College Zoom Review

Founded in 2009 by David Reynaldo, College Zoom provides one-on-one college counseling services. The team, primarily composed of USC alumni, specializes in undergraduate admissions and appears to excel in securing admissions to California schools. In this comprehensive College Zoom review, we’ll score them along five key metrics so that you have a full picture of whether College Zoom is a good fit for you.

College Zoom is entirely focused on undergraduate admissions, boasting a streamlined team of four college planners for consulting services and five counselors for essays and applications.

Almost all of their staff are University of Southern California graduates, with just one from UT Austin. They’re proud to mention that no former admissions officer has ever passed their initial interview. Notably, all their consultants are W2 employees of College Zoom, not independent contractors.

College Zoom adopts a traditional consulting approach, offering a mix of packaged services and hourly counseling. Their one-on-one counseling is conducted through virtual meetings, phone calls, emails, and offline editing services, all complemented by assigned tasks.

To start working with them, families can sign up for a 60-minute initial consultation. They charge $600 per student for this initial ‘get to know you’ meeting. After paying, students access a 45-minute tutorial on College Zoom’s methods, followed by a one-hour live session where a consultant thoroughly reviews their high school resume.

College Planning Packages

Tailored to each stage of high school, these packages guide students through strategic planning for the application process. Prices vary based on the student’s high school career stage. Additional counseling hours may be purchased at the rate of $300 per hour.

• Freshman Year Program Start – $6,000: 20 hours of counseling.
• Sophomore Year Start – $4,500: 15 hours of counseling.
• Junior Year Start – $3,600: 12 hours of counseling.
• Senior Year Start – $3,000: 10 hours of counseling.
• Transfer After 1 Year of College – $3,000: 10 hours of counseling, emphasizing target transfer schools and major selection.
• Transfer After 2 Years of College – $3,600: 12 hours of counseling, similar to the previous package.

College Application Packages

Tailored for the application phase, these packages focus on essay development, financial aid guidance, and application strategies. Additional counseling hours may be purchased at the rate of $300 per hour.

• The Express Package – $3,500: 10 hours of counseling, suitable for universities with similar base applications.
• The Deluxe Package – $4,500: 15 hours of counseling, recommended for schools with more intricate applications.
• The Elite Package – $7,500: 25 hours of counseling, including interview preparation and guidance.

These packages offer a comprehensive array of services to guide students through every facet of the college application journey.

Hourly Assistance – $350 per hour

For those preferring a pay-as-you-go approach, hourly assistance at $350 per hour covers a range of services, including application essays, application planning, school identification, major selection, and financial aid planning. It requires the payment of the initial consultation fee.

Finding a truly qualified consultant is half the battle. Some consultants have not gone to top-tier schools themselves, and repeat advice they hear from others. Also, some firms have a qualified “face” of the company, but then bait and switch you with a less experienced consultant after you’ve paid. That’s why we always start each review by doing full due diligence on the company’s consultants.

Many admissions companies lean towards an independent contractor model, filling their ranks with contractors to appear larger and more credible. However, these contractors are often inexperienced and underqualified. We appreciate that College Zoom maintains a small, close-knit team without relying on third-party or contract counselors. This suggests a high level of commitment from each team member to the company.

It’s also a plus that the founder is actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the organization, ensuring a consistent and overseen experience for each student. That being said, we would have liked to see greater diversity in the educational backgrounds of their consultants featured on the website, as nearly all, except one, are USC alumni.

The biggest risk when applying to college is following bad advice. You only have one shot, so you need to make it count, and choosing the right admissions service can make a big difference. We use a 50-point evaluation system to determine the likelihood a service will help a student get into their desired college.

College Zoom’s service is dependent on the students’ time management skills. All of the counseling services—even the offline review and editing of application materials—count towards a student’s purchased hours of counseling. If a student does not receive clear feedback or requires extra assistance, they may risk exceeding their plans allotted counseling hours.

We’re not thrilled about the fact that the consultant you work with during the planning process is different from the one assisting with writing and applications. However, we do appreciate the one-to-one ratio of planning consultants to essay strategists.

A significant number of College Zoom’s success stories are centered around California schools. This could be due to the company’s main office being in Los Angeles and the team’s heavy composition of USC graduates. While this might not be ideal for students targeting non-California schools, College Zoom could be particularly beneficial for those aiming to get into California-based institutions.

College is already expensive. College consultants shouldn’t be more expensive than they need to be. We want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth, and that your investment is translating into real improvements in your outcomes.

College admissions consulting prices and offerings vary. For this College Zoom review we’ll consider their pricing for the most common needs:

• 12th graders who need help with essays for 1 school: 3,500 (Express Package for 10 hours)
• Non-12 graders who want advice on the college admissions process: $350 per hour (note that you will also need to pay the $600 initial consultation fee).

The pricing and offerings of College Zoom align closely with the industry average. Considering the company’s strong track record with California schools, the value for the price is somewhat more favorable if you’re a candidate targeting California colleges.

College applications are already stressful enough. So any admissions service should be thoughtfully designed and easy to use. We consider factors such as customer support responsiveness, accountability, time commitment, and scheduling constraints.

College Zoom is very responsive to support questions both before and after enrollment. While their official policy is to respond to emails within 48 hours, families often report receiving replies much quicker.

Once a student is paired with one of the three consultants, there’s flexibility to switch if the fit isn’t quite right. The consultants at College Zoom routinely schedule the next meeting at the end of each session. These meetings can be easily changed or rescheduled, provided 48 hours’ notice is given.

Overall, families generally report a smooth and seamless experience with College Zoom.

College admissions is a complex process, with many moving parts. And with the stakes so high, mediocre consultants simply won’t cut it. You really want to find the “best,” but it can be hard to differentiate one firm from another. In this section, we take a look at what makes this service stand out, for better or worse.

Two aspects particularly stood out to us about College Zoom:

Fee for Initial Consultation: Unlike most admissions companies that offer a free consultation to acquaint themselves with the student or to give families a comprehensive understanding of their admissions approach, College Zoom charges a $600 fee. This fee covers a 60-minute consultation and a 45-minute video explaining their philosophy.

No Refund Policy: College Zoom does not have a clear refund policy for their programs.