In the more than twenty years since its founding, Mercer Education has provided expert guidance to help over a thousand students with the stressful, all-consuming process of identifying suitable schools and then securing admission. And each year, Mercer Education students have entered the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the U.S., including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Wellesley, Stanford, and Berkeley.

Our focus is getting you into the school of your choice, and we offer multiple private and group-class college counseling options.

Under the direction of Eric Cohen, a graduate of Harvard University with over thirty years of experience in education and college counseling, Mercer Education’s instructors can help with the following elements of the application process:

• Crafting Application Essays
• Interview Coaching
• Building a College List
• Navigating Common App and other sites
• Resumes and Cover Letters
• Planning for Standardized Tests
• Extra-curricular Planning
• College Transfer
• Planning for Deadlines
• Miscellaneous Post-Acceptance Tasks

We offer the following options for help with the admissions process:

College Counseling Package

Mercer Education’s College Counseling Package, a customized program for individual students, provides a thorough and systematic approach to the college application process. Whether a student needs long- or short-term guidance, this package program offers a range of options designed to work with students at any level of college preparedness. Students may start as early as freshman year or as late as senior year. At whatever stage students are in their work, ME’s College Counseling Package provides a structured, personalized approach where students meet regularly with experienced college counselors to develop a strategic admissions plan that maximizes their opportunities of gaining acceptance to the best fit colleges of their choice. For more details, see College Counseling Package.

College Admissions Prep Camp

This class (an academic summer “camp”), taught by Eric Cohen, Mercer Education’s Director and a graduate of Harvard, is a good starting point for risings seniors looking to get a head start on the college application process. Dollar for dollar, this is a great way to purchase a substantial amount of time to work with Eric (whose standard private class hourly rate is considerably higher than our standard rate for work with other instructors), and students benefit from the small group format, partly because it tends to motivate them more, and partly because they get to see a wide variety of approaches to the application essay questions.  This camp has always filled up quickly, so send in the paperwork as early as possible if you want to participate; enrollment is capped at six students total. For more details, see College Admissions Prep Camp.

College Application Essay Writing

This group-format class, taught by Mr. Cohen, begins in September and meets once a week for eight weeks with options for extending up until the Christmas break. This is a good option for students who are unavailable to attend that camp during the summer.  It is similar to the College Admissions Prep Camp, though it focuses exclusively on generating polished, effective application essays. For more details, see College Application Essay Writing.

Private College Counseling Classes

A third option would be private classes with Eric Cohen, ME’s director, or one of ME’s other experienced instructors.  Classes are typically once or twice a week on an ongoing basis until the applications are all completed.  By imposing a regular deadline in which to complete writing assignments and other tasks, weekly classes can help students to avoid procrastination and stay on top of this big project.  Classes could start during the summer or the fall, and meeting on an ad-hoc basis is possible, too, though scheduling is first come, first serve, and priority goes to students attending on a regular weekly basis.  Private classes are generally a good follow-up to Eric’s summer camp and application essay writing class, as students then typically have a solid grasp of what they need to do but still need the structure of a weekly meeting and the feedback of a seasoned instructor. Our Instructors page profiles the various teachers on staff at Mercer Education, most of whom have extensive experience with guiding students through the college application process and are available to work with students one to one to get the job done well and on time. Read more about private classes, including non-package college counseling, at Mercer Education.

College Transfer Counseling

For community college students planning to transfer to 4-year colleges, there are multiple tasks in the application process that differ from those faced by high school students.  Our team of college counselors has extensive experience providing thorough college transfer guidance to local and international students attending Seattle-area community colleges.  This course, which roughly follows community college academic quarters, includes a package of eight private, one-on-one sessions in which our counselors help students generate a list of prospective colleges, generate effective application essays, manage numerous related tasks and then submit applications on time.  The course is customized for each student to maximize the chance of successful college transfer admission. For more details, see College Transfer Counseling.

Overview of College Counseling Programs

Download a printable overview of the programs and services described on this page.