Private counsel for
college admissions.
St. Aquinas is a private admissions advisory firm. We work with a small number of families each year, guiding students from the early grades through admission to the most selective universities in the country. Most of our families come to us through introductions from current and former clients; the rest find us through quiet recommendation.
Our students are, on average, eleven times more likely to be admitted to a top university.
Independently verified by a Vault-50 accounting firm. Figures reflect students who completed a full St. Aquinas engagement and applied within the 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 admissions cycles.
A small practice, by design.
About half of the students we work with each year are the younger siblings or children of families we have advised before. The rest come to us through introductions from school counselors, trustees, and colleagues in the profession. We keep the practice small so that every family receives the attention of a senior advisor, and so that our advisors can stay with a student for the long arc of high school rather than the short one of senior year.
Where our students were admitted last cycle.
| University | National Acceptance | St. Aquinas Students |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard | 3.6% | 31.8% |
| Yale | 4.5% | 28.2% |
| Princeton | 4.5% | 29.4% |
| Stanford | 3.9% | 30.1% |
| Columbia | 3.9% | 34.7% |
| MIT | 4.5% | 26.5% |
| University of Pennsylvania | 5.4% | 33.5% |
| Brown | 5.2% | 29.0% |
| Dartmouth | 5.3% | 27.6% |
| Cornell | 7.5% | 38.1% |
Acceptance figures reported for the 2025–2026 application cycle, independently verified by a Vault-50 accounting firm.
An applicant is the product of many years of careful work.
What distinguishes a successful applicant at a place like Harvard or Stanford is rarely a single score or essay. It is the gradual emergence of a young person who has read widely, thought seriously, contributed meaningfully, and learned to speak about all of it with clarity. Our methodology is the long, patient framework by which we help students become that young person, and by which we help them present that person honestly in an application.
- ◆Personal Insight Inventory — character, conviction, and voice
- ◆Academic Trajectory — coursework, depth, and the right level of challenge
- ◆The Distinctive Endeavor™ — the project a student will be remembered for
- ◆Public Record — research, publications, and recognition
- ◆Network Architecture — mentors, teachers, and letter-writers
- ◆Narrative Engineering — essays, supplements, and interview preparation
A single team for the entire process.
Families who work with us do not have to assemble their own team of tutors, editors, and coaches. We bring the right people together and coordinate the work from a single point of contact.
A senior advisor stays with your student through every stage of the application process, from school list to final decision.
Our holistic profile review across academics, testing, activities, and voice, refreshed each semester.
Twenty or more essays per cycle, drafted with a senior editor. Every word is the student's; every revision is done by hand.
Mock interviews with former admissions officers and Ivy alumni, recorded and reviewed together.
Experienced instructors for standardized testing, AP, IB, and advanced coursework across the sciences and humanities.
Long-term mentorship that supports students in producing original research and publishing in respected student journals.
A multi-year project, initiative, or body of work that becomes the heart of a student's application.
For students with entrepreneurial ambitions, we help them turn an idea into a real organization.
Thoughtful placements at firms, laboratories, and institutions within our network.
Introductions to teachers and professionals who can guide a student over years and write letters that reflect that relationship.
Identification, planning, and drafting for national and university scholarship competitions.
Careful dual-enrollment and transfer planning where it makes academic sense.
For recruited athletes targeting Ivy League and Stanford programs: positioning, coach outreach, and pre-read support.
Calendars, study systems, and the habits that allow a bright student to do their best work.
Many families continue with us through internships, recruiting, and graduate planning.
More than thirty years inside selective admissions.
St. Aquinas was founded by a former admissions officer at Georgetown University, who later read for several peer institutions across the Ivy League. The firm was established for a small group of families who wanted the kind of counsel they had relied on in other parts of their lives: experienced, discreet, and willing to take the long view.
In the years since, every student who began with us in the eighth grade and stayed with the academic plan we recommended has gone on to a top-choice university. We do not promise that for every student we meet, and we will say so honestly in an early conversation when we believe another path is right.
The campuses our students have, in time, come to call their own.
Families thinking carefully about the long view.
The families we serve come from a range of backgrounds and live in many cities, including New York, Greenwich, Palm Beach, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Geneva, Zürich, Monaco, Dubai, Singapore, and Hong Kong. What they share is a wish to think carefully and early about their child's education, and a preference for working with a small advisory team they trust over many years. We treat every engagement as confidential, and we do not publish the names of our families.
Every conversation, document, and decision is held in confidence. We are glad to provide references through a personal introduction.
A senior advisor stays with your family across the high school years, and often with younger siblings afterwards.
Weekly meetings during the application year, and a comfortable monthly rhythm in the years leading up to it.
They were the architects. Our daughter is at Yale because of the trajectory they helped us set in the ninth grade, long before we knew Yale was a possibility.
An hour together will tell us a great deal.
We begin with a complimentary fifteen-minute introduction. If it seems a fit on both sides, we will invite you to a longer conversation with a senior advisor, and we will be honest if we think another firm might serve your family better.