The College Hero Program
There's a right college for your teen. My job is finding it and helping them get there.
Meet College hEro
A comprehensive college counseling program for the full high school journey.
College Hero is a high-touch, one-on-one guidance program built around your teen: who they are, how they think, what they care about, where they thrive, and the future they are ready to build.
From the first conversation, Robert listens deeply, learning your teen’s strengths, goals, concerns, personality, and family priorities, then turning that into a clear, strategic college plan.
Together, you will make thoughtful decisions about courses, activities, testing, college lists, essays, scholarships, applications, and final enrollment choices, without panic, guesswork, or chasing a name that may not be right.
Your teen will become a stronger, more confident applicant while building a college list that fits academically, socially, emotionally, and financially.
A great college is not just the biggest name. It is where your teen feels supported, challenged, safe, known, and ready to grow.
That is what College Hero is here for: to help your family move forward with certainty, knowing your teen will land at a college where they truly belong and can succeed.
I was especially impressed by how Robert evaluated college fit, not just by academic strength and reputation, but by culture and environment, and whether a school would truly help my son thrive and grow.
Nobody is failing. The system just isn't built for this.
Here's what I usually see when a family finds me in the fall of senior year: a teen who hasn't started their essays, a parent who has become the household's least popular project manager, and a school counselor doing their best across a caseload in the hundreds. (The national average is roughly 385 students per counselor.)
Nobody in that picture is failing. The system just isn't designed to give your teen an adult whose entire job is them: their list, their essays, their deadlines, their future. That is the job I built College Torch to do.
And the stakes are real. Nationally, nearly one in three first-year students doesn't return to the same college for sophomore year. Most of those students got in somewhere. They just didn't land somewhere right. That is the outcome I built College Torch to prevent.
When a family starts earlier, in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade, we skip the panic entirely and do this the calm way.
A full-journey partnership, not just application-season help.
Here's the whole program in one sentence: I become your teen's dedicated college person from the day you find me until May 1st of senior year, when they choose where they belong. It comes in two depths, Quest and Odyssey (more on those below), and every stage produces something real, with a name.
The College Torch Promise: Every College Hero student finishes their applications by a single shared deadline, December 15th. No scrambling in January. Done, reviewed, and submitted, every year.
The right college is also a financial decision.
From the very start of the search, I factor merit-aid potential, demonstrated need, and net cost into every element of fit. The goal is a college list where your teen belongs and where the numbers make sense.
All students above were accepted and offered scholarships at these institutions. Individual results vary based on student profile and college policies.
From the Luminaries and their families.
Hi, I'm Robert
I help teens find the right college, not just the most recognizable one.
I know how much pressure families feel around college admissions. It can start to seem like the whole process is about rankings, prestige, and getting into the most impressive school possible.
But that is not how I believe this work should be done.
Yes, I help students build strong applications. Yes, I help them apply strategically. Yes, my students have been admitted to highly selective colleges when those colleges were the right fit.
But the name on the sweatshirt is not the whole story.
My job is to understand your teen as an individual: what motivates them, what environments bring out their best, what support they need, what they are ready to contribute, and where they are most likely to become the person they are growing into.
That means we talk honestly. We ask better questions. We look beyond rankings and marketing. We consider academic fit, campus culture, cost, scholarships, safety, belonging, opportunity, and long-term direction.
I want your family to feel informed instead of overwhelmed. I want your teen to feel guided instead of judged. And I want you to reach the final decision with clarity, confidence, and calm.
There is a right college for your teen.
My job is to help you find it, build the plan to get there, and make the process feel far more human along the way.
Start your Hero's Journey.
Four clear steps, and every one is low-risk. You will always know exactly what comes next.
One program. Two depths.
Every College Hero student gets the full College Torch journey, from your first meeting to enrollment day. The only question is how deep the partnership goes. Quest is complete on its own. Odyssey adds the deepest layers of support, research, and protection. And you don't have to figure this out yourself: After the Clarity Session, I recommend a depth for your teen, in writing, with my reasoning.
See everything in QuestHide full list
See everything Odyssey addsHide full list
Not sure which one fits your family? You don't have to know yet. Book the free Right-Fit Call, and after ninety minutes of real work in the Clarity Session, I'll recommend a depth based on your teen and your goals, with my reasoning in writing. You decide from there. Most families tell me the recommendation made the decision feel obvious.
A note for LGBTQ+ families: every college list I build is LGBTQ+-informed. Odyssey adds dedicated, written climate research for every school on the list.
