Our approach
A clear plan, with room for your goals to evolve.
Every family works from one written plan, adapted to the student. Each step has an owner, a time window, and a clear finish line, so your student always knows what comes next and whom to ask.
Our approach
How guidance becomes a plan.
Four steps, repeated at every stage of high school. Each one makes clear what we do, what your student owns, and what you'll have at the end.
Understand the student
We start by listening. Through short questionnaires and a kickoff meeting, we learn your student's interests, record, and circumstances, and what your family most wants to understand.
- Our part
- Read every intake document, ask the questions that shape the plan, and explain how the work will run.
- Your student's part
- Share interests and goals openly, including the ones still taking shape.
- What you'll have
- A written kickoff summary with goals, roles, the check-in schedule, and a plan for the first 90 days.
Set priorities
Together we decide what matters most: academic direction, testing, activities, and the budget your family is comfortable with.
- Our part
- Review the academic record and testing options, and lead an honest conversation about cost and fit.
- Your student's part
- Weigh the options and choose which priorities come first.
- What you'll have
- A baseline review and a testing plan, with the family's budget guidance written down.
Explore options
Students research colleges that fit their interests and priorities. We bring the context and judgment that keep the list balanced.
- Our part
- Explain each college's requirements and selectivity, and place every choice as a reach, match, or likely school.
- Your student's part
- Research, visit where possible, and decide which colleges belong on the list.
- What you'll have
- A balanced college list, with a reason for every school on it.
Prepare and follow through
Applications become a sequence of manageable steps, each with a work target set well ahead of the college's own deadline.
- Our part
- Coach the writing with questions and comments, keep the calendar, and review every application before it goes.
- Your student's part
- Write every essay, complete every form, and click submit.
- What you'll have
- A shared tracker of steps and dates, and a careful review of each application before submission.
The plan, phase by phase
Eight phases, from the first conversation to the first day of college.
Families join at different points, so every plan starts with the phase that fits. Each phase ends with a short review against a clear test. If something is behind, you receive a written catch-up plan with dates.
Getting started
Any grade
A first conversation, a written proposal, intake questionnaires, and a kickoff meeting that sets goals, roles, and the first 90 days.
Foundation
Grades 9–10
Course planning, activities built on genuine interests, summer plans, and regular check-ins.
Strategy
Grade 11
A baseline review, testing plan, budget conversation, and a preliminary college list.
Summer before grade 12
June–August
The personal statement, the final list and rounds, and a map of every supplemental essay.
Senior fall
September–December
Supplements, UC and CSU applications, recommendations, and financial aid forms, with weekly check-ins.
Submission and review
Fall and winter
A careful review of each application before the student submits, then confirmation that every portal is complete.
Decisions
December–April
Early results, deferrals, and waitlists, read and answered together.
Enrollment
April–summer
Comparing offers and aid, the final decision by May 1, and the summer checks that close the file.
Week to week
Check-ins that keep the week manageable.
Check-ins run on a regular schedule and become more frequent in the busiest months of senior fall. Each one follows the same short agenda, and the shared tracker keeps what is due visible between meetings.
For students who want more structure, we shorten the window to two or three days and break larger tasks, like an essay, into separate outline, draft, and revision steps with their own dates.
Every check-in covers
- 1What your student committed to last time
- 2What got done
- 3What is due next
- 4What is in the way
Your student leaves with no more than three written commitments, each small enough to finish within the week. We also ask about sleep, workload, and stress, because a sustainable pace matters as much as any deadline.
For parents and guardians
Thoughtful guidance for an important next chapter.
Understand the process, the plan, and how your student can prepare, without having to manage it yourself.
A written update on a schedule
Quarterly at first and monthly from April of junior year: what was done, what comes next, what the family needs to do, and the next three deadlines.
A call at every milestone
We call when each phase closes, and whenever news is hard: a change to the list, a missed deadline, or a disappointing early result.
A clear information boundary
Parents see the tracker, the college list, deadlines, and updates. Essay drafts are shared when the student agrees. We keep what a student tells us in confidence, except where their safety is at risk.
Who does what
Everyone knows their part.
- Student
- Every word submitted, every account, every submission, and every request to a teacher.
- Parent or guardian
- Budget decisions, financial aid forms, application fees, and deposits.
- ONE TEN Education Group
- Strategy, coaching, the calendar and deadlines, application reviews, and written updates.
- School counselor
- The school report, counselor letter, transcripts, and mid-year and final reports.
The lines we hold
Rules that do not change from family to family.
These are written into every engagement agreement. They protect your student's authorship and keep our advice honest.
The student is the author
Students write every essay, short answer, and activity description. We give feedback as questions, comments, and suggestions about structure. We never write replacement sentences.
The student submits
Students (or parents, for aid forms) enter their own information and click submit. We review exported copies or a shared screen, and we never ask for passwords.
No promises about outcomes
No one can honestly promise an admission decision, and we never will. We describe how selective a college is in ranges, not predictions.
AI stays away from student writing
No AI reads or drafts a student's writing, and no student or family document goes to an AI service outside our own computers. Students follow the strictest AI policy among their colleges.
No payment from colleges
We accept nothing from any college or program for sending a student there.
Referrals disclosed
If we ever recommend a tutoring or test-prep service with which we have a referral arrangement, we tell you in writing first.
Next step
Start with a conversation.
Tell us where you are in the process and what you would like help understanding. We'll explain how we work and talk through whether our support fits your family.
In the first conversation
- What we do, and what we don't
- How the work would run for your student
- Our fee range and the next step
A short form. It takes about two minutes.