Mission
My mission is to decode and simplify the college application process for both students and parents, the goal being to find a great college fit, a ‘happy place’ for the student, and minimize the stress for families in the process. I accomplish this through 1:1 meetings (in-person and virtual) guiding and supporting the student, step by step, through this exciting phase of their lives.
Our Services
Our services include advising course selections during Junior and Senior years in High School, creating a balanced college list depending upon the academic record, interests, and activities of the student, reviewing essays and applications, building resumes, mock interviews, encouraging demonstrated interest and tracking progress till the student receives acceptances. I also help families review acceptance letters and guide them in the decision-making process.
Freshmen Consultation
For students in 9th grade
Limited spots
- Review Grades & Academic Progress
- Review Activities & Extracurriculars
- Volunteering & Community Work
- Course Recommendations for Sophomore year
- Review School Offerings
- Summer Planning
Sophomores (Pkg. 1) & Juniors (Pkg. 2)
Guidance on
- Course Selection
- Standardized Test Recommendations
- Extracurricular Activities
- Summer Programs Enrichment Activities
- Community Service and Volunteering
- College Research & Guidance on College Visits
- Demonstrated Interest
- College Visits and Fairs
- Resume Building
- Balanced College List Creation
- Applications and Essay Review
- Scholarships and more
Seniors (Pkg. 3) College Applications and Essays
Guidance on
- Major and Career Exploration
- Balanced College List Creation
- College Research
- Managing Deadlines
- Applications and Essay Review
- Demonstrated Interest
- College Visits and Fairs
- Resume Building
My Courses
Films can shape the destiny of talented youngsters, who want to
How I Work
Step by step College List Creation
Apps and Essay Review
Demonstrated Interest
Mock Interviews
Decision
Excerpt from Berkeley Splash Parent Program at UC Berkeley
Topic- University of California- The 13 Factors of Comprehensive Review (Nov. 18, 2023)
Excerpt from ‘Let’s Talk Essays- for Juniors’
Initial Brainstorming of the 8 UC PIQs (29th Oct 2023)
Holistic Approach to Teaching
I offer myriad subjects of study in your journey of mastering yourself.
What people think about me
Knowing what students think helps my growth
and working with Ms. Kakkar helped me manage all the uncertainty and set deadlines so that I
could stay on top of everything. I will admit I didn’t always complete everything on time, but I felt
way ahead with all the support and resources in building my college list, writing essays, and
constructing my activities list. I’m especially grateful for all the recommendations that helped me
build my extracurriculars, like Camp Galileo. It was an amazing experience that I was glad to
have regardless of college, though it definitely added to the strength of my application. And I am
so glad Ms. Kakkar pushed me to go to many college fairs, info sessions, and campus tours.
Those events and tours helped me find what I really wanted in a college and what I didn’t want.
The most valuable piece for me though was the support on writing all the college essays. I
struggled to get the hang of it at first and without Ms. Kakkar, I think I would have been
discouraged and rushed everything at the last minute. But with her guidance, my essays turned
into pieces I was really proud of, each one showcasing a different part of who I am while
thoroughly answering the prompt. Having someone to guide me through the whole process of
college apps was so helpful and reassuring for both me and my parents. I couldn’t have asked
for a better college coach.”
applying to colleges at the time, and the task seemed daunting. Ms. Kakkar helped me with
every step of the process. She offered a large number of resources for everything imaginable,
and it never felt like I was lacking anything.
She was incredibly helpful during the essay writing process. She helped me craft high quality
essays while making sure my ideas were being delivered authentically. She always had a
positive attitude even when I was behind on essays, and never made me feel patronized. She
always responded quickly, whether I was sending another draft of essays or asking a random
question.
