Testimonials

“Going into the college admissions process felt overwhelming for our family. With both my husband and me working full-time, we knew we would not have the time needed to fully support our son through every step of the process. A friend recommended Barb and Taz, and I was immediately impressed by their thoughtful approach and clear process for helping families navigate college admissions.

What stood out most was their focus on finding the right college fit. They challenged us to think differently about what would truly be best for our son, and I am so thankful they took the time to understand his passions, strengths, and goals. Their guidance helped us identify options that aligned not only with what we wanted for him, but also with who he is and where he would thrive.

Barb and Taz also helped coach my husband and me through the decision-making process so we could come together around the best fit for our son. I especially want to thank Taz for his thoughtful candidate feedback, as well as his advice and support with the admissions applications and essays. We are incredibly grateful for the role Barb and Taz played in helping our son find the perfect college fit. We were so pleased with the experience that we are now signing up our youngest son to work with them as he begins his own college admissions journey.”

“We are so thankful for Barbara and Taz Pasalis’ expertise and wisdom in guiding our family through the college process. Our older daughter will be beginning her junior year in the college that Barbara recommended as the right fit for her. Indeed, our daughter is thriving there. Our younger daughter will be graduating from high school in the next few days and is thrilled to be going to the school where she will be matriculating this fall.

Barbara and Taz are a cohesive team, possessing unflagging energy and depth of experience, which our family greatly valued through the twists and turns of this formidable process. Their recommendations are consistently well thought out and honest. They were a steady and dependable resource for my husband and me and gave us reassurance when we needed it. Their involvement in these pivotal years in our daughters’ lives made the long process a relatively peaceful one in the life of our family. I cannot recommend Barbara and Taz at Northcoast Educational Consulting highly enough.”

“Our family’s journey with Northcoast Educational Consulting has been wonderful. Our two sons (who are two years apart) attended a college-prep high school in the Cleveland area, but we felt that additional support and guidance in the college admissions process would be worthwhile. Based on a recommendation, we decided to have both sons work with Barbara and Taz at Northcoast Educational Consulting, and we were very happy with this decision. Their insights into the complicated college application processes as a whole (standardized tests, Early Admission, Early Decision, etc.), and also into the criteria necessary to get into specific colleges were extremely helpful.

Furthermore, their expertise in helping our sons complete their various college applications and especially drafting impactful responses to personal essay questions was invaluable. We are proud to say that both of our sons ended up attending prestigious ACC colleges that were excellent fits for them and even offered them merit scholarships. Today, our two sons are attending medical school and veterinary school, respectively, and Taz and Barbara’s advice and guidance definitely helped to get them headed towards the careers they wanted.”

“There are not enough superlatives that will adequately express the unparalleled support and level of experience provided by Northcoast Educational Consulting (Barbara Pasalis and Taz Pasalis). Our family started working with the Pasalis duo when my son was in middle school. They provided a wealth of knowledge regarding how a student should prepare for not only the college application process but how to prepare for overall success. When the time came for college applications, their focus was on helping my son to make realistic choices in addition to encouraging realistic optimism. Their time commitment to specific needs is unprecedented and their devotion to the student’s success is unwavering. They use their extensive experience, connections and knowledge to assist the student in achieving their goals. My son is currently benefiting from their expertise as he applies to graduate programs and will no doubt seek their input during his medical school application process.

I would highly recommend the Northcoast Educational Consulting to any student or family navigating the application process for college or graduate school programs. Their expertise, personalized approach and genuine investment in each student’s success absolutely sets them apart. Working with them was truly one of the best decisions we made.”

“When my friends heard that I had hired a professional college counselor, they were taken aback. “But you know more about college admissions than anyone else I know!” they exclaimed. I knew enough, though, to know that I was no expert—especially for my own children. I now can say unequivocally that hiring Barbara was some of the most valuable dollars we have ever spent on our children’s education. She is certainly superb at matching high school students to colleges, guiding them through the process and calmly and professionally dealing with the Byzantine and time-consuming process of applying to college. However, we received an incalculable benefit from her services: we had a great relationship with our high school seniors in their last year at home. While other parents and teens fought over essays, standardized test retakes, grades and college choices, we spent our time talking with our son and daughter about their hopes and fears for the future. I can’t think of a better way to send your children off to college—and we could not have done it without Barbara.”

“Quality education has always been of high importance to our family. Two years ago there were many colleges and universities which we had never heard of. We would have never considered some of these schools as realistic options for our college-bound daughter had it not been for the valuable guidance we received from Barbara. Our daughter is just finishing her first semester and we can honestly say that her school fits her like a glove. The assessments and advice that Barbara’s service provided us in finding an optimal fit for our child was invaluable. Our daughter is happy, productive, successful, and engaged in her school. We began the process of the college search in her sophomore year of high school. It was not too early to begin. The process was not only interesting, but essentially pain-free. (Having gone through the procedure twice before, we can honestly say that although we may have done more work with our third child, it was certainly less stressful.) We had preconceived ideas of what a good school for our daughter might be, however, there were many things which we overlooked. We learned the importance of finding a good fit for our child instead of just finding what we thought was a good school for her. In the end, we discovered there were multiple schools that would have been good choices for our family. (Although today, our daughter claims her choice was the only one for her!) We are indebted to Barbara for helping us through this confusing and often stressful process.”

