Former Students
EVAN ZEPFEL
Harvard '12 (Corona del Mar HS)
Mrs. Bailey was the single most helpful person in the college admission process for me. She helped me choose where to send applications and brainstorm my essays. Once decisions came out and I learned that I had been waitlisted, she always remained positive and hopeful, and helped me do everything I could to get admitted and off the wait list. ezepfel@gmail.com
ASHLEY KIRBY
UCLA '12 (Corona del Mar HS)
"Mrs. Bailey-
I just wanted to thank you for all of the support and help throughout this stressful process. I can't even explain how excited I am to be a bruin! I never would have thought that I would end up at UCLA and I attribute so much of that to your assistance. Starting out, the whole college process seemed so overwhelming, but you helped me to take one step at a time. UCLA gives me everything I want in a college and I can't wait to begin!"
PETER YOULD
Colorado College '12 (Corona del Mar HS)
"Mrs. Bailey,
I remember the first day I walked into your office. My mother and I had
too many anxieties about college for the both of us. You helped me
organize a list of prospective colleges that I wanted to apply to.
During the application process, you kept me on task and always had the
next step of the process ready for me to complete. For those of you who
are currently going through the college application process, my words
of advice are research all the colleges, there are lots of good
colleges that aren't as well known as USC, the UCs, or the Ivy league
colleges, and try to do everything Mrs. Bailey says on time (trust me
it pays off). With Mrs. Bailey's help, I was accepted to my first
choice school, Colorado College. Besides her help on my college
applications, Mrs. Bailey edited my essay for the Brad Evan's Memorial
Scholarship. Her editing skills helped me win the Scholarship. Mrs.
Bailey always believed in me. Her patience and knowledge of the college
application process guided me through my final years of high school and
into college. Thanks again for all the help Mrs. Bailey and keep up the
great work. I will keep in touch."
ALEX GORMLY
USC '11 (Corona del Mar High School)
"The college process was an overwhelming and daunting process for me throughout high school. The combination of AP classes, SAT, ACT, AP exams, and community service is a lot to handle alone. However, with Mrs. Bailey’s help, I became much less stressed out and a lot more organized. She has so much experience with college planning, and is extremely helpful and knowledgeable in everything from tutors to test prep to athletic recruiting. She set me up with an amazing tutor, an incredible international community service program in Brazil, and gave me her suggestions on class and college choices. In the end, because of her guidance and my own hard work, I had my choice of a range of colleges to go to! She gave me confidence in my own college process and always managed to talk me through everything that came up. I am so thankful for her help, and I couldn’t have done it without her!"
MADISON KAWAKAMI
Stanford University '11 (Corona del Mar High School)
"Everyone knows that the college admissions process has changed drastically since the time of our parents. Being the oldest child in my family, my parents and I realized that we might need some guidance. Mrs. Bailey proved to be just the type of college counselor we needed. She was helpul and organized throughout the entire process by setting deadlines, organizing informational sessions, and editing my college essays. Furthermore, she focused on my strengths and remained positive throughout the entire process. I felt that through her guidance, I was able to construct a comphrehensive college application that highlighted my strengths and who I am as a person. "
RAZVAN UNGUREANU
Rice '06 (Corona del Mar High School)
"I remember walking into Mrs. Bailey's office four years ago, a little confused, a bit uncertain, and terribly worried about college. I was troubled by the same questions every student faces during the fall of senior year. What are college applications all about? What should I write in my personal statement? Will I ever get in?
I remember walking out of Mrs. Bailey's office smiling, enthusiastic about college, and confident about the future. During my frequent returns to her office, Mrs. Bailey shared with me her vast knowledge about colleges, taught me what admission officers look for in the essays, and offered priceless advice about the application process, letters of recommendation and interviews. Several months later, in the spring, I got into the school of my dreams and I have been grateful for her help ever since."
KINZIE KRAMER
UC Berkeley '08 (Corona del Mar High School)
"Mrs. Bailey was a huge help in the application process- she got me started early enough so that I never felt stressed, but late enough so that I could actually enjoy my junior and senior year without college applications being the only thing on my mind.
The whole application process was actually quite enjoyable because she made it fun and exciting thinking about the future. That is one of Mrs. Bailey's greatest attributes as a college counselor-- to make the highly stressful application process not seem so intense.
And lastly, Mrs. Bailey is incredibly knowledgeable. She knows TONS about basically ALL colleges, not just the UCs or Ivy League schools, which makes you confident that absolutely every option for college is made known and available to you."
JEFF SMITH
UCLA '09 (San Clemente High School)
"The application process seemed overwhelming to me until Mrs. Bailey helped me break it down step by step and gave me the confidence that I could get it all done. The best thing that I did was come to see her early on in high school. She helped me select the right classes I needed to take and ultimately helped me get into a Division I water polo school."
BEAU STOCKSTILL
Stanford '07 (Corona del Mar HS)
"Mrs. Bailey is an incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgeable college counselor. She was a tremendous help to me throughout the application and decision-making processes. She helped me find interesting topics for my personal statements and continually guided me through the revision process until I finally had compelling and engaging essays to send with my applications. She knows exactly what colleges are looking for, and she is a priceless resource throughout the process of contacting schools, filling out applications, writing essays, asking for and sending recommendations, and all of the other facets of the college application process. Most importantly, she was very positive and supportive throughout the process.
Stanford is hands down the best university in the nation and a great place to be. We have incredible academic strength as well as the nation's best and most successful athletic department, and best of all, you don't even have to leave sunny California. Classes are interesting and engaging, and all of them are taught by professors, with the larger classes having additional small discussion sections run by TAs. Palo Alto is a beautiful city with a fun downtown and a very pleasant and safe feel to it. Since property off campus is pretty expensive, you are guaranteed housing all four years, and most students live on campus, so the social scene on campus is always very active and fun. All in all, you really can't beat Stanford.
JENNIFER BUNNEY
Tufts '08 (Laguna Beach High School)
"I had no idea where to start when first applying to colleges. Mrs. Bailey organized everything for me and helped me cope with the stress that accompanied the application process. She gave me a step-by-step plan that allowed me to meet all of my deadlines but not overwhelm me, and in the end succesfully helped me get accepted to my very first choice school. Mrs. Bailey helped me countless times in between our meetings and in my opinion, went way above and beyond the duty of a college counselor."