Client Comments

• Chris is professional, organized, compassionate and a strong listener. Teenagers are notoriously resistant to authority but Chris's approach engaged my student in a substantive way. With his respectful approach, Chris encouraged my student to think in an independent and adult manner.

  ---Parent of a VERY happy student.

• When Chris Bell walks through the door, in comes sunshine! He brings his positive attitude and upbeat manner—along with a wealth of knowledge about every aspect of the college application/selection process. My son met with Chris regularly to go through a series of steps around self-knowledge and preferences, and then they started in on “the list.” Chris was there for me, too, to ask questions over the months—advising us about SAT re-takes, financial aid submittals, deadlines, essays, and much more. I highly recommend Chris Bell to guide your teen and family!

  Michelle Wolf

• I appreciated that you took the time to get to know (our kid) and celebrate him as a student and a person. You brought very positive energy to a process that is long and hard. You achieved a perfect balance of meaningfully supporting (the student) while still ensuring that he owned and drove the process and decisions. Working with you was money well spent and I will recommend you to others!

  -Happy Parent of Happy Student

• With my husband and I being very busy with our careers, we were worried about trying to take all of the right steps and helping our kids really think about choosing a college, writing essays, financial aid, and making sense of testing and how that factors in. We also did not want to make it a stressful experience and have nothing but arguments day in and day out about what needed to be done choosing a college. Quite frankly and now working with Chris I became painfully aware of everything that needs to be taken care of and considered. We would have never thought to have our kiddos complete assessment tests to help them find out which college (size, atmosphere, location, major) best suits their needs. Furthermore, he has resources that help the students try and perfect their incredibly important essays. I can't say enough how important Chris Bell has been to our family for the last 3 years. Thanks Chris!!

  -- Parent Comment

• I highly recommend working with Chris Bell with respect to the college application process. I really liked the fact that Chris worked with our entire family and he especially made my daughter feel at ease. She told me that Chris really listened to her preferences, and his process made it easy and fun for her to participate. I think his review process on the essay portion of the applications was especially helpful since this is a key differentiator for many schools. Chris was also extremely attentive to my interests and concerns as a parent of a college-bound student. I asked Chris to help me navigate the financial aid process since that will play a large part in where my child attends college.

  Alan Goodman

• (Our son) is in his 4th week of college and loving it. He really likes that he has a close relationship with his teachers due to small classroom and also has made a lot of friends as there are so many like minded kiddos. He really is flourishing and stoked to be there! I just wanted to say thank you again for all your hard work with him and by hard I mean the gentle nudges and just confidence boosting that you orchestrated in the most genuine way! His college is the perfect fit for him and I'm so glad he worked with you to find that school!!!!!

  -- message from a mother

• Hiring Chris Bell has been the best decision we have made to help our son navigate the college process. He has transformed the tedious process of finding a school into a fun, uplifting confidence building journey. His enthusiasm and dedication to the college counseling field gives him the expertise we were seeking in a counselor. Chris has given my son the motivation and confidence to work through a the college application process.

  Paula Kehoe (about her son)

• Working with Chris is the best decision we could have made for our family and son. From start to finish, the college search and application process has been calm and intentional. Our son has truly enjoyed his journey with Chris and the results, thus far, really demonstrate that Chris has a clear understanding of the current college admissions landscape. Chris is a wonderful human who you will want in your student's corner!

  Cindy Outlaw

• Chris takes an overwhelming, stressful process, demystifies it and breaks it down so that each piece feel manageable. Chris is unfailingly upbeat, supportive and compassionate, all while being an expert in the college search and application process. It also helps that the can be very funny. After every meeting, I could see my daughter feeling more relaxed and energized to do the next set of tasks.

  Emilie Young

• Working with Chris Bell was a blessing. Every week I had a meeting with him and it was something that I looked forward to every time. At the beginning we got to know each other and talked about my interests. After we got to know one another, he started helping me with the college search. Because of the help from Chris Bell I will be attending Kansas. This was a college that never came to mind for me and with his help he allowed me to find the college of my dreams.

  Griffin Tidstrom

• By the way, thanks again for everything you did with our kid. He is thriving at his college!

  -- Mother of a college freshman who worked with Chris

• You are wonderful, Chris. You are unfailingly positive and caring, and you are excellent at coaching young people through a tough, emotional time. Thank you!

  -- Parent of a happy student

• Chris cares about you as a high school student, college student, and person. He has your back in all of those areas which provides a very personal experience that left me feeling super confident in my college decision and happy with my admissions results. He makes the whole process feel less daunting by breaking it down step-by-step. Thanks for everything!

  -- happy student

• Chris is really fun to talk to and I looked forward to every meeting. After every meeting with Chris, I felt a lot more calm about the position I was in and what I needed to get done for next time.

  -- happy student

• Chris was very helpful throughout the whole process, and really took a lot of the stress off me.

