Parent Testimonials

New 2026 Testimonials

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RM, University of Southern California (USC), UC Berkeley, UCLA

We’ve had 3 kids work with Karen as a college counselor. Karen has tons of experience working with teens, and we are fortunate enough to have had Karen help all 3 of our kids (UCLA, UC Berkeley, and USC) get through the college application process. My wife and I can’t imagine how we could have done it without her.

Karen looked out for our children’s best interests, but she also made our children accountable and active participants throughout their college application process.

She had many conversations outside of their regular weekly meetings. Karen is kind, patient, and generous with her time.

We recommend Karen to all parents for their sons' or daughters' college coaching needs.

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CK, Purdue University

Karen was an incredible support to my son throughout the entire college application process. She communicated with him thoughtfully and patiently, always taking the time to listen, explain options clearly, and guide him step by step.

Karen was consistently detail-oriented and proactive, and she went above and beyond to make sure my son stayed on track and completed every requirement on time. With her encouragement and dedicated help, my son was able to reach his application goals and ultimately achieve results we are truly happy with.

We are sincerely grateful for Karen’s commitment and care.

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PZ, Cornell University

Thanks to Karen, our daughter is now heading to an Ivy League school, and we couldn’t be happier.

Words cannot express how grateful we are for Karen. Over the last five years, Karen hasn’t just been a college counselor to our daughter; she has been her true friend, mentor, and confidante. Karen has been there for her every step of the way.

What made her guidance so special was the monthly chats filled with support and encouragement. Our child often found it easier to open up to Karen than to us, sharing her college essays and innermost thoughts. Looking back, we realize that while we weren’t always recording every detail of our daughter’s journey, Karen was chronicling her growth like a living diary.

From selecting the right activities and colleges to nurturing her character and helping her manage stress, Karen has done it all with unmatched professionalism and warmth. Even during incredibly busy times, and even while facing health challenges within her own family, she always checked in on our daughter’s progress with genuine care.

We wish Karen and her family endless happiness, health, and success. We thank Karen for everything she has done for our family!

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HC, UC Berkeley

Karen’s counseling was about much more than applications and essays—she truly cared about my daughter’s overall well-being.

Thanks to her guidance, the entire application journey was very smooth. My daughter was admitted to her dream school through REA and later received an offer from UC Berkeley. When it came time to decide, Karen patiently helped her clarify her priorities, and she ultimately chose Berkeley.

We are incredibly grateful for Karen’s support and could not have asked for a better experience or outcome. I wholeheartedly recommend her to any family navigating the college admissions process.

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IS, UC Berkeley

Karen worked with my daughter, and with Karen's coaching, she got into her dream school, UC Berkeley. Karen's support, guidance, clear accountability and kind inspiration, created confidence in my daughter to achieve her dream. As a family, we are forever grateful for Karen's talents. She is an absolute gem with authentic love for young people and deep knowledge of the college application process.

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S+M C, UCLA - Bruins

Thanks to the experience that is the college coaching of Karen Gee (who was recommended by our daughter's Uncle), we believe our daughter had the edge needed when applying to her desired universities and ultimately landed her at one of her dream campuses which is in Westwood. Available for reference calls—contact Karen for cell number.

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HC, Child at Georgetown University

We feel very lucky to have worked with Karen.  She spent a great deal of time getting to know our child as a person and building their trust over time.  She drew out our child’s interests and helped our child brainstorm and test different ideas, ultimately landing on a pathway that is a great fit.  She gently encouraged our child to explore volunteer opportunities in a way that would have been met with resistance had it come from us as parents.  We also benefited from Karen’s regular Zoom reports which gave us a sense of progress and next steps.  We appreciate that she deeply cares about the students she works with and wants what’s best for them.  Karen has a lot of heart and infuses that into every part of her work.  The best part of this entire college admissions process is that we feel closer to our child than we did when we first started and Karen helped make that possible. 

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CD, University of Washington, University of Michigan

We are fortunate enough to have Karen help my 2 daughters (UW ‘27 and UMich ‘29) get through the college application process. I can’t imagine how we could have done it without her. 

Karen has tons of experience working with teens. Not only my daughters benefitted from her deep knowledge of the college world and her soft skills at understanding young adults, I also learned from her a lot about parent-teen relationships and how to deal with my own anxiety. She and I had many conversations outside of the regular weekly meetings. She’s kind, patient, and generous with her time. I felt like speaking with a friend rather than with my kids’ consultant. Her experience in the industry combined with her psychology background, provides a perfect combination for teens at this tender age with this much pressure around them. I trust Karen, so should any parent seeking college counseling services.

