Top College Consultants

What Top College Consultants does

Top College Consultants is a privately-held, founder-owned educational consulting firm headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, founded in 2017 by Dr. Eric Endlich, Ph.D. The firm provides personalized college and graduate school admissions guidance, with a stated specialization in supporting neurodivergent students, including those with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia. Its core offering is end-to-end admissions consulting covering school selection, application completion, essay editing, and financial aid applications, supplemented by test preparation services delivered through a partnership with Next Step Prep and an academic coaching service line focused on executive functioning.

The business operates on a professional services model, charging undisclosed project-based fees for personalized engagements. It employs approximately seven staff alongside a broader team of named consultants, and intentionally limits the number of students accepted per application cycle to maintain service quality. The company does not use proprietary technology; rather, its primary intangible asset is a curated, sortable database of approximately 250 neurodiversity-friendly colleges with detailed program information.

Top College Consultants reaches prospective families through a multi-channel marketing approach that includes a content blog, YouTube videos, a free newsletter, social media presence across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Yelp, and recurring contributor placements in Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, National Autism Academy, College Confidential, and College Xpress. The founder and team also speak at industry events including NACAC conferences and learning differences nonprofit forums. The firm has no institutional investors, no disclosed funding history, and operates as an independent service business.

Name

Top College Consultants

Legal name

Top College Consultants

Website

https://topcollegeconsultants.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Top College Consultants is a Walnut Creek, California-based private consulting firm that provides personalized college and graduate school admissions guidance, with a specialization in supporting neurodivergent students including those with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia. The 7-person team serves individual students and families worldwide on a project basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Consulting Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Personal Statement / Essay / Supplemental Writing Support (EDANAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Financial Aid, Scholarships & FAFSA/CSS Profile Support (EDANAEAI), ADHD/Executive Function & Organization Coaching (Academic) (EDANAFAC)

Keywords

• College admissions consulting
• Graduate school admissions
• Neurodiversity college guidance
• Learning differences advising
• Academic coaching services

Headquarters

HQ city

Walnut Creek

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. College & Graduate School Admissions Consulting: Professional consulting services guiding students through the college and graduate school application process, including school selection, application completion, essay writing, and financial aid applications. Services tailored to each family's situation with personalized attention.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Top College Consultants provides personalized, one-on-one college and graduate school admissions consulting, guiding students through school selection, application completion, essay writing, and financial aid applications. The firm specializes in supporting neurodivergent students, including those with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia, and complements its core consulting with test prep coordination and academic coaching. Services are delivered by a small team of consultants under founder Dr. Eric Endlich, with limited per-cycle enrollment to preserve individualized attention.

Product overview

Top College Consultants offers a suite of college and graduate school admissions consulting services delivered through personalized human guidance. The core offering is College & Grad School Admissions Consulting, which provides end-to-end support including school selection, application assistance, essay editing, and financial aid guidance. This is supplemented by Test Prep Services (offered through a partnership with Next Step Prep) and Academic Coaching for executive functioning support. The company specializes in serving neurodivergent students, including those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning differences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• College & Grad School Admissions Consulting Personalized, one-on-one consulting that guides students through school selection, application completion, essay writing, and financial aid applications. The service specializes in supporting neurodivergent students, including those with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia, with limited per-cycle enrollment to preserve individualized attention.
• Test Prep Services Standardized test preparation for the SAT and ACT, delivered through a partnership with Next Step Prep (Jonah Fishel), with particular focus on accommodations for students with learning differences.
• Academic Coaching Executive functioning support covering organization, planning, and time management to help students develop skills needed for academic success in college.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students accepted to over 110 schools including elite universities like UC Berkeley, University of Michigan
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Next Step Prep (Jonah Fishel)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTest preparation partner providing tutoring services for students with learning differences. Jonah Fishel is Owner-Operator and contributes guest blog posts on test prep topics including SAT/ACT accommodations and digital test navigation.
• Let's Talk LDminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNonprofit organization in the learning differences space; featured speaker opportunity at their 2020 conference
• ForbesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerContributing expert content to Forbes magazine on college admissions topics
• U.S. News & World ReportminorGTM or Marketing PartnerContributing expert content on college admissions for students with disabilities

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• IvyWise: IvyWise is a high-end college admissions consulting firm offering personalized counseling on applications, essays, and test prep to students worldwide. Comparable to TCC in offering fee-based 1:1 admissions guidance with a published expert team and selective client rosters.
• College Coach: College Coach provides individualized college admissions consulting with former admissions officers as counselors, serving students across the US and internationally. Similar delivery model (personalized consulting), similar target audience (families paying for premium admissions help).
• Empowerly: Empowerly is a college admissions counseling provider combining human counselors with software tools, including support for essay editing and extracurricular strategy. Comparable in offering tiered admissions packages and leveraging technology alongside consultant expertise.
• AcceptU: AcceptU delivers 1:1 college admissions consulting with former admissions officers, focusing on holistic and edge-case applicants including students with learning differences. Closely comparable: similar fee structure, similar emphasis on personalized counseling, similar outcome-based marketing.
• Cardinal Education: Cardinal Education offers private admissions counseling, tutoring, and test prep with a strong bench of consultants (including former Ivy League admissions readers). Comparable in operating personalized 1:1 admissions consulting for high-achieving students with packaged services.
• WiseWise / Prep Expert: Prep Expert offers college admissions consulting and standardized test prep with personalized packages. Operates a similar model of paid 1:1 admissions guidance plus prep, targeting similar income-tier families seeking premium counseling.

Broad incumbents

• PrepScholar: PrepScholar is a large test prep and admissions platform offering self-paced courses plus admissions counseling packages. Overlaps with TCC on the admissions consulting and essay support side but operates at much greater scale, with broader test prep content serving a mass market.
• College Confidential: College Confidential is the largest online college admissions community and resource hub, also publishing articles by expert contributors including the TCC founder. Overlaps in editorial content and audience reach but competes primarily on community/Q&A rather than fee-based 1:1 consulting.

Emerging players

• CollegeVine: CollegeVine (now Vinaya) provides AI-enabled admissions advising, essay review, and chancing tools, with some human advisor offerings. Comparable on admissions guidance and essay support, but anchored in software/AI rather than fully human-led consulting.

Others

• Next Step Prep: Next Step Prep is a test prep provider specializing in standardized test accommodations for students with learning differences, partnered with TCC for test prep delivery. Comparable as an allied service provider in the same neurodivergent-student niche rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC8vFhAYtle1M5FTATrubAAA
• Facebookfacebook.com/TopCollegeConsultants
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/top-college-consultants
• Instagraminstagram.com/topcollegeconsultants

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Top College Consultants