My goal is to find the schools that are right for you, and help you present yourself as the right student for them.
Let’s chat about finding that “perfect fit” college.
- David Parker -
My Services
Why Work With An Admissions Coach?
✔️ One-on-one continuous guidance & mentorship
✔️ Apply only to schools that truly make sense for you
✔️ Reduce stress & anxiety for both students and parents
✔️ Learn how to set yourself apart from a pool of applicants
✔️ Insider perspective on Ivy League college application processes
✔️ Exclusive online portal & access-restricted college selection resources
✔️ Competition increases each year, while acceptance rates continue to drop
✔️ PhD former English professor guidance in writing the most important essay(s) of your life
✔️ Peace of mind that comes from having a dedicated project manager for a massively high-stakes decision
✔️ Mentor & partner in accountability, to keep you feeling motivated and challenged in your pursuit of top schools
Need Help With Your Essays?
The personal statement and supplemental admissions essays are often the most daunting part of the college application process. With a PhD in English and over twenty years teaching college composition, I can help take your draft to the next level.
With many schools becoming test-optional or even test-blind, college admissions officers are giving essays more weight than ever. Don’t let a weak or too-predictable personal essay hold you back from acceptance at your dream school.
Write your first impression.
“What was abundantly clear from your writing… a sincere devotion to pushing comfort zones and engendering collaboration… a pleasure to read” - hand-written postscript on an Ivy League Acceptance Letter, earned by a Parker Educational Consulting client.
How The Admissions Process Is Looking This Year
Suffice it to say, 2023 was a hard year for those seeking admission to elite colleges. This is particularly true for those who might have traditionally expected to get in on the basis of test scores, prep school pedigree, and legacy, all three of which have been largely neutralized in the current cycle.
As a junior or sophomore, what should I be doing to prepare to apply to college?
Develop a college list with real range, including reach schools, target schools, and safety schools that you would actually want to attend... Make your list as ambitious as you like, but fill out both ends of the spectrum with schools you would like to attend. Look for schools that aren’t as “elite” but might be a great fit for you. Look at Chapman in addition to UCLA. Look at Emerson as well as Harvard. There are hundreds of smaller, less “famous” schools that are going to nurture you as an individual, maybe more than a giant prestigious university that spends its time and money on graduate students and research facilities.
Take at least one SAT or ACT. As much as the test-optional phenomenon has captured media attention, some schools are backing down from the policy. The university systems of Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida all require an SAT or ACT. Some schools that are test-optional do require the tests for scholarship consideration. Additionally, now that we’re starting to see the results of a couple of years of test optional policies, the anecdotal evidence is that applicants who submit test scores at elite test-optional schools are being admitted at higher rates than those who don’t. While correlation doesn’t equal causation, it’s a correlation worth noting.
Start on your applications early, especially the essays. When applying to elite schools with a 5% acceptance rate, you can guess that 30% of applicants are “perfect” students (SAT above 1500, GPA above 4.0, lots of activities, etc.). Therefore even if you are a “perfect” student, you still only have a one in six chance of acceptance. How do you stand out from the other five competitors? ESSAYS. Be funny, be serious, be inspirational, but most of all be AUTHENTIC. Readers can spot a contrived essay a mile away. And for Heaven’s sake, be interesting! These folks are reading hundreds and hundreds of student essays. Do almost anything, but don’t bore them.
(Here comes the advertisement) Work with an Admissions Consultant! Your high school counselor will do their very best to help you, but the average school counselor is responsible for 500-600 students, and has to help not only with admissions, but with high school graduation requirements, and a dozen other things. In my consultancy, on the other hand, I only accept 20 students per class, and college admissions is all I do. My clients have been accepted at Ivy League colleges, international schools, big state universities, and smaller schools from the elite to the quirky. Mine is a boutique practice. You will never be handed off to an assistant or intern, because there are none. If you call or text, I’m the one who answers. You will get my personal attention to every question and concern.
The college admissions process is overwhelming and important.
I can help. Contact me today to set up a free conversation.
We’ll talk about your goals and questions, and I’ll show you how working with me can get you closer to your dreams.
Private College Admissions Coaching, by David Parker
Full-service application coaching/mentoring, from Sophomore, Junior, or Senior year all the way up to the decision.
In this package, Dr. Parker will:
Provide the most current information about colleges and best judgment about options available
Evaluate the student’s record, including high school transcript, standardized test results, extracurricular activities, athletic activities, and special talents
Assist in selection of high school academic curricular choices and plan extracurricular activities, including meaningful summer activities
Assess career and possible college major interests
… and that’s only the beginning! TAP TO SEE FULL SERVICES.
