Jamie Berger
A Highly Acclaimed College Admissions Counselor in New England
A Veteran College Admissions Expert in Massachusetts
Jamie Berger is a college admissions consultant based in Western Massachusetts, focused on helping students and families through their college application journey. He assists students in applying to highly selective colleges across the U.S. and beyond, with special expertise on liberal arts colleges and universities in the Northeast.
An Experienced Mentor and Guide
After working since the 90s as everything from prep-school and college instructor, test-prep and writing tutor, academic and executive function coach, and Common Application essay consultant, since 2016, Jamie has focused on working with high-school juniors and seniors on all aspects of the college admissions process. His views on the admissions process recently have appeared in Politico and The New York Times.
A Holistic Approach
Jamie mentors his students not only to gain admission to great colleges and universities, but also to address the larger picture of why they’re writing all those essays, taking all those tests, applying to all those schools. Beyond prestige and college rankings, Jamie helps applicants find the best college fit: the best size, geographic, academic, cultural, and social environment to successfully and happily attain their goals in college and beyond. He helps applicants and parents communicate their needs, ambitions, and limitations, which leads to great applications and successful outcomes.
Services
Jamie provides a full range of college admissions advising, working with students in the US and around the world to identify and gain admissions to colleges and universities in the US. Jamie is especially familiar with the high quality colleges and universities in New England and the Mid-Atlantic regions, though his students have found educational success all around the country.
A Great Record of College Admissions Success
Helping clients gain acceptance to their top choice schools, Jamie’s recent clients have been admitted to Yale, Williams, the University of Chicago, Barnard, MIT, and other extremely selective schools. Other clients this past year have been accepted to their first choice schools, including the University of California, the University of California, Tulane, Boston College, Oberlin, Colby College, and the University of Michigan. Jamie also takes pride in helping families find excellent match schools that are often overlooked. He has a long record of helping families build great college lists that have them choosing a perfect fit at the end of the process.
Education
- Columbia University, BA, English, 1986
- City College of New York, MA, English, 1992
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, MFA, Creative Writing, 2010
- Certificate: Columbia University Teachers College College Advising Program
Professional Associations
Jamie is a member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA), and a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC).
Personal
Jamie has made his way in life, from Albany, New York, to New York City, to San Francisco, to the tiny town of Turners Falls, Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife, dogs, and cat. His interests range from arts and culture of all sorts, to podcasts and podcasting, to NBA basketball. He currently coaches the gritty middle-school Otters basketball team at Four Rivers Charter School in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
If you want the best college admissions counselor in Massachusetts and New England, please complete our contact form or call 720.279.7577.
TESTIMONIALS
“The most obvious service that Jamie did for Irving was helping him focus on the writing of a well-crafted, well thought-out admissions essay. But the bigger, more subtle thing Jamie did was help my son figure out what it is he wanted from a college, what he thought that college could do for him, and what he imagined that relationship would look like. The result was my son was enthusiastically accepted by his top pick. A smart, kind and clever dude. Perfect fit for my kid.”
"Not only did Jamie and his compassionate and gentle—yet coaxing—approach greatly reduce the stress for my daughter (and all of us at home) surrounding the college application process, their regularly scheduled meetings encouraged her to consistently work on the essays and to embrace the revision process. Jamie’s thoughtful questions, advice, and guidance led my daughter to writing well-written essays that reflected who she is and which helped get her into her top-reach school, Barnard College. We look forward to working with Jamie again when our son begins this process."
"Jamie helped me understand the subtleties of the college admissions process and what would strengthen my application. The most valuable thing that Jamie did was assist me in the language arts; under his guidance, my essay materialized out of a collection of notes. Without Jamie—and his knowledge of the process and care for my future—I would not be in the position I am in today."