FAQs

+ What is Golden Ticket Admissions?

Golden Ticket Admissions is a (primarily) web-based college admissions counseling company dedicated to helping students highlight their strengths while navigating the college admissions process. We help students by giving them guidance on everything they need to submit a winning application--from strategizing for success through high school to writing compelling personal statements. We also answer all of those nitty-gritty questions that tend to come up when parents and students hear words like "college" and "application."

+ What Is Golden Ticket's approach to counseling?

Our approach is very collaborative. We believe the college admissions process presents a profound opportunity for young people to dig deep and reflect on their background and experiences in a meaningful way. Students are encouraged to identify their personal goals and aspirations, and explore the layers of their identity that will allow admissions committees to understand the depth and breadth of their personal and intellectual potential. From a logistical perspective, younger students will meet via video conferencing on an as-needed basis to discuss higher-level application strategy, course selection, and extracurricular activities.

In later years, we guide students in garnering meaningful teacher recommendations, school search and selection, as well as brainstorming and crafting compelling personal statements. The application essay, in particular, is an opportunity to show admissions committees how a student thinks and sees the world.

We work hard to make sure that even though students are getting substantial feedback, their unique voices and viewpoints continue to resonate throughout the entirety of the application.


+ What web tools do I need?

Students will work with their admissions counselor almost exclusively in an online capacity. This expedites communication, allows students and counselors the ability to correspond during non-traditional business hours, and gives students from around the globe access to Golden Ticket's college advising services. During counseling sessions, students will utilize popular web-based tools such as Zoom, Skype, and Google Documents.​​

+ How do you work with students once they've written a draft of their essay?

Once students have submitted the most current draft of their personal statement for review, their Golden Ticket counselor will make initial edits, comments, and suggestions on it via Google Documents and send it back to the student for review within a few days. At this point, students may incorporate feedback they resonate with, make necessary changes, and ask any follow-up questions for the next draft. This method allows us to create an open and continuous dialogue throughout the entire essay-writing process. It also makes it possible for students to receive rapid feedback on each change. Students will, on average, receive 3-4 rounds of feedback on each personal statement until it is polished and ready for submission. 


+ How does payment work?

For students enrolled in Admissions Packages: Golden Ticket Admissions will provide families with a payment schedule upon initiation of services. Invoices will be sent accordingly via Paypal. 




For families who have opted for hourly admissions support: Parents will receive invoices via email that reflect their outstanding balance on a periodic basis. Invoices for hourly support are billed in 15-minute increments, with no minimums. As students come to us at many different stages of their educational journeys, the total amount of time it takes to complete the entire process varies greatly.




To continue receiving prompt consulting services, please process invoices upon receipt. There is a 10% interest charge per week on late invoices. Payments may be completed via any major credit card or a Paypal account.

+ What happens if I miss or cancel my appointment?

In the event that you need to cancel or change a video chat appointment, and give notice 24 hours in advance of your time slot, we will work our hardest to reschedule you for another appointment within the following seven days with no incurred fee. However, take note that your appointment time is reserved exclusively for you. This reservation prevents that time from being available for us to help another student. Golden Ticket always appreciates notice of schedule changes as early as possible. However, we also understand that sometimes emergencies do come up. With this in mind, Golden Ticket Admissions has the following schedule change and cancellation policy:


For students on hourly counseling: All schedule changes and cancellations must be made via email to establish time of notice. Schedule changes or cancellations made 24 hours or more before your appointment time will incur no charges. Schedule changes or cancellations made less than 24 hours before your appointment time will be charged the full hourly rate for one hour. If the late cancellation is due to an emergency or serious illness, only 50% of the full hourly rate will be charged.


+ Do you provide rush editing services? Is it a different hourly rate?

Yes, we do! Particularly during the busiest times of the application cycle (mid-late October, mid-late November, and mid-late December), we work hard to complete edits as quickly as possible despite a high volume of students seeking assistance.

Applying to college necessitates the completion of a not inconsequential amount of written materials, including personal statements, supplementary statements, and activity lists. For the smoothest process, students should plan on completing as many of these as possible as early as possible. As personal statements typically benefit from 2-4 “rounds” of feedback, for the best outcomes, rough drafts of written materials should be submitted to Golden Ticket Admissions for review no less than three weeks before their respective school’s official deadline; from there, students are expected to make a good-faith effort to follow to the sub-deadlines suggested.

In the event that a Student needs a guarantee of edits/feedback provided to them in under 72 hours, there is a "rush editing" option they may elect to initiate in an emergency. Doing so allows the Student’s document to "jump the line" in the editing queue to ensure they can meet an imminent deadline. In order to initiate this option, Students must indicate such in written form upon submission of the aforementioned material.

For Students on the hourly billing plan, this service is billed at 1.5x the hourly rate. For students on a Golden Ticket Admissions Package Plan, there will be a charge of $50 per submission requiring this expedited service.

While “rush editing” is an option in emergency situations, Students are strongly discouraged from thinking of it as “Plan A,” as rushing the essay-writing process does not make for the best possible final product.

For all students: Please note that if a Student turns in a 1st or 2nd draft of an essay for review that is due to its respective university within 10 days of that school’s official application deadline, the “rush editing” option, and accompanying rate or fee, will be initiated automatically to ensure the most efficient service.

+ How much does admissions consulting cost?

It varies. College admissions counseling is an investment in the future of your child's academic and professional development. Students come to us at many different stages in their application processes--and we personalize our services to fit each student’s needs--so we do not have a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, families may enroll in a Golden Ticket Admissions package plan that suits their student’s needs, or opt for hourly counseling. For more specific questions regarding rates, please reach out on our contact page.