Testimonials

Testimonials

“Although we live in Texas, Dr. Mercer was able to make the college application process as straightforward and easy as possible…”

“A huge burden was lifted from my shoulders…”

Thanks for helping both girls with the college application process. I can honestly say a huge burden was lifted from my shoulders when we used your services. I felt I truly had an ally and someone who knew how this process worked. I believe both my children would not have been accepted by the school of their choice but for your professionalism and knowledge. It is without reservation that I recommend you.

– Dr. Philip Haney, Roswell, NM

“Dr. Mercer’s guidance and online tools transformed this process into a manageable plan…”

Figuring out which college is a good fit for a high school student and navigating through multiple college applications can be a difficult and intimidating process.  Dr. Mercer’s guidance and online tools transformed this process into a manageable plan that got the job done.

Dr. Mercer was invaluable in helping our son initially research schools that were suited to his interests and academic abilities.  He was supportive of our son’s perspective while providing helpful guidance on which choices were a good match for him.

Once the targeted schools were selected, the application process was coordinated using the Mercer online project management tools. This allowed our son to organize the numerous tasks into a step by step plan which resulted in timely completion of the applications without him being overwhelmed.

Dr. Mercer was also instrumental in providing guidance on college essays.

Overall, we were extremely pleased with Dr. Mercer’s services and the results our son achieved.  We recommend his services and plan to engage him again when our younger son is ready for college.

– Lisa Cantillo, Telluride, CO

“I really don’t think I could have gotten to where I am without all your help…”

I wanted to thank you for all your help throughout my application process! I really don’t think I could have gotten to where I am without all your help. Even though I know you were helping many students during the same time you were helping me, because of your quick responsiveness and attentiveness, I felt as if I was your only client. Because of all your knowledge and experience, you were able to successfully answer each and every question I had about the tedious application process. Thank you for making my experience applying to college as personal and as wonderful as it was.

– Ashley Gharibian, Los Angeles, CA

“All that Steven suggested turned out to be true…”

I am very pleased with my experience consulting with Dr. Mercer. Our son had unique requirements as far as choosing a college. Steven quickly sized them up and made an excellent suggestion, one that was not on my radar. Our son is extremely happy with his choice.

Furthermore, Steven suggested that this particular school might be willing to offer our family a cost-cutting package, under the right circumstances. I am happy to say that all that Steven suggested turned out to be true. He provided valuable advice.

– Lee Rosenblum, Agoura, CA

“Working with Steven online and 100% remotely was easy and convenient…”

Working with Steven online and 100% remotely was easy and convenient. Our online sessions consistently went smoothly, especially because he used the “screen share” feature on our computers to be able to view and edit my essays and resume virtually. He always provided thoughtful and specific comments, and I appreciated his dedication to preserving my voice in all of my writing. Having Steven’s guidance and support alleviated much of my college application-related stress and gave me increased confidence in my work.

– Emma Weitzhandler, Seattle WA 

“Luckily, I found Dr. Mercer, whose skills played an invaluable role in getting me into many of my top-choice schools…”

When I began applying to colleges, I didn’t know where to start. I had no solid list of colleges to apply to, an extremely rough personal statement, a daunting list of common supplemental essay topics, and a complete unfamiliarity with almost every part of the common application.

Luckily, I found Dr. Mercer, whose skills played an invaluable role in getting me into many of my top-choice schools. Despite living a considerable distance away from Dr. Mercer, he was always accessible. I consider this to be one of his strengths especially because we frequently held face-to-face meetings remotely over the web, exchanged emails, and spoke on the phone.

Another one of Dr. Mercer’s strengths lies in his organized, efficient, and thorough style. With each meeting, the college application process was personal and productive. Dr. Mercer’s ability to coach me through writing my essays especially impressed me, always giving me creative thoughts, suggestions, and ideas to play around with.

However, his knowledge of college admissions is truly superior. He is familiar with the character and unique aspects of each college. He knew which colleges would be a good fit for me. He could answer any question about college admissions thrown at him. But most importantly, he knows exactly what the admissions officers want and how to maximize admissions chances for students in light of today’s unbelievably stiff competition.

If it hadn’t been for Dr. Mercer, I probably would not have been able to craft the best college application I could or get into a few of my dream schools.

– William Yang, Santa Clarita, CA

“One of the best investments that I’ve ever made.”

The impact that Dr. Mercer has had on my family’s life is immense.

There is absolutely no substitute for one-on-one consultation with an individual who is expert at matching up schools and students. After a discouraging first year at a university abroad, my daughter decided to return back to the States.
It was looking like she would be out of the University arena for a year due to a mismatch of start date schedules.

