Advisors with 20+ Years Experience
Our counselors have guided hundreds of students to top schools. They know what admissions committees look for.
College Admissions Counseling
Get Into Your
Dream College.
You're in 11th or 12th grade. The clock is ticking and every decision matters. We build your strategy, write your essays, and get you in, 97% of our students get into their top-choice school.
★★★★★
"Jeremy's writing workshops were invaluable. I applied to 25 schools, almost all T20, and was accepted to 18. I will be attending Harvard University this fall."
Counseling pairs naturally with ongoing subject support. Many families combine it with our academic advising program for consistent guidance across the school year.
MM
Milan M.
Harvard: 18 of 25 T20 Acceptances
At a glance
What does ConnectPrep college admissions counseling include?
ConnectPrep college admissions counseling is one-on-one guidance from early high school planning through final decisions: a balanced college list, testing strategy, activities and passion projects, Common App and supplemental essays, applications, interviews and financial aid questions. Founder Jeremy Fine and ConnectPrep's counselors work with families in Westport and Fairfield County, CT and online nationwide, and 97% of ConnectPrep students are accepted to one of their top three schools.
- Who it is for
- Students in grades 8 to 12, plus transfer and graduate school applicants
- What is covered
- College list, testing plan, activities, essays, applications, interviews, decisions and appeals
- Specialized tracks
- BS/MD and direct medical programs, athletic recruiting, private and boarding school, college transfer
- Where
- Online nationwide and internationally, and in person in Westport and Fairfield County, CT
- How to start
- A free consultation to review where your student stands
Related:Academic advising (grades 8 to 11)BS/MD advisingAthletic recruitingCollege transferCommon App promptsApplication deadlines
Updated October 2026 by Jeremy Fine, Founder of ConnectPrep. ConnectPrep was founded in 2013 and is based in Westport, Connecticut.
Student Acceptances
Where Our Students
Get Accepted
ConnectPrep students are accepted to the most selective universities in the world. Here's where they've gone.
97%
Top-choice
acceptance
acceptance
Why ConnectPrep
Your Child Deserves a
Strategic Advantage
College admissions is more competitive than ever. We don't just submit applications. We build a clear, year-by-year strategy that puts your child in the best position at every school on the list.
Fully Personalized Strategy
No templates, no generic advice. Every student gets a roadmap built around their profile, interests, and dream schools.
97% Top-Choice Acceptance Rate
Over 97% of our students per cycle are accepted into their top-ranked college, including highly selective schools.
Deadline Management & Accountability
We track every deadline, manage the full timeline, and keep students and families accountable so nothing slips.
What We Offer
Every Service You Need
to Get Accepted
Every service is 1:1 and built around your child. We cover every part of the process.
School Selection & Strategy
Build a perfectly balanced list aligned to your profile, interests, and goals.
- Balanced reach / match / safety list
- Campus visit planning
- Financial aid strategy by school
- Early decision / early action guidance
Essay & Application Coaching
The personal statement is the single most powerful differentiator. We guide every word.
- Common App personal statement
- All supplemental essays per school
- Multiple rounds of editing
- Activities list optimization
Interview Preparation
Prepare for every format, alumni, admissions, and virtual, with mock sessions and feedback.
- Multiple mock interview sessions
- School-specific question preparation
- Communication coaching
- Response frameworks
Academic Planning & Test Strategy
Audit your transcript and build a focused SAT/ACT strategy for the scores your list requires.
- 4-year course selection roadmap
- SAT / ACT diagnostic & strategy
- AP / IB selection
- GPA protection
Essay Development
The Essay Is Where
You Win or Lose
Most students write about what they did. We teach them to write about who they are.
1
Story Mining & Brainstorm Workshop
We surface experiences and values most students never think to include, the moments that actually reveal character.
2
Narrative Structure & Arc
Every great statement has a dramatic arc: a specific scene, a turning point, a reflection that lands with weight.
3
Voice Preservation & Authenticity
Admissions officers recognize immediately when an essay sounds like a parent. We improve clarity while protecting every student's voice.
