It’s college application season! With deadlines fast approaching, Zinkerz seniors are submitting applications and eagerly waiting to see where they’ll spend the next four years.
The process can feel overwhelming — from navigating the Common App and writing essays to juggling extracurriculars, test scores, and recommendation letters. That’s where Zinkerz College Counseling comes in.
Our individualized, step-by-step guidance helps students manage every stage of the application process. With thousands of applications submitted, 94% of Zinkerz students are admitted to at least one of their top three schools.
How It Works
We start with a free initial consultation to understand your academic record, interests, and goals. You’ll share everything — from leadership roles to funny childhood stories — so we can help you stand out.
Once you accept your personalized College Counseling Proposal, your counselor will guide you through:
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Choosing extracurriculars that highlight your strengths.
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Planning test prep and securing the best recommenders.
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Crafting essays that reflect your authentic voice.
We’ll help you organize deadlines, polish every document, and celebrate when you finally hit that “SUBMIT” button. Even after acceptances arrive, we’ll support you in choosing the school where you’ll thrive.
Valentina’s Story — From Applicant to Harvard Student
I’m Valentina, a junior at Harvard University studying applied math. Going into the college application process, I was a good student with a fairly high GPA and SAT score. However, I knew that when thrown in an applicant pool of thousands with those same numbers, I’d have to be really lucky to be accepted into the more competitive schools on my list.
I knew that I needed to write a really good college essay, showing my full, true self in my application, but I was unsure what college admissions counselors were looking for or how to meet their expectations.
My guidance counselor at school thought my essay was great and ready to go, without giving any input on how to make it better. My parents had suggestions for improvement, but I was worried they would change my essay into something that didn’t really represent me.
When discussing this dilemma with a relative, she mentioned her daughter had a good experience with Modi. So I decided to try it out. During five sessions with Modi I completely changed my college essay for the better. With his help, I learned how to strategize and emphasize the parts of me that were unique and interesting. My college essay went from a boring story about being on my high school track team to a piece of writing that combined and highlighted not only what I had accomplished in my life, but also the qualities that were most definitely me and made me who I am.
Modi provided crucial feedback as to what parts of my story I needed to tell, and how I should structure my story to sound more interesting and natural (which is unsurprisingly difficult when cramming yourself into a few hundred words). Most importantly, I was very comfortable accepting his input. It always made a lot of sense to me and made me look at myself in a different light. He clearly brought out the best in me.
I ended up writing a story about my hair. This was an initial idea I had had, but tossed it out because it sounded so weird to me. Modi, however, recognized the possibility that this story held to uniquely show who I was. In the end, my essay combined my time on the track team, my love for science, my identity as a Hispanic woman, and my personality, all with a natural flow that is so important for an essay to have.
A few years later I still am amazed about how I was able to accomplish this. I will be forever grateful to Modi, and can thank him for where I am today.
Photo Credit: Valentina Doerre Torres
Words that stand out from Valentina’s testimonial are ones revolving around the sheer level of empathy and creativity involved in the college writing process. With Zinkerz, her essay transformed from a piece about her running career to an engaging story revolving around her hair! That’s what Zinkerz is all about — getting to know each student in such a way that they feel as though their stories are effectively heard. The application then writes itself!
Does this process sound like it will help you feel more at ease about the infamous college application season? Sign up for a free consultation today and begin your journey toward what you deem to be your perfect, rightfully earned, undergraduate experience!