We worked with Dr. Mercer over a period of about three weeks as he made suggestions for schools that he thought would fit my daughter’s personality and goals based on our video conference sessions. His professional rate was immensely fair for such a high level of knowledge of just about every university in the US and abroad from small to large.

A few days after our third session, we found ourselves boarding a plane in Australia bound for Manhattan where my daughter is presently enrolled, thriving and extremely happy.

Dr. Mercer, your professional services are one of the best investments that I’ve ever made.

– The Herndon Family, Corona del Mar, CA

“Distance really isn’t an issue and the entire experience was incredibly inspiring…”

Working with Dr. Mercer completely transformed my college application process. In the initial stages of my college transfer process I felt an urgent need to change universities. I started the consultation process in Virginia while still enrolled at my previous university. Even from thousands of miles away Steven was instrumental in helping me realize and achieve my educational goals. Within the first few live video conference sessions Dr. Mercer was tenacious about making sure that I was prepared, informed, and ready for every step in the application process. He does an exceptional job at utilizing technology to a point where distance really isn’t an issue and the entire experience was incredibly inspiring and tailored to meet my unique needs.

I am thankful for the opportunity to work with Steven Mercer; his knowledge and expertise allowed me to show my full potential when applying to universities but it is because of his insistence that I find an environment that fit my educational and personal aspirations and the guidance that he gave me to get there that makes me sure that Steven Mercer is ultimately the best choice for anyone who is serious about positioning themselves for academic and personal success, regardless of your location or unique goals.

– Ashley Hart, Beverly Hills, CA

“I have been completely satisfied with the quality of care, advice and structure…”

I have been completely satisfied with the quality of care, advice and structure Steven provides throughout the college search process. He “gets it” in terms of how it is to be a young person facing this journey. Steven is sensitive to our kids’ various concerns (parents too) and he responds in a thoughtful and productive way. He has a remarkably calming manner and he is an excellent active listener.

There was definitely some frustration on my daughter’s part about her list. Steven gently and thoughtfully guided her to understand her chances at selective and highly selective colleges. She didn’t like it all the time but the trust and confidence that she felt for Steven’s guidance helped her work through the challenges.

The essay writing and constant deadlines are the necessary evil of this process. Steven gave my daughter a grand master calendar and met with her regularly to keep her moving along. While I was aware of their schedule, I didn’t need to intervene. Steven sent me “Session Notes” after each meeting to keep me abreast of their progress. His role was absolutely essential in getting my daughter through the essay writing. Steven is a good editor and his suggestions were right on. They used their meeting time to come up with appropriate topics for each essay. It really helped my daughter organize and structure her themes, ideas and writing. Steven was respectful of her voice and was always encouraging and positive.

– Meredith Abber, Pacific Palisades, CA

“I felt the weekly assignments kept me on track and made the whole experience feel more manageable…”

It was great to work with Steven during the potentially overwhelming process of applying to colleges. I felt that the weekly assignments kept me on track and made the whole experience feel more manageable and better organized than it would have been if I had done it on my own. Steven was always available to provide me with feedback at each stage as well as insights about how to best present my unconventional past experience to prospective colleges. Most importantly he helped instill invaluable confidence in me during the writing of my personal statement. Since I was someone who came in not knowing what school I wanted to go to, let alone if I wanted to return to college at all, Steven helped me to hone in on everything from potential majors to out of state colleges that catered to, and excelled in those particular areas of study. As an added bonus I even like Steven as a person! I feel that working with him was definitely a smart investment.

– Ivy Doner, Santa Barbara CA

“Nothing short of fantastic.”

My meetings with Dr. Mercer were the first time I used online services to communicate with someone. In addition to my communication with Dr. Mercer and his extremely helpful guidance, the most rewarding part about using the online application was how effective it was to work remotely on the computer. I found this modern method of communication to be more helpful and convenient than face to face meetings because I was always able to have real-time contact with Dr. Mercer. We were able to share our computer screens with one another and review my college application and essays. Dr. Mercer is plugged into the technological world and uses his skills in helping and training his students for their specific educational needs. My experience with working with Dr. Mercer on my college application was nothing short of fantastic.

– Connor McCloskey, Scottsdale AZ

“You really did live up to what you promised…”

We were very pleased with how smoothly Tyler’s application process went. There was still a great deal of pressure on our son, but he was able to anticipate and manage the process based on Dr. Mercer’s strategic planning. We believe his contributions were invaluable. We were thrilled with the breath of Tyler’s options and think he ultimately made a great college choice. I know it is your job, but you really did live up to what you promised and we are very glad we found you.

– Laura Landis, Murrieta CA