GET THE COLLEGE EDGE
One-on-one College Admissions Counseling
Background
Since 2010, Get The College Edge has successfully advised hundreds of students in the US and internationally with all aspects of the college application process. We offer comprehensive counseling services personalized to each student's needs. Advising extends from course selection and activities planning to test prep, school selection, personal statements, and resume writing. In addition, assistance is offered with interview preparation, sports recruiting, and scholarship essays. Founder Cathleen Lamar’s team includes college counselors, SAT/ACT/GMAT tutors, and graduate school counselors. Being mission and service-minded, GCE also has a pro bono arm that advises underserved students who would otherwise have limited access to college counseling.
Cathleen Lamar is a sought after keynote speaker who provides customized presentations and interactive workshops for families wanting to learn how to optimize their admittance. Keynotes are delivered either in-person or virtually and can also include 1:1 coaching and Q&A sessions. Key speaking engagements include corporate retreats, training events and conferences for YPO and Tiger 21.
Our counselors work with clients locally and worldwide—in person, online, and through remote editing. Cathleen has built Get The College Edge with the goal of supporting students from high school success to graduate school and professional fulfillment.
Services
• High School Course Selection & Activities Planning: maximize transcript/resume
• Standardized Test: SAT, ACT, AP timing and strategies
• School Selection: ED, EA and Regular Decision
• Personal Statement & Supplemental Essays: brainstorm topics and edit
• Resume: building and writing
• Interviews: preparation, practice, and feedback
• Sports Recruiting: emails to coaches, NCAA, school selection
• Scholarship Essays, Internships, Cover Letters, Transfer Applications
• Keynote Speaking Engagement
About Founder
Cathleen Lamar is the Founder of Get The College Edge. She helps students identify and build their distinctive talents and experiences, focusing on effectively communicating those to maximize admittance. Cathleen has placed students at top-tier schools, including MIT, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, and Caltech. She and her team have successfully advised thousands of students in the U.S. and internationally since 2010. Previously, Cathleen served on the Alumni Representative Committee for her alma mater Columbia University. Processing interviews for her area for ten years, she discovered patterns that make candidates stand out. Cathleen also served as the Interim Director of College Counseling for the Cushman School, in Miami, before returning full-time to her private practice.
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The key to Cathleen’s success is her ability to bring out each student's unique voice. This comes from Cathleen’s own multi-faceted experiences which allow her to connect with high schoolers of varying backgrounds. Cathleen speaks four languages: English, Spanish, French, and Croatian. Born and raised in the suburbs of N.Y., she has traveled worldwide in her previous careers as a Buyer for Harrods in London and an Account Executive for Vittadini in NYC. She has a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and at Oxford University, UK. Cathleen resides in both New York City and Miami, is married to Emilio Lamar, and has three sons: Emilio (MIT, 2017), Felipe (Cornell, 2019), and Miguel (MIT, 2021), all of whom pursue careers in finance in NYC.
Testimonials
"Cathleen pushed me to tackle the subject of my identity and challenge preconceived societal stereotypes. I was accepted at Stanford, UPenn, Columbia, & Yale.” Laura Mehta, Stanford.
“At Mrs. Lamar’s suggestion, I wrote my essay about computer coding as a metaphor for my approach to life.” C. Jaudenes, Yale.
“Cathleen guided me out of my comfort zone to introspectively examine a life-altering experience.” P. Majer, Dartmouth.
"Mrs. Lamar helped identify relationships that were instrumental in building my character." A. Heller, Yale.
“Cathleen’s personal attention and insight were wonderful!” E. Cordovez, Harvard.
"Cathleen's enthusiasm, energy and knowledge were invaluable in the college process." T. Walz, Pratt Institute of Architecture.
“Mrs. Lamar helped me brainstorm essay topics and substantiate my Common App. I got into Cornell, Vanderbilt, Middlebury, Bucknell, Colgate, & McGill.—J. Heafey, Vanderbilt.
“Cathleen’s broad experiences enabled her to connect with me on everything from working in retail in Paris to playing par golf and the NY fashion business.” A. Hamilton, Wharton, UPenn.
