Spark AdmissionsReviews of sparkadmissions.com

Our family is incredibly grateful for the guidance of Dr Marek Makowski provided throughout our son's college application journey. We began working with him at the start of our son's junior year, and his advice proved invaluable every step of the way. From the beginning, he helped our son develop a thoughtful and effective strategy. His guidance on whether to focus on the SAT or ACT was spot-on, and his recommendations regarding senior-year course selection ensured that our son maintained a challenging academic schedule while staying balanced. He also provided excellent advice on summer programs and extracurricular activities, helping our son make choices that genuinely strengthened his profile and aligned with his interests. One of the things we appreciated most was his responsiveness. Whether it was reviewing application essays, providing detailed feedback on personal statements, or answering questions throughout the process, he was always prompt, thoughtful, and encouraging. His insight helped our son craft stronger applications and present himself authentically. Perhaps the most critical moment came when our son was deferred by his first-choice college. During what was a stressful and uncertain time, our counselor provided timely, strategic advice that ultimately helped turn that deferral into an acceptance. His guidance during that period was instrumental. In addition to helping our son gain admission to his first-choice Top 20 university, he also successfully guided him through the highly competitive process of gaining acceptance into one of the nation's premier honors programs. We could not be happier with the outcome. What stands out most, however, is that he was much more than a college counselor—he was a mentor. Throughout these challenging final two years of high school, he consistently encouraged our son to stay focused, maintain a strong GPA, and continue pursuing meaningful activities rather than chasing resume-building opportunities. Over time, our son came to trust his advice more than anyone else's, a testament to the genuine relationship and credibility he built. As parents, we are thrilled not only because of the admissions results, but because of the growth, confidence, and direction our son gained through this process. We are forever grateful for his guidance, dedication, and unwavering support. We wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Marek Makowski to any family navigating the college admissions journey.

We had an amazing experience working with Emily at Spark! From the very beginning until the very end she was so knowledgeable, supportive, kind, constructive and an encouraging voice of reason during an arduous process. She really listened to our daughter, understood her goals and dreams, and helped her every step of the way during this college process. No question was off limits, too small or too complex for Emily and her expertise. Whether our daughter had anxiety, doubts and disappointments, or exciting news and positive feedback to share, Emily was always readily available and so receptive and encouraging. She is the most thoughtful college counselor and helped our family through this process with confidence, care and ease. Our daughter ended up at her dream school (with some ups and downs to get there!) and we can confidently say that having Emily in our corner was absolutely instrumental in navigating everything and to our daughter's outcome. We are so grateful we had the opportunity to work with her! We cannot say enough wonderful things about Emily and the entire process of having her by our side.

We had an excellent experience working with David Berlin for college counseling services for our daughter. David was thoughtful, patient, understanding, and incredibly helpful throughout what can often be a very stressful process. He guided our daughter in thinking through her intended major and helped her think through a compelling and authentic application story that truly reflected who she is. His calm and supportive approach made a huge difference in helping her navigate the college application journey with confidence. The results exceeded our expectations as she was accepted into almost all of the schools she applied to, including her top-choice school, a highly selective top 20 University. We are very grateful for David’s guidance and highly recommend him to any family going through the college admissions process.

Emily was an absolute perfect fit for my daughter’s college application process. My daughter is a driven student who is also very social, so finding the right coach who could truly connect with her was important. Emily was incredibly relatable and put us both at ease right away with her calm, organized, and encouraging approach. She worked closely with my daughter to create a thoughtful and comprehensive plan for her overall portfolio. Emily’s guidance helped turn what felt like a stressful mountain of tasks into a clear, achievable roadmap. Thanks to Emily’s expertise and support, my daughter felt confident and in control throughout the process, and she earned excellent acceptances to top schools. I cannot recommend Emily highly enough as a college coach. She truly cares about her students and delivers outstanding results.

Our two daughters (one now a Junior at Berkeley and an incoming Freshman at Cornell) were guided through the essay writing and strategy elements of the application process by Rachel and Emily. Emily guided my youngest with grace but was persistent in making sure she was set up for optimal success. As a parent, I did push back a lot because sometimes this college process seems so stressful and unreasonable but Emily, while understanding, never backed down from what she thought was best for her.

We have an only child so this was our first exposure to the college admissions process - which is completely different from when we went through it in the 90s. Our family started working with Spark the summer before junior year and my only regret is not engaging them a year or two earlier. We spoke with a number of counseling companies and ultimately landed on Spark for its thoughtful personalized plans and very strong team. After a bit of a bumpy start, which the company acknowledged, took responsibility for and addressed (all more telling qualities than the errors) we were paired with Meggan Arp Dillard. I appreciated her (kind) honesty, candor, organization and experience. She was so fast to reply to any question and had terrific ideas and edits along the way. For the most part, she worked directly with our child, but kept us informed and made sure to meet parent needs along the way. Meggan created a plan with lots of actionable steps and directions, including summer plan ideas. She developed the first college list, including schools we had never heard of but really loved. She provided a detailed schedule of application activities (wow, are there a lot of to-dos) and counseled us at every stage of the process. When we had a question she couldn't personally answer - this only happened once -- she quickly found a colleague tied to the particular school and came back with an answer. Ben Kissner also provided ACT support and I can't recommend him highly enough. He was so flexible and knows how to connect with teenagers in a way I think few tutors are able. Candid parent comment - if you're invested in it, this process is a lot. The emotional ups and downs are particularly rough. But having Meggan, Ben and the Spark team to guide us made all the difference, and probably saved my relationship with my child throughout this stressful period. In the end, my child weighed 11 offers and landed at her top choice. Highly recommend.

Brett built trust with our son and guided him through the college application with the right amount of support, encouragement, and feedback. He was able to provide an application strategy that worked very well, while not making the process overwhelming.

We began working with Courtney at the start of 10th grade, and looking back, it was one of the best decisions we made as a family. What sets her apart is the long-term vision she brought from day one — she didn't just help with applications, she mapped out a full three-year journey, from sophomore year planning all the way through to the final submissions. Her guidance covered every dimension of the process: strategic summer program planning, building a meaningful and cohesive profile, navigating the college landscape, and ultimately crafting a strong application. When it came to the supplement essays, she provided incredibly detailed, thoughtful feedback that helped our daughter find her authentic voice while putting her best foot forward. Organization and promptness are where she truly shines. Deadlines were never a source of stress in our household because she made sure everything was planned well in advance and completed on time. She is thorough, responsive, and always one step ahead. Beyond the logistics, she is simply a wonderful person to work with — warm, supportive, and genuinely invested in my daughter's success. My daughter felt comfortable and guided throughout what can otherwise be an overwhelming process. The results speak for themselves: my daughter was accepted to her dream school, along with two other top-choice institutions that are among the most selective in the world. We could not be more grateful. If you are looking for a college consultant who is dedicated, experienced, and truly cares about your child, look no further.