Welcome

Meet Susannah Files

academic-planning-and-college-counseling-services

I am a National Certified Counselor (NCC), with more than 20 years of training and professional experience.



I earned my BA in Government at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY and my MA in School Counseling at The George Washington University in Washington, DC.



I have enjoyed multiple roles in the field, including:



  • serving as a school counselor at a large DC public high school;

  • evaluating applications and essays for a research university's undergraduate admissions office;

  • training in college counseling at the Harvard Summer Institute on College Admissions and University of California, Berkeley; and,

  • coaching for College Summit (now PeerForward), a national nonprofit that offers mentoring for students who are the first in their families to attend college.


As an independent college admissions counselor, I have advised students who have been accepted to the most selective colleges and universities. The primary guiding principle in my approach is to help students identify and be admitted to colleges that are uniquely suited for their academic strengths, social preferences and financial goals.