“Cathleen helped me communicate the important role my heritage plays in making me who I am. I am the first girl from my HS to get into MIT.—D. Delgado, MIT.
“ With Cathleen's help, I was accepted as a transfer student with a full scholarship.—T. Miller, Columbia University.
“She helped me find an essay topic that was unique to me and stand out in the application.” –S. Reilly, Purdue Engineering.
“Thank you for helping make my son’s dreams come true.” R. Granier, Cornell.
Meet the Team
Amy Molden Park
Amy Molden Park is originally from San Diego and has worked in higher education for 15 years in Boston, Chicago, New York, Buenos Aires and currently Miami. She joined Get The College-Edge in 2019, helping to create successful college admissions strategies. Amy helps students discover their unique background and interests, and communicate these in their college application essays, activities, resume and interviews.
Additionally, Amy works with clients applying to top medical and law schools, Masters, MBA, PhD and other graduate programs. Previously, she worked at the University of San Diego and the Fulbright Scholarship program of the US Department of State. Amy graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Boston College, and cum laude with a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University. Visit her LinkedIn.
Katie Coz
Katie Coz is a seasoned SAT/ACT professional tutor who has been assisting students achieve higher SAT and ACT scores for over eight years. She has worked with students locally, nationally, and internationally, both online and in person.
She began her career with Top Score Education in Washington, DC. She then took on the role of Director of Florida for Top Score from 2015-2021. Since 2018 she also has served as the head of PSAT/SAT programs for the prestigious Cushman School.
Her highly individualized and diagnostic approach targets and improves a student’s weaknesses while highlighting strengths. She teaches test-taking strategies as well as academic fundamentals. Katie utilizes proven techniques to successfully overcome test anxiety, while focusing students on their testing strengths, timing, and pace.
Her success rate is impressive. She improves a student’s score on average 200 points for SAT and 4 points for ACT, which leads to higher college acceptance rates. Katie brings out the best in all of her students.
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Diana Lane Black
Diana Lane Black graduated from Duke University with a BA in English, minor in Spanish, and Certificates in Journalism and Film. She earned her MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, where she attended on a merit scholarship and served on the Admissions Committee. She’s a business-minded creative who has worked for advertising at Ogilvy & Mather and CPG brand management at Georgia Pacific, developing skills that have served her well in her true passion: enabling people to reach their goals, one story at a time.
Diana works with the nation’s top undergraduate and graduate admissions consultancies to give their students an edge over the competition. Since 2019, Diana has been helping Get the College Edge students with asynchronous editing and fine tuning personal statements and supplemental essays.
Get The College Edge ACCEPTANCE & MATRICULATION:
100% of our students attend 4 year institutions of higher education.
Robyn Baragwanath
Robyn is an experienced writer, researcher, and communication strategist. Born in South Africa, Robyn started her career in marketing and broadcast journalism. She worked in Events Marketing for Mercedes-Benz before transitioning to journalism, where she was a producer for the Johannesburg-based 24-hour news channel, E.Tv Newsroom, as well as a reporter and editor for two South Africa newspapers.
Robyn moved to the U.S. in 2016 to pursue an M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. While completing her doctoral studies in Mass Communications at the University of Miami, Robyn taught several undergraduate college courses and spear-headed research projects in South Africa and Haiti, focusing on the role of communication infrastructure on bottom-up economic development in the informal economy of developing countries.
Today, Robyn works as a freelance communications consultant, educator, and private college counselor. She enjoys helping students realize their potential and achieve their ambitions of attending their top college choices.
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Megan has worked for Get The College Edge for five years, assisting students in finding their voice in the college application process. Megan double majored in History and Spanish at Dennison University and studied abroad with New York University. Upon graduating Megan worked as a Production Assistant for ABC News Washington Bureau and pursued a career in broadcast news, reporting at two CBS affiliate stations. Relocating abroad, Megan reported for a Chinese TV network in Shanghai.
