Another Parent Comments

We are thrilled to have had Lasso the Moon's support this last year. We recommend Sally's support to everyone with a high schooler considering a competitive college.

At some point in the Fall of your child's junior year, you realize getting them through the next phase of their education is going to practically be a full time job. And then you realize YOU don't know the first thing about it. So, you seek the guidance of everyone around you, and you end up running in circles, no better off than when you started. That is, until you decide to work with a pro.

Sally, of Lasso the Moon, cuts through the confusion and the distress, laying down a clear path for the college application process. With her support, we conquered more than a dozen college applications with ease. She challenged our son to find his voice amid 18 years of adventures and whittle down each essay to perfection.

She gave us peace of mind. She gave our son courage and clarity. And when the offers and acceptance letters arrived, she continued to offer her support as our son made his final decision. Sally was an invaluable part of this process and exactly who you want in your corner.

Tiffany and Richard, parents of Jude, Carleton College class of 2022

One Parent Comments

Here is a comment from one parent about Lasso the Moon's counselor:

"Sally's knowledge of the college admissions process helped guide my son in the right direction in writing his college essays. The result was excellent essays written by him that expressed his personality and strengths in a compelling way. Her guidance took much of the stress out of the process, and he finished his essays in far less time than any of his peers."

Becky G., mother of Ryan G., Colorado School of Mines class of 2022

Need help with your essays? Contact us at lassothemoon001@gmail.com

The University of Chicago is "Test Optional"--What does that mean?

The University of Chicago, one of the country’s premier research institutions, announced that their admissions expectations would be “test optional”: https://news.uchicago.edu/story/uchicago-launches-test-optional-admissions-process-expanded-financial-aid-scholarships

Their goal is to make the admissions standards as holistic as possible; as a result, they have added components to their admissions practice to allow students to demonstrate excellence in non-traditional ways. They are as follows:

• ·         Free tools and new flexibility in the application process
• ·         New test-optional policy that allows students to decide what information best represents their skills and college readiness.
• ·         New optional two-minute video introduction opportunity open to all students (replacing the optional alumni and on-campus interviews).
• ·         New opportunities to submit non-standard materials and accomplishments as supplements to the application.
• ·         New option for domestic students to self-submit transcripts to eliminate fees and simplify the application process.
• ·         New and expanding partnerships with MyinTuition, RaiseMe, The College Board, Making Caring Common, Nudge for College, Turning the Tide, and the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success.

Other colleges and universities will, no doubt, follow suit.

The philosophy behind the University of Chicago’s move stands in sharp contrast to the Trump Administration’s announcement that it was rolling back Obama-era guidelines on college admissions that supported affirmative action practices. Although the University of Chicago’s verbiage addresses privilege and not race, per se, the two, historically, are intertwined.

How will this impact you? The Chicago Tribune offers a helpful perspective:

The impact on college practices remains to be seen.

Peter McDonough, vice president and general counsel of the American Council on Education, which represents college and university presidents, said he doubted schools would change admission policies based solely on Tuesday's announcement. He noted that administrative guidance does not carry the legal weight of court rulings or statutes enacted by Congress. "It isn't shocking that guidance would be withdrawn," he said. "It happens all the time across administrative units."

McDonough said the action could have a chilling effect on colleges as they review their admission methods. "The message — but not the law — could be that if you take race into account or ethnicity into account as one of the several factors in your review process, you're going to be challenged," he said.

In other words, admissions offices will be more fearful of lawsuits such as the one currently leveled at Harvard University alleging discrimination against Asian Americans. The manner in which the University of Chicago is addressing that fear is by obscuring the admissions process rather than making it more transparent. Transparency is impossible, so colleges have to take the opposite route.

I believe that the burden on students to demonstrate excellence grows increasingly difficult the more obscure the process becomes. Students need to be highly creative to respond to the non-quantifiable expectations set by admissions offices. Two-minute videos? Non-standard submissions? Those expectations require not only creativity but also planning and polish.

My message? Try to have fun with it. But also, let someone help you.

 contact us at lassothemoon001@gmail.com for ideas

Here's What One Client Says

Lasso the Moon is a treasure trove of helpfulness; they got to know me and put all of their effort into helping me present my applications in the best way possible, and I’m so grateful they did.

Nehal M, Case Western Reserve University, class of 2020

If you want support with your application, contact us at lassothemoon001@gmail.com

Need help with an essay?

We offer this service for the editing of essays! Contact us at lassothemoon001@gmail.com to inquire about this service. 

The Essay Doctor: This is a service that allows students to work with us on an essay-to-essay basis. They can submit one or ten essays, depending on their needs. We will edit the essay entirely, commenting on content, style, presentation, tone, and overall effectiveness, working with the student through drafts until the essay is complete. The student does not have to meet with us to enjoy this service.

Need an idea for an essay? We will talk with you via phone or Skype to brainstorm and uncover the PERFECT topic. 

Two of Our Services

These are two of our main services. They can be custom-designed to the needs of students and families. These are concierge-style services; the counselor is always available to students and families for questions and consultations. 

Four-Year Plan: This service will provide students and their parents academic, extracurricular, personal, and test-taking guidance throughout high school. This will be a long-term dialogue that will allow us to assess the students’ strengths and weaknesses, to advise them on how to best utilize the academic and extracurricular program at the school they attend, to make recommendations regarding internships and summer programs, to find appropriate merit scholarships, and then to guide them through all facets of the application process.   

Special tracks will be offered for students interested in playing Division I athletics or in applying to an art program that requires a portfolio.

Senior-Year Success Plan: This service, which will start the summer before senior year, will provide students a robust college list and see them through all the steps of the application process. A key service will be the writing of an annotated resume that will allow counselors and academic teachers to write thorough recommendations for students. In addition, we will help brainstorm and edit essays so that they are in the students’ voice and also provide an accurate and engaging metaphor for the student.  

For inquiries, contact us at lassothemoon001@gmail.com.

Lasso the Moon offers the educational and college consulting expertise of 30 years to clients who want to take full advantage of the vast college and university landscape in the United States. No one should feel excluded from higher education in the United States, and yet far too many do, or do not know how high they can reach. We can show them just how high . . . higher than they ever imagined. We want ALL students to have access to colleges and universities that they might previously have felt were beyond their scope. We want students, families, and schools to recognize that socio-economic barriers, family background, geography, and race and ethnicity are immaterial to the college-application process. Acceptance into the most competitive colleges is not the sole domain of students who attend exclusive private schools. All students can and should have access to college—and to the most elite colleges—if they have the right counseling and can, therefore, plan properly. Our goal, as an independent college counseling service, is to provide the plan, the tools, and the confidence to students to gain access to the college of their dreams. For inquiries, contact us at lassothemoon001@gmail.com.