Your Future is Our Mission!

Your Future is Our Mission!

Your Future is Our Mission!

Independent College Counseling

Your Future Is Our Mission!

University Prep ensures our students are provided individualized and personalized attention in order to navigate the complex world of the college application process. With a strategic and data driven approach, University Prep is aimed at maximizing the potential of college bound seniors. 

By identifying best fit institutions, developing a systematic plan, and executing in a timely manner, our mission is to help students gain admission into the university of their choice while maximizing their financial package upon acceptance. 

Upon completion of our program, students will have built an application profile that is able to compete for placements at the top universities in the United States. Let our expert college consulting ease the stress on you and your family!

Take the University Prep Test

Before taking the next step, let’s see if you’re a good fit for our college preparation services. If you pass our test below, you just might be in need of our help! 

  • Are you an academically high performing 11th or 12th grader with limited access to a professional college counselor?
  • Have you set a goal to gain admission into a university ranked in the top 50 in the United States?
  • Are you interested in maximizing your financial package opportunities at a university?
  • Would you like to develop a university application profile that is competitive with other top students in the world?

Did you answer “Yes” to one or all of the above questions? Consider partnering with University Prep to guide you with your college application process.

Data on College Counseling and Acceptance Rates

480 to 1

The average American public high school guidance counselor to student ratio

9% Acceptance Rate

The combined acceptance
rate from the top 20
universities in the US

38 minutes is not enough

The average time a high
school student spends on
college counseling each year

Our Conclusive Findings

The majority of high achieving public high school students are under serviced and under prepared in the area of college counseling before applying for admission to the most competitive and selective universities in the nation. 

A 2018 nationwide survey of high school seniors who scored at the 70th percentile or higher on the SAT or ACT concluded that 30% of these students worked with an independent college counselor. 

38 minutes of preparation time with a college counselor is not enough! Taking the time and resources to invest in your university application process early on can pay huge dividends when acceptance letters are sent in March and April.

Services at University Prep

As distance learning and school adjustments have left students with even less access to their guidance counselor, we are here to help high achieving students and their families navigate the complex and increasingly more competitive world of the university application process. 

What’s Included with University Prep Package

As a University Prep client, you will work with an experienced college counseling professional and have access to the following benefits:

 

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Personalized, individualized, and strategic service

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Financial Planning (scholarship search, FAFSA)

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Essay revision and ACT/SAT planning

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Mock Interviews (Simulated Q and A session)

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Remote/Hybrid Options for International Schools:

As veteran administrators of several K-12 international schools, we fully understand the challenging and complex matrix of hiring for specialized positions in schools with small student populations. The combination of limited enrollment numbers plus tight budgets can present unique hiring needs for schools under 300 students. As a result, small school administrators are often tasked with the challenge of finding teachers and specialists who can fill multiple roles and subjects within their schools. By partnering with University Prep, our model gives administrators the flexibility of staffing the counseling office with both local and foriegn hired faculty. In short, our hybrid/remote program offers the asset of a high impact American based college counseling program without the high costs associated with hiring a full-time international K-12 school counselor by providing the following:

  • Our hybrid model includes one University Prep counselor spending a full week on campus at the beginning of the 1st semester. This allows for in-person presentations to senior parents and students as a group followed by the initial individual student meetings in a live format with each family.
  • All subsequent student meetings are held in a remote capacity. A full package program includes twelve (12) individualized virtual meetings for each 12th grader between September and December.
  • We contract directly with the international school. University Prep works for the school and it is important for us to be seen as a part of the school and be able to build relationships with various stakeholders on campus. The individual remote sessions take place during the school day with the students on campus (assuming your school is in live mode). Actual meeting times would be built around your students’ academic schedule.
  • Package pricing for the school is a flat fee for the 1st semester based on the number of registered full package students. Included in the flat fee is a roundtrip airfare and basic hotel lodgings for 5 nights for one University Prep counselor. The airfare and hotel fee is dependent on geographical regions and determined by real time industry averages. Significant discounts are available (compared to our domestic per student package pricing) for schools registering multiple students!
  • We offer a remote class during the 2nd semester to 11th graders. This “College Prep” class covers all of the preliminary information, processes, planning, and procedures before the application season in 12th grade. The class is delivered in group format and scheduled during an available block for the 11th graders during the school day. Because the virtual class is streamlined for the group and delivered as a traditional “class”, as opposed to individualized 1-on-1 sessions, this option is significantly more economical than our 1st semester work with 12th graders.
  • With over 30 years of college counseling experience between our counselors, University Prep has contacts at universities all over North America. Our program is designed to maximize the students’ results by optimizing each element of the application process through a strategic, intentional, and methodical process.

Fees: Packages for 2022 graduates (local/domestic) starting at $1750 per student. Includes 12 individualized sessions starting in April 2021 and ending in January 2022.

University Prep Founder and Counselor: Josh Centra

Josh Centra
Josh Centra spent fourteen years in private international schools across the globe and two years in public education in Sioux Falls, SD. For the last six years of his career, he served as an administrator in Venezuela, with his last position being the interim superintendent at Colegio Internacional de Caracas in 2018-19. 

Previous to his arrival in Venezuela, Josh served at international schools in Jamaica, Croatia, and South Korea. With a M.S. degree in school counseling from SDSU and an Ed.S in educational administration from USD, Josh has held virtually every position in the realm of K-12 education.

From counselor, teacher, assistant administrator, principal, to superintendent, Josh has developed both a macro and micro perspective of education. His first passion in education was college counseling for high school students and that passion remained an interest area throughout his career. 

Over the course of the last 16 years, Josh has assisted hundreds of students obtain admission into some of the most prestigious universities in the nation. After returning to Sioux Falls in 2019, he founded University Prep with a goal to help local students from the Sioux Falls area maximize their opportunities upon graduation. 

Future

Contact University Prep

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Telephone:

(605) 310-4888

Address:

Address: 5709 S Remington Pl, Sioux Falls, SD 57108

Free Consultation Form

Congratulations! You’re taking an important first step in determining how to increase your chances of admission into the top colleges and universities in the nation. Please complete the form below in order to request a free consultation with an expert independent college counselor. We’ll review your information and reach out to you.