About Me

Maria Nicolacakis is an Independent Educational Consultant with more than 25 years across the arts and education, having worked with populations ranging from at-risk city teens to college students at USC, CalArts, and Emerson College, where she currently teaches. She holds an MFA from CalArts, a BFA magna cum laude from Emerson (including a Harvard/ART internship), and a UCLA College Counseling Certification with Distinction.

Maria believes deeply in expanding access to higher education, offering Act One Scholarships to students meeting QuestBridge Scholars criteria and volunteering thousands of hours as a college counselor for QuestBridge. She serves on CalArts' and Emerson's alumni boards, co-presides over her local school's Music Boosters, and holds multiple committee roles supporting arts access and equity in her school district.

Specialty Areas

Arts performing and visual arts applications, portfolios, Auditions

Students Enrolled

Rochester Institute of Technology, Berklee College of Music, The University of the Arts, DePaul University, Binghamton University, The State University of New York, University of Massachusetts Amherst, McGill University, Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), Emerson College, The George Washington University, University of Delaware, University of Denver, Miami University -- Oxford, Webster University, Syracuse University, University of Vermont, Colorado State University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Auburn University, University of Wisconsin -- Madison, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey -- New Brunswick, Denison University, Oberlin College, Adelphi University, Sarah Lawrence College, SUNY -- Fredonia, Point Park University, SUNY -- Purchase College, Temple University, Drew University, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts, California Institute of the Arts, Columbia College Chicago, California State University, Long Beach, University of Oregon, University of California, Santa Cruz, Oregon State University, Portland State University, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California State University, Los Angeles, Lesley University, Drexel University, Hofstra University, Muhlenberg College, North Carolina State University -- Raleigh, South Dakota State University, University of California, Riverside, University of Connecticut, Pennsylvania State University -- University Park, Clark University, Goucher College, The Ohio State University -- Columbus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, California State University, Northridge, California State University, Chico, Marist College, Molloy College, CUNY -- John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Ithaca College, Bard College, Dickinson College, University of New Hampshire, Rowan University, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey -- Honors College, Indiana University Bloomington, Saint Louis University, Boston University, University College of Dublin, University of Colorado Boulder, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, San Diego, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of California -- Los Angeles, San Diego State University, University of California, Irvine, University of San Diego, Pace University, Chapman University, The University of Arizona, University of San Francisco, California Lutheran University, Brown University

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