4
School-Specific Supplementals
"Why us?" essays require genuine research. We guide students to write supplementals that signal authentic intellectual fit.
5
Application Narrative Cohesion
The strongest applications tell one coherent story across every component, essays, activities, recommendations, and interviews.
Every essay we work on
✓Common App personal statement
✓All supplemental essays
✓"Why us?" per school
✓Activities list (150-char)
✓Additional info section
✓Unlimited revision rounds
Standing Out
How We Help Your Child
Rise Above the Pool
Top schools turn away most qualified applicants. These are the six ways we build a real edge.
Passion Project
Passion Project Development
A well-documented passion project is one of the most powerful differentiators in any application. We help students identify a genuine interest and shape it into an initiative with measurable impact.
Research
Research Projects & Publishing
High school research participation is a significant differentiator for top-25 schools. We connect students with research opportunities and guide development of academic papers for student journals.
Networking
Networking & Building Connections
We teach students how to build genuine relationships with admissions representatives, connect with alumni, and engage meaningfully in communities related to their interests.
Leadership
Leadership & Community Impact
We help students move from participation to ownership: launching clubs, taking on officer roles, founding initiatives, and turning service into something measurable and meaningful.
Brand
Personal Brand & Application Identity
The most memorable applications have a clear identity, a thread that runs through every component. We help each student discover and articulate that thread.
Internships
Internships, Summer Programs & Pre-College
We identify and help students apply to competitive summer programs, internships, and leadership institutes that align with their interests and strengthen the extracurricular section.
Passion Project Development
Where Good Applications
Become Great Ones
100% of our Ivy-accepted students had a documented passion project. It is the single most powerful differentiator beyond GPA and test scores, and the earlier students start, the more powerful it becomes.
100%
of Ivy admits had a documented project
#1
differentiator beyond GPA and test scores
4x
more essay material from one strong project
9th
best grade to start for maximum impact
Nonprofit & Social Impact
App or Technology
Research & Publishing
Media & Publication
Community Program
Business or Venture
Every ConnectPrep student develops a documented passion project, starting as early as 9th grade.
Start Building Yours
Financial Aid Expertise
Maximizing Your
Aid & Scholarship Awards
Most families miss out on aid they qualify for. We help every family get every dollar they deserve.
FAFSA Optimization
The FAFSA deadline matters more than most families realize. We guide families through every field, timing strategy, and asset-reporting decision to maximize calculated need.
- FAFSA completion & deadline strategy
- EFC/SAI optimization guidance
- State aid deadline management
- Year-over-year appeal planning
CSS Profile & Institutional Aid
The CSS Profile is used by 400+ schools, including most Ivies, to award institutional grants. Small differences in how families complete it can mean tens of thousands of dollars.
- CSS Profile line-by-line guidance
- School-specific aid policy review
- Non-custodial parent form strategy
- Professional judgment appeal letters
Merit Scholarships & Outside Awards
Merit aid isn't just for National Merit finalists. We identify school-specific scholarships, match students to outside programs, and help craft winning applications.
- Institutional merit scholarship matching
- Outside scholarship identification
- Scholarship essay coaching
- Award offer comparison & negotiation
$0
Cost of leaving FAFSA fields wrong
400+
Schools use CSS Profile
$$$
Merit aid available at most schools
Beyond the classroom
We don’t just talk about impact. We build it.
Admissions officers read thousands of activity lists. What stands out is real work that changed something for real people. We develop mentorships that are not open to everyone else, open doors through relationships built over 20+ years, and then work alongside each student to solve real world problems with genuine, tangible impact on their community.
Mentorships you can’t apply for
We develop mentorships for our students with people and programs that are not open to the general public, built on our relationships with schools, administrators, colleges and leaders in their fields.
Doors opened, not just pointed to
We make the introduction, prepare the student for the first conversation and stay involved, so a connection becomes a real working relationship.
Real world problems, real solutions
Students take on a problem they care about in their own community and build something that solves it: apps, prototypes, research, nonprofits and public programs.
Impact you can measure
We judge the work by what changes for the people it serves: patients reached, students tutored, families helped. Not by how it reads on an application.
