Creative Summer Planning

About this webinar

Collegewise counselors will discuss how you can really use your summer to develop curiosity, initiative, and passion, along with some creativity, to learn and grow during summer.

What you'll learn

Just as there's no perfect high school schedule, there's no single summer schedule that will stand out to an admissions committee. We'll help answer the following questions:
  • How should you be spending your high school summers?
  • Does attending a university's pre-college summer program really help you get in?
  • What programs (if any) are worth spending your money on?
Our presenters will be answering these questions (and more!), and you'll leave the webinar with clear steps to help you craft your own perfect summer schedule.

Your Presenters

Veronica Leyva
As a regional admissions counselor in Southern California, Verónica spent 6 years helping students learn about going to college out-of-state. In 2018, she traded in her flip flops for hiking boots and moved to Seattle. Verónica served as Associate Director of College Counseling at a local independent school before joining Collegewise. During that time, she provided individualized guidance on each part of the application process – from college lists to enrollment – for domestic and international students. She maintains strong relationships with college counselors and admissions officers, helping to connect students and families with the resources they need.
Verónica speaks “teenager” fluently, recognizing that each student has a unique set of priorities. She likes to ask targeted questions to get applicants thinking about why it’s so important to have small classes, sports, or arboretums their best-fit college. With a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Family and Human Development, Verónica sees the college admission process as an important rite of passage for families to enjoy and not stress (too much) about.
Verónica has a gift for empowering her students to follow their curiosity, set big goals, fail, and persist with projects that fuel their passions. When she’s not in the office, you’ll likely find Verónica in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes, tending to her many thriving plants, or playing fetch with her dog.
Christopher Logan
Christopher is pretty good at winning. They’re a champion ballroom dancer, National Merit Scholar, and two-time recipient of Yale’s Light Fellowship. If we include high school, there are about a million debate trophies, Science Fair Awards, National History Day awards, and statewide essay competition victories added to the list. In their free time, Christopher goes to a competitive spin studio, where they’ve only met one person who can (sometimes) beat them. And did we mention they speak French, Spanish, and Korean?
When Christopher chose to pursue a career in college counseling, naturally, they were good at that, too. After graduating from Yale in 2014, they moved to California and counseled students who went on to Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale, to name a few. In fact, about 20% of Christopher’s students went on to Ivy League or “Near-Ivy” colleges. As a counselor, Christopher expertly guided students as they selected their classes, clubs, volunteer work, and internships to make sure they could enjoy a high school experience that would make them more competitive college applicants. At Collegewise, their goal is to help students and parents alike by reducing their stress while being both honest and compassionate about the admissions process. (And let’s be honest, probably winning an award for great college counseling, too.)
  • Veronica Leyva
    As a regional admissions counselor in Southern California, Verónica spent 6 years helping students learn about going to college out-of-state. In 2018, she traded in her flip flops for hiking boots and moved to Seattle. Verónica served as Associate Director of College Counseling at a local independent school before joining Collegewise. During that time, she provided individualized guidance on each part of the application process – from college lists to enrollment – for domestic and international students. She maintains strong relationships with college counselors and admissions officers, helping to connect students and families with the resources they need.
    Verónica speaks “teenager” fluently, recognizing that each student has a unique set of priorities. She likes to ask targeted questions to get applicants thinking about why it’s so important to have small classes, sports, or arboretums their best-fit college. With a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Family and Human Development, Verónica sees the college admission process as an important rite of passage for families to enjoy and not stress (too much) about.
    Verónica has a gift for empowering her students to follow their curiosity, set big goals, fail, and persist with projects that fuel their passions. When she’s not in the office, you’ll likely find Verónica in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes, tending to her many thriving plants, or playing fetch with her dog.
  • Christopher Logan
    Christopher is pretty good at winning. They’re a champion ballroom dancer, National Merit Scholar, and two-time recipient of Yale’s Light Fellowship. If we include high school, there are about a million debate trophies, Science Fair Awards, National History Day awards, and statewide essay competition victories added to the list. In their free time, Christopher goes to a competitive spin studio, where they’ve only met one person who can (sometimes) beat them. And did we mention they speak French, Spanish, and Korean?
    When Christopher chose to pursue a career in college counseling, naturally, they were good at that, too. After graduating from Yale in 2014, they moved to California and counseled students who went on to Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale, to name a few. In fact, about 20% of Christopher’s students went on to Ivy League or “Near-Ivy” colleges. As a counselor, Christopher expertly guided students as they selected their classes, clubs, volunteer work, and internships to make sure they could enjoy a high school experience that would make them more competitive college applicants. At Collegewise, their goal is to help students and parents alike by reducing their stress while being both honest and compassionate about the admissions process. (And let’s be honest, probably winning an award for great college counseling, too.)