Together, we combine strategic guidance and reflective practice to support students across every stage of the college admissions process.
College Admissions Advisor | Academic Strategy & STEM Pathways
Joan Rubin is a college admissions advisor and academic strategist who works with students and families to navigate the college process with clarity and confidence. A graduate of Brown University (BS), MIT (MS), and MIT Sloan School of Management (MBA), she brings a combination of analytical thinking, leadership development, and real-world insight to her work with students applying to highly selective colleges and competitive programs. She is equally committed to helping students understand their strengths, articulate their goals, and find colleges where they will thrive.
Joan specializes in helping students make thoughtful decisions about academic direction, college fit, and long-term goals. She works closely with students on course selection, activity development, and application strategy, using a thoughtful data-informed approach to guide decisions while ensuring that each student’s narrative remains authentic and compelling.
Joan’s students have gained admission to their top-choice schools, including MIT, Stanford, Tufts, Dartmouth, Bates, Rice, and many more.
In her role as Executive Director and Senior Lecturer at MIT, Joan advised students on academic planning and career trajectories while developing innovative programs to support student success. Her experience mentoring high-achieving students, combined with her background in industry and leadership, enables her to guide applicants through complex, competitive admissions landscapes with both strategy and care.
She lives in the Boston area with her husband and their two children.
College Admissions Advisor | Writing & Narrative Development
Dr. Ami Kantawala is a college admissions advisor, educator, and writing mentor who works closely with students and families to guide them through the college admissions process. She supports students throughout the application journey, with particular expertise in reflective writing and in building AI literacy.
Her approach is simple: students need writing practice before college essay season, not at the moment when everything feels high-stakes. Rather than starting with essays, she helps students learn to notice small moments, develop specificity, build revision habits, and engage in guided reflection. This early work strengthens both writing and thinking while generating meaningful material for later stages of the process, including activity descriptions, college list conversations, recommendation meetings, and application essays.
Students Ami has worked with have gone on to attend a wide range of institutions, including Bates, Harvard, Rice, Purdue, Tufts, Vanderbilt, UPenn, the University of Florida, the University of Michigan, the University of Virginia, among others.
A longtime adjunct faculty member at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Boston University, Ami combines academic rigor with a highly individualized approach to advising. As Senior Editor of Art Education, she has mentored both emerging and experienced writers through complex revision processes, an experience that directly informs her work helping students craft clear, thoughtful, and authentic applications.
Ami holds a doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Certificate in College Counseling from the University of California, San Diego. She lives in New York City with her husband and their two children.