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LC, Pomona College, Tulane University

I am deeply grateful for Karen's invaluable support in guiding my two daughters through the college admission process. Several aspects of her assistance truly stand out:

1. Understanding and Psychological Support: Karen has an incredible ability to understand my kids’ thought processes and provide them with the emotional support they needed. During the stressful time of college applications, having an adult who is calm, understanding, and patient was instrumental. While many kids experienced mental breakdowns, I’m so thankful my daughters had Karen to keep them grounded and focused. It's especially critical during the time that my youngest daughter experienced a medical condition during her senior year.  Karen's support and calm demeanor helped my daughter tremendously.

2. Expert Knowledge: Karen is extremely knowledgeable about schools, the admissions process, and the latest trends in college applications. Her insights and advice gave both my daughters and me the confidence we needed to navigate this overwhelming journey successfully.

3. Accountability and Organization: Karen ensured my daughters stayed on track by monitoring their progress and holding them accountable. She kept a close eye on deadlines and sent timely reminders, which made a huge difference in managing the many tasks involved in the process.

Karen’s dedication and expertise go above and beyond what words can express. She is truly a treasure, and I’m so grateful to have had her support during this critical time. Thanks to her guidance, both of my daughters were accepted into their dream schools.

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RM, Two kids (2 years apart): UCLA, UC Berkeley 

We’ve had 2 kids work with Karen as a college counselor. There was an immediate connection after the first Zoom meeting for both kids! 

Karen listened (and listened some more) and helped identify areas where our children could improve - and she followed through, ensuring our children’s efforts were focused and effective. BUT…. she also made our children accountable and active participants throughout their college application progress.

We are so lucky knowing Karen is looking out for our children’s best interests. We recommend Karen to all parents for their sons' or daughters' college coaching needs.

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HH, UC Berkeley

We are so grateful for Karen’s unlimited support and inspiration to my daughter throughout her college application journey. Karen is patient, highly knowledgeable, and consistently available to address parent and student concerns. Without Karen’s constant support and guidance–whether that be for essays, motivation, or general mindset, my daughter couldn’t have made it into her dream school. 

Waiting for college decisions in March was a nerve-wracking month, a time during which Karen kept in touch with my daughter all the time. Though my daughter thought it was the end of the world getting waitlisted at some schools, Karen consistently assured her that there were more decisions to come, and helped my daughter get through the toughest month in her life. This means so much to my daughter and our family. I highly recommend Karen as a college counselor! She is the best!  

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HC, Father of Twin Students, UC Irvine, The New School

Karen was phenomenal! She was able to immediately relate to and build trust with my twins, even with their completely divergent personalities, skill sets, and interests. Her keen knowledge of what admissions officers are looking for, ability to draw out the best from each individual, and command of the crazy and oftentimes convoluted application process were instrumental in helping both my son and daughter gain acceptance into their first choice schools, among many others. She took the stress out of the process for both parents and kids, and was an immense pleasure to work with!

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FD, Child at University of Chicago

I highly recommend Karen as a college counselor. Through my interactions with various counselors, Karen’s exceptional qualities have truly stood out, and I would like to share three examples that impressed me the most.

Firstly, Karen’s practice of publishing zoom meeting reports summarizing current activities, plans, and action items proved invaluable in keeping me informed about my child’s college application progress. Her detailed reports gave me confidence that the application would be completed on time. This was especially helpful since children often provide limited information to their parents.

Secondly, Karen’s deep understanding of college admission requirements allowed her to identify areas where my child could improve to better align with standards. She created an actionable plan and diligently followed through, ensuring my child’s efforts were focused and effective.

Lastly, Karen’s resourcefulness was remarkable. Many seniors are unsure about their career paths and my child was no exception. This uncertainty made it challenging for my child to select an appropriate major for his college applications. When my child expressed an interest in law, Karen not only directed him to relevant web resources but also utilized her extensive network to connect my child with a young law professional. Through these arranged meetings, my child gained invaluable insights into the life of a lawyer, which helped him make a more informed decision about his future aspirations.

In conclusion, it has been a privilege working with Karen. Her exceptional abilities as a college counselor, dedication, and resourcefulness have greatly influenced my child’s college application journey. I wholeheartedly recommend her to any student or parent seeking guidance during this critical phase.

