FAQs
Is there a minimum number of hours that I need to commit to while working with WinCollegeApps?
1
We don’t impose a minimum number of hours. Some students only need/want a free consultation while we spend 50+ hours working with other students. We can make a recommendation as to the number of hours needed but, ultimately, you decide how much help you want and the cadence of our meetings. Also, we are happy to spend more time with you when you are free (for example, during the summer break) and less time when you are busy with school.
How do I know that your service fits my needs?
2
We firmly believe that both parties need to get to know each other a little before deciding if there is a good fit. After a 15 min intro on the phone, we will schedule your free 90 min consultation. During this first meeting you will tell us about your needs and where you are in your college journey, we will go over our service model in greater detail and answer any college related questions in the end. After our first meeting, you can take as much time as needed to decide if/when you would like to enlist our services. We welcome new students at any time of the year provided we are not at capacity.
Can I use your services if I am already working with another college counselor outside of my school?
3
In general, we don’t mind if you are employing other college consulting services. Perhaps, you are using someone to help you prepare for SATs or to go over the pros and the cons of different colleges and help you understand which ones fit your profile better. However, it may become counterproductive if you are using different consultants for the same purpose (for example, to help you brainstorm your Personal Statement). You are welcome to compare the advice you are receiving in the beginning, but it may be confusing to consistently work on your essays and ECs with more than one admissions consultant. Of course, you are welcome to continue working with your school college counselor if you so desire.
Do I need to wait for the Common App to update in August to start working on my Supplemental Essays?
4
No, you don’t need to wait till August, in fact, it would be very hard to write all you SEs in August-September. If you are applying to 10 colleges, you may have to write 25-35 SEs. Some colleges only need one while others ask for seven. Each SE is, at least, a two-day effort so you do the math. Once the school year starts, you will be too busy with maintaining grades, taking SATs, gathering all the documents for you college applications, etc. The time to work on SEs is June-August.
While we don’t know the exact SE prompts until August, we do know that there are the same recurring themes from year to year so you can start organizing your thoughts and jotting down your ideas. The hardest part is figuring out what to write about so, by the time the Common App opens in August, we will help you compile a list of ideas and a tentative paragraph or two written for each of them.
Do I submit the same list of Extracurricular Activities (ECs) to each college?
5
While the wording of your ECs will, likely, not change from school to school (we will thoroughly think through each word to make it impactful and descriptive), it may be beneficial to change the ranking of your ECs on the Common App slightly depending on the major of each school you are applying (to best align your ECs with your intended major).