Academic Access

We highly recommend Joan to any parent seeking to give their child a competitive edge when entering the college search and application process. Not only does Joan take the time to get to know each of her students personally, she has an extensive network with Universities and Colleges nationwide. We found this combination invaluable during the daunting task of identifying which schools were the best fit for our Daughter. Once we had our list, Joan and her staff professionally coached our Daughter on how to make her applications stand out from the crowd. This included significant 1:1 time reviewing applications, bios and essays. One of our primary goals was to have our Daughter take ownership of the process and with Joan’s structured program, she was able to do so. Not only did she get accepted to most of the schools she applied to, including her #1 target, she took a big step toward becoming an independent young adult. We could not have been happier with the personalized services provided by Joan and her team. Her advocacy during this entire process was invaluable.

Joan was extremely helpful and thorough through out the entire college application process. She helped me decide on which schools I wanted to apply to based on my strengths and desires and suggested a lot of schools I hadn’t previously considered. She also helped me organize my exact approach and timeline for applying to each one of the schools I had decided to apply to. She was extremely helpful in writing my college essay. Joan is an expert in the college process, her advice, expertise, and ability to help calm me down when I was stressed were indispensable to my family and me. She took the time to really get to know me and as a result not only did I feel that I was receiving expert advice and insight into the college applications process, but I also felt that I had a confidant to talk with about the pressures of applying to college and senior year in general. I was accepted to my first choice school as were my sisters– all three of us used Joan. I highly recommend her services.

We had a bad experience here. In the midst of college application season, my teen was frustrated with the lack of substantive feedback she received on her common app essay from one of Joan’s reviewers, and pointed out to Joan that the reviewer’s comments had a typo and incorrect grammar. Joan didn’t like my daughter’s criticism and basically fired us, leaving my daughter (and especially me!) momentarily panicked. I thought she handled this very unprofessionally. She has a lot of clients and makes you feel like she is doing you a big favor with each meeting/​conversation. Make sure you ask questions in advance so you know what you are or aren’t getting: who will review my essays? Will every phone call and conversation and email with the student and/​or parent be «billable»? Ultimately this service is useful and worth the cost only if you and your kid establish a connection and trust with Joan and her staff. It didn’t work for us.

This is by far the best service a parent could use to ensure a good fit for their children. A great head start for any young adult wishing to gain the most out of their college experience. Joan Koven is as genuine as it gets. We felt right at home from the start and wanted to support our daughters happiness by having a true professional guide her. It’s all about the one on one relationship the young adult builds with Joan. She does not babysit people. She makes them do the work and learn the process because it’s going to get much harder for them when they are alone at school, If they actually get into a school! Just a heads up for the parents who continue to baby their kids. Wake up! You are not doing them a favor by babying them. For the kids who are not willing to take responsibility for yourself, time to grow up! My daughter who is finishing her first year at college, is at a school that is a perfect fit, I swear by Joan! Our family is excited to have our second daughter experience the professional insight that Joan brings to the table. We could not have done it without her. Thank you Joan.