The Bertram Group

What The Bertram Group does

The Bertram Group is a privately held educational consulting firm founded in 1994 and headquartered in Westport, Connecticut. The firm provides personalized advising to families across the full educational continuum, from kindergarten through graduate school, with four core service lines: Traditional School Advising (boarding schools, day schools, junior boarding schools), Non-Traditional School Advising (therapeutic placements, wilderness programs, residential treatment, young adult transition), College & Graduate School Advising, and Career & Life Coaching. TBG deliberately caps the number of families served at any one time in order to deliver individualized attention from specialist consultants, several of whom are former admissions directors and deans at elite secondary schools and Columbia Business School.

The firm operates as a direct-to-consumer professional services business, acquiring clients through referrals from educational institutions, clinical professionals, and professional networks, and through content marketing (a blog, webinars, podcasts, and an email newsletter). Pricing is quote-based and governed by individual service agreements; no public pricing or revenue is disclosed. The firm maintains active membership in nine industry bodies including IECA, NACAC, HECA, TABS, SBSA, NATSAP, and ISAAGNY, and has earned third-party validation including the 2024 Fortune Education top US boarding school advisor ranking and the 2026 SBSA Gorman Award.

The underlying business model is human-capital-intensive with no proprietary technology platform. TBG is HIPAA-compliant for the handling of health-related information in its therapeutic placements practice, and it serves both domestic and international families, including clients in the Bahamas and Hong Kong. The firm is independently owned, with no disclosed parent, institutional investors, or external funding rounds.

Name

The Bertram Group

Legal name

The Bertram Group

Website

https://thebertramgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Bertram Group is a privately held, Westport, Connecticut-based educational consulting firm founded in 1994 that delivers personalized school placement, college and graduate advising, therapeutic program placement, and career coaching directly to families nationwide and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Consulting

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

College & Career Counseling (Admissions, Scholarships, Pathways) (EDAJALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

School Counseling & Guidance Services (Academic/Social-Emotional) (EDAJALAF), School Counseling Services (Individual & Group) (EDAKAMAB), Family & Parent Support Services (Parent Coaching, Advocacy) (EDAJALAK), Specialized Homework Support & Academic Coaching (Remediation-Focused) (EDAKADAJ)

Keywords

• Educational consulting services
• Boarding school advising
• College admissions consulting
• Therapeutic school placement
• Career and life coaching

Headquarters

HQ city

Westport

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Educational Consulting Services: TBG provides educational consulting and advisory services to families seeking school placement and guidance. Fees are outlined in separate service agreements with families.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Bertram Group provides personalized educational consulting services to families seeking school placement and educational guidance for students from kindergarten through graduate school and beyond. Its core offerings are Traditional School Advising (boarding and day schools), Non-Traditional School Advising (therapeutic and at-risk student placements), College & Graduate School Advising, and Career & Life Coaching. Services are delivered by specialist consultants through direct engagement with families, including application strategy, essay review, interview preparation, and ongoing advocacy.

Product overview

The Bertram Group is an educational consulting firm that operates as a unified service offering rather than a software platform. Their core offering is personalized educational advisory services delivered through four interconnected service lines: Traditional School Advising (boarding schools, day schools, junior boarding schools), Non-Traditional School Advising (therapeutic placements and programs), College & Graduate School Advising, and Career & Life Coaching. Each service is led by specialized consultants who provide tailored guidance from kindergarten through career services, serving students with diverse learning profiles and global backgrounds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Traditional School Advising Educational consulting service helping families find the right fit with traditional schools including secondary boarding schools, junior boarding schools, and independent day schools. Services include application strategy, interview preparation, essay review, and advocacy with admissions officers. Targeted at families of students seeking placement in traditional private K-12 schools.
• Non-Traditional School Advising Therapeutic advising services for families whose children struggle with depression, anxiety, and other at-risk circumstances. Includes assessment programs, therapeutic placements, wilderness programs, residential treatment centers, and young adult transition programs. Targeted at families of adolescents needing therapeutic educational placements.
• College & Graduate School Advising Comprehensive college and graduate school admission consulting including coursework guidance, summer program selection, college list creation, application essay editing, mock interviews, recommendation letter support, and timeline management for undergraduate and graduate programs. Targeted at high school students and college graduates applying to undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs.
• Career & Life Coaching Coaching service for young adults to help them reflect on experiences, connect with professionals in their field, and navigate their career journey. Includes identifying strengths, interests, and values intersection, communication skills practice, resume and LinkedIn profile building, and mock interviews. Targeted at young adults entering or transitioning within the workforce.

