Questions & Answers
How do I contact Felicia?
Please contact Felicia at feliciafahey(at)gmail.com or by phone at (650) 793-0721
Why should I seek private consulting?
Applying to college is straightforward, yet highly involved and time sensitive. You have one shot to get the process right. Getting advice from a college consultant ensures that you plan ahead, that you acquire the knowledge you need to properly choose colleges, and that you take advantage of every offered opportunity to stand out.
Students are now applying to ten or more colleges, which means that admissions offices are flooded with the applications of hardworking, tenacious students, who have done well in school. In this environment, you must find a way to stand out. This doesn’t mean that you have to climb Kilimanjaro. It does mean that you need to communicate an authentic sense of your own character and personal commitments.
Students are now applying to ten or more colleges, which means that admissions offices are flooded with the applications of hardworking, tenacious students, who have done well in school. In this environment, you must find a way to stand out. This doesn’t mean that you have to climb Kilimanjaro. It does mean that you need to communicate an authentic sense of your own character and personal commitments.
When do I make my first appointment?
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It is never too soon to understand how your high school experience shapes your chances of being admitted to college. Understanding the college admissions process early ensures that you make informed choices and carve a unique academic and extracurricular path of your own that you can enjoy and trust. Felicia also believes that learning foundational skills in communication and self-reflection as soon as your freshman year will vastly improve your performance in high school, your desirability as a college applicant, and your preparation for college. Felicia has also had great success motivating students who are bored at school or who are having trouble seeing their future at college.
If you find that you are falling behind, now is a good time to seek help. Unsure if this is a good time? Felicia is happy to talk with you by phone. |
Planning Ahead:
Freshman & Sophomores Plan a four year curriculum. Research extracurricular activities, summer opportunities, and colleges. Self-reflect through writing. Relax. Juniors Plan advanced coursework. Take SAT/ACT exams. Deepen extracurricular activity. Network with colleges. Plan senior summer. Self-articulate. Write. Relax some more. Practice resetting. Seniors Write personal statements. Deepen communication with colleges. Interview. Bolster extracurricular activity. Practice deep relaxation and resetting. |
How much help will I need?
Every student undergoes a distinct application process. Hence, it is ideal to find help that suits your particular needs. For you, the right kind of help may be comprehensive guidance throughout the year. Or perhaps you would benefit from getting help over the summer through a consultation and a workshop. Another option may be to meet once in the summer and once in the fall. Or maybe you have your own clear idea of your specific needs. Not sure what kind of help you need? Felicia enjoys helping families to figure out their own process.
Why work with Felicia?
Felicia has spent her life working alongside young adults. As a college professor and advisor, and now in the role of educational consultant, Felicia has developed a compassionate and intuitive approach to working with her students. She meets her students where they are and naturally draws out the best in each person. Felicia has had great success working with many types of students. She develops a close relationship with each one. Her goal is to make each student feel supported to be truthful about what they want and who they are. Working from this place of truth, Felicia finds that her students do very well in the admissions process. On average, her students have been admitted to eight out of ten of the colleges to which they’ve applied, including one if not several of their reach schools. Each year at least a quarter of her students receive merit scholarships.
Should I request individual consulting or take a workshop?
The workshops are very popular because they offer all the immediate benefits of private consulting through an intensive, immersive experience. In a workshop, you may feel less encumbered by the task of writing your essays, because you complete a lot of writing in a short amount of time. This works well for students who don’t need to talk a lot about their experiences in order to figure out what they want to say.
If you like exploring different aspects of your experience in multiple iterations or drafts, the workshop format may impinge on your creative process. Or if you want time to talk through your experience and to discover your truth verbally, working one-to-one will be more fruitful. Students who find writing difficult or procrastinate because they are perfectionists may prefer individual consulting. If you don’t have a sense of what is the best fit for you, give Felicia a call. She happily speaks about both approaches with prospective students.
If you like exploring different aspects of your experience in multiple iterations or drafts, the workshop format may impinge on your creative process. Or if you want time to talk through your experience and to discover your truth verbally, working one-to-one will be more fruitful. Students who find writing difficult or procrastinate because they are perfectionists may prefer individual consulting. If you don’t have a sense of what is the best fit for you, give Felicia a call. She happily speaks about both approaches with prospective students.
Does Felicia offer online services?
What will I gain from working with Felicia?Felicia provides comprehensive, part time, or one time consulting via Skype, email, and chat. Additionally, she offers online writing courses to help students start their personal statements and other essays.
How does Felicia guide the essay writing process?
With her background in teaching freshman seminars, creative and autobiographical writing, Felicia has developed many techniques to help students uncover their own writing style and to relate their most authentic stories in a personal manner. Felicia has an open, supportive disposition and a fun approach to writing that immediately disarms her students, allowing them to write and speak freely. Additionally, Felicia has distinguished herself through her ability to see and to draw out the unique essence and experience of each person. Engaging this skill set at the writing table, she knows what questions to ask when, thereby supporting students to find within themselves their best materials.
What will I gain from working with Felicia?
Felicia takes a unique approach to the college application process by seeing it as an opportunity to help students develop real world skills. The skill set she imparts--in writing, research, networking, interviewing, self-reflection, self-presentation, and resetting--is relevant to doing well throughout life: in high school, in the college admissions process, at college, on the job market, and in the workplace.
Am I a good fit?
Felicia works best with families in which the parents are ready to mostly stand back and let their student do their thing. She sees herself as an advocate of the student, for the student. She helps to relieve the stress that can escalate in families during the college admission process.
What resources are provided to Felicia’s students?
Felicia provides her students with the resources they need to plan out and complete their application process. She provides a task list, a timeline, links to useful online documents and apps, worksheets to help students brainstorm and develop their essays, and a blog on pertinent issues, trends and tips for the current application cycle. Finally, Felicia makes herself available promptly to answer any and all of your questions, and to help with any problems that may emerge.
I live far from Palo Alto - will Felicia work with me?
Felicia works with students who live close to her home or far away. This year Felicia is working with students from across the United States, and from Hong Kong, Ecuador, England and Germany.