Who are the current top college counselors in the San Francisco Bay Area?

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Who are the current top college counselors in the San Francisco Bay Area?

Receiving some form of college counseling is an essential for growth and development. Many students may experience issues relating to their academic experience such as anxiety, depression and other emotional hardships. Experienced and effective counselors can help mitigate those issues. In this research, focus will be on the top ten college counselors in the San Francisco Bay area; the counselors are ranked based on students reviews and the counselor's efficacy.

TOP COLLEGE COUNSELORS

The ten best counselors in the San Francisco Bay Area according to Yelp are:
1. Gordy Steil
2. IvyMax
3. Bay Area College Planners
4. Lucent Education
5. Higher Grounding College Counseling
6. Cita Education
7. Plan It Education
8. Open Story College and SAT Prep
9. College Quest, LLC
10. Blue Stars Admissions Consulting

GORDY STEIL
Gordy Steil is considered to be the number one college counselor in the San Franciso Bay Area due to his extensive twenty year experience as an educator, counselor, mentor, and his ability to obtain results from students and clients. Mr. Steil offers test preparation in areas such as SAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT; he also provides coaching on college applications and entry to the best MBA programs. He holds comprehensive training in academic fields such as counseling psychology and linguistic analysis. In terms of growth and development, he is currently pursuing his license in Marriage and Family Therapy. Getting in touch with Mr. Steil for consultation is easy as he has outlined his contact information on his personal website.

IVYMAX
IvyMax is considered the second best college counselor service provider in the Bay Area due to it fourteen year long experience on delivering "college planning, applications, and admissions counseling" to students. IvyMax is the leading in-center and online education service provider that helps students meet their goals or aspirations. They help students obtain admission to top universities and colleges by offering a wide academic program; some of these include SAT prep 1 and 2, sciences, technology, engineering and maths. IvyMax encourages students to incubate their ideas and get involved through opportunities such as college counseling and programs. IvyMax is always open to prospective students and can be contacted from their website.

BAY AREA COLLEGE PLANNERS
The Bay Area College Planners are specialists who provide families, parents and students with information on college financial aid and admissions. Gerna Benz, owner of the Bay Area College Planners, is a certified college planning specialist within the company. Mr. Benz has over twenty years experience in the field of finance and has mentored hundreds of students over a ten-year period. He has successfully aided students in gaining their top school choice, which has earned him the third spot in the top college counselors in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company can be accessed via the website for more information.

LUCENT EDUCATION

Lucent Education in as online college, graduate school and job application service that includes an individual and customized program to bring out the best in students. They provide high quality coaching, assessments and revisions using various social mediums online such as emails, and video chats to ensure 100 percent student satisfaction. Access to further information the online college is obtained via email on their website.

HIGHER GROUNDING COLLEGE COUNSELING
This college offers one-to-one college counseling and academic advising to students. This includes applications process (calls, texts, emails, college lists, and essay edits) and application audits. Students also gain access to "essay clinics, workshops, presentations and to proprietary tools and resources". Their pricing for college students are by the hour and is also charged for additional services including initial assessments, extra circular choices and referrals. Connecting with the college is done via the "Contact Me" page.

CITA EDUCATION
Cita Education specializes in ACT and SAT preparations, maths, physics and mindfulness. Due to its small classes of ten students, Cita boasts of success rates in calculus, SATs, and Physics. Cita Education uses mindfulness to optimize students test performances; mindfulness enhances their focus, self-confidence and time management skills. Mindfulness is Cita's unique aspect of their curriculum as they are the only center to offer this type of practice in the San Francisco Bay area.

PLAN IT EDUCATION
Haruka Yamashita, founder of Plan It Education, has firsthand experience working with students and parents on the college admissions process. Yamashita achieved a Certificate in Independent Educational Consulting (IEC) and has ten years experience in project management. She worked on the CAAAN Committee Chair and had the responsibility to train, motivate and manage a virtual team of volunteers.
Plan It Education offers counseling packages to students which gives them the option to choose to coach based on their college needs. Focus areas in the package includes major discovery, exploration, financial literacy, and essay writing; each are done in sixty minute meetings. There are also virtual counseling sessions that are held via Skype and email.

OPEN STORY COLLEGE AND SAT PREP
Open Story is a premier learning center to help students master SATs, writing, reading and essays. Founded by Alex Catchings and Serena Le, the two English PHD candidates possess experience in SAT English and taught creative writing, literature, and writing composition respectively. Serena Le also specializes in mentorship and career counseling.
Open Story invites a dynamic, interactive and creative environment for its students. The students are taught how to feel confident and how to approach reading and writing at the college level and beyond. The college is open to calls and emails and will respond promptly.

COLLEGE QUEST, LLC
College Quest is a program designed by Dr. Barbara Austin, a college coach for more than twenty-four years, to help students realize their college dreams. The college provides packages to help students with issues such as GPA, testing advice, interviewing skills, college choice, majors and many more. Other programs offered include essays, financial aid, recommendations and elevator speeches. Barbara Austin works with all kinds of students ranging from those who are at the top of their class to students with special issues or disabilities.

BLUE STARS ADMISSIONS CONSULTING
Ranked number ten on the list of top college counselors in San Francisco Bay Area, Blue Stars offers mentoring and admissions assistance to college, university and grad school applicants. Past students who have used their services have seen results with acceptance to premier schools such as Stanford and UC Berkeley.
Blue Stars college planning includes college counseling, individual project coaching, and application assistance. College counseling teaches students to make informed decisions, organize, prioritize and research. Individual project coaching will focus on the student's creativity and uniqueness while application assistance will help you write essays and letters to heighten your competitiveness.
Blue Stars is piloted by a team of members who comprise Dr. Amy Morgenstern, the CEO and Editor in Chief, full service counselors with more than twenty years combined experience, and art mentors.

CONCLUSION
To conclude, receiving the best guidance on college preparation and planning is essential for growth and development. Having the best counselors can help guide students to the right path of success. Top college counselors like Gordy Steil, IvyMax and Bay Area College Planners, and College Quest LLC in the San Francisco Bay Area can help students be confident, focused, and experienced.

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