. Sara asked great questions, reflected back what my daughter shared with her, and "elevated" the themes she heard from my daughter in a way that really captured my daughter's sense of her unique purpose. Finally, I want to thank George Sparrow for our many communications over the time we worked with The College Coaches. He was unfailingly responsive, kind and helpful in addressing scheduling matters and questions I had along the way. My daughter and I highly recommend The College Coaches for their expertise and support on the college journey!

I highly recommend Sara Lacombe as a career coach. When I first met her, I felt at ease and impressed with her wealth of knowledge. She has been guiding my teenage daughter in finding various career paths in college. My daughter found Sara easy to talk to, and kind. My daughter felt she could safely discuss any topic with Sara knowing she would be non judgmental. Sara has a gift for finding what motivates a person and then helps them steer them in a positive direction. We look forward to continuing our journey with Sara as my daughter begins College.

It was a great experience working with a coach at this company for so many reasons. I loved her gentle but matter of fact advice. She is obviously knowledgeable about all things college admissions but more importantly, able to communicate well with a teenager - not always an easy task! I'm quite sure the coach put my son over the edge with her ability to help him craft his Common App. He ended up getting into one of his top choices. Highly recommend The College Coaches!

I felt supported and could reach out for help whenever I needed.

We absolutely loved working with Caroline! Her deep knowledge and thoughtful guidance were invaluable in helping our daughter navigate the college application process. She provided the support and insight our family needed to narrow down the options and ultimately find the perfect school. We are so grateful to Caroline and The College Coaches team—thank you for everything!

Kathleen was an excellent college coach. She helped my daughter from start to finish in creating a college list, making sure the common app provided the correct information and helping with essay writing, word count, etc. Kathleen has a kind and positive approach to a difficult process. She never added to the stress! We highly recommend college coaches.

Thanks to Becky Bowlby for all her tremendous help! This is our second child in two years applying to college with Becky’s help and we’re grateful for her calm and knowledgeable guidance. Things have changed so much since we applied to college, so her help was invaluable. We highly recommend her and the College Coaches overall.

We had a fantastic experience working with Kathleen, George, and especially Becky at The College Coaches. Becky’s knowledge and support were invaluable. What initially felt like an overwhelming process quickly became manageable thanks to her calm and reassuring presence. Our son truly enjoyed working with Becky and felt confident under her guidance. She’s not only incredibly knowledgeable and insightful, but also empathetic, a great listener—and genuinely funny! We’re already looking forward to working with Becky again when it’s our daughter’s turn. We wholeheartedly recommend The College Coaches; their expertise made all the difference, and we can’t imagine navigating the process without them!

All I can say is that The College Coaches are the ABSOLUTE BEST!! They guided us with all three of our children and our experience was great. They kept my children on track and kept my husband and me calm throughout the process. I highly recommend them!!!

College coaches is a great organization with caring college professionals. We were very happy with their guidance and support of our son and of us!

Great experience with The College Coaches

The College Coaches team is very professional and knowledgeable. Our two students have received extremely useful support from The College Coaches and we will forever remain grateful for that. We will highly recommend The College Coaches to families looking for professional coaching for their students during the college application and admission process. Thank you to The College Coaches.

One of the best decisions we made during the summer before senior year was to send our twin daughters to the College Coaches' Essay and Common App class. Our girls completed the Common App in a matter of hours. They thanked us each night for allowing them to take the essay class because they were done with their essay before the school year started. As a result, they started senior year feeling less stressed and confident in their ability to submit strong applications. Fast forward to spring and both girls were accepted at their first choice colleges: Wake Forest and the United States Naval Academy. Becky's guidance during the service academy application process was key!

Great, personalized service!

We would highly recommend The College Coaches! Our daughter had the best experience with her coach and ended up getting admitted to her top school. Her coach’s knowledge, guidance, and expertise proved invaluable!

Kathleen at the College Coaches was just who our family needed to help us think through an application strategy, to reduce our stress by keeping us on track, and to boost our daughter's spirits throughout the process. Thank you Kathleen!

Kathleen was a tremendous resource throughout the process and George did a great job keeping us on track with payments and scheduling (we were not easy clients due to busy schedules, but he took it all in stride with kindness and understanding). Kathleen helped identify schools we hadn’t thought of, and peeled back the curtain on the college app process, which has changed so much since we went through it. She also provided invaluable structure, feedback and encouragement to help our Senior write and perfect his essay. We are so grateful!

Kathleen was a true professional in every way. She was patient, thoughtful, and wise. A winning combination. Applying to colleges is extremely stressful and confusing, and we could not have done it without Kathleen. My son was admitted into his top choice college. We are grateful for Kathleen’s experience and guidance.

I had a very positive experience working with Kathleen. She is responsive, honest, and will always point you in the right direction. Because of her, my college process was quick and easy.

It was an amazing decision to use College Coaches to help me with my college applications! I had around the clock support, answering any questions I had and helping me build confidence in my applications. Thanks to Kathleen and George Sparrow I was able to get into my top choice and had a pain free application process!

Even my jaded teenager enjoyed the essay-writing process! Kathleen and her team know how to get the best out of these kids and turn it into a compelling essay.