She was incredibly patient throughout the entire process, and always made me feel comfortable
during our meetings. Overall, I am very thankful to Ms. Kakkar for helping me land a spot in my
dream college!
son’s college advisor for the last 2 years of high school and helped him to secure admission into one of
his top choices. She is very supportive and approachable for students and parents likewise. Her
guidance on high school course selection, summer volunteering/Internship, University selection
process, essays and final university selection was very helpful. Her approach is very methodical and
helps students keep track of tasks, for example her assigned monthly tasks helps them to
progressively achieve their set goals. Mausami’s Newsletters are informative and give insight on
current trends in the college admission process. She is patient and strict, and my son enjoyed working
with her. She had a sufficient number of meetings with us to keep us informed and guide us through
every step of the admission process. She is very knowledgeable, and provided many helpful resources
through the 2 year process.
and was not sure how the overall college process worked. Having Mrs. Kakkar guide me
through this difficult time helped me find the various resources and important information I
needed. I was glad Mrs. Kakkar helped me build a balanced college list that aligned with my
future goals and interests. She also took the time to help me create strong essays by reviewing
them and providing feedback that helped me build the story I wanted to share. Mrs. Kakkar was
always engaging and reminding me not to fall behind on the work and to stay on track by
sending emails and checking in on my progress. She also shared many resources to help me
build my activities list and college visits which were exciting to experience. The planning portal
was incredibly useful when I was putting together my final application list as it had all the
information about a college in one place. I truly appreciate Mrs. Kakkar’s guidance throughout
this hectic and unpredictable journey, and I’m grateful for the support she provided me over the
past couple of years.
application process. The transparency in progress, reminders, along with the helpful and swift
responses to our questions made the entire experience delightful. We are very happy to see our
son’s progress and college admissions results.
sophomore year. It’s good that we would have a monthly meeting so she could keep check ups
on me, as well as having an activity list spreadsheet. I never saw the importance of it until I
realized how difficult the activities section is in the Common App and UC App. She also kept me
on task with essay work with corrections on Tuesdays and Fridays, which established a mental
deadline. Her feedback was good, and she always pushed me to write my best work.”
applications and essays, and keeping me on track with deadlines, making the admissions
process much smoother and less stressful.
my personal statements, helping me organize my ideas and express them clearly and confidently. Her
advice on researching colleges gave me useful details and helped me find schools that matched my
goals and interests. She sent out regular reminders about deadlines that were especially helpful,
keeping me on track and making sure I stayed organized throughout the process. Overall, her guidance
made everything much easier and less stressful.
extensive knowledge of various colleges and programs. Her guidance on application deadlines and
required materials was exceptional, that helped us to get into so many good colleges to choose from.
into her dream college.
Mausami set the right expectations from the beginning and delivered on them.
She has a great system for every step of the college process. She has a portal where the students get
assigned tasks, timelines, etc. The whole process was comprehensive,professional and strongly
motivated the student to take ownership of their own college prep journey.
If the student falls behind on timelines, Mausami involves the parents in getting things back on track at
the right time.
Beyond being professional, Mausami also interacts with genuine warmth and understanding with the
parents, which is much appreciated.
Thank you so much for helping us. Very grateful for your excellent guidance.
“Before having the opportunity to work with Ms. Kakkar, I was incredibly worried that I would have to navigate the college application process on my own. After our first few meetings, however, it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Ms. Kakkar was dedicated and efficient right from the start, and we wasted no time in setting goals and creating a clear plan of action. Despite her busy schedule, she was always quick to answer my questions or assist me with essays, and her diligence helped me stay on track as well.
Ms. Kakkar has a wealth of knowledge and is always ready to share insight and resources. Thanks to her, I was able to take advantage of so many opportunities that I may not have even found on my own. The value of having someone who knows both about you as an individual and about the admissions process cannot be overlooked; having Ms. Kakkar to give me advice on my essays was a resource that I cannot be grateful enough for. The support and the information that I received from her gave me the confidence to work towards ambitious goals, and I really believe that her help was instrumental in my acceptance into incredibly useful programs and several of my dream schools.
Even though my college admissions process has concluded, Ms. Kakkar remains a source of guidance and encouragement. She truly wants to ensure that her students succeed, and I appreciate her endlessly for all that she has done for me throughout this entire process.”
