Packages & Pricing

Posts & Beams

For students beginning their junior year who need strategic guidance through the application process.

This is where most of my work happens. You're starting junior year, and the clock is real—but there's still time to make meaningful moves if we're strategic about it.

Ideally, we meet before second semester course selection. I'll look at the AP classes you've taken, what you're planning for senior year, and whether the trajectory is strong enough for your target schools. If you want University of Michigan but you're sitting at three AP classes by the end of junior year, a few things need to happen: stack the senior year deck with AP courses, consider summer dual enrollment at a local college, and understand that academic rigor is measured at a higher tier than most families realize.

Then we look at your extracurriculars. What are you involved in? What will you do this summer? I'm looking for alignment—the same thread I'd look for with a freshman, only now I've come late to the party, which means we move in a faster time frame and every decision counts more.

We'll also talk testing. If you plan to graduate with under eight AP classes, an SAT or ACT score becomes more important. You'll work with one of our dedicated test prep tutors—and I'll help you decide which test is the better fit. We're shooting for a 1460 or higher. That said, almost all of the students I've helped get accepted to University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin applied without the SAT or ACT. They did, however, substitute it with at least one strong AP exam score.

After we've built your blueprint, we move to the essays. I'll help you with the concept, organization, and storytelling of your Common App personal statement and all supplemental essays for up to five schools. When the time comes, we put your application together brick by brick. We want you to feel unforgettable.

The Skyscraper

For families who want to start early and build a student's entire journey from the ground up.

A freshman is just starting their journey—and that's exactly why this package is so powerful. When I get to know a student early, I can help them chart a course they truly love before the pressure sets in.

Take Charlie. He'd always had this rock collection. His mom wanted them thrown out, but to him they were treasures from a distant world. Charlie had a flair for art and geology, but his school didn't offer AP Geology—so we arranged dual enrollment at a local college. Classes like AP Art History and AP Environmental Science were a must. We custom-built his academic journey around something he'd always loved and never quite knew what to do with.

We suggested he use his school's art resources to learn gel wax candle-making, and Time and Tides was born. He passed candles out to local gift shops each summer while working at the dock gas station on Lake Charlevoix. People liked them. He now has almost 1,000 customers. Along the way, he tried his hand at ceramics and painting, where he won a Gold and Silver Key at the Scholastic Art Awards.

That's what four years gives us. Time to discover who a student really is. Time to pick classes each semester that build a coherent story. Time to find contests, earn awards, and develop the kind of depth that makes a student unforgettable. It also gives us a chance to learn about their dream school—what it values, what it looks for—and package them specifically for that school's desires.

The Foundation

For students who have the plan but need help telling their story.

If you only need help with your personal statement and supplemental essays, that's no problem. Most students begin the essay process the second semester of junior year, but we can start whenever you're ready.

Terri—a published writer with a creative writing certificate from Harvard—will work with you on every step of the essay process: concept development, narrative structure, storytelling, and revision. Many students have never written an essay in the style that the personal statement requires, which should read somewhat like a story. That's exactly what we'll help you craft.