Let's Get Started.
First, some context. In several recent cases, a single merit scholarship earned by a College Torch student was worth roughly ten times the cost of the Odyssey program. Financial strategy is built into your teen's college list from day one, not added as an afterthought. This is an investment designed to pay for itself, and often does.
Your exact investment comes down to two things: the depth you choose, and the grade your teen starts. An earlier start means a longer, deeper partnership. Both depths and every grade are priced right here, and we'll talk through your numbers on the free Right-Fit Call, before any commitment.
| Student starts in | Quest | Odyssey |
|---|---|---|
| 9th grade | $12,500 | $18,500 |
| 10th grade | $11,500 | $17,000 |
| 11th grade | $10,500 | $15,500 |
| 12th grade | $12,000 | Quest only |
A note on 12th grade: Quest is the designated program for students entering application season. Senior year compresses the entire process into its most intensive months, which is why it's priced above a junior-year start, and it's exactly what Quest is built for. It's what we do best.
The Clarity Session is guaranteed. Sit down with me and leave with your teen's Clarity Map: a clear, written direction for the search. If you don't, the session is free.
Starting in 9th or 10th grade? A longer 12-month plan is available. Just ask on your call.
A free 20-minute conversation. No commitment, no pressure. I work with a limited number of new families each year, and spots fill in enrollment order.
The questions I hear most.
How is this different from our school counselor?
Your school counselor is probably wonderful, and probably responsible for a few hundred students. (The national average is roughly 385 to 1, and even at private schools, counselor access is rarely as deep as families expect, especially once the workday ends.) I work with a limited number of families each year, I meet with your teen one-on-one for months or years rather than minutes, and I hold myself accountable to named deliverables and a hard deadline: every application done by December 15. I'm also frequently available on evenings and weekends, because that's exactly when families tend to need me. We do different jobs, and your teen benefits from both of us.
Is this really worth the investment?
Here's how I'd think about it. Nationally, nearly one in three first-year students doesn't return to the same college for sophomore year, and a wrong-fit college can mean a transfer, a lost year, or an extra year of tuition, any one of which costs far more than this program. On the other side of the ledger, my students regularly earn merit scholarships worth several times their program fee, because financial strategy is part of the search from day one. I can't promise a scholarship. I can promise a process where fit, cost, and belonging are engineered in from the start, not discovered by accident in October of freshman year.
Do you write the essays?
No, and you should run from anyone who does. Admissions readers know an adult's writing when they see it, and your teen's real voice is their single best asset. What I do is brainstorm with them, push them to get specific, and edit draft after draft until the essay sounds like the best version of them. The words are always theirs.
How much time will my teen actually commit?
We meet one to two times per month through most of high school, and more often during application season. Between meetings, your teen has real assignments in the Application Hub. Plan on a few hours a month early on, building to several hours a week in the summer before senior year. It's real work. That's why it works.
What if my teen is reluctant or unmotivated?
Extremely common, and honestly, part of what you're hiring me for. Teens often resist this process with their parents and then engage with it alongside a neutral adult who isn't grading them or raising them. Some of my most reluctant starters have become my most invested Luminaries. And you get to go back to just being their parent.
Does this really work over Zoom?
Yes. College Torch works with families nationwide, and the program is built for it: live one-on-one meetings, a shared Application Hub where every essay and deadline lives, and Telegram support between sessions. Distance changes nothing about the outcome.
When is the right time to start?
The best time is 9th or 10th grade, when we can build your teen's story instead of retrofitting it, and when the 12-month payment plan is available. The most common time is 11th grade, and it's a great time to start. And if your teen is already a senior, that's exactly what Quest is built for. The only wrong time to start is after the deadlines have passed.
I believe that when we do this work together, really do it, with honesty and care and the full College Torch process, you will find a college where you belong. A place that fits who you are, supports how you learn, and gives you what you need to thrive.
If that doesn't happen, if you arrive and realize it isn't right, and you decide to transfer, I'll be there. Odyssey families receive my full college search and application support for the transfer process, at no additional cost, within three years of their initial enrollment.
This isn't a safety net I expect you to need. It's a reflection of how seriously I take the search.
The right college is out there. Let's go find it.
There is a college that fits who your teen is, values what they bring, and gives them everything they need to thrive. Finding it is what I do, and it starts with one free conversation.
20 minutes. No pressure. No obligation. I take a limited number of new families each year.
Questions? Email robert@collegetorch.com or call (626) 605-6821