Counselor Profile
Carolyn specializes in students applying to competitive and/or highly selective schools, liberal arts students, students interested in a wide range of schools, undecided students, and students looking to uncover their passions.
For Carolyn, the best part of working with high school students is helping them discover and realize their long-term goals academically, professionally, and personally. Carolyn prioritizes organization and accountability with her IvyWise students, ensuring they stay on track with their college preparation while making the process fun and rewarding.
Carolyn customizes her approach to each student, working with them to identify their interests, talents, and passions. She draws on her previous experience as an admissions officer and school-based counselor to recommend various actions they can take to maximize their academic and extracurricular opportunities in high school, eventually culminating in a strong applicant profile that comprehensively portrays their strengths to the admissions committee. Each of her counseling programs is unique, as the support and guidance she provides are always based on the student’s goals and priorities. She particularly enjoys working with students who have unusual or niche interests.
After graduating with her BA in creative writing and her master’s in education policy, Carolyn discovered her passion for the admissions process. She is a former admissions officer at Vanderbilt University and previously served as a school-based counselor, establishing and directing the college counseling departments at two prestigious charter schools in Nashville.
At Vanderbilt, Carolyn was involved in every part of the recruitment and admissions process. The committee review process was her favorite part of evaluating applications at Vanderbilt, and it was there she learned the nuances of how applicants are read and the importance of every piece of the college application. This experience allows Carolyn and her students to put together applications that will impress admissions counselors in the review process. In her work as a school-based counselor, she used her admissions expertise to guide students through the self-reflection and exploration necessary to create a strong postsecondary plan.
While Carolyn loves helping students become their best– selves throughout high school and the college admissions process, she prioritizes making college prep as fun as possible—keeping students’ well-being at the forefront of every conversation.
In addition to her work with IvyWise, she partners with a local nonprofit organization to provide professional development and resources to public school counselors supporting their students through the college admissions process. In her free time, Carolyn loves reading; taking her dog, Goose, to the park; spending time with her family; and learning to play the piano.
Counselor Features
Webinars
- The ABCs of the Role of High School Transcripts in College Admissions
- Making the Most of College Visits
- How to Have an Intentional College Experience and Achieve Your Goals
Articles
- ChatGPT in College Admissions
- When to Use a Comma to Separate Phrases — and Other Comma Questions
- Discovering Your Passions as an Undecided Student
- Without Test Scores, How Will Colleges Make Admissions Decisions?
- 5 FAQs I Get as a Counselor and Former Admissions Officer
- FAQs on Contacting Admissions Staff
- Exploring College Options: The Value of Fly-In Programs
IvyWise in the news
- How to Land a Marcomms Internship: A Guide for College Students
- 3 Reasons to Skip Applying to College Early
- Letter of Recommendation Examples for College Applicants
- Most Ivy League Schools Now Have Female Presidents
- How the Overturning of Roe v. Wade May Affect Students’ College Decisions
- College Admission Insights
- Waitlisted? Here Are Your Options