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Megan also worked as Head of Corporate Communications for DaimlerChrysler, and has spent 25 years working in a media training consultancy, coaching people on how to handle media interviews. She currently writes a newspaper column for the Traverse City Record Eagle and is also a professional artist. Megan’s preferred medium is acrylic and mixed media acrylic collage, while understanding written and visual elements in storytelling is Megan’s strong suit. She specializes in essay development and editing, and in assisting students with the portfolio process for art school applications.
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Megan Giles Gooney
Becky Flowers
Becky Flowers is an educator and counselor with 30 years of experience in education working with children and families. She holds a BFA, MFA, MSW, and is currently working toward her PhD in Integral Psychology. She has taught at Florida International University, the University of Miami Study Skills and Test Preparation Program, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Institute for Reading Development, English as a Second Language abroad, in environments that include private and public schools, and non-profit social service organizations.
She has been a self-employed educational consultant since 2002, developing several unique programs including creative and academic writing, arts and healing, test-taking strategies, and executive function training. She is a master at helping students with college essays and organization/executive function skills.
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She has a diversity of experiences from teaching across three continents and is able to connect deeply and quickly with students from different backgrounds. She has worked over 24,000 contact hours with over 6,000 clients. All these experiences, in addition to her own slightly eclectic background, have led her to embrace a holistic, yet still rigorous, approach to education. She is particularly well-equipped to handle the needs of gifted and twice-exceptional students, helping children and families navigate the gifts and challenges of neurodiversity and ADHD.
Her light, creative, and humorous demeanor enables her to connect easily with students of all levels, serving both high achieving students and students who need extra support.
She believes that everyone can succeed and is dedicated wholly to helping students with programs that are tailored completely to their particular skills and needs.
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Alexa Economacos
Alexa Economacos earned a BA from Columbia University and the London School of Economics in Creative Writing and Political Science. She has worked in the TV Literary Department at United Talent Agency and as a research consultant for Media Rights Capital’s upcoming Apple TV+ show co-created by Oscar winner Damien Chazelle. Previously, she held a position as an Academic Preceptor at The Dalton School in NYC, helping students develop and enhance academic knowledge and skills while liaising with teachers, the Academic Dean, and the Director of Learning Support Services. Alexa simultaneously built a private tutoring practice with clients across various NYC and Miami high schools, providing holistic and individualized academic assistance.
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When not mentoring students with Get The College Edge, Alexa is the Coordinator for the Sundance Institute's Episodic Program, discovering and nurturing the most promising new voices in episodic storytelling. She provides creative feedback on various projects, ranging from script outlines to full pilot drafts to live pitches through the Sundance Lab. Many have secured development deals at networks such as Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon. She brings her love of literature, writing, film, and current events to essay writing and editing. Alexa is currently based in Los Angeles, CA and works with students across the country.
Leah Storie
Leah is an experienced writer and educator who uses her advocacy skills to empower students to find their voice. After practicing law for over a decade, Leah transitioned to education where she developed a comprehensive high school legal studies curriculum. She now specializes in the creation and implementation of customized service-learning programs for high school students at the prestigious Cushman School.
Leah graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in English and Anthropology. She later attended the University of Miami School of Law where she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the International Law Review and graduated with honors. After years of practicing international arbitration and commercial litigation at an AM 100 law firm, she opened her own practice focusing on written advocacy and briefing in complex international cases. She uses her distinct experience to assist Get the College Edge students with crafting an application narrative that is personalized, thoughtful, and cohesive.
Get The College Edge ACCEPTANCE & MATRICULATION:
100% of our students attend 4 year institutions of higher education.
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American
Amherst
Babson
Barnard
Bentley
Berkeley
Boston College
Boston University
Brandeis
Bucknell
Caltech
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Delaware
Drexel
Duke
Emerson
Emory
Florida State University
Fordham
Georgia Tech
George Washington University
Georgetown
​Harvard
Harvey Mudd
Indiana University - Kelley
Johns Hopkins
Lehigh
Loyola
U Maryland - College Park
McGill University - Canada
MIT
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Penn State
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Pratt
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Rochester
Saint Andrews University - Scotland
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Stanford
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Temple
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Tulane
UCLA
UCSD
University of North Carolina
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University of Michigan - Ross
University of Pennsylvania - Wharton & Huntsman
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USC
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