Your Teen’s College List Isn’t Ready for 2026. Fix It Before January

Today is the day, folks. I am thrilled. Thanksgiving was great, the food was amazing, and now it is officially Black Friday. But even better than the leftovers is this. We are launching the Black Friday College List Builder bonus.

For one day only, families who purchase College List Builder get something we have never added before. A full, personal thirty minute session with me.

I do not take these meetings lightly. I want to help as many students and families as possible start their college process with clarity and confidence. And the best way to do that is to begin with a smart, strategic, customized college list. Not a guess. Not a dream board. A real list for real families based on real data.

🎓 Here's What College List Builder Actually Does

There is so much noise in the admissions world today. Test optional. Rankings. TikTok advice. Influencers who never worked in admissions. Family and friends who mean well but have no idea what the landscape looks like now.

College List Builder cuts through all of that.

Here is how it works.

📄 You and your teen complete two short questionnaires

One for the student. One for the parent. These give me the academic, personal, social, and financial information I need to begin building a list that truly fits.

💡 I use all of your information to handpick 20 schools

This is not AI generated. It is not automated. It is not pulled from some generic matching tool. I look at your teen’s grades, interests, testing history, ambitions, and personality. I look at your family’s goals, budget, and expectations.

From there, I create a list of 20 balanced, well researched, customized colleges for your teen.

🖥️ And then for Black Friday, you get a full thirty minute session with me

This is the bonus. This is the part that matters. The list gives you direction, but the conversation gives you clarity. We talk through everything. Concerns. Expectations. Strategy. Campus culture. Financial reality. Application timing. All of it.

🎓 Here's Why We Built College List Builder

College List Builder was created because families today are facing a college landscape that is very different from when you and I applied years ago. The rules have changed. The price has changed. The level of competition has changed.

But the biggest shift is this. Families cannot afford to wing it anymore.

To make smart decisions, you need a framework.

And that framework is the four pillars of college fit.

🎓 The Four Pillars of College Fit

1. Cost

If you do not have fifty, seventy five, or ninety thousand dollars per year for college, you need to be strategic. That does not mean you cannot afford college. It means you need clarity.

📄 Understand how financial aid works

Federal aid. Institutional aid. Need based aid. Merit scholarships.
Too many families guess instead of plan.

💡 Identify schools that give strong merit aid

Your teen can be amazing, but if a college simply does not award merit to anyone, that matters.

📌 Avoid unnecessary debt

Loans are not the enemy. Debt without a plan is the enemy.

2. Location

Where your child studies affects everything. Mental health. Community. Accessibility. Cost. Weather. Internships. Travel expenses.

Not every teen is built for a big city. Not every teen is built for a rural campus either. Choosing a location without intention can derail the entire experience.

3. Major

Your teen may know exactly what they want to study. Or they may have no idea. Either way is fine. What matters is this. Some majors are better supported at certain colleges.

Engineering. Business. Nursing. Computer science. Psychology. Film.
Every school is not strong in every major.

4. Career

College should set your child up for opportunity. Internships. Networking. Post graduate outcomes. Career services. Alumni connections.

Families often do not know which schools truly deliver on career support. I help you understand that before you invest four years and tens of thousands of dollars.

🎓 Here's Why You Cannot Rely on Your Own College Experience

I say this with love. Your alma mater was a wonderful place. But it may not be the right place for your teen.

The world has changed.
Majors have changed.
Internships have changed.
Admissions has changed.
Financial aid has changed.

Some families naturally go back to what they know. That is normal. But your teen needs options that fit who they are today. Not who you were twenty five years ago.

🎓 Here's Why You Cannot Rely Only on the School Counselor

Bless their hearts, but many school counselors are overwhelmed. Hundreds of students. Limited time. Too many responsibilities.

They do their best. They really do. But the college list they give is often based on historical data from Naviance, SCORE, MyLearning, Overgrad, or whatever platform your school uses.

There is nothing wrong with that information. But it is not the full picture.
Your family deserves more context and guidance.

That is where we come in.

🎓 Why the Black Friday Bonus Matters

The list is valuable. But the conversation is where families get the real breakthrough.

In our thirty minutes together, we talk about:

🎯 Your teen’s strengths
🎯 Your financial boundaries
🎯 Your goals
🎯 Your teen’s ambitions
🎯 What makes sense
🎯 What does not make sense
🎯 What schools are realistic
🎯 What schools are worth stretching for
🎯 What your next steps should be

By the end of that call, you walk away with a plan you can trust.

🎓 This Is the Moment

The holidays are here. A new year is around the corner. There is no better time to get clarity.

All I ask is that you click the link, check us out at Strategic Admissions Advice, learn more about College List Builder, and let me serve your family.

I am ready. I hope you are too.

College List Builder. Black Friday. Bonus included. Let’s go.