Melissa Halow grew up in New Jersey, attended public high school, and earned her BA in Sociology from Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude and as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.
A year after graduating, Melissa began a PhD program in Sociology at the University of Chicago, but left to join her new husband, Mike, as he began a career in Houston with an oil major. For the next twenty years, Melissa coordinated frequent family moves to accommodate her husband’s career in the oil industry, including overseas assignments in London, England and Brussels, Belgium. Along the way, Melissa earned an MA in Sociology from the University of Chicago and a MSc in Applied Social Psychology from the University of London Royal Holloway in Egham, Surrey, England. During this time, she tutored students preparing for the SAT, interviewed students applying to Princeton with the Princeton Alumni Schools Committee, chaired school committees from communications to athletics support to senior events, and volunteered for charitable organizations extending college counseling to high achieving, under-represented students.
Melissa’s work draws upon her first-hand experience with elite college admissions, graduate work in organizational culture and individual performance as influenced by setting and structure, extensive experience in writing and research, and years of connecting with students and parents across multiple schools and many cultures. As the parent of a D1 athlete, and as a D1 athlete herself, Melissa understands the complexities of recruiting at the most selective universities, and has first-hand knowledge of the risks and rewards of committing to the life of a student-athlete at the most demanding academic institutions in the US.
University of Richmond, Richmond, VA
Our Values
“College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won.”
-Frank Sachs, former president National Association of College Admission Counselors
Happiness is the foundation of success. Collegiate success depends upon the courage to learn and experience new things, making the right learning and social environment a critical choice.
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
-Albert Einstein
“Holistic” admissions means that grades and test scores are only part of the picture. Character, motivation, and uniqueness matter and need to be highlighted.
“Confidence is preparation. Everything else is beyond your control.”
-Richard Kline
With the right research, consideration, and preparation, this process will work out the way it should — even when you don’t get the result you think you want at the time.
“Be positive. Be true. Be kind.”
-Roy Bennett
These principles are the foundation of our work. We believe these principles are also the foundation of the best college applications.