The Palladis process

What does working with Palladis look like?

Here’s a walkthrough of the process from the first conversation to the moment a student accepts an offer.

1. The initial consult

Every engagement starts with a complimentary initial consult. This 30-minute conversation gives you a sense of how I work and gives me a chance to learn about your student’s interests, goals, and academic background. I answer your questions about timing, competitiveness, profile building, and principal/alternate programs.

By the end of the consult, you’ll have a real picture of what working together looks like, including a ballpark sense of program pricing. I share pricing early because families deserve to make this decision with full information. Always ask for cost in the initial conversation.

2. The Kick-Start (discovery phase)

The Kick-Start is the discovery phase. It functions as a complete offering for clients who want all the expertise before they find themselves in an admissions cycle. This is where I do the work of understanding a student and building a strategy that reflects who they actually are. Families and students will talk with me about nearly every nuance of the admissions process and I offer space for exploration, asking tons of questions, and finding the most informed decision to be made. We do the Kick-Start one time in grade 9-11, then check in on how the plan is going throughout the year. The Kick-Start also applies to university students planning for another degree.

Some families choose to complete the Kick-Start and handle the rest of the process on their own. Others move directly into the Palladis Package once the strategy is set.

3. The Palladis Package (full admissions phase)

The Palladis Package launches seamlessly from the strategy we build in the Kick-Start once the admissions cycle begins. There’s no lag or restart, and no second discovery phase. We simply keep moving into the application phase itself.

This phase covers essay development, application building, and the detailed organization that represent an excellent application. Once we meet our internal deadlines for submission, we move to interview preparation and the maintenance work that carries a student through waitlist and offer strategy.

I stay with students through the entire arc as one continuous engagement. The person who helped build the school list in the Kick-Start is the same person reviewing your essays and prepping you for interviews months later. How do I know during interview prep to suggest an answer might be more impactful if a student includes a very specific volunteering experience? Because I helped them build the activity list they submitted for their application, and we talked extensively about what that experience meant to them. Every part of my process fuels the next.

How long this process takes

Timing depends on where a student is in their education since I work with both high school students preparing for undergraduate admissions and university students preparing for graduate or professional programs.

For high school students, the Kick-Start can begin at any point in high school. Families who start earlier, in grades 9 or 10, use the longer runway to build a stronger extracurricular profile and a more thoughtful course plan before the timeline gets tight. Families who start later, in grade 11 or the summer before grade 12, still get the full value of the Kick-Start, with a more compressed window before applications open. Most high school engagements move through the Kick-Start over four to six weeks. The Palladis Package takes anywhere from 6-8months, from opening applications to offer strategy.

For university students, engagement can begin at any point as well, whether a student is early in their degree and planning ahead, or already deep into the process and preparing to apply. The Kick-Start and Palladis Package structure stay the same. Only the surrounding academic calendar and specific deadlines shift to match graduate, professional, or transfer timelines.

What this process costs

I don’t publish exact figures on this page because pricing depends on scope and timing, and I will review costs transparently in the consult. A few things to think on:

Palladis costs far less than the mistakes an unguided admissions process can produce. A missed deadline, a mismatched school list, or a rushed application can cost a student more than a consulting fee would, sometimes in the form of a wasted year or a transfer from a school that never fit. Plus, the costs of missed opportunities in the form of scholarships and program fit/networking opportunities really can add up.

I also do scholarship work as part of my practice, and I look for scholarship opportunities that fit a student’s profile throughout our engagement.

I want to work with families who are a good fit for what I offer. I’m happy to talk through options directly in the consult or over email.

– Sarah, 17 Jul. 2026