Thank you for your interest in Plan the Path. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions that prospective families ask us.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Process
College admissions involves a great deal of complexity, and the process is defined by ever-changing requirements. Navigating this world is difficult without the accumulated institutional knowledge and an understanding of the landscape and available resources that we have amassed at Plan the Path. We provide expert guidance on the most effective college admission strategies, helping students and families through every step of the application process to achieve the best outcome. Our team has extensive knowledge of schools, programs, and admissions logistics, and we are strategic in responding to new and unforeseen dynamics.
We provide college counseling services to traditional high school students, students with learning differences, and students in therapeutic programs. We offer various plans to suit your individual needs. Our most popular option is the All Inclusive Plan; for a flat fee, we handle everything from creating a list of schools to guiding the student through essay writing and submitting all information required by various application platforms. We also offer a flat fee College Search Plan in which we help students develop and refine a list of their best fit schools, including reaches and safeties. We also offer some limited services at an hourly rate, including essay coaching for the Common Application and supplemental essays.
We also serve students in need of an alternative to college, as well as college students in crisis. Our team specializes in working with students with behavioral difficulties, mental health challenges, learning disabilities, and a record of poor academic performance. These services are offered at an hourly rate.
As a collective, the Plan the Path team has decades of college counseling experience; we’ve visited over 300 colleges, from the well-known to the unsung. As members of numerous professional organizations, we are well-networked in the world of college admissions and stay up to date on the statistics, programs, and news that impact our students. We regularly attend conferences, meet with college representatives, and tour campuses, meeting with administrators, speaking with students, and familiarizing ourselves with the academic and student-life facilities in order to gain hands-on information for our clients.
As we get to know our student — their personalities, academic interests, extracurricular pursuits, and more — we combine this insight with our comprehensive knowledge of colleges. Taking into consideration factors including school location, programs, cost, size, facilities, and selectivity, we develop a working list of appropriate choices. Throughout this process, we remain in dialogue with the students and parents, continually evaluating their priorities as we seek to match them to the programs and environments that will allow them to thrive.
There is no one best college for anyone. Our job is to help each student cultivate a variety of excellent choices. Once admitted, we help students evaluate the pros and cons of each school and decide which one suits them best.
Supporting Diverse Learners
We are particularly attuned to the challenges of students who have learning differences. We offer authoritative insight on educational supports, and match students with the colleges that offer the resources appropriate to their needs. We are highly knowledgeable about the various support programs, from dedicated learning centers to fee-for-service programs.
Yes. Plan the Path’s founder, Marcia Kramer, is a former therapeutic consultant and has unmatched expertise in shepherding students from therapeutic programs to success in college admissions. We understand how colleges view time spent away from school, change of schools, and multiple transcripts—that is integral to our admissions insight. Having visited over 50 therapeutic programs including wilderness therapy programs, residential treatment centers, and therapeutic boarding schools, we are highly attuned to the nuances of guiding students to the most appropriate colleges. Visit our Post-Therapeutic Consulting Services page for details.
Yes. Depending on the student, they may be well-suited for a mainstream college experience, or they may do well to consider colleges that offer specific support for neurodiversity. We are deeply knowledgeable about the spectrum of options among colleges and universities across the country and excel at guiding students to the schools that offer the appropriate services, programs, and more.
College Access & Planning
Yes. If a student wants to go to college and is committed to doing the work required to get in and stay in, then they certainly can go to college. Sometimes the path to a college degree is not obvious and involves multiple steps. Our expertise is in knowing which schools are willing to look beyond a transcript to the student’s potential—and we help the student understand what criteria the schools consider in making these judgments. We strongly believe that where a student begins their journey does not define their potential and their ultimate accomplishments.
Yes. For any number of reasons, a student may be ready for college yet not hold a high school diploma. We excel at helping nontraditional students who have earned their GED in successfully applying to college.
College is incredibly expensive. There are a number of ways to offset the cost, including grants, scholarships, federally backed loans, work-study programs, and tuition discounting. We help families understand the difference between the published cost of attendance and the actual net price—and plan accordingly. Our admissions strategy ensures that students develop a college list with schools they can afford to attend.
We recommend a gap year for students who would benefit by taking a respite from the stresses of school before starting college. Gap year experiences can be appropriate for all types of students, from high achievers to those who struggled in high school. Most colleges fully support gap years; in fact, they tend to look favorably on students who have taken a year off to immerse themselves in a meaningful activity or work experience. This year “off” typically allows students to develop greater maturity, perspective, and find more meaning and focus in their undergraduate studies. We expertly advise students on which gap year programs will match their unique interests and needs.
Colleges offer accessibility accommodations in compliance with federal law. To receive these accommodations, students will need to coordinate with their college’s Disability Services Office and provide the necessary documentation, either through testing or an IEP. At the college level, there are no modifications on course requirements.