At the beginning of summer in 2014 I had my first meeting with Ferah. Based on my increased heart rate, sweaty palms, and twitching eye, I think a may have had a little panic attack. All I could think as I sat there between my parents was my future and everything that this lady wanted me to do to prep for it. Questionnaires, personality tests, multiple worksheets about what I like in a college and what I don’t, and not to mention all the essays and drafts of a resume she wanted me to complete during the summer. The list seemed endless and I had just got off of my toughest year of high school and was ready to do some major relaxing, but that is not what Ferah nor my parents had in mind. My second meeting with Ferah was a lot less stressful and she really took the time to get to know my personality and me. Now that I look back on all those questions I answered to find out what college best fit my personality, I realize it wasn’t a waste of time because I would have never known that I wanted to go to a smaller school rather than a large university, or wanted a discussion oriented classroom, or to be close to a big city for internship opportunities. The more and more I went to see Ferah the more and more I got excited. Not only excited about my future and where I would be next year, but excited to just talk about my life to someone who truly cares and should get an award for being the best listener. A couple of my friends also go to Ferah and we have a little inside joke that not only is she our college prep coach, but like a therapist as well. She will listen to you if you are stressed, excited, sad, happy, or angry and will try and figure out her role in helping make things better or celebrating alongside with you. I cannot count the amount of hours I have spent contacting admissions counselors, researching/visiting schools, following suggested tips, and filling out applications, but I am thankful that I had Ferah and my parents pushing and supporting me each step of the way. Without the guidance of Ferah I would have never gotten into my top schools and received scholarships from them. I don’t know where I would be today in my college process without Ferah. As a student who went through launchphase2, I can confidently say that I know my college decision will provide me with a bright and successful future.

“I want to extend my gratitude for the coaching received from my son’s college/career counselor. He graduated from his state university within four years and received tips to enhance his academic achievement (GPA). He was guided to build an exemplary resume which included meaningful experiences like an overseas internship with the United Nations. His resume and college experiences should help lineup prospective employers. His coaching was worthwhile and was a wise use of time and money. Thank you so very much.”

As the parent of a high school senior that just was accepted to and received merit scholarships from all the private and public schools to which she applied, I highly recommend Ferah and her team. Ferah made a difference by explaining what my daughter needed to do each year (college tests, community service, leadership, school work, essays and applications, college emails and visits and independent study abroad), helped her prioritize her efforts and provided timely follow-up, especially critical for the college essays.  Collectively, this reduced our family's "college stress" to a manageable level and kept my daughter focused and in charge of the college process.  She even told her school counselor that she "felt good about the college application process and was pretty sure she would get into her top schools."  Ferah's deep understanding of the entire process has informed my parenting of both my children, one gifted and the other, a high achieving high school student with learning differences.