Admission Academy
The roadmap for families who want to make the most of the high school years
Build your student's strengths.
Discover their direction.
Create opportunities before the application process begins.
Every parent wants the same thing.
They want their child to have options.
They want their child to discover what they are capable of.
They want to know that when college applications arrive, they will not look back and wonder:
"Did we do enough?"
The challenge is that the most important college decisions often happen years before applications are submitted.
- The classes your student chooses.
- The interests they explore.
- The mentors they develop.
- The projects they create.
- The communities they join.
- The skills they build.
These decisions quietly shape the opportunities available later.
Admission Academy gives families a strategic roadmap to make those decisions with confidence.
The biggest advantage in College Admission is not doing more
It Is knowing what matters.
Today's students have unlimited access to opportunities.
That is not the problem.
The problem is knowing:
- Which opportunities actually matter?
- Which experiences will help my child grow?
- How can my student stand out authentically?
- How do we balance ambition with happiness?
- How do we find colleges where my child will truly thrive?
Admission Academy was created to answer those questions.
This is not about building a résumé.
It is about building a person.
Why families start earlier
The strongest college applications are not created during senior year.
They are developed through years of thoughtful decisions.
A student who discovers an interest in medicine in 9th grade has different opportunities than a student who discovers it in October of senior year.
A student who begins developing a passion for engineering, entrepreneurship, writing, research, art, or leadership early has time to create meaningful depth.
The goal is not pressure.
The goal is preparation.
Because opportunity rewards students who are ready when the moment arrives.
The Admission Academy roadmap
Admission Academy is built around four stages that guide students from uncertainty to clarity.
SPARK
Discover what makes your student different.
Every student has unique strengths.
The challenge is helping them recognize those strengths and understand how they connect to future possibilities.
Students explore:
- interests
- values
- strengths
- talents
- curiosity
- possible academic directions
Before students can build a compelling future, they need to understand themselves.
Spark creates that foundation.
FIRE
Turn interests into meaningful achievement.
Great students are not created by checking boxes.
They are created by pursuing meaningful work.
Fire helps students transform curiosity into action through:
- research
- internships
- leadership
- entrepreneurship
- creative projects
- competitions
- summer opportunities
- independent exploration
The goal is not to make students busier.
The goal is to help them build depth.
VISION
Connect education to the life your student wants to build.
College is not the destination.
It is a vehicle.
Vision helps students understand:
- possible majors
- careers
- college environments
- personal goals
- future opportunities
The best college choice is not simply the most prestigious name.
It is the place where a student can grow, contribute, and prepare for the future they want.
BRAND
Help colleges understand who your student is becoming.
Admissions officers review thousands of qualified students.
The students who stand out are not always the ones with the longest résumé.
They are the ones with clarity.
Brand helps students communicate their story through:
- activities
- essays
- recommendations
- interviews
- applications
- college selection
The goal:
When a college reads your student's application, they understand exactly why that student belongs there.
Trusted by families around the world
For more than 20 years, David Montesano and College Match have helped students and families navigate the college admission process.
David has been recognized as a pioneer in strategic college admission consulting, bringing a business strategy approach to helping students position themselves effectively. He has been described by The Washington Post/Newsweek as a "new breed" of college admission consultant and has contributed to coverage in publications including The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, CBS MoneyWatch, Seattle Magazine, and Newsweek/Daily Beast. He has also presented his approach to organizations including Morgan Stanley and Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Students have earned admission to colleges including
Ivy League & Highly Selective Universities
Ella V.
Accepted to Brown University (Ivy League)
David Montesano’s process helped me find the perfect college and showed me how to highlight my strengths in order to stand out from the rest of the applicants...
With College Match’s help, I applied and was accepted Early Decision to my first choice—Brown!
What families say about College Match
Thank you for trusting College Match with this important life goal!
Elianna Cohen
Accepted to University of California Berkeley
He taught me how to market myself in a way that would distinguish my application from the others.
Aspen Jordan
Admitted to Columbia University (Ivy League) and Williams College (Little Ivy)
David’s advice helped me think strategically about my entrance essays and how to best fill out my applications and financial aid forms. When all was said and done, out of the ten schools I applied to, I was accepted to nine, including Columbia University...
Maya and Jonathan
Parents of College Match student accepted by Oberlin College
David was very encouraging and knew how to highlight my child’s strengths so that they would be noticed by colleges. He made some great suggestions for interview strategies and got my child to realize what he had to offer to a school. Working with David helped my son gain confidence.
John B.
Parent of College Match student accepted by New York University
I had already interviewed several local college admissions guidance professionals who seemed competent but I was struck by Dave’s enthusiasm and positive attitude. Sophie submitted seven applications and has been accepted at six of the seven schools. Sophie will attend NYU in the fall.
Nikki and Richard Walters
Grandparents of College Match student accepted to Dartmouth College
There is no way our family could have known of the opportunities available to him without your direction.
Joseph Drouin
College Match Educational Consultants client admitted to Georgetown University
I don’t think I would have gotten into Georgetown without College Match Educational Consultants. David really helped me to strategize and plan for the admissions process by showcasing my talents and activities.
The outcome we want for every student
Of course, we want students to earn admission to outstanding colleges.
But the deeper goal is bigger.
We want students to reach senior year knowing:
- “I understand who I am.”
- “I know what I want.”
- “I made thoughtful decisions.”
- “I built something meaningful.”
- “I chose a college because it fits my future.”
Because the best college outcome is not simply an acceptance letter.
It is a student who is prepared for the next chapter of life.
Choose your Admission Academy experience
Self-Paced Admission Academy
The complete roadmap for families who want flexibility
$1,295
Includes:
- Build a plan for your student’s future—not just a college list
- Clarify life goals, interests, strengths, and potential career direction
- Develop a personalized college planning strategy
- Build and refine a best-match college list
- Create a four-year plan for academics, activities, testing, and personal development
- Identify and pursue competitive summer programs and other high-value opportunities
- Develop a distinctive Passion Project that gives your student something meaningful to build, pursue, and present
- Lifetime access to Academy materials, tools, worksheets, and planning resources
- Parent and student community access with other ambitious families
- Access to College Match admission and essay strategists for additional expert guidance when you want to strengthen a specific part of the process
Sign up
Live Cohort Admission Academy
The complete experience with accountability, implementation, and community.
$4,995
Payment plans available
Limited enrollment.
Designed for families who want support putting the strategy into action.
Includes:
- Everything in “Self-Paced Admission Academy”
- Live weekly coaching and guidance throughout the Academy
- Personal guidance as your student’s goals, interests, and opportunities take shape
- Personalized accountability and progress tracking so important opportunities and action steps stay on track
- Direct access to David for strategic guidance and course correction
- Closer guidance on college choices, academic planning, extracurricular development, summer opportunities, and the Passion Project
- Real-time feedback at important decision points so your family can act when opportunities arise
- Cohort connection with other ambitious families pursuing strong academic and personal outcomes for their children
- Access to College Match admission and essay strategists for additional expert guidance when you want to strengthen a specific part of your student’s development or future application
- A completed Passion Project that serves as the culmination of the Academy and gives your student a substantial body of work to carry forward
Admission Academy prepares your student for the college application process. College applications themselves are completed in the next stage: Application Academy.
Sign upA final message from David
I created Admission Academy because I believe families deserve better than confusion, fear, and last-minute scrambling.
The college process has become more competitive and more complicated.
But the answer is not simply doing more.
The answer is making better decisions.
Your student's high school years will pass quickly.
The question is not whether opportunities will exist.
The question is whether your family will recognize them when they appear.
Admission Academy gives you the roadmap.
The rest is your student's journey.