After experimenting with several college counselors by trial & error, we finally came across Ms. Kakkar’s counseling services. My prior experience with college counselors was a mixed bag. Some were happy to collect their fees and throw the standard template material at us. Others gave us templated advise that was not quite tailored for our son. Overall we had a feeling of unfulfilment and anxiety because the clock was ticking and we had no counselor.
We were fortunate to have met Ms. Kakkar at the right time. In the very first meeting we learnt that she was a no-nonsense counselor. She was extremely organized with her materials and clearly explained how she, the student and parents will work together as a team on the apps process. She helped my son select his coursework, helped him plan his time and activities at school and outside, gave the right advice on when to take SAT and helped us choose the list of colleges and alerted us on various college information sessions. Once the apps process began the level of attention my son got was really extraordinary. Ms. Kakkar is as good as a real college admissions officer (I am not exaggerating one bit!) in providing feedback on the essays and helping prepare the overall application packet. She helped review the application packet thoroughly for each college and helped my son complete the apps early in the cycle to maximize his chances. Further she gave us tips and useful info on how to apply for scholarships. Thanks to her services, we are proud of our son’s application results. Ms. Kakkar is still not done. She is helping us take the next steps in choosing among the admitted colleges. She is truly an extraordinary counselor.
You should consider yourself lucky to have your kids join her program. Good luck!
guidance.
FAQ's
Knowing what students think helps my growth
What should we look for in a college counselor or an Independent Educational Consultant (IEC)?
I recommend working with a certified college counselor who is a member of a professional organization like IECA, or HECA. Members of these professional organizations are held to the highest standards and abide by a code of ethics, participate in college tours, webinars, and meetings, and collaborate with other IECs to provide up-to-date information to the families we work with. So, you benefit from the expertise and experience of many other IECs when you work with an IECA or HECA member or counselor.
What are the benefits of working with an IEC?
You can read about the 10 benefits of working with an IEC on my blog,
When is the best time to sign up for a package and start working with a college counselor?
I offer Package 1 at the start of Sophomore year. If possible, students should start early on in Sophomore year to get the full advantage of the package. That way, I can work with them early on, help them with high school course selection, major exploration, and pathways, planning their summer and spring breaks. The price of the Package does not change if you join later in Sophomore year but the advantage of joining earlier is that the student gets more time to work on different aspects of the application process without the stress.
What if I only need help with essays and activities?
Please look at the details of the Essays and Extracurriculars Package for Late Seniors. I only accept a few seniors, time permitting who have the rest of things figured out when they come to me e.g. their college list, college research, coursework. This package is only offered July-September. If interested, please reach out to me in May-June to check my availability and spots open.
Do you work with students who only want to apply to Ivies or highly selective schools?
My methodology is that I work with students on a balanced college list. Their final application list should have a few reach, a few target or match schools and a few likely schools. Ivies or highly selective schools can be in the reach or highly selective category, but the final application list needs to be balanced and realistic.
What is unique about your practice?
I work with a lot of first-gen families, immigrants, and families whose first child is heading to college. Therefore, they may not be well-versed with all the aspects of the application process and need information and guidance. I offer Parent Meetings in my packages so that parents can be informed and involved in the process. However, I work one-on-one with the students when it comes to essay brainstorming and essay writing.
Do you have a package for middle school? How do we get started?
Many parents have been inquiring about guidance for their middle-school children. I only take on very few, motivated students. Most of them are either referrals or families I have worked with earlier. Please reach out to me via email, if interested. I offer an initial, 30-minute, free, Zoom call to know the child, their hobbies, and interests. Then I offer 2 sessions, one every 6 months, 1 hour each to meet with the students and guide them with transcript review, course selections, summer planning, extracurriculars, and more. If the family would like additional time, I can offer more hours, time, and workload permitting.
How can we get regular updates from you about the college application process?
Please sign up for my monthly newsletter below or from the Contact Page
The newsletter is sent out mid-month.