In my many years tutoring students for the SAT and ACT, I run into people who help students with other aspects of college admissions. I had the chance to interview Sylvia Caruthers, a college planning counselor a few miles north of me in Carlsbad. She is the founder of SoCal College Planning. I’ve known her for a couple of years, and think she is great.
What is your proudest moment as a college admissions counselor?
The day Lennon text me a copy of his award letter from Boston University. It was for $59,000 in FREE aid per year! When I asked him what his father said, he replied “I haven’t told my father yet”. Not only was I ecstatic but truly touched by the bond we developed over the course of his junior year. I immediately asked him to notify his dad so we could celebrate, and we did!
What is something you wish every parent of a child preparing for college understood?
How to get the most free money!
How did you get into college admissions counseling?
I worked for a local school district for 20 years and witnessed firsthand that the public school system doesn’t have an efficient, effective way to disseminate the wealth of information in college planning. Concluding that my knowledge would be more useful in the private sector. I created SoCal College Planning, and subsequently helped many families through this difficult maze.
What makes you different from all the others?
I’m tenacious and sadly it’s very difficult for me to turn that off…new strategies are always simmering.
Sylvia’s college planning services can be found on her website.