Academic Advising.    Done With Heart.

We are academic consultants advising families, parents, individual students and educational institutions on academic issues.  We offer unbiased advice on education and career planning.  We are not in the business of helping clients secure college/university admissions; instead, we offer private, pre-collegiate advising.  You will receive individualized attention and support throughout your decision making process regarding potential academic and career related decisions. We are here to offer you the guidance you need before making costly mistakes that can involve wasting time and precious financial resources.

We have zero affiliations with any colleges or university admissions departments and work for our clients giving them our unwavering attention and offering them the best possible advice given their specific set of life circumstances.  Your success is our success!

"Remember, college admissions representatives have quotas and want to enroll you in their school first, then answer your important questions once its too late.  Academic advisors can only advise you as it pertains to your coursework as a matriculated student.   Both groups are unprepared to advise you of the holistic academic process and are ethically unable to guide you through the pitfalls of academia in the same unbiased manner in which we are able to deliver."

Mid-Life Career Changes: Time to make a move in the RIGHT direction. 

Because there are many moving parts to shifting careers in today's marketplace you need to be prepared before you make that leap.  When changing careers, you understand your academic path is a vital part of that process.  Not only do you need to maintain your present employment and income to prevent economic disaster, you need to double-down and go back to college/university at the same time in order to advance. 

"Before going back to college have you thought about your choice of major?  Do you know what you want your college major to be or are you just guessing? Do you need assistance with career planning?  The secret to successful career pathways has always been, begin-with-end-in-mind.  How much planning have you done?"

Do you really understand all of the dynamics involved in making a mid life career change?  Are you prepared to spend the time, money and exhaustive efforts required to successfully achieve your goals, hopes and dreams?  Is your family ready for this transition?  Are you ready for potentially unintended consequences of your decision?  After it is all said and done, is going back to college the correct decision for your personal circumstances? 

Relax.  We have been there, done-that, over-and-over again. Saving you the heartache of simple, yet very costly, mistakes that can accompany such endeavors, is what we do best.

Our Clients. We advise the following groups:

*  Adult Learners and Non-Traditional Students who are thinking about or actively seeking to return to college after many years of working in their respective fields. This applies to individuals who may have some or no previous college experience. 

*  Working Adult Learners and Non-Traditional Students who are thinking about a mid-life career shift or promotion and need some solid advice on leverage their experience to successfully transition into a new career path without disrupting your present social and economic standings. 

*  Parents/Guardians of traditional-aged students (18-24) who are either currently enrolled in or considering enrolling in a program of academic study within Higher Education (college).

*  Present college students who are considering taking a leave of absence for any reason or changing major or who are dealing with potential academic probation or facing potential academic dismissal.

We are here to give you solid advice about your options before you ever fill out a college application.

Choosing college comes with its own set of serious financial and life responsibilities and ramifications which must be understood before accepting them.  Is it better to work while still in school or not?  These questions are characteristic of the types of questions all students face-everyday. We are here to offer guidance and assistance with everyone’s unique situation.

Far too many students engage academically, without understanding the full implications of their decisions, on both a social and economic level when going back to college.  For example, something as simple as applying to college is not just about an application; rather, you are choosing an entirely new life paradigm.  If you take out student loans, in today’s marketplace, you can affect your credit score in serious ways.  Working while in school presents another set of unique challenges most students never consider before applying.

Register for our Low-Cost Webinar: https://scholarbar.setmore.com/class

We live in an era of hyper-competition in every arena, especially education. With increased pressure on working adults and non-traditional students to achieve academically, economically and socially.   Being prepared for the demands of academic study is a critical life juncture, if not managed properly, can be counter productive and potentially economically devastating.  

Think about this example:  if you decide to go back to college, take out student loans and then drop out for one reason or another, you are still responsible to pay back all loans and sill have no upward mobility or degree to show for your efforts.  Meaning, you have added to your debt-burden and are still stuck in that dead-end job.  This is what we strive to avoid at all costs. 

Even when you decide to return to school, there are still lingering concerns about what school is a good choice and what are my options when it comes to paying for school. There are so many options out there it has become confusing to even know which school is a real school and which one is the best option for your given circumstances.

Prior Learning/ Educational Audits: Your college degree may be closer than you think.

If you have previously attended college within the past five to ten years, you may be able to get credit for the coursework you have already taken. Have you ever thought about testing out of classes for credit? In addition, with a Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) there is a reasonable opportunity to be awarded credit for your work experience.

Every university has different standards and makes decisions about how to award credit independently.  Do you have certifications you have already earned? We are able to advise you, specifically, which of your work and educational experience are potentially usable for Prior Learning Credits. If you don't investigate you could be wasting valuable resources on education you already possess.

What About Next Steps?

• We recommend attending our series of Webinars: 
• Career and Education Planning, Financial Implications of College & Employer Perspectives of College. 
• Register for our Low-Cost Webinar: https://scholarbar.setmore.com/class

If you still have questions about making changes as they pertain to advancing your educational and career goals, we would recommend our private consultation services.  https://scholarbar.setmore.com/bookappointment

• We will, upon booking, schedule a 50 Minute Private Phone Consultation.  
• We will launch into a series of conversations about your background and personal situations with meticulous specificity.
• We will attempt to uncover what blocked your success at previous attempts to attend college.
• We will ask you to submit a current Resume/CV with all work experience.
• We will ask you to submit your GI BIll / Soldier's Individual Transition Plan (ITP) information if applicable. (Voluntary, Not Mandatory)
• We will ask you to consent to and provide us with unofficial copies of all academic transcripts/coursework.
• We will take your information and apply our proprietary methodology to render our recommendations.
• We will produce a written summary and document our findings for you.

Because our services vary from individual to individual it is difficult to estimate exactly how much time will be required to give you the proper amount of advice relating to your career and educational goals.  In our experience, one conversation is usually not sufficient to discuss every single pertinent detail of your potential and upcoming academic endeavors; however, some individuals may find one conversation is enough for their needs. 

Topics discussed are highly focused and will inevitably lead to more, highly meaningful, in-depth conversations.  While not mandatory, we highly recommend scheduling, a minimum of three billable conversations, because nothing in Higher Education is as straight forward as it seems. 

We always provide written summaries of our conversations with specific recommendations.  Your Privacy is guaranteed. 

* Please be advised, any fees paid, are external of specific costs that clients may encounter as a matter of our recommendations; for example, fees such as those for additional testing/services.

Register for the low-cost Webinar:  https://scholarbar.setmore.com/bookappointment