Growth Stories

Heartily thanks again for the great support you have given to him all the time. He is so lucky to have you in his life journey. We are also deeply impressed by your unconditional love for him even though he is in a difficult time. Your empathy to help the kid’s growth inspired us a lot. Thank you so much for showing us how to foster, encourage, and support a child.

Parent of Student J

You have been so wonderful in supporting, challenging, and getting her to think mindfully and with purpose. During your time together, she found her voice and articulated what she was passionate about and what she was not. She found the strength to switch from hockey and hone in on activities and pursuits she loves — robotics, STEM, languages. I can not thank you enough for being with her every step of this process. As a parent I did not want her to try to get my ‘approval’ for her decisions — I wanted her to own them and you helped her so much.

Parent of Student M

Thank you for the support your team has provided my son through his journey. He has a very good story to tell that has shaped who he is and you helped him bring that to life. THANK YOU very much for all you have done! So much goes into each one. We see a happy, accomplished-feeling Z tonight, not overwhelmed Z. After submitting, he worked on a research paper, ate dinner, went to the basketball open gym, and registered to try out for the team. He got a lot done today. We can’t thank you enough! You certainly boosted his confidence. He seems very excited about all of it now. We truly appreciate everything!!!

Parent of Student Z

This is our first time going through the college application process. Cogita helped us tremendously in terms of understanding the process, sorting the priority, and preparing the applications with our daughter, E. Cogita’s in-depth knowledge of the application process and her insight from AO’s perspective allowed us to find the best matching schools for E. Both our daughter and we were delighted to work with Cogita.  They explained the process and reasons behind their approaches clearly and patiently. Most importantly, their encouragement and guidance kept our daughter engaged throughout the process. We are pleased that we found COGITA and were lucky to have Cogita as our daughter’s consultant. We would recommend COGITA to our friends.

Parent of Student E

(When) I think through all the feedback and suggestions, not ‘edits’, I feel respected. I feel very good with where I am and that I still have time to keep polishing, while many of my peers haven’t started their PS yet. One of my friend’s PS didn’t get passed by the school counselor b/c the counselor suspected that it’s written by an agent, not the student. I am grateful for my counselor at Cogita because they challenged me to reflect on my life with thought-provoking questions that made me excited about writing my story.

Student A

Cogita offers boundless resources for its students. What I found most helpful were their teachers. They really make the time and effort to get to know you as not only a student in a classroom environment, but who you are as a global citizen–your strengths, your weaknesses, and what you do best.  I think Cogita’s advisors, tutors, and essay reviewers are absolutely great. Having a lot of advisors, tutors, and essay reviewers is always helpful and in the end and helps you achieve better results. When writing my college essays, I always had an extra and fresh set of eyes to look over and edit my essays which was nice to see new perspectives on what parts of my essay worked and what didn’t. Cogita pushes you to really achieve your best and go above and beyond your goals. The emphasis on developing your identity and how your education plays into that role is vital and Cogita does a great job of doing so.

Student B

We are over the moon and will be forever grateful for your endless dedication and energy helping him with his essays.  And the application process brought to light your even greater gift of how much his work with you over the past 4 years has not only enriched his high school learning, but has also launched him for a lifetime of awareness and engagement with social justice.  You are so special to us, for the way you have worked with all four of our kids to help them really connect with their social justice passions and take action to make a difference in the world. The graduate school application support now they’ve been providing has been instrumental in directing my oldest’s passions.

Parent of Student H

I didn’t know what was needed for my application to law school but they not only helped me understand all the requirements but also showed me the best way to show my interests in women’s rights and advocacy. Because of their clear caring way of talking with me through what seemed like a daunting process, I felt supported all the way. I felt seen for who I am and who I wanted to be rather than just an applicant.

Student S

I think that Cogita’s advisors, tutors, and essay reviewers are great because they are personal and they really try to get to know you and push you to get the perfect combination of words out onto paper. Cogita understood where my deficiency was and helped me rise to another level. I think Cogita is inspiring in its legacy to educate today’s young leaders in the world. Now is the perfect time in the world to get to know about all the different cultures and start to live those experiences, and Cogita makes that path possible by giving students a greater chance at beating the college process.

Student X

Cogita has facilitated better relations with my teenage daughter during these stressful high school years. By having an expert act as the intermediary, I have found it easier to discuss and help my child implement the work that needs to get done. Additionally, my conversations with our Cogita advisor have reassured me that every child gets there – each at their own speed. It’s helped me be more patient and less stressed about the daunting college application process. 

Parent of Student M

Cogita’s program offered me guidance throughout the research process, help with brainstorming, bettering my essay, advice on how to cut down my essay/make it more impactful, and most importantly, moral support until the very end!! (and even after I submitted my application). The most important things I learned from working with Cogita are:

• importance of empathy (a concept I kept in mind throughout my entire application + essay writing process)
• all events and activities, even the smallest ones, had/will have an impact on who we are as a person (and we can reflect back on them)

Cogita’s advisors are very very supportive (like a second mother-figure). They pushed students to discover more beyond what they thought of as their limit and never force students to make changes to their essays if they don’t want to (the comments/edits are mere suggestions). As a student who was so used to a grade-centered/highly competitive school environment, Cogita helped me experience and learn about values that I would not have otherwise experienced at school (empathy, awareness as a global citizen, etc). 

