College Consulting

demystifying the College Application Process

College Counseling and College Selection

Personal Statement Assistance

Supplementary (College-Specific) Essay Guidance

    Support for extracurricular activities, recommendations, and financial aid

Confidence boosting and anxiety management

demystifying the College Application Process

College Counseling and College Selection

Personal Statement Assistance

Supplementary (College-Specific) Essay Guidance

Support for extracurricular activities, recommendations, and financial aid

Confidence boosting and anxiety management

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How We Help Our Students

If the new admissions landscape seems especially anxiety-provoking and confusing, you are not alone. Acceptance rates have narrowed, expectations have expanded, and selective colleges are relying on a new approach, which they somewhat confusingly call “holistic” admissions.

While the rest of the college admissions world uses antiquated models that may have worked 20 years ago, or even pre-COVID, The Krupnick Approach prepares you with methods that work in today’s admissions landscape.  We guide students and parents through the three core elements of the college admissions process:

Requirements

Requirements form the foundational infrastructure of the college prep process. These include good grades, solid test scores, and meaningfully rigorous college-prep courses. We help students with all of these parts of the process – from academic coursework to ACT/SAT prep – and have the best track record in the field in standardized test preparation.

Strategy and Positioning

Strategy is the bread and butter of what most people think of when they start “college counseling.” We do it a little differently.  Strategy and Positioning starts with a plan and a systematic timeline with chronologically overlapping projects. It’s extremely useful to begin this process early, and there’s nothing wrong with completing some of these projects at the same time.  You do not need perfect ACT/SAT scores before visiting colleges. You don’t need to know exactly what you want to study before making your list.  In regular consultation sessions with students and parents, we help our families think through strategy-related questions:

  1. Given my interests, what kinds of activities should I pursue – and how?

  2. How should I think about summer programs?

  3. Whom should I ask to write my college recommendations – and how do I ask them?

  4. How should I think about the college essays – and what is the difference between the Personal Statement (Common App Main Essay) and each of the college-specific supplementary essays?

  5. When I begin to design my list, how many colleges should I include – and how do I make distinctions between “safeties,” “targets,” and “reaches”?

  6. What are my statistical odds at these different colleges–given my GPA and test scores?

  7. When I begin to narrow down my list, how many colleges should I narrow it down to – and how do I make the most of my college visits at these schools?

  8. How do I think about Early Decision, Early Action, and Early Decision II – and when should I ED vs. when should I not ED?

Discovery

Discovery is about determining what you are interested in, where you want to apply, and what, essentially, you want to study.  If Strategy and Positioning is about appealing to them (ie, the colleges), Discovery is about finding the right fit for you.

       i) Extra-curricular Interest Discovery.   We help you find, recognize, direct, and harness your interests – both inside and outside the classroom.

     ii) College Discovery.    We help you identify and narrow down your college lists into safeties, targets, and reaches. In doing so, we get to know your academic interests and help you find schools – and majors – where you will be happy and successful.