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)coreOthersProfessional membership organization for college admission professionals. TBG displays NACAC affiliation as part of their professional credentials and trusted standing in the education community.
• Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA)coreOthersProfessional organization for higher education consultants. TBG consultants are members, demonstrating professional expertise in college admissions consulting.
• Therapeutic Consulting Association (TCA)coreOthersProfessional association for consultants specializing in therapeutic educational placements. TBG displays TCA affiliation for their non-traditional advising services.
• The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS)coreOthersProfessional organization representing boarding schools. TBG maintains affiliation for industry connections and knowledge sharing.
• Small Boarding School Association (SBSA)coreOthersOrganization focused on small boarding schools. TBG displays affiliation and has received the 2026 Gorman Award from SBSA.
• National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP)coreOthersProfessional organization for therapeutic schools and programs. TBG consultants are members for non-traditional placement services.
• ISAAGNY (Independent Schools Association of Greater New York)coreOthersRegional organization for independent school admissions in greater New York. TBG affiliates Deborah Arnowitz Ashe serves as Board Member and Co-Chair.
• The Enrollment Management AssociationcoreOthersOrganization supporting enrollment management professionals. TBG displays affiliation for professional credibility.
• Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA)coreOthersPremier professional organization for independent educational consultants. TBG partners are professional members, with Krissy Naspo serving on the Board and as Faculty for IECA's Summer Training Institute.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ivy Coach: Ivy Coach is a private admissions consulting firm offering counseling for college, graduate school, and boarding school applicants. It is comparable as a direct peer competing for the same affluent families on college and selective school admissions strategy, though it is more marketing-heavy and less differentiated on therapeutic placements.
• Top Tier Admissions: Top Tier Admissions is a private educational consulting firm providing college, boarding school, and graduate school admissions counseling. It is comparable as a direct peer operating with the same independent consultant model and serving similar affluent families navigating competitive admissions.
• Stratus Admissions Counselling: Stratus provides personalized college, graduate school, and boarding school admissions counseling led by former admissions officers. It is comparable as a direct peer with a similar boutique, expert-led model and overlapping service lines in K-12 and college advising.
• Cardinal Education: Cardinal Education offers admissions consulting, academic tutoring, and test prep with offices in multiple US regions. It is comparable as a direct peer with broader geographic coverage and a multi-service model that overlaps with TBG's traditional advising and academic coaching.
• PrepMaven: PrepMaven provides college admissions consulting and tutoring services led by former admissions officers from selective institutions. It is comparable as a direct peer with overlapping expert-driven admissions counseling and a similar boutique positioning serving competitive applicants.
• K&S Educational Consulting (formerly K&J Consulting): K&S Educational Consulting is a boutique college admissions and educational consulting firm serving students nationally. It is comparable as a direct peer operating with a similar independent consultant model focused on individualized advising for competitive applicants.

Broad incumbents

• Collegewise: Collegewise is one of the largest US college admissions consulting firms, offering counseling, test prep, and tutoring across many locations. It is comparable as a broader incumbent in the same admissions advising space but at larger scale and with a more distributed tutor model rather than TBG's senior-partner-led approach.
• Summit Educational Group: Summit Educational Group provides test prep, academic tutoring, and college admissions counseling across multiple US locations. It is comparable as a broader incumbent offering test prep and academic intervention services that overlap with TBG's academic coaching components.

Emerging players

• College Confidential: College Confidential is an online community and resource platform for college admissions with forums, articles, and fee-based counseling services. It is comparable as an adjacent/emerging player offering accessible admissions advice and some paid counseling that competes for the same families at lower price points.

Others

• Wyzant: Wyzant is an online marketplace connecting families with private tutors and test prep instructors. It is comparable as an adjacent/thematic peer in the broader private educational services ecosystem but operates as a platform intermediary rather than a hands-on admissions consultancy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TheBertramGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-bertram-group

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about The Bertram Group