Spark Admissions Review

Spark Admissions was founded over a decade ago by Rachel Rubin and Rachel Blackstein. Inspired by a 2012 study conducted by Rubin, the consulting service uses a research driven approach to help students throughout the admissions process. In this comprehensive Spark Admissions review, we’ll score them along five key metrics so that you have a full picture of whether Spark Admissions is a good fit for you.

Spark Admissions features a tight team of 11 undergraduate consultants and 8 research analysts on their website. All of their consultants previously worked full-time in university admissions, and attended elite institutions like Bowdoin, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Northwestern, Tufts, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, and Yale. The staff consultants were previously admissions officers and interviewers, involved in student recruitment, or sat on admissions and scholarship committees. While they do not interact directly with students, the research analysts also predominantly attended elite universities and assist the staff with research to inform the admissions process.

Spark Admissions offers a traditional consulting approach built on a foundation of research and data regarding the admissions process. The process starts with a free consultation, in which families may ask questions, and students may determine if a particular counselor is a good fit. Once enrolled in the program, students work directly with a single consultant throughout the entire process. All of their consultants help with academic and extracurricular development and counseling, curation of a college preparation plan, academic planning, honing of study skills, interview prep, drafting and editing admissions essays, summer program and internship advising, and standardized test prep. Spark Admissions sessions are primarily conducted online, although they offer in-person meetings in the Boston area. 

Spark Admissions offers several different consulting packages, depending on a student’s current or upcoming academic year and their needs. Their pricing is primarily based on hourly rates.

For non-seniors, Spark Admissions provides 4 different packages:

• 30 hours – $18,995
• 45 hours – $27,995
• 60 hours – $35,595
• 75 hours – $42,295

For seniors, Spark Admissions provides 4 different packages (that are basically fewer hours):

• 15 hours – $9,595
• 25 hours – $15,995
• 35 hours – $21,195
• 45 hours – $27,995

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.

We like that nearly every member of Spark Admissions’ staff attended an elite school. We also appreciate that every consultant at least briefly worked within university admissions and that many also boast educational and teaching backgrounds. 

While each of their consultants comes from a different background, the consistent quality of their educational and professional backgrounds leads us to believe that students are likely to receive high-quality hands-on consulting.

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.

We like that Spark Admissions features a tight-knit team of eleven full-time consultants on the site, and the founders are still involved in day-to-day operations of the company. 

We appreciate that students work directly with a single team member for every aspect of the consulting process and that the staff discuss the needs of students collectively. The founders also meet with the staff to discuss individual students and their needs, providing a level of hands-on involvement that likely indicates greater consistency in student experiences and outcomes. 

We like that students can easily request to switch consultants if they feel their initial pairing was not a good fit. 

With all that said, we are concerned that consultant matching (and re-matching) is dependent on consultant availability. Given the process does not offer guarantees about qualifications or experience, some of the “better” consultants may be booked or unavailable, leaving students with less desirable options or consultants that prove to not be a good fit. We dinged the score here because of this variability.

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 Spark Admissions review we’ll consider their pricing for the most common needs:

• 12th graders who need help with essays: $9.595 (for 15 hours of consulting, their minimum)
• Non-12 graders who want advice on the college admissions process: $633 per hour (minimum purchase of 30 hours). *Note: This number is calculated by dividing the minimum financial commitment for non-12 graders by the expected number of hours of one-on-one consulting.

The cost of Spark Admissions services is solidly above the industry standard. While they may provide high quality services, families can likely get a bit better value for the price elsewhere.

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.

Spark Admissions provides no direct contact details, like an email or phone number. To start the consultation process you must fill out a contact form. From there, consultant matches are based on details gleaned from a handful of questions and consultant availability. 

Email is the primary communication method between students and consultants, with each email taking 1 to 2 business days to get a response. Scheduling is handled using Calendly links, which is nice since it removes any possible friction in settling on mutual availability.

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.

Spark Admissions is unique in that it employs analysts and researchers who can help tailor and inform a student’s individualized plan to meet their needs and goals. We also like that these analysts are included in meetings with the rest of the staff to discuss the needs and goals of students, creating a collective approach that could increase the likelihood of desirable outcomes and consistent experiences. 

There is no clear refund policy, which can be daunting for families investing a large sum of money for their packages.