The Krupnick Approach
5.0
Based on 56 reviews
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colin codycolin cody
19:49 11 Dec 23
My son did great on the selective enrollment high school test. Most importantly he got assistance where he needed the most help and did really well on that part. Huge thanks to Joe and the crew!Colin
Kenya WilliamsKenya Williams
03:33 21 Sep 23
I am extremely grateful for Joe and his team who are passionate about improving the chances for acceptance into the top tier colleges. I appreciate his personal attention, follow-up and ease of scheduling sessions. With the Krupnick Approach our son raised his score to just 10 points shy of his goal. He also decided to take the test one final time because with assistance from Joe's team he feels even more confident that he can surpass his initial goal. Bringing out the best in teens and motivating them to demonstrate their abilities is truly a gift. And TBH it is a gift that keeps on giving since it has the potential to create a life changing opportunity! Thank.You.Joe.
Bonnie MicheliBonnie Micheli
14:17 25 May 23
Highly recommend The Krupnick Approach to anyone studying for the SAT/ACT test! The Krupnick Approach tutoring helped raise my son's SAT test score 300 points. Joe Krupnick himself is very hands on and knowledgable about both tests. All of the tutors were great to work with and my son really learned so much from all of them including Joe. Andrew Kletzien, the math tutor, was exceptional. My son received a perfect score on the math SAT section and absolutely loved working with Andrew.
Rania JonesRania Jones
03:15 11 May 23
I cannot thank Joe Krupnick and the Krupnick Approach enough for their exceptional guidance, support, and expertise throughout my college application process.From the beginning, Joe Krupnick took the time to understand my academic strengths, extracurricular activities, and who I was to help shape my college process around what would be the best fit for me.Thanks to their guidance, I was accepted into my top-choice school, Harvard University. I know that without their help, I would not have been able to achieve this dream.
Ivana NikolicIvana Nikolic
00:03 21 Apr 23
Joe and the Krupnick tutoring team blew us away! My son Marko raised his ACT score by 11 points! Quite amazing! The focus on practice, time management, and test-taking strategies really helped Marko feel confident and prepared on test day. The team was always punctual, proactive and had a fantastic response time with any question we had. My glowing recommendation and much gratitude goes to Joe and his team. You have made a significant impact on Marko's future, and we are forever grateful.
rumki GuhaDuttarumki GuhaDutta
16:15 14 Apr 23
Dr. Krupnick is an extremely skillful mentor, coach and tutor. Himself a PHD from Harvard, he is extremely focus, dedicated and committed to each student.We found his method and approach to be extremely helpful for my daughter. I have not seen such one on one and hands on approach with any other college prep counselor/classes. We have been extremely happy with Joe( Dr.Krupnik) and his personal involvement always made us feel at ease.My daughter has got accepted in one of her top three choice of college and to a big extent we attribute her success to Joe's commitment. We could not have been more happy with everything!
Zach SharpZach Sharp
23:43 20 Feb 23
Writing college applications is an incredibly challenging and intimidating process. It requires a unique form of writing that requires you to show off all your accomplishments while remaining relatable and humble. This can be really tricky to understand but Joe and the whole team at the Krupnick approach make it very easy. Joe’s coaching helped bring out my voice so that my essays stood out from the crowd. Joe also helped me through navigating the ACT. His test prep practice helped me raise my score by 6 points putting me in the range for more competitive schools. I am now studying at the University of Chicago, my dream school, and I would not been able to get here without Joe’s help.
Veemon 22Veemon 22
02:08 23 Feb 22
My name is Anthony Leon and currently in my senior year of highschool. Being a a first generation immigrant, I'm the first going to college and with that comes a lot of new challenges seeing as I had little information to work with. However, the Krupnick Approach has helped me through a lot in navigating through the SAT and college process. I honestly can't think of how I would've managed without their assistance. Dr. Joe Krupnick, Joe Burton, and Kalea Ponce have been both kind and informative on the secrets of mastering the SAT and tackling the challenge of writing college essays. Thanks to our efforts, I've managed to secure a full ride to Amherst. I cannot recommend this program enough for any student with little knowledge on the SAT or college process.
Maddie GardnerMaddie Gardner
16:44 09 May 21
Krupnick approach is a great way to boost your test scores. I went from a 21 to a 26/27 superscore just from this company. He also helped me look at colleges and my college essays. Overall very helpful and I would definitely recommend!
Sydney HimesSydney Himes
16:29 08 May 21
I have been so impressed with Joe and his team or tutors. They are patient, and able to make the most difficult concepts easy to digest. Most impressive is the confidence they install in your student! It was a real pleasure for my student to work with the Krupnick approach! I would use them again in a heartbeat.
Ava NelliganAva Nelligan
20:44 07 May 21
Helped me raise my ACT score and ultimately get into 8 top universities! Lots of great strategies and tips, very informed. Thank you for your help!
Cooper HaislipCooper Haislip
18:29 07 May 21
Phenomenal service! It helped me achieve academic success in a course I genuinely thought I would fail. All tutors, especially founder Dr. Krupnick, greatly surpass any current on-campus assistance. Each tutor is brilliant, personable, relate to pressures that come with higher education, dedicated to helping students reach academic excellence, and help you realize your full potential both as a student and an individual. I highly recommend The Krupnick Approach for anyone who needs/ wants the highest quality after-school assistance, and if I could give them six stars, I would.
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Program Design

1. After deciding on a program, students are matched with a consulting team, usually consisting of 1-2 specialists.  Program hours are structured around a systematic student-centered timeline and action plan that is customized to fit strengths, weaknesses, and interests of the individual student applicant. 