Essay Creation, Consulting
Dr. Parker has a proven record assisting with personal statements (Common App, Coalition App), the University of California system “Personal Insight” questions, and most common individual college supplemental essays.
Together, we’ll work on:
Topic Selection: what will set you apart from the crowd?
Brainstorming exercises
Crafting details that will stay with the reader
Polishing the final product in multiple drafts until you’re ready to hit “send”
… let me help you with the most important essay of your life! TAP TO SEE FULL SERVICES.
Dr. Parker’s Podcast Appearances
Featured Blog
Take The Survey
Just for fun! There is no obligation for services after completing the survey. Have fun & I look forward to suggesting some cool colleges!
What Clients Are Saying
“I had so many college essays to write this year […] PEC really helped me tap into my own personal writing style and decide which experiences were worth sharing with specific schools. Overall, I really felt like my potential was maximized in such an unpredictable year for college admissions.”
[Stella N]
“Our son was applying to multiple upper-tier colleges, and David helped him to tailor his essays to each. With David’s help, our son received several acceptances and scholarships and is going to attend Kelley School of Business at Indiana University as a direct admit. Working with David was a great experience.”
“When our daughter Grace started looking at colleges, we turned to David Parker for help. David met with us to review Grace’s interests and help build a list of colleges for her to pursue. He worked one-on-one with Grace, sharpening her interview skills, as well as coaching and encouraging her through the essay portion of the application. David’s expertise and professionalism have been indispensable in Grace’s hunt for the perfect college. Thank you David!”
“Having David guide our son through the essay-writing task of college admissions was a lifesaver. David was instrumental in helping our son choose a topic and angle that represented his strengths in the best light. Having David proofread also helped us keep the peace during a very stressful time! Our son was admitted to his first choice university. I highly recommend working with David!”
“There are truly no words to express my gratitude for everything David Parker has done for me during the college process. I can admit that when I began my applications, I was extremely overwhelmed. Duke has been my dream school for as long as I can remember, but the world has become a place where there is no perfect formula for being accepted to college. I was scared that no matter what I did, I would still fall short of being the “ideal” Duke applicant. From the moment I started working with David Parker, he was proactive in helping me find universities that filled all of my boxes, including places that I would be happy at if Duke did not work out. Throughout the process of finding other universities, David Parker was extremely kind and got to know me as more than a college applicant but also as a person. Although it is always nice to have a friendly face to talk to when thinking about something as stressful as college, his kindness and understanding of me as a person proved to be the most helpful when we began to work on my main Common App essay. Looking back, I think I wrote around 30 supplemental essays, and David Parker gave incredible support and advice for every single one of them. Whether it was coming up with a creative topic that made me stand out, to helping me cut an essay down to a word limit, he always knew exactly what to do. Even once I was done applying, David Parker checked in from time to time to make sure that I was doing okay. He helped me see the pros in every school that I was accepted to and helped me handle waitlist outcomes. When my final college decision was released, I found out that I had finally been accepted to my dream school, Duke. This outcome would have never been possible without David Parker’s advice and support. I would highly recommend working with David Parker to anyone who is looking for a college consultant. Not only does he make the process easier and less stressful, but he truly makes dreams come true.”
“I couldn’t speak more highly of my experience working with David. From his vast wealth of knowledge of colleges and their admissions processes - he helped me create a list of colleges individually tailored to my field of interest and personality, craft a summer passion project to add to my resume and applications, and guided me through the brainstorming, writing, and revision process for my essays. David is well-researched and knows just what colleges are asking for in their individual essay prompts, and he employs his extensive grammatical expertise to make your college application essays truly grammatically perfect. I largely credit my admission to Georgetown University to David’s guidance, and can say I truly looked forward to my meetings with him. Overall, I had a wonderful experience with Parker Educational Consulting and would recommend it to anyone of any ambition level for the college admissions process!”
“At the end of my junior year my family and I realized that we had no idea of how to begin the daunting process of college applications. We figured we would need some assistance managing it all, so we began our search for help. We were introduced to David Parker, who would soon simplify the college application process more than we could have imagined. I think in our first meeting we had already discussed exactly where and how I would apply to school. Since then, he has been a readily available resource for the many questions I’ve had about the whole process. My family and I are incredibly grateful to have found the help we needed in David Parker.”