Student P

Cogita’s program helped me to make crucial connections when it comes to myself, my values, and my interests. Marina’s guidance here was invaluable. In the process of developing a college application, I learned so much about myself. The reflection that we did together here was undeniably valuable not only in terms of applying to college, but also in the broader scheme of life and answering questions about myself—figuring out what makes me ‘tick.’ Marina is incredible. So thoughtful, so patient, so kind. Truly a visionary! I think it’s so valuable to have someone to act as a sounding board to your ideas, to push you, and to help you connect dots in your education and experience in the world. Cogita helped me change my views and values about education, myself and the world. It also helped me to be able to communicate all of these things in a meaningful and articulate way.

Student E

Cogita provides me with guidance, knowledge, and motivation. The program has shown me the path towards a successful application, and it has taught me how to perfect my college essays. Cogita has also helped me develop a good work ethic, be organized, and learn many other life skills such as time management.

Cogita teaches you how to “de-highschool” yourself– organizing your own day instead of having someone hand you your daily schedule. This is by far the most impactful life skill I have learned at my time working with Cogita. I think they are very knowledgeable and genuinely care about me. They are passionate about their work, and it’s inspiring to see such successful people working together as a team. I recommend that you, as a student, take advantage of all the skills that Cogita teaches regarding how to be professional with college officials, how to act in interviews, and important professional manners that you wouldn’t learn elsewhere.

Student A

Regardless of the outcome, your support and the Cogita team’s presence mean a lot to us. I can’t believe we’re finally here, nearing the end of her college app journey. It’s a mix of relief and bittersweet emotions, knowing we’ll say our goodbyes soon. Over the past two & a half years, we’ve relied on you and the Cogita team for valuable advice to support her growth. Parenting a teenager is challenging, and there are moments of doubt about our decisions-whether we’ve overstressed our child or given her good advice. It was reassuring knowing that you’ve got our backs and injected us with positive energy when we needed it.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being amazing counselors and mentors to her and us. Your unwavering support, wise advice, and gentle encouragement have steered us through some rough waters and made this journey memorable and low anxiety! We’ll look forward to the graduate application process, so please make sure to save a spot for us!

Parent of Student C

Just wanted to let you know that you and Cogita are the only consultant who I met by now who has the best compassion and customer-oriented mindset. I feel you understand us so well and always follow in a very efficient and supportive way. It’s so touching having Cogita accompany us at this critical and special period. There is so much sincere appreciation in my heart and in our family. You are an ANGEL. We would not have been able to do this so far without COGITA.

Parent of Student F

Thank you for the support your team has provided my son through his journey. He has a very good story to tell that has shaped who he is and you helped him bring that to life. THANK YOU very much for all you have done! So much goes into each one. We see a happy, accomplished-feeling G tonight, not overwhelmed G. After submitting, he worked on a research paper, ate dinner, went to basketball open gym, and registered to try out for the team. He got a lot done today. We can’t thank you enough! You certainly boosted his confidence. He seems very excited about all of it now. We truly appreciate everything!!!

Parent of Student G

This is our first time going through the college application process. Cogita helped us tremendously in terms of understanding the process, sorting the priority, and preparing the applications with our daughter, E. Cogita’s in-depth knowledge of the application process and her insight from AO’s perspective allowed us to find the best matching schools for E.

Both our daughter and we were delighted to work with Cogita.  They explained the process and reasons behind their educationally-focused approaches clearly and patiently. Most importantly, their encouragement and guidance kept our daughter engaged throughout the process. 

We are pleased that we found COGITA and were lucky to have Cogita as our daughter’s consultant. We would recommend COGITA to our friends.

Parent of Student E

My counselor’s constant support and guidance throughout the past two and a half years of working with her has helped me become the person I am today. With activities like identity maps and reflections on strengths and weaknesses, Cogita has pushed me to reflect on my identity and focus my time on activities that I truly feel passionate about. My counselor has also helped me build my confidence as a student, enabling me to assert myself in and out of the classroom and take leadership positions. I have also been able to partake in some of the most rewarding and educating experiences due to my counselor, by connecting me with an internship and inspired me to begin the Science Olympiad Team at my school. Without Cogita, I know that I would not be as confident in my own identity and the actions I choose to take. My counselor has also helped me overcome obstacles I’ve faced throughout the past few years, assuring me that my greatest efforts were acknowledged and enough while also pushing me to find creative solutions. I am so grateful for all of the support I have received throughout this process, as Cogita and my counselor have constantly grounded me and kept me on the right path, both academically and personally.

Student M

Cogita’s personalized approach, which considers not only each student’s strengths and weaknesses but also their unique personal story, has consistently been incredibly beneficial. Whether it was during my college, masters, or medical school admissions process, Cogita’s tailored approach provided ample opportunities for self-reflection and introspection that profoundly influenced my personal identity and development.

Throughout my ten years working with Cogita, I’ve consistently been grateful for the team’s unwavering support and willingness to go above and beyond. What stands out to me, however, is how this support has helped me develop as an individual. Rather than simply providing answers, they empower me to make my own decisions and judgments. This became evident when I was working on my college admissions essays (or let’s be honest, procrastinating on them). I was never given a definitive “right way” or handed the answers. Instead, their timely thorough feedback served as valuable stepping stones, guiding me toward making the best decisions on my own, all while continuing to provide feedback along the way. I never once felt alone during this process, but I still was able to make the final decisions myself. This approach ensures that I take ownership of my choices and offers valuable opportunities for self-reflection and improvement. Cogita’s teaching philosophy and approach have played a crucial role in fostering my personal growth, and for that, I am truly grateful. Having now been admitted into medical school, I only hope to find a way to give back to them.

Student J