Reduce the Fear and Stress of Navigating College Admissions
The goal is not just an acceptance letter. It is a student attending a school that fits them well, with a plan for paying for it and a path to finishing on time. Baines College Consulting works with families from the first conversation about what your student wants, through the search, the applications, the essays, and the funding, all the way to the letter that finally arrives.
Who This Is For
Parents
You want a plan you can actually see. We meet regularly, you know what is due and when, and the money conversation happens early instead of in April.
Students
We work with all students of all learning abilities. The list gets built around how your student learns. We look at what each school provides, not where it sits in a ranking.
Partners
Schools, nonprofits, and community programs. Bring Donna in for workshops, family nights, and counselor support.
Four Things We Do Together
Every family comes here at different points in the process. Some already have a list and want a second opinion. Others have a sophomore and no idea where to start. Often the feeling underneath it all is the same, that the process is bigger than you thought.
These four pieces are how we approach the process. Not every family needs all of them, but all are important as a whole. We start with your student, we build outward, and we keep the deadlines and the cost in view the whole time.
01 Career and major matching
Start with the student, not the school. Interests, strengths, and what a working life in that field actually looks like.
02 College search
A balanced list of reach, target, and likely schools, each one on the list for a stated reason you can point to.
03 College funding strategies
Merit aid, need-based aid, and the FAFSA timeline, planned before applications go out rather than after offers arrive.
04 Application and essay review
Deadlines tracked, supplements organized, and essays read by someone who has sat on the other side of the admissions desk.
Donna Baines
Donna started Baines College Consulting as a part time charitable service for students who wanted professional guidance and could not access it. She spent years as a corporate director of college admissions with juniors and seniors in high school, then went independent.
Her background as regional admissions director included reading and rating motivational elements that encourage students to complete high school and continue on to higher education. She has represented schools in markets including Philadelphia, Newark, Trenton, Houston, Dallas, Birmingham, and Montgomery.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
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