2. All parents and students, regardless of their chosen program, are provided with a program specification document, outlining details of their program.  Each family will have full access to the following Krupnick Approach proprietary college resources:

The Krupnick Approach Database, including more than 500 real examples of successful personal statements and supplemental essays and more than 100 examples of unsuccessful essays (with commentary and feedback). Our database also includes research on individual colleges, timelines, and templates for college lists, activities, supplement essays, recommendations, and college admission probability modeling.

A Krupnick Approach personalized Drive folder, providing customized timelines, personalized application checklists, sample essays for students' safety, target, and reach schools, financial aid data and support files for parents, and probability modeling for all colleges with the best data and analytical tools available

Access to a responsive team of college consultants and college student ambassadors available to answer all questions that arise as students navigate the college application landscape.

3. Detailed progress reports are made available to students and parents on request. These reports summarize students’ progression through the college process–and allow all programs to be dynamically responsive to students’ distinctive and changing needs throughout the process.

Program Design

1. After deciding on a program, students are matched with a consulting team, usually consisting of 1-2 specialists.  Program hours are structured around a systematic student-centered timeline and action plan that is customized to fit strengths, weaknesses, and interests of the individual student applicant. 

2. All parents and students, regardless of their chosen program, are provided with a program specification document, outlining details of their program.  Each family will have full access to the following Krupnick Approach proprietary college resources:

The Krupnick Approach Database, including more than 500 real examples of successful personal statements and supplemental essays and more than 100 examples of unsuccessful essays (with commentary and feedback). Our database also includes research on individual colleges, timelines, and templates for college lists, activities, supplement essays, recommendations, and college admission probability modeling.

A Krupnick Approach personalized Drive folder, providing customized timelines, personalized application checklists, sample essays for students' safety, target, and reach schools, financial aid data and support files for parents, and probability modeling for all colleges with the best data and analytical tools available

Access to a responsive team of college consultants and college student ambassadors available to answer all questions that arise as students navigate the college application landscape.

3. Detailed progress reports are made available to students and parents on request. These reports summarize students’ progression through the college process–and allow all programs to be dynamically responsive to students’ distinctive and changing needs throughout the process.

Krupnick Approach featured in
Chicago Parent: A 4-Year Timeline for College Planning

COLLEGE PREP & APPLICATION TIMELINE

See What Our Students Say

COLLEGE PREP & APPLICATION TIMELINE

See What Our Students Say

We are a fully-integrated college prep and college acceptance program, eager and available to meet all students' and families' unique needs. We offer continuing support in:

College selection: probability modeling specific to the student and his or her school list

College applications: when, how, and why to start the various phases of the college application process

College essays: brainstorming, development, execution, and review of all application essays, including personal statements, supplementary essays, and college-specific, 'Why us?' essays

Interview prep, scholarship applications and essays, financial aid applications and planning

Executive functioning & organization: comprehensive preparation for independent college life

We are a fully-integrated college prep and college acceptance program, eager and available to meet all students' and families' unique needs. We offer continuing support in:

College selection: probability modeling specific to the student and his or her school list

College applications: when, how, and why to start the various phases of the college application process

College essays: brainstorming, development, execution, and review of all application essays, including personal statements, supplementary essays, and college-specific, 'Why us?' essays

Interview prep, scholarship applications and essays, financial aid applications and planning

Executive functioning & organization: comprehensive preparation for independent college life

How We Work With Students and Families on College Prep

How We Work With Students and Families on College Prep

College Prep FAQs

Q: Why should I do college prep?

