About Me

Alexandra Matthews was selected for Brown University's elite Writing Fellow program as an undergraduate, then earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Minnesota, spending 20 years helping children, teens, and adults manage stress and anxiety — expertise well suited to working with anxious teens (and their anxious parents) through college admissions.

Fifteen years ago, Alexandra began helping teens paralyzed by their college essays, developing a distinctive coaching process drawn from her Ivy League writing background and her experience as a Brown alumni admissions interviewer. When her own daughter began applying to college, Alexandra guided her through every step — building a genuinely eclectic list spanning an Ivy League school, a large state university, a private liberal arts college, and a Cal State campus — and went on to do the same for her two younger children, all three of whom were admitted to their first-choice schools. She holds an Individual Educational Consultant certificate from UC Irvine and is a member of HECA.

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