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DY, Parent of two student clients (3 years apart)
who are now attending Brown and Yale

It is said four events in one’s life are most stressful:

• Loss of loved ones

• Marriage/Family and Divorce 

• Buying/Selling a house and moving

• Starting a new job

I am here to tell you about a 5th one:

COLLEGE APPLICATION and ADMISSION PROCESS!!
BUT IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE !!!!

As parents of two teenagers with completely different interests and myriad of amazing colleges to review and learn about, in addition to ensuring optimal high school performance and a desirable college match in an extremely competitive environment, we were overwhelmed!!!!

THEN, we had the privilege of working with Ms. Karen Gee, an exceptional individual with an immense breadth and depth of knowledge and experience pertaining to college application process that surpassed all our expectations.

Through her guidance, calm demeanor, and supportive personality, she empowered my children to independently study all range of suitable colleges, to express their own viewpoints and secure a position at their top choice colleges. SHE REMOVED THE STRESS of this intense process from our family and made it a pleasant journey for all of us. The children were each offered an Ivy League School admission that was a perfect fit for them, and where they flourished and were happy.

The bonds she made with our children and all of us as a family have remained strong even now years later. We are forever grateful!

She has a great mind, beautiful soul and a kind and honest heart. Any parent or student lucky enough to be working with Ms. Gee should know that they have a giant ally on their side and are very blessed to have her.

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YL, daughter at csu fullerton

Our family is extremely pleased with the college coaching experience provided by Karen Gee. Her intimate knowledge of the application process and ability to effectively communicate with our student and us empowered our family to make the best decisions regarding our daughter’s college applications. Karen made this traditionally stressful process a manageable and peaceful one for our household. 

To us, Karen’s greatest strength is the connection she made with our student and how that translated into a tailored management approach. Karen worked with our daughter to break the process down into reasonably-sized tasks that kept her motivated, despite her busy schedule. Karen responded quickly to questions and clearly communicated answers, agreed-upon expectations, and pending decisions to be made between meetings. Karen’s customized approach ensured our student stayed positive and on track. We highly recommend reaching out to Karen for your college coaching needs.

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NS, Son at University of Michigan

Karen did an amazing job on many levels, and I would highly recommend her. She has tremendous expertise and experience with college apps, a positive, engaging attitude, and is a joy to work with. She has many superpowers!

She does her best to find interesting aspects of students that set them apart from the crowd. Beyond finding content, Karen excels at motivating students by keeping the atmosphere relaxed and upbeat, but always on task with clear expectations for when she needs drafts and final documents (given a school’s deadline). The essay-writing process was as pleasant as it could have possibly been from the student’s perspective. And when it was time for Karen to take a close look at the entire application for every typo or awkward phrase, Karen had an eagle eye for even the tiniest mistake—which was very helpful. The entire packet then goes off to the college.

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HY, Son at Boston University

I honestly don't know what would have happened with my son's college application process if Karen hadn't been with us every step of the way. 

Karen's compassionate and positive approach worked wonders with my son. She provided quick responses to his questions, and addressed his concerns calmly and clearly. Karen became the gracious auntie to my son, and he trusted her completely. 

Karen's extensive knowledge about the application process and the colleges at various levels eased our anxiety and broadened our horizon. At the end, my son was happily accepted to a college that we had thought was beyond his reach.

I wholeheartedly recommend Karen to all parents who want the best possible outcome for their sons' or daughters' college coaching needs.

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SL, Daughter at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)

Karen 具有惊人的沟通技巧。无论学生什么样的个性, 她都可以轻松与学生建立信任和良 好的沟通关系。 学生愿意与她分享他们的想法。 作为家长和学生之间的桥梁, Karen 做得 非常出色。 她帮助父母了解孩子的想法和目标, 减轻他们的很多压力。此外, Karen 非常有 条理, 每次和学生的会议之后, 都提供详细的报告总结 。Karen给出的建议和反馈, 使家 长能够很好地支持他们的孩子实现他们的目标。

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WS, Son at New York University (NYU)

Karen 亲切幽默, 善于沟通,我和孩子都非常喜欢她。她尤其善于发掘孩子的特点, 在大学申请中凸现孩子自己的独特之处, 打动人心。非常幸运有 Karen 同行于升学之路, 不仅收获了梦校, 而且让成长中的孩子更深入地去了解自己, 相信自己, 爱自己！

Read more about what students had to say about Coach Karen…