How we work
Execution, not talk.
Plenty of advisors tell students to find their passion and leave the rest to them. We stay in the work with them until it is real.
- 01Find the problemStart with what the student cares about and where their community actually needs help.
- 02Build the networkConnect them with mentors, partners and resources so the work is done right.
- 03Ship itSet milestones, solve the hard parts together and launch something people use.
- 04Prove the impactTrack real results and share them through competitions, press, publications and applications.
Real problems. Real people helped.
A few of the student projects our advisors have guided from idea to impact.
60+
Rural patients connected to care
A student built a low bandwidth telehealth app that links rural Connecticut patients with volunteer physicians, now active in two counties.
Admitted to Columbia
400+
Parents using a student built app
A real time school bus tracking app with live ETAs, deployed across three Fairfield County school districts.
Admitted to Carnegie Mellon
60+
Seniors trained in digital skills
A weekly tech literacy program at three community centers, featured in local news and still run year round by trained student volunteers.
Admitted to Brown
120+
Middle schoolers tutored for free
A bilingual English and Spanish tutoring nonprofit with 30 volunteer tutors serving Bridgeport students.
Admitted to Georgetown
Want to see what your student could build, and who they could build it with?
Get a free consultationStudent Success Stories
Real Students. Real Acceptances.
★★★★★
"I applied to 25 schools, almost all T20, and was accepted to 18, waitlisted at 4, and only rejected from 3. Jeremy pushed me to achieve a 1550 SAT. His writing workshops were invaluable. I will be attending Harvard University this fall."
Harvard18/25 T20 Acceptances
MM
Milan M.
Class of 2028
★★★★★
"Jeremy is an incredible mentor. I ended up at my dream school. Cornell University. Working with Jeremy provided confidence and comfort. My acceptance to Cornell, Emory, and five other schools were only possible because Jeremy was in my corner."
CornellEmoryMultiple Acceptances
JM
Student
Cornell University
★★★★★
"I was extremely satisfied with ConnectPrep and was able to get into Dartmouth, Rice, Vanderbilt, WashU, and more. Jeremy is fantastic. With his help my daughter's ACT increased from 32 to 35."
DartmouthRiceVanderbilt
DP
Dartmouth Parent
Parent of Accepted Student
Common Questions
Everything You Need to Know
About College Admissions Advising
For college admissions counseling, most families begin in 11th grade. If your student is in 9th or 10th grade, our Academic Advising program is the right starting point.
On average, over 97% of our students per application cycle are accepted into their top-ranked college, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, and many other top-25 universities.
Our advising covers school selection, essay coaching, supplemental writing, interview preparation, academic planning, extracurricular strategy, test prep guidance, financial aid navigation, and decision support, all 1:1.
Book a free 30-minute College Strategy Call at connectprep.com/contact or call (914) 288-5718. No commitment required.
Limited Availability
Book Your Free College
Strategy Session
30 minutes with an expert advisor. No commitment required.
Request Your Free Session
We respond within one business day to schedule your call.
Spots fill quickly. We limit new families each month. Reserve your session now.
Why Families Choose ConnectPrep
What You Get
in 30 Minutes
Profile Assessment
We review academics, test scores, extracurriculars, and timeline, then tell you honestly where things stand.
School List Guidance
We'll discuss which schools are realistic, which are reaches, and which are worth exploring.
Zero Commitment Required
The call is completely free, no pressure to continue, no hidden agenda.
Recent ConnectPrep results
Student accepted to Harvard: 18 of 25 T20 applications successful
Student accepted to Cornell, Emory, and 5 additional schools
Student accepted to Dartmouth, Rice, Vanderbilt, and WashU
ACT raised from 32 to 35, accepted to Emory
You're all set!
Thank you, we'll be in touch within one business day to schedule your free College Strategy Session.
Back to ConnectPrepYour Child's Dream School
Starts with the Right Strategy.
Book your free College Strategy Call. We'll review your child's profile, clarify target schools, and map the path to an acceptance, no commitment, no pressure.