DANA'S EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
Dana Ponsky guides and supports students to highlight the best versions of themselves to colleges, graduate schools, and employers. Dana’s process is simple. Meet the student where they are and help them find the right college and navigate the college admissions process with as little anxiety as possible.
Dana believes a college is a “good college” when it can meet the students academic, social, emotional, personal, and professional goals. With the right combination of challenge and support, Dana helps individuals apply and get accepted to the right school and does it in a way that limits stress, anxiety, and uncertainty.
Dana’s role as an independent college counselor is to tap into her extensive knowledge and exposure to the thousands of options out there and narrow it down to a reasonable list based on your student’s declared interests, character, personality, and short- and long-term goals. For over two decades, 14 years as a school-based college counselor and nine years as a university administrator, Dana developed an educational philosophy that is focused on advocacy, honesty, and strong relationships. Combined with the knowledge gained by visiting over 100 colleges, Dana’s goal when working with each student is to find colleges that a student will not only be accepted into but will also thrive in, and eventually graduate from prepared for the future.
Preparation
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High school and college planning
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College major and career exploration
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Test prep options and scheduling
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Gap year program exploration
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Interview preparation for colleges, graduate schools, & employers
Guidance
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College list development
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Extracurricular exploration and development
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Summer program planning
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Timeline creation and management
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Financial aid options
Creation
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Full application development, editing, and support
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Comprehensive timeline and deadlines
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Essay writing development & editing
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Resume development & editing
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Gap year application development & editing
Dana sees each student as unique and therefore, her approach to serving students is to recognize and value their particular character, strengths, limitations, and goals. Dana’s methodology meets the needs of the students and families that she works with and she utilizes her extensive experience, training, and drive to challenge and support students to be happy, healthy, and successful. Her personalized approach ensures that each student will move forward in their academic, personal, and professional life in a way that prepares them for success.