Educational Consulting Services

We Do College Counseling Differently

Portfolio College Counseling is an established, personalized educational consulting service for U.S. and international students who are focused on standing out from the crowd, by advancing their education in creative fields.

We nurture and strengthen our students’ academic and artistic development by offering practical information, creative mentorship, and innovative counseling that enables them to develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence to launch themselves successfully in college and beyond.

We specialize in college counseling for the next generation of visual and critical thinkers: artists, designers, architects and other students with talent and keen intellectual curiosity.
Founded in 2008 as PortfolioPrep, our goal was simple: to offer high school artists the college guidance that we would have liked at their age. Since then, our expertise, experience and services have helped hundreds of students excel in visual art and design programs, leading to rewarding careers.

Since 2008, our offerings have expanded. In addition, we now offer academic counseling for undergraduate, graduate, and transfer art and design school admissions; as well as counseling for gap year, career change and summer programs.

Our approach to creative and educational counseling encourages students to clarify and commit to their goals and participate fully in the decision-making process. We emphasize students search for right fit choices, rather than depending on ranking and brand names to inform the university search. In collaboration with our network of visual art and design professionals, Portfolio College Counseling demystifies the process of preparing for art and design programs that require portfolios and specialized supplements.

COMPREHENSIVE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS COUNSELING

Portfolio College Counseling offers private, virtual one-on-one counseling, while assisting you to prepare for holistic application reviews. We advise students at any stage of the application process. From high school sophomores to graduate students we have experience helping students across the education spectrum. We also advise career-changers and other independent educational consultants (IECs) looking to add knowledge on advising this sector. We work with you developing a custom, comprehensive set of objectives with coordinated services. A typical comprehensive plan is 20-40 hours.

PORTFOLIO AND PROJECT-BASED COUNSELING

Examples of specific project-based college counseling

  • Portfolio Development
  • College List Generation
  • Essay Assistance
  • Career Exploration

This plan is also beneficial for students working with a school counselor or other IEC. A typical project-based plan is 6-10 hours.

WRITTEN REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Students receive an assessment, evaluation and written critique of existing artworks or portfolio. We highlight strengths and weaknesses, and include suggestions to enhance work to develop your artistic practice. Additionally, this option includes a review of your college list. Flat fee.

HOURLY CONSULTING

Short-term guidance for specific elements of the application process. Consultation with arts or other counseling professionals may also be available for specific majors. Minimum of two hours.

For more information on college admissions counseling and other plans, use the form at the bottom of this page.

Let's Connect

Finding the right college counselor is the key step in a successful college planning process. To help decide whether our services are the best path forward for students, we offer a 20-minute, complimentary phone meeting to introduce ourselves, get to know you and explain our process. Afterward, we’ll prepare a written proposal to outline our plan for working with you, that includes a suggested sequence and associated fees. Each plan for counseling is customized, based on the student’s abilities, skills and educational objectives.