College Match - San Francisco, California

Utav

Embarking on the college application journey, I discovered David from College Match, whose impact transcended a mere counselor-student relationship. Despite online information placing him on the first floor of 101 California Street, I found his office on the sixth, a small detail that underscored David’s commitment to precision. This discrepancy turned out to be a foreshadowing of his meticulous approach to every aspect of the process. From scrutinizing essays to navigating financial aid intricacies, David’s guidance was unwavering and thorough. Climbing the stairs to the sixth floor symbolized the clarity he brought to my college application journey. Thanks to his attention to detail, I not only found the right floor but also secured admission to my dream school. David’s impact went beyond a mere counselor; he became a mentor and friend, transforming a potentially bewildering process into a well-guided path, and for that, I’m immensely grateful.

Amitabh Nag

Choosing College Match and David is one of the best investments I have made in my life. We were scrambling as a family to understand the complex college admissions process. We hired David in the sophomore year and he was with us all the way until my kid accepted a college offer. My kid got offers from multiple dream colleges.

David and College Match were like an angel to us who would not only give information, but contextualize it for my kid. We had monthly Skype check-ins in which David patiently answered all our questions and provided valuable suggestions on excelling in school and activities, he helped draft a custom college list (reaches,50-50 and safety). David and College Match team helped polish the the main and supplemental college essays. College Match team were always prompt to review the essays and helped us meet all the college deadlines.

David has deep knowledge of child psychology and colleges' strengths/weaknesses. He is an author of a great book "4 Steps to the College of Your Dreams" which is a good read. The best part of working with David is that he will not change your kid, rather identify his/her strengths and help polish them.

Gunther Davis

My son attended a small public high school and wanted to attend an Ivy League school. He had a lot of diverse extracurriculars and achievements, and College Match’s David Montesano helped him organize and focus his application in order to present himself optimally. He and his writing specialists guided him through the essay-writing process and provided invaluable feedback. They were always extremely thorough and detailed in their feedback, and provided much-needed and knowledgeable perspective on all application writing. David also encouraged my son to connect with professors in the departments of his interest, and with College Match’s help he was able to have dialogues with and secure supplementary recommendations from several professors at the schools my son applied to. I truly believe that this networking made all the difference in getting him into his first-choice school of Brown.

Richard Sargent

As parents of a high school student accepted to Rice University, the college of his first choice, we would like to recommend David Montesano (College Match) without hesitation.

We began working with David toward the end of our son's sophomore year and for the next year and a half, David met with our son on a monthly basis, helping him make steady progress toward the college entrance preparations. The college admission process is a highly competitive and complex process for the high school students and the parents alike. Working with David was like having an excellent guide by one's side, and helping us know what to expect greatly relieved some of the anxiety. David maintained excellent rapport with our son, gently motivating our son to challenge himself to achieve his college preparation goals. With David's encouragements, our son developed increased motivation towards improving his grades (he only needed a slight improvement to make the cut), made timely preparations for the ACT, SAT and the SAT subject tests, and continued to build upon his extracurricular activity strengths during his critical junior year.

David's expertise regarding the college admission process and his vast knowledge about the colleges themselves helped us to pick and to obtain an acceptance to a college that would fit our son the best both academically and socially.

Chloe Raposo

College Match has been a tremendous help and crucial part of my college admissions process. As a first generation student, my parents and I didn’t really know what to expect from the whole process or how to go about finding colleges that were the right fit for me to apply to, so we decided to work with David beginning my sophomore year. David helped me to not only find colleges that would be a good fit for me academically, but also to find colleges that embodied the values that I held close to my heart and the places that would be a good fit for me in terms of student population, location, research opportunities, and student organizations that they had on campus. Additionally, he assisted me in finding a way to be accepted to the universities that I really wanted to go to by recommending different summer programs and extracurricular activities that would make me a more competitive candidate for these schools. I think he really helped me the most during the actual application process, which can be a long and arduous task, but he made it go a lot more smoothly for me by having me work with Naren. Naren edited all my supplemental essays and personal statement, which really allowed me to set my best foot forward for how these colleges would be perceiving me on paper. I applied to 12 colleges and so far I’ve only heard back from 8, however, I’ve been accepted to all 8, including one of my reach schools: Notre Dame. I have also received merit money from all of my schools including a full tuition scholarship, and I’m excited to see how the rest turn out.

Laura Laiken

College Match helped me so much with my application and admissions processes. I talked with my consultant about what I wanted out of a school and he provided me with a list of all the schools he thought would suit me. He even categorized them based on my academic standings as "Safety", "50/50", "Reach", and "Super Reach". He helped me strategize on my entrance essays and advised me on how to fill out my applications and financial aid forms. When all was said and done, out of the 10 schools I applied to, I was accepted to 9, including Columbia University, and wait-listed at one. Best of all, I received nearly full rides at almost every single school. Without College Match educational consultants, I could never have gotten into the phenomenal college that I will be attending this fall.

Simone Metz

The complexities of the college admissions process and the many different colleges and universities across the U.S. are a lot to digest. I decided it made sense to hire an expert who could inform my son and I about the realities concerning the college admissions environment. There is a lot of mythology about the process, therefore, it is important to determine the truth about the many colleges and the process in general. I talked to and interviewed at least 7 or 8 college consultants across the U.S. to find someone with the breadth and depth of knowledge to help my kid, who had no idea about where he wanted to attend college.

We worked with Mr. Dave Montesano. His cost varies depending upon the service, as he has a menu of different services which he provides. I can say his cost is reasonable. His services cover the entire gamut of services critical to helping your son or daughter obtain the best advice, information and resources.

My son was admitted to many excellent schools including Grinnell, Carleton, NYU, Whitman, Occidental, Pitzer, BU, Skidmore, Ithaca and others. The counselor spent a huge amount of time helping educate us regarding the pros and cons of the schools. Without his help, my so would have been lost, so I'd highly recommend Mr. Montesano.

John Johns