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May 6, 2019The College Advisor of New York Celebrates 15 Years & 1,000 Students
The college admissions process looks a lot different than it did 15 years ago, when Dean Skarlis, Ed.D., started The College Advisor of New York from his home.
Today, there are many more college applicants in the process, with highly selective schools becoming even more competitive. Grades alone won’t get you into your dream school, and students need to learn about other factors colleges consider, including demonstrated interest. Likewise, the cost of attending college has soared – taking a bigger bite out of families’ paychecks than it did in 2004.
As the process has evolved, The College Advisor has grown to help students and families navigate the increasing complexities of the admissions process. The service now employs 10 and operates out of the Corporate Woods Office Park in Albany. The group is currently serving their 1,000th student and celebrates 15 years of operation in 2019.
Through this growth, The College Advisor has remained steadfast in their mission – to provide personalized counseling to students and parents with the goal of helping them find, gain admission to, select, and graduate from colleges that are a great fit socially, academically, and financially. Skarlis stresses that working towards finding the college that is the best fit is much more fruitful than pursuing the best school you can possibly get into.
“This ethic has paid off,” he said. “Our students are admitted at a rate that’s 50% higher than the national average, and they graduate from the school we helped them select, on time, 90% of the time. We have had students attend every Ivy League college as well as more than 400 other great schools across the U.S., and in the U.K. and Germany.”
When clients Dan and Kristen Bobear started the college admissions process with their son, Daniel, they felt like they were “running through a maze of unknowns.” Today, Daniel attends Boston College, where he is extremely happy, they said.
“The school is giving him the challenge and environment he craved and we have watched him grow so much since he began in August,” Kristen said. “It’s amazing how calming it is to know your children are where they are supposed to be in life.”
Throughout 2019, The College Advisor is taking time to reconnect with former clients and celebrate current and future students, through sharing success stories and hosting an open house, which was held on May 2, from 4-6 pm, at their offices on the 3rd floor at 18 Corporate Woods Blvd in Albany. The company also presented two one-time scholarships of $1,500 for a current or former client to be used for college tuition or related expenses in the 2019-2020 academic year. Scholarship winners are: Nathalie Redick of Saratoga Springs High School and Andrew Balogh of Averill Park High School. Andrew is now a freshman at The University of Rochester.
During a brief ceremony, Chamber CEO Mark Eagan spoke to extend his congratulations to Skarlis and the staff. In Skarlis’ remarks he thanked the Capital Region Chamber as being “instrumental in the growth of his company.” He also thanked the assembled group of 3 dozen former and current clients, as well as various members of the Capital Region community.
