What College Advisor does

College Advisor (legal entity USN College Advisor, Inc.) is a Chicago-based, fully-remote education services company founded in 2019 that delivers personalized college admissions advising to high school students and their families. The company's core offering is a tiered set of annual subscription programs aligned to grade level (9th/10th, 11th, 12th), plus a graduate-level MBA program, supported by add-on modules including essay editing, interview preparation, application dress rehearsals, and on-demand webinars. The service is delivered through a network of 300+ former admissions officers and admissions experts matched to students based on profile and target schools, and is augmented by a free student web portal integrated with U.S. News & World Report college data covering tuition, acceptance rates, and rankings. A free Scholars Program extends comprehensive advising to high-achieving, lower-income, and first-generation students.

College Advisor operates a sales-led, direct-to-consumer model with content marketing, SEO, webinars, and Trustpilot social proof as primary acquisition channels; pricing is positioned below competitors to maximize accessibility but is not publicly disclosed. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. News & World Report following its February 2023 acquisition, and has subsequently acquired TeenLife (August 2024) and Sups (June 2025) to expand into experiential learning and adjacent student services for grades 7-12. As of the most recent data, College Advisor has guided 10,000+ families through the admissions process, reports customers are 4.4x more likely to gain acceptance to a Top-25 college (Class of 2024), and serves students in 70+ countries applying to U.S. universities.

Name

College Advisor

Legal name

USN College Advisor, Inc.

Website

https://collegeadvisor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

College Advisor delivers personalized college admissions advising to high school students and families through tiered subscription programs, a 300+ advisor network of former admissions officers, and a web portal integrated with U.S. News & World Report data.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

College Admissions Advising Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Undergraduate (First-Year) Admissions Counseling (EDANAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

College Application, Admissions & Essay Coaching (EDAMAKAE), Personal Statement / Essay / Supplemental Writing Support (EDANAEAF), Graduate & Professional School Admissions Counseling (MBA/MD/JD/MS) (EDANAEAD)

Keywords

• College admissions advising
• College counseling services
• Admissions consulting
• College application help
• MBA admissions advising

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. College Advising Packages: Tiered subscription-based college admissions advising packages ranging from 9th/10th grade programs through 12th grade programs, plus MBA programs. Packages include personalized advisor matching, one-on-one video sessions, essay review, interview prep, and application dress rehearsals. Price points are positioned lower than competitors to increase accessibility.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

College Advisor delivers personalized 1-on-1 college admissions advising through grade-level subscription programs (9th/10th, 11th, 12th) plus an MBA program and a free Scholars Program. Services are delivered by a network of 300+ former admissions officers and admissions experts, and supported by a Student Web Portal, essay editing packages, interview prep, and application dress rehearsals integrated with U.S. News & World Report college data.

Product overview

CollegeAdvisor offers a suite of personalized college admissions advising services centered around a network of 300+ former Admissions Officers and Admissions Experts. The core product is organized into grade-level programs (9th/10th, 11th, 12th) plus an MBA Program, with add-on services including Essay Editing Packages, Essay Guides for 60+ schools, a Student Web Portal for application tracking, 500+ on-demand webinars, Essay Review Team, Interview Prep Team, and Application Dress Rehearsals. A free Scholars Program provides comprehensive advising to high-achieving students with financial need.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Scholars Program: Free comprehensive college advising program for high-achieving students with demonstrated financial need, often first-generation college applicants.

Products and services

• 9th & 10th Grade Program A personalized advising program for 9th and 10th grade students focused on early strategic planning for college admissions, including high school class selection, testing strategy, and extracurricular planning.
• 11th Grade Program A junior-year focused advising program that helps students build school lists, identify extracurricular opportunities, choose essay topics, and develop testing strategies.
• 12th Grade Program A senior-year advising program that assists with finalizing school lists, building admissions timelines, drafting and editing essays, and managing the application submission process.
• Essay Editing Packages Add-on essay editing and review services that provide targeted feedback for college application essays.
• MBA Program Specialized admissions advising program for students applying to MBA programs, including application strategy, essay writing, and interview preparation.
• Scholars Program A free college advising program for high-achieving students with demonstrated financial need, providing comprehensive admissions support including essay development, interview preparation, and college list finalization.
• Student Web Portal A free web application that allows students to organize applications, upload essays, track deadlines, build college lists, and explore extracurricular opportunities, integrated with advising services and U.S. News college data.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.4x more likely to gain acceptance to Top-25 college (Class of 2024)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• TeenLifeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 August 2024U.S. News acquired TeenLife, an online platform providing experiential learning opportunities for students in grades 7-12. TeenLife is now integrated with CollegeAdvisor through the U.S. News family, expanding resources for students including summer programs and experiential learning opportunities.
• U.S. News & World ReportcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 February 2023U.S. News & World Report acquired CollegeAdvisor.com in February 2023. The partnership provides CollegeAdvisor with direct access to U.S. News's trusted college data, rankings, and journalism. CollegeAdvisor is powered by U.S. News, integrating nearly 40 years of college rankings and school data into its advising platform.
• National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollegeAdvisor partners with NSHSS for co-marketing and referral of college advising services to high school students.
• HOSAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) for student referrals and college advising services.
• TeenLifeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSummer programs and experiential learning opportunities resource partner linked from CollegeAdvisor website.
• PolygenceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerResearch programs partner providing supplemental educational opportunities for students.
• FastwebminorGTM or Marketing PartnerScholarship search partner linked on CollegeAdvisor resources page.
• MagooshminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTest preparation partner for SAT/ACT prep services.
• College ConfidentialminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollege admissions community forum partner for resource sharing.
• CollegeXpressminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollege search and exploration resource partner.
• AdmitSeeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollege application data and insights partner.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PrepScholar: PrepScholar offers personalized college admissions and test prep programs with adaptive learning technology and 1-on-1 tutoring — the closest direct competitor in personalized college advising with subscription programs for high school students.
• IvyWise: IvyWise is a private college admissions consulting firm offering 1-on-1 counseling, test prep, and essay editing with former admissions officers — a direct competitor in the premium admissions counseling segment.
• Admissionado: Admissionado provides premium 1-on-1 admissions consulting for undergraduate and graduate applicants with consultants from top schools — directly competes in the personalized, paid advising category.
• Top Tier Admissions: Top Tier Admissions is a boutique admissions consultancy with former admissions officers providing personalized application strategy — directly competes for the same elite-bound high school student segment.

Emerging players

• Empowerly: Empowerly combines AI-driven college matching with human mentorship from former admissions officers, targeting a similar student demographic with a tech-enabled, lower-priced advising model.
• Magoosh: Magoosh provides online test prep for SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT and is a CollegeAdvisor GTM partner — adjacent in the admissions preparation journey with overlapping customer base.

Broad incumbents

• The Princeton Review: The Princeton Review is a broad incumbent in test prep and college admissions offering tutoring, courses, and admissions counseling — overlaps with CollegeAdvisor's services as part of a wider portfolio.
• Kaplan: Kaplan offers test prep, admissions consulting, and college planning services as part of a broad education portfolio — a broad incumbent competing across multiple of CollegeAdvisor's service lines.

Others

• College Confidential: College Confidential operates a large college admissions community forum and resource library — a content/community peer that monetizes through advertising rather than advising, but serves overlapping student audiences.

Regional players

• Crimson Education: Crimson Education is a New Zealand-based global admissions consultancy with strong presence in Asia-Pacific markets — competes with CollegeAdvisor's international student segment but operates primarily outside the U.S.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_collegeadvisor

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about College Advisor