Admissions Counseling

A licensed counselor and independent educational consultant, Andrew’s experience in the field of college admissions and transition spans nearly 15 years. After receiving a B.A. from Georgetown University and a M.Ed. from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, Andrew earned a Ph.D. at the University of Georgia’s Institute of Higher Education, where his research focused on college access and institutional admission policies

A recent fellow of the Association for Institutional Research, Andrew’s work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, American Educational Research Association, National Center for Education Statistics, and University of Michigan’s Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. He has published in education’s top academic journals, including Education Evaluation & Policy Analysis, Research in Higher Education, and The Journal of Higher Education, among others; and his research and commentary have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, CBS MoneyWatch, U.S. News & World Report, Inside Higher Education, The Chronicle of Higher Education, NPR, and more than a dozen other media outlets. Andrew is also the co-author of The Enlightened College Applicant: A New Approach to the Search and Admissions Process (Rowman and Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money: A Guide to What America’s Top Schools Can Do For You (Rowman and Littlefield, 2020).

Prior to launching College Transitions, Andrew worked as a school counselor at Abington Senior High School in suburban Philadelphia, a college admissions consultant and blogger for Kaplan Test Prep, and as a research consultant at the federal level for the Congressional Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance. He is a professional member of the Independent Education Consultants Association (IECA), the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA), and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).

In addition to his role as counselor, consultant, and author, Andrew previously served as an interviewer for Georgetown University, helping the admissions team at his alma mater evaluate prospective students. Andrew currently lives in Athens, Georgia with his wife, Eva, and daughters, Anna and Abigel.

Dave has over a decade of professional experience in the field of education that includes work as a teacher and administrator at an award-winning high school located in suburban Philadelphia, an adjunct professor at Temple University, certified independent educational consultant, and author of a popular blog on college admissions for College Transitions as well as a host of other web and print publications. He is the co-author of the critically-acclaimed book The Enlightened College Applicant: A New Approach to the Search and Admissions Process, published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2016 as well as the annual guidebook — Colleges Worth Your Money: A Guide to What America’s Top Schools Can Do for You.

Named a President’s Scholar while earning his B.A. in History from Temple University, Dave continued his education at Temple, earning a Master’s and Doctoral degree in Education. While a doctoral student, Dave completed his dissertation on the relationship between adolescent motivation and educational outcomes and published research through the National Council of Teachers of English. He holds a certificate in college counseling from The University of California—San Diego and is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).

Dave lives in Lafayette Hill, PA with his wife Leslie, daughter Clara, son Henry, and constantly growing family of rescue animals. When he’s not working, you can find him sitting in a pair of salvaged Veterans Stadium seats rooting for his beloved (and cursed) Philadelphia sports teams.

Having earned a Ph.D. from the Institute of Higher Education* at the University of Georgia, Michael has over a decade of experience in the higher education field, ranging from college admissions, enrollment management, intercollegiate athletics, student support services, student life, and other areas. A published researcher, Michael’s research centers on postsecondary student access issues. His dissertation work involved state and national level policies as it relates to college access for undocumented students, and his work is funded in part by the American Educational Research Association. His research has been published in Educational Policy, Review of Higher Education, The Journal of Higher Education, and the Journal of Education Finance. Michael also holds a credential in college admissions counseling from the University of California, San Diego and is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).

After graduating summa cum laude from Appalachian State University with a B.S. in Electronic Media/Broadcasting and Organizational/Public Communication, Michael earned the Chancellor’s Fellowship at Appalachian State and completed his M.A. in Media Literacy. Before joining the Institute of Higher Education, Michael worked in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Appalachian State. His primary responsibilities included developing recruiting materials and messaging content for specific target markets and student populations, and working with admission counselors to ensure that Appalachian was at the forefront of public higher education in North Carolina and the southeast U.S. While at Appalachian, Michael also taught courses as an adjunct faculty member in three departments.

Michael lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and is responsible for maintaining our office space in Charlotte. When he’s not spending time working with students, you can usually find him cycling and attempting to maintain a healthy garden. Outside of that, he also enjoys listening to live music and traveling.

*The Institute of Higher Education at UGA consistently ranks among the top 10 higher education programs nationally, according to U.S. News & World Report and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Kelsea serves as our Director of Writing Support and oversees our team of essay coaches. She holds a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Tufts University and an MA in Teaching Writing from Johns Hopkins University, where her thesis focused on best practices in teaching revision to high school students. Her short fiction is forthcoming in Chautauqua.

Kelsea has spent over a decade working with students on their writing, most notably personal essays, resumes, and other application materials. Prior to working with College Transitions, she served as a college admissions coordinator at an education company, where she assisted international students with their applications, developed workshops and presentations about the admissions process, and taught test preparation and writing classes. She also worked as a college counseling associate in California, where she guided high school students through the college application process and presented at local workshops. Kelsea holds a graduate certificate in College Counseling from UCLA and is a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC). She is a regular contributor to the College Transitions blog.

Admission Experience: Stanford University

Full bio coming soon.

Admission Experience: Stanford University

Full bio coming soon.

Full bio coming soon.

Admission Experience: Davidson College

Full bio coming soon.

Admission Experience: University of Notre Dame, Vanderbilt University

Full bio coming soon.

Admission Experience: Brown University

Full bio coming soon.