  -- Student comment

• I did very much enjoy working with Chris. I would even go as far as to say I have become a better person from doing all of the YOU phase work.

  -- Student

• Our daughter was working with a college counselor who was the wrong fit and it was affecting her motivation and ability to choose the right college. We switched to Chris, and immediately her enthusiasm and confidence increased. His upbeat attitude and understanding of the college research process (which included fun games, personality tests, and resources) reduced her stress and helped her find the right fit. His ability to listen and ask great questions took the pressure off us as parents. We appreciate the time and energy he has invested in getting to know her and we highly recommend him.

  Paula Kehoe (about her daughter)

• The experience of working with Chris over the last few years, with two different kids preparing for college, has been absolutely amazing. The quality of his work is only matched by the quality of his character. We consider ourselves blessed to have found him. To highly recommend Chris just doesn't seem like enough. I would be happy to talk to any perspective parent looking for the assistance provided by Bell College Consulting. I can't thank you enough, Chris. I honestly couldn't imagine having managed this process without you.

  -- Parent Comment

• Our kid is having a fantastic time. He’s made a great group of friends. We’ve met their parents. Everything is going really well.   His college turned out to be a really good fit, friendly, collegial, academic, but not too academic. Thanks for guiding him to a good spot.

  -- Parent of a college freshman

• It was an absolute privilege to have Chris as Aradhana's counselor. His positive approach, constant encouragement, and expert guidance were instrumental throughout the entire process. We are immensely grateful for his dedication.

  Anand Rajasekar (parent, satisfied client)

• You went above and beyond the whole college search experience. really needed the structure and the flexible mindset. He was a unique client and took much more time than the average client, but you never failed to provide support time and time again. Your professional guidance made a world of difference and I don't know where we would be without your help. He considered schools he never would have considered and he is actually excited about the outcome. Thank you for reducing his anxiety around finding a school that would fit his high standards. He is hard to please and you greatly exceeded his expectations. He joked that he wanted you to take him on his college visit trip last month :)

  Elated client

• Chris has a unique, individualized process for getting to know the student well and determining the best fits for college choices. His input on applications and essays was extremely valuable, especially since we had many questions about the process. Chris' experience, knowledge, humor and support helped us in many ways. We always knew that Chris was on our student's team!

  Parent

• A formative experience that allowed for personal growth while also searching for and applying to colleges. Brought me much farther than I may have ever gotten on my own, very happy with the entire process.

  Caden Lau

• Chris was a complete professional, was very helpful and was a pleasure to work with.

  Parent

• Chris engaged our son in a positive way with intelligent insights and encouragement throughout. He was patient with us as parents as well. The list of school's my son applied to ended up being an embarrassment of riches as he got into eight of nine schools he applied to, ultimately leaving my son with a difficult, yet worthy final decision process. Chris exceeded our expectations in every way.

  Happy Parent

• BIGGEST TAKEAWAY: Chris Bell takes the stress and overwhelm out of the college process! His calm, relaxed approach puts everyone at ease while always putting your student's thoughts and desires in the forefront. Working with Chris was definitely the right choice for our family.

  Happy Parent

• I think that I found an incredible college that I likely would never have heard about on my own, and I think that the process was surprisingly fun, and easy enough.

  Super Happy Student

• Chris is wonderful to work with. I was helping my grandson apply to college and it was a great relief to have someone so knowledgeable and calming helping me. Chris is extremely personable, really knows the colleges/universities and is very flexible and accommodating. Can’t imagine a better person to have at your side when going through what can be a challenging process.

  Parent

• Worth every penny! Both my kids worked with Chris and we are happy with both their outcomes as he helped them get into “reach” schools. Chris helped my children figure out what they wanted in the next stage of their academic career and guided them to get there. Chris let them make their own decisions, but confidently supported them every step of the way. The support he provided allowed our family to enjoy our child’s senior year without the college search process taking over our lives.

  Parent of two students who worked with Chris

• Chris was amazing. Through my high school years I made sure I was set up to have a good shot getting into my dream school, only I didn't know what my dream school was. Chris helped me find my dream school, and then helped me work to get there. I could not have wished for a better outcome in my college process, or a less stressful experience. All the work Chris put in put my on the right track, however I still had to work hard and be involved to achieve my goals.

  Student

• Working with Chris helped me translate my hard work in school to my applications, so that I felt proud of what I was sending to colleges.

  Student

• The experience of working with Chris over the last few years, with two different kids preparing for college, has been absolutely amazing. The quality of his work is only matched by the quality of his character. We consider ourselves blessed to have found him. To highly recommend Chris just doesn't seem like enough. I would be happy to talk to any perspective parent looking for the assistance provided by Bell College Consulting. I can't thank you enough, Chris. I honestly couldn't imagine having managed this process without you.

  Happy Parent of 2