Collegekind
Collegekind offers college admissions consulting and college success coaching with a focus on student well-being. We help students make the best of their college years and embark on a self-directed life of meaning, connection, and achievement.
About Collegekind
High school students face unprecedented pressure to gain admission to a top college — often at the expense of their well-being. And, after a years-long path toward college admission, many students find themselves lonely and overwhelmed as they navigate the pressures and possibilities of life on campus and begin to launch into independence. At Collegekind, we hope to take the pressure off of students and their families with expert guidance and support from high school through college.
What We Do
We offer students and their families three flexible levels of engagement with Collegekind: college admissions coaching, college success coaching, and a combination of college admissions and -success coaching.
College Admissions
College admissions coaching for students and their families during the entire college admissions- and college selection process. For high school students.
College Success
College admissions and success coaching from high school to college graduation and beyond. For high school students, college students, and recent graduates.
Full Service
College success coaching from the day of college acceptance to college graduation and beyond. For admitted students, college students, and recent graduates.
Our Approach
Instead of focusing exclusively on traditional markers of academic success, we work with students on three pillars of engagement to support their growth and well-being: meaning, connection, and achievement. As young people suffer from loneliness, depression, and anxiety in unprecedented numbers and spend an increasing amount of time online, we believe these pursuits to be more important than ever. We work closely with students to understand their priorities in each of these three pillars and develop individualized plans for well-being and success.
Meaning
How would you like to contribute to yourself, your community, and the world? What story would you like to tell about your life? How do you hope to pursue truth and wisdom?
Connection
What kind of family member, friend, and partner would you like to be? What do you look for in your friendships, relationships, and communities? What kinds of communities are you proud to take part in?
Achievement
What would you like to learn? What drives your curiosity? What are your goals for your education and career? Who are your role models — and what do you admire about them?
Our Services
Each student — and each family — is unique. As early as in high school, and sometimes until after college graduation, we work closely with students and their families to identify goals related to college well-being and -success.
-
Researching and developing a list of schools that align with the student’s values, interests, and goals.
Essay coaching for a meaningful and compelling personal statement and supplemental essays.
Designing and developing a narrative around high school experiences and extracurricular activities to tell an authentic and compelling admissions story.
Developing a clear understanding of core values.
Formulating a vision for a college experience marked by meaning, connection, and achievement.
Exploring majors, minors, dual degree programs, pre-law, and pre-med tracks.
Exploring extracurricular activities, including clubs, sports, religion and spirituality, and on-campus employment.
-
Creating a strategy for taking courses that meet major-, minor-, and other graduation- or career requirements.
Developing skills to manage stress and bolster emotional health.
Developing and executing personal goals, such as joining clubs and participating in social events.
Developing study- and class engagement skills for academic success.
Planning career and further education, including job recruitment, fellowships, and graduate school admissions.
Exploring and developing plans for transfer applications, study abroad programs, or national college exchange programs.
-
Exploring careers and graduate programs that align with graduates’ values, interests, and goals.
Developing job-searching and -application strategies.
Writing compelling resumes.
Exploring changes in careers and industries.
Meet Miriam Merin
Welcome! I’m Miriam, the founder of Collegekind. I’ve dedicated my career to supporting students in both K-12- and higher education as an administrator, advisor, mentor, and psychotherapist.
I grew up in Switzerland and studied education at Brown University. I received my first master’s from the University of Oxford, where I studied higher education, and my second master’s from Washington University in Saint Louis, where I studied social work. I’m also working on my Ph.D. in counseling at the University of Edinburgh. I created Collegekind at the intersection of mental health and higher education because I believe that, with targeted support and increasing independence, each of us can realize our potential and lead fulfilling lives marked by meaning, connection, and achievement.
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to learn more about how we can work together. I look forward to hearing from you!
FAQs
-
As a psychotherapist, I diagnose and treat mental health conditions. As a college success coach, I work with students and families on identifying and pursuing goals related to education. While there are some overlaps — key to both psychotherapy and coaching is a strong relationship built on trust — there are important differences. As a coach, I do not diagnose or treat mental health disorders. If at any point during our work together a student would benefit from psychotherapy, I will refer them to a different provider.
-
I keep my psychotherapy practice strictly separate from my college coaching practice. This means that, if we have worked together in psychotherapy, we cannot work together in coaching, and vice versa. This policy extends to family members: I do not coach students, whose siblings I have served as a psychotherapist, and vice versa.
-
I am happy to offer free introductory calls for prospective clients. During our call, we can discuss your goals for coaching and my services to see if we could be a good fit. To set up a call, don't hesitate to contact me.
-
I am based in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. However, I am available to meet with students and their families across the country (and the world) online.
-
I work closely with families to develop packages that work for them, including a mix of hourly rates and short-, medium-, and long-term engagements. To learn more about our rates, please contact me.
-
College coaching is not covered by insurance. Please note that college coaching is not a mental health service or other medical service.