“The college application process is truly a daunting task. Additional anxiety is created when your child aspires acceptance into a selective school. The competition is keenly cutthroat and the student and his/her parents are absolutely clueless how to navigate the vagaries of this process. Barbara Pasalis brings reason, compassion and valued experience to this intimidating course of action. Protecting the parents from the role of policeman or taskmaster, Barbara sets reasonable expectations and necessary deadlines for your child. She manages to keep the student on a steady and timely track and redirects them on tasks where appropriate. Barbara’s services are invaluable in making an overwhelming activity not only manageable but winnable. My wife and I recognize the true value of the investment we made for our son in accepting Barbara’s services.”

“We knew our son was going to go to college, but we had no idea how to answer the question of where he would be happiest and have the best chance of succeeding academically, socially, and emotionally. Barbara assessed his strengths and weaknesses objectively, and gave all of us invaluable perspective, and direction, as we narrowed the long list of potential schools to one of those that offered the best fit. Through Barbara’s diagnostic tests we learned more about our son than we had in two years of working with his high school counselor. Northcoast Educational Consulting explains the college application process in a way that is clear, approachable, and, most of all, manageable. They empower the student and inform the parents. Our working relationship with our son was enhanced, and the college journey was fulfilling and enlightening for all of us because we retained Barbara and Northcoast Educational Consulting.”

“Barbara Pasalis started working with our son, Michael, at the conclusion of his sophomore year. My only regret is that we did not retain Barbara sooner. She was extremely helpful during each phase of Michael’s college search, in the college application process, and when the time came for him to make his final decision on where to attend college. Not only did Barbara do a great job helping our son to focus and think through the college selection and application process, she also gained his confidence, and he was very receptive to her advice at various important decision points along the way. And, as we all know, there are times when our children are more willing to listen to the advice of a respected third party than that of their parents. My recommendation of Barbara Pasalis is unqualified, and I would be happy to speak with anyone who would like to hear more about the very productive and pleasant experience we had with her.”

“Northcoast Educational Consulting worked in conjunction with my two children’s high school college counselors, providing us with necessary organization and structure plus enlightening us with the small details that would have otherwise been passed over. Assistance with applications and essay writing were key ingredients of the process and resulted in a 100% success rate of acceptances from their top four schools. The ultimate school selection process was relatively easy due to Northcoast’s guidance, and they are now both thriving in college and on track to graduate in four years. What more can a parent ask for?”

“Barbara Pasalis has done an exceptional job for our two graduating seniors. Both children ended up at schools that are perfect for them-and schools that we had not considered before working with Barbara. Further we were able to get scholarships totaling over $30,000 per year. While the monies are significant, her direction to appropriate schools was far more important.”

“Simply said, working with Mrs. Barbara Pasalis was one of the best decisions that my parents and I could have made during my college application process. I had high inspirations to become a doctor, and I decided to apply for highly competitive medical programs. Mrs. Pasalis gave me the tools to help organize myself and apply to all thirteen colleges easily. Her methods and application processes were highly efficient and made the exhausting college application process much, much easier. I was an outstanding student in high school but in the modern world of college, gaining admission is highly competitive. Mrs. Pasalis helped me stand out from my peers and get into a medical program where only twelve students are accepted.

Thanks to Mrs. Pasalis, I no longer have to apply to medical school or pay for any tuition, books, or fees, which is an incredible relief for both the short and the long term. Without any reservations, I recommend Mrs. Pasalis to any student looking to continue his or her education in a good school. One cannot place a value on success, and working alongside Mrs. Pasalis was money extremely well spent.”

“We are parents who could have never imagined a few years ago needing a college consultant to help us and our son with the college selection and admission process. I have helped businesses through a variety of transactions in my professional life, and my wife was also in business for many years, however none of that prepared us for the college journey! Barb quickly developed a great relationship with our son, and learned what he was like and what colleges might be a good fit for him. She did not just tell him what he wanted to hear, but what made sense based on her evaluation.

Barb was available whenever we needed her throughout the process, from beginning to end. She helped educate us, listened to our son’s feedback from the college visits, and counseled us on what the next steps were. I was particularly impressed how she handled certain issues one-on-one with our son, and others with all of us when appropriate. I cannot express how valuable her input was. She filled in many of the gaps in knowledge that remained even after doing much research and reading. She made sure he knew about and made all of the important deadlines, and provided her own personal insight. Based on his first half year in college, clearly he chose the right college! I would highly recommend that parents of college-bound students consider Barb’s program.”

“As parents of a daughter so completely invested in pursuit of advanced education, the task of guiding her college search was overwhelming! The available colleges are diverse in so many ways and the best fit for the child requires, as we learned from Barbara, a methodical process designed with reason and clear purpose. Of the many investments that a parent makes in raising a child and educating them, I count our investment in Barbara’s services as being eminently the best! We assumed the “sidelines” and watched a professional unfold and help define our daughter’s learning style, passion, and realistic goals. She developed rapport and trust with her quickly. She reviewed her high school curriculum and guided her with respect to how best to enhance her present educational experience. The expectations of the student in terms of learning about and developing a “feel” for the colleges were clearly articulated and aggressively facilitated.

In conclusion, we feel indebted to her exceptionally rendered professional services and view them as being key to facilitating our daughter’s transition from being a high schooler to a soon to be freshman at college.”