A: College prep and college consulting involves de-mystifying and organizing a complex process, removing stress from both students and parents, and lending our expertise to help you choose colleges where you’ll be successful and happy.  In our fully-integrated college service, you can work with specialists who have expertise in each of the main areas of the college process: test prep, college selection, activities, recommendations, essays, and finanicial aid/scholarships.   

Q: When should I get started?

 With our life-course model, we encourage students to get started with college prep as soon and as early as possible.  Quite simply, there are parts of your college application (like activities and recommendations) that benefit from long-term commitments, and when you’re building an interest nucleus, you’re at a great advantage if you start the adventure early. 

Logistical FAQs

Q: How do we schedule tutoring sessions?

A: For your convenience, each of our tutors and consultants uses an automated scheduling system. This system allows students to choose from all remaining available time slots for that individual tutor. If students prefer, we can also schedule directly with students via email, text, or phone. When scheduling through our automated system, students will receive an email confirmation for each time reserved and a calendar event will automatically be created on the account they are signed in with. If the session is virtual, the link to join the Zoom meeting will be included in the calendar event and email confirmation, or the tutor will send you a unique join link before your scheduled session.

We highly encourage students to schedule their own sessions so that they appear on the student’s calendar. We find that students who take over the execution and management of their programs fare far better both in our program and in the inevitable chaos of college life and classworkwork. When using our automated system, parents can be added to the calendar events after the initial scheduling so that they know when students are scheduled to meet.

Q: When are sessions held?

A: Students work out their schedules individually with each subject-specialist, depending on the student’s and the tutor’s schedule. Tutors do their best to be flexible, and each tutoring team will take into consideration any scheduling restrictions students might have.

Q: How long are the sessions?

A: College consulting sessions typically range from 30 minutes (for short planning to discussions) to 1.5 hours (for college essay sessions), with exceptions made for students with accommodations or other extenuating circumstances.

Q: How much homework should we expect?

A: Like for test prep sessions, our college consulting students should expect a 1:1 ratio of session time to homework. If a student meets with a tutor for 1.5 hours per week, he or she should expect to complete about 1.5 hours of homework per week. 

 

Depending on the content of our work, each week we assign a “project” that we expect students to complete for the next session. If we are working on activities or nucleus-building, that project might involve finding/joining new clubs or selecting summer programs.  If we are working on college essays, that project might involve vignette construction, statement drafting, or supplement editing.

Q: What materials and resources are available for college prep programs?

A: Students will be given full access to their personal folder and to the Krupnick Approach College Essay and Application folder, which hundreds of sample essays (from acceptend and not accepted students); recommendation/activity/ college list templates; timelines and checklists; college admission data, requirements, and probability analytics; and financial aid/scholarship opportunities.  

In addition to the college database, our students also have full access to his/her own curated and fully customized personal folder.  Students’ personal folders will be a homebase to organize all college-related files, such as transcripts, test scores, questionnaires, recommendation materials, activities lists, college lists, essays, etc.  

Q: How do I work with my consultants and tutors??

A: Depending on their needs and interests, most students work with a core college advisor and multiple specialists.  Advisors  oversee the process from conception to completion, ensuring that deadlines are met, opportunities are optimized, and that families are getting the most out of their programs.   Krupnick Approach college prep specialists include our essay experts, network of former admissions officers at top universities, student/faculty ambassadors, and financial aid/scholarship team. Specialists support students with week-to-week projects like activities lists, sunmer program application, college list and probability modeling, recommendation materials,  personal statements, and  supplements.

 

Q: What is our late cancellation policy?

A: Students are expected to maintain a professional and punctual attitude towards their time with our subject-specialists. All sessions must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance, and scheduled sessions must be canceled with at least 24 hours notice. Tutors will retain discretion to accommodate less than 24-hour notice, but reserve the right to charge the entirety of the reserved time to the student’s program totals.

College Admissions: Superscoring & Test Optional Status

Among the colleges to which our most recent students have been accepted:

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