Advising college-bound students
By Lisa Crockett; photo courtesy of Nicole Dina Photography
Castle Pines resident Brianne MacEachran owns Brass Elephant Consulting, a firm that provides education planning and college admission consulting services to help students reach their educational goals.
School is in full swing here in Castle Pines, and students are settling into the task at hand. High schoolers, especially juniors and seniors, are likely also now thinking seriously about where their post-high school years will be spent. It’s a lot for a young person – even a responsible and talented one – to handle. Castle Pines resident Brianne MacEachran, who has a background in both marketing and university admissions, recently opened Brass Elephant Consulting to help students navigate the sometimes confusing journey to college.
“Things are really competitive now, different from even 10 or 15 years ago,” said MacEachran. “I see students who are on the path to do great things, but they need help getting where they want to go.” Education planning should ideally start fairly early, said MacEachran. “A freshman or sophomore can start identifying interests and evaluating strengths,” she said. “We can start looking at hobbies and thinking about ways to transition those to things that will help on a resume or application.”
With older students, the focus is on application preparation and admissions, along with guidance for college selection. Typically, education planning is done three or four times in a school year, with a focus on setting goals for each semester. Admission and application consulting is done on an hourly basis as many times as is needed to meet a student’s needs.
“Meetings can take place in various locations,” said MacEachran. “Our initial assessment to discuss the scope of work to be done takes place in a neutral spot like Starbucks or the library, and future meetings can also take place outside the home or at a client’s home so long as they have a quiet, dedicated space to meet.” Starting early in a high school career is an advantage, of course, but MacEachran said students who have procrastinated can still benefit from her services. “No one should ever think it’s too late for them,” she said. “We can still find ways to do meaningful work with a student and address their needs.”
For more info about Brass Elephant Consulting, visit www.brasselephantconsulting.com.
