School First

What School First does

School First is a privately held, New York-based educational admissions consulting firm founded in 2018 that advises families on private school and college placement from preschool through college. The firm is led by Co-Presidents Linda K. Talton, M.Ed. (Founding President) and Wendy D. Wilkinson, M.Ed., each with 30+ years of experience as former admissions directors at independent schools including Sidwell Friends, Dalton, San Francisco Day School, National Cathedral School, and Grace Church School. Operations center on a distributed team of 13 named consultants, most of whom are former admissions or enrollment officers, serving families virtually across 20+ US cities plus international markets (Paris, Vienna, Singapore, Dubai).

The service portfolio is organized into three pillars: Pre-K-12 Services (private school admissions consulting from preschool through boarding school), College Services (tiered multi-year packages beginning in 9th grade and extending through 12th-grade application submission), and School Services (retained leadership searches, candidate placement, and enrollment-management consulting for independent schools). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; the funnel begins with a free 30-minute virtual consultation. The company claims 96% of students enroll in one of their top-two school choices and a Net Promoter Score in the Top-2-Box.

The business model is a direct-to-consumer professional services practice with no proprietary technology platform. Demand generation relies on a content-marketing engine (educational blog, free Independent School Admissions Workbook lead magnet, Instagram/LinkedIn/Facebook), referrals from past clients, and referrals from school counselors and administrators. School First is founder/management-owned with no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and no M&A history; the firm operates virtually with headquarters in New York and consultant presence across the Bay Area, Austin, and Washington, DC.

Name

School First

Legal name

School First NYC

Website

https://schoolfirstnyc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

School First is a New York-based educational admissions consulting firm that advises families on private school and college placement from preschool through college, staffed by former admissions directors and operating virtually across 20+ US cities and international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Consulting

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDANAEAA

Undergraduate (First-Year) Admissions Counseling

Education/Tutoring & Test Preparation/College Admissions Counseling & Application Support

Keywords

• Admissions consulting
• College admissions advising
• School placement services
• Enrollment management
• Private school consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Admissions Consulting - Family Services: School First charges families for personalized admissions consulting services spanning Pre-K through college. Services include one-on-one consultant engagement, application strategy, school list building, essay support, interview preparation, and advocacy. Services are structured into tiered packages: Introduction Package (9th grade, 1 year), Big Picture Package (10th-12th grade, 3 years), Smart Strategy Package (11th-12th grade, 2 years), and Expedited College Package (12th grade). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed on the website.
2. School Services - Retained Searches: School First provides retained leadership searches for schools hiring faculty, staff, and administrators. This includes screening resumes, vetting candidates, and matching candidates to school cultures. The firm also offers bespoke talent placement for hard-to-fill positions ('unicorn candidates'). Revenue is generated through consulting fees for these retained search engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

School First is an educational admissions consulting firm that helps families find the "best school fit" for their children from preschool through college, providing personalized one-on-one guidance on school selection, application strategy, essays, interviews, and decision-making. The firm also serves independent schools through Enrollment Services including admission process assessment, financial aid strategy, outplacement support, and retained leadership searches. Engagement begins with a complimentary 30-minute virtual consultation and proceeds through tiered multi-year packages (e.g., 9th-grade Introduction, 10th-12th-grade Big Picture, 11th-12th-grade Smart Strategy, 12th-grade Expedited College) on a quote-based pricing model.

Product overview

School First is an educational admissions consulting firm offering a portfolio of services structured around three core pillars: Pre-K-12 Services (consulting for private school admissions from preschool through high school, including boarding schools), College Services (comprehensive college admissions guidance from 9th grade through 12th grade with various service packages), and School Services (enrollment management, candidate placement, and talent search for educational institutions). The company also provides free resources including an Independent School Admissions Workbook and educational blog content. The service model centers on personalized consulting with former admissions officers providing individualized guidance to families.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pre-K-12 Services Admissions consulting services for families seeking placement in private schools from preschool through high school graduation, including Pre-School, Elementary, Middle School, High School, and Boarding Schools consulting. Includes school list building, application strategy, parent statement drafting, interview prep, and advocacy on behalf of the family.
• College Services Comprehensive college admissions consulting from 9th grade through 12th grade, including academic advising, college list building, standardized test strategy, essay support, application management, interview preparation, Naviance management, school visits, and decision support. Available as multi-year packages: 9th-Grade Introduction Package (1 year), 10th–12th-Grade Big Picture Package (3 years), 11th–12th-Grade Smart Strategy Package (2 years), and 12th-Grade Expedited College Package.
• School Services (Enrollment Services & Retained Searches) Enrollment and talent-placement services for independent schools, including admissions process assessment, financial aid optimization, outplacement support for departing students, retained leadership searches for faculty/staff/administrators, and placement of hard-to-fill "unicorn candidate" positions. Sold on a retained-search consulting basis to day and boarding schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% of students enroll in one of their top two school choices
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Aidan Montessori SchoolminorOthersSchool First is conducting a retained search on behalf of Aidan Montessori School for the position of Director of Admissions & Enrollment Management. This is a client engagement where the school has retained School First to identify and place a senior admissions leader.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Top Tier Admissions: Admissions consulting firm run by former Ivy League admissions officers, serving families applying to selective colleges and private schools. Comparable target market and credential-driven positioning.
• IvyWise: NYC-based private admissions and college counseling firm. Closest direct competitor — offers private school and college admissions consulting with former admissions officers, similar clientele (affluent families), and similar pricing model.
• Empowerly: College admissions consulting firm using former admissions officers and a tech-enabled platform. Targets the same college-bound family segment with similar packages, positioned as a more scalable alternative to boutique firms.
• Cardinal Education: Boutique admissions and educational consulting firm with former admissions officers, covering private school, college, and graduate admissions. Directly comparable in boutique service model and target customer profile.
• Solomon Admissions Consulting: Boutique admissions consultancy led by former admissions officer. Directly comparable boutique model, target customer, and credential-driven service offering.
• Admission Consultants: Long-established admissions consulting firm offering one-on-one counseling from former admissions officers. Directly comparable in service delivery model, customer (college-bound families), and exclusive reliance on consultant expertise.
• PrepScholar: Large-scale admissions and test prep company combining human advising with a proprietary technology platform. Comparable end-customer (families seeking college admission support) and overlapping service catalog, though it operates at greater scale and lower price points.
• Collegewise: National college admissions counseling company with former admissions officers. Directly comparable in target customer (college-bound families), service model (one-on-one consultant engagement), and structured multi-tier packages.

Broad incumbents

• The Princeton Review: Large, established education services company offering test prep, tutoring, and college admissions counseling. Overlaps with School First's college admissions service line but operates as a broad portfolio incumbent rather than a niche specialist.
• Kaplan Test Prep: Large education services company with admissions counseling and test prep offerings. Competes for the same college-bound family segment but as part of a much broader test prep and tutoring portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SchoolFirstNYC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/school-first
• Instagraminstagram.com/schoolfirstnyc

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 School First