The Bronze Package

The Initial Session

A 30-minute initial consultation will answer any questions you have about our services. In this 30-minute consultation, you will learn what services we offer and how we build your child’s college list. This session is a chance to learn more about our services and how they would help your child. If two parents/guardians are involved in the decision to hire us, then you should select a time for this session when both parents are present. We also strongly recommend that your student be present so he/she can gauge whether he/she is comfortable with his/her School Match 4U college coach. Having said that, there are times when this may not make sense.

Complimentary sessions are NOT a time to just pick your School Match 4U college counselor’s mind to get 30 minutes of free consultation if you are not interested in considering hiring us for our services. If you are primarily interested in asking us questions to get our feedback on a college admissions–related topic, then you should schedule a single session, 30 or 60 minutes and pay the $125 or $195 rate.

We hesitate to include this caveat, and this language is only included because occasionally we have had someone who has no interest in considering hiring us, but they see this session as a chance to get free high-quality information. We provide over 400 hours of free college content at Your College-Bound Kid Podcast that should help families looking for free information. We understand that the chemistry has to feel right, and you are under no obligation to hire us, but we ask for a good faith understanding that the main purpose of the session is to discern if we are a match for your family to serve as your college coaches.

You can schedule 30 or 60-minute sessions that would fall outside the scope of the complimentary 30-minute sessions to ask any question on any college-related topic. We are not saying that you cannot ask a single college-related question other than questions about our service. In fact, we encourage you to ask a college question or two that is on your mind, but what we are saying is that the complimentary 30-minute session is primarily for people who are trying to assess which of our services are the best match for your child, and therefore this should be the focus on the session.

Next Steps

Should you decide that you want to move forward with a Bronze plan, the next steps are as follows:

• Mark Stucker will send you an Agreement with your student’s and parents’/guardians’ names on it. This Agreement will come from Mark whether you are working with Mark or another School Match 4U counselor.
• Review the Agreement, autograph it, and remit payment by using any of the methods listed.
• Complete the School Match 4U Updated Student and Parent Questionnaire in Microsoft Word and send it to your School Match 4U college coach.
• Send over all of the documents that are listed at the end of the questionnaire under the “Next Steps” section.
• Schedule a 30-minute follow-up session with your School Match 4U college coach at least 72 hours after submitting your questionnaire and documents in the “Next Steps” section of the questionnaire. This can be a Zoom call or a phone call, but the student and both parents (whenever possible) should be present. Our strong preference is a Zoom call, but you can make this decision when you sign up with calendly.com/mstucker.

The Follow-Up Session

• This 30-minute follow-up session is primarily designed for your School Match 4U college coach to go over any answers in the questionnaire that need further probing to get greater clarification
• This 30-minute session is also the place where questions may be asked about anything in the academic and personal documents that you sent your School Match 4U college coach for review
• The student and/or parents/guardians can ask a question or two that is on their mind
• The college coach will also review the next steps in this meeting

The College List Presentation

• This 60-minute session is designed for your School Match 4U college coach to share their college recommendations for your child
• College Kickstart allows us to compare a student’s academic profile to other applicants at selected colleges with the most up-to-date data available. This tool enables us to ensure students have a balanced college list, assists in evaluating early admission opportunities, tracks key application requirements and considers affordability as part of the application plan for those who are hoping to not pay full price for college.
• The college coach will present a highly detailed report that will list the colleges that are being recommended in several different ways. Determination of which colleges to include will be based on the student’s academic, behavioral, and extracurricular records, personal aspirations, interests, financial resources and the school culture and characteristics that the student and his/her guardians/parents are seeking in a college
• The college coach will explain why they included the colleges they selected
• Students and parents should be honest about their thoughts about the college list. Occasionally, feedback from the student or parents may cause this list to be tweaked after this 60-minute session but before the final list is sent via email
• Students and parents should also feel free to ask about any colleges that they were hoping would be on the college list, but that were not recommended. This level of honest discourse is very helpful to your School Match 4U college counselor
• We ask that students and parents keep an open mind. One of the most widely held myths is, “If it was any good, I would have heard about it.”
• After this session is over, the School Match 4U college coach will email the student and parents/guardians the School Match 4U report, the Guided Path School Information Report as well as an extremely helpful document on how to research the recommended colleges. This document on how to research the colleges will be invaluable for students who use it regularly

The Strategy Session

• This is a final 30-minute session to discuss anything the student and or the parents want to discuss
• There is no expiration date as to when this session can be used. However, it is usually in the parents’ and student’s interest to schedule this within 90 days of the “College List Presentation” session
• Sometimes a family is not sure how to best utilize this session. School Match 4U college coaches are happy to recommend to you what they feel would be a good use of these 30 minutes if this is helpful to the student and parents/guardians

Note: There are three hours of meetings and a minimum of seven hours of research and report generation in this plan. This would cost $1,950 at our hourly rate, but the cost for the Bronze plan is $1,395 if paid up front and $1,545 if you need a payment plan, saving you over $200 if paid up front

The Bronze Package is Recommended For:

• Families that need only moderate guidance to navigate the admissions process
• Families on a limited budget, who may not be able to afford the Silver, Gold, or Platinum plans
• Families that understand the importance of applying to the right list of colleges and who find selecting the right list from almost 2,500 four-year accredited US and Canadian colleges to be a daunting task
• Families looking to target colleges that give generous scholarship money
• Families who are not sure what their child’s chances of admission are at the schools they are interested; they know they need a balanced college list, but they can’t self-assess if their child is competitive at the colleges of interest
• Families unsure of the value of a more comprehensive package, who want to “test the waters” before potentially making a larger investment
• Families who are at a high school where they have an outstanding college counselor who possesses specialized knowledge of how the college process works, so the counselor can help with admissions strategy, application strategy, answers to their ongoing questions, assistance with creating an admissions plan with structure and accountability and a scholarship strategy should this be of interest to the family
• Families that want to start the process earlier than their current school starts. We recommend starting the process before the summer of a student’s rising junior year, but we realize that different people are ready at different times.

The Bronze Package is NOT Recommended For:

• Families who want to be able to call, text, or meet with us throughout the process when they have questions
• Families who are primarily interested in international universities. These families here how School Match 4U helps students interested in international universities
• Families who want help with standardized testing, writing skills, interview skills, the admission application, résumés, admissions tactical strategies, answers to their ongoing questions, assistance with creating an admissions plan with structure and accountability, or help with finding scholarships or scholarship essays
• Families for whom paying for college is a significant concern. It sounds counterintuitive to say that families for whom money is a concern will benefit the most by selecting the Silver or Gold plans, but there is considerable time in those plans available (if interested) to create a scholarship strategy and implement it.
• Students who are looking for help with their admissions essays, college-specific essays, résumés, or scholarship essays
• Families that want help strengthening their child’s appeal to colleges in order to increase the student’s chances of admission or scholarships to the schools to the schools they will apply to
• Families who want to get high-quality counseling at the best affordable price. The Bronze plan saves money on an hourly basis compared to the “Single Sessions,” but it does not offer the value per hour of counseling that the Silver, Gold, or Platinum plans offer.

Note: These families will find that the Silver, Gold, or Platinum Packages are a better value for their needs.

COST: $1,395–$1,545

• Option 1: $1,395 – paid in full upon contract signing. Savings of $150.
• Option 2: Payment plan available for an additional $150; details will be handled on an individual basis.

Note: Additional 60-minute sessions can be added for $225; 30-minute sessions are $125.

Compare packages here.

Payment can be remitted using any of the following:

1. Venmo, (@Mark-Stucker is Mark’s ID or 404-664-4340), and you will see Mark Stucker’s photo. You can also request that Mark friend you on Venmo. Do not select Goods or Services when paying with Venmo, or a 2% fee is added to your fees because this is what Venmo charges us, if you select Goods or Services. There is no charge if you pay as a friend.
2. The Cash App ($MarkStucker11 is Mark’s ID or 404-664-4340). You will see Mark’s photo.
3. Zelle (404-664-4340)
4. For PayPal, use mark@schoolmatch4u.com to send payment. There is a 4% fee for this option.