About Collegewise
What is Collegewise?
Collegewise helps high school students confidently navigate their journey to college. Kevin McMullin founded it in 1999 in Irvine, California, after seeing an admissions process that, "for too many families, had become overwhelming and stressful", and more than 27 years later it calls itself "the nation's largest college admissions organization." It has guided more than 35,000 families, and its services span college admissions counseling, academic tutoring and test prep, essay support, extracurricular and leadership mentoring, athletic recruitment consulting, research and work experiences, and graduate school admissions counseling. It also speaks at high schools and conferences, partners with community-based organizations to support their students and widen college access, and offers free resources to families and counselors ("yes, including our competition"). Its mission: "To be the most trusted source of expert advice to help students access the transformative power of higher education."
Where will I work?
Remotely, anywhere in the US. Counseling roles are remote ("Applicants must reside and be eligible to work in the U.S."), and because most students are in the Pacific time zone, counselors need to be available during West Coast hours; most sessions happen after school, and in busy season at weekends. Collegewise also has offices in Newport Beach and Palo Alto, California, Harrington Park and Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, Austin, Texas, and Auburndale, Massachusetts, and once a year the whole company meets up in places like Cancun, Sedona and New Orleans.
What is the Collegewise team like?
"Like a dorm at your favorite college, Collegewise is full of smart, fascinating folks bonded by a desire to get the most out of our time here together." It looks for "a curious, kind, thoughtful, and likeable person who wants work to be a meaningful way of life without it becoming your actual life." Everyone is invited to regular webinars and trainings, each person has a professional development budget, and new counselors complete 30–40 hours of initial training before mentoring. Collegewisers run their own projects, from the Oxford Comma Task Force to the monthly "Inside the Hive" newsletter and a book club. Postings publish pay: full-time counselor ranges start at $65,000.
Work-Life Balance
Full-time staff get Summer Fridays. Its September 2026 full-time counselor posting lists "Flexible PTO, paid sick time, 10 paid company holidays, Wiser Relief Days, and Summer Fridays", and the careers page credits employees for the policy: some of what Collegewisers love most, "including our 'Summer Friday' hours, exist because our leadership had the good sense to listen to the Collegewisers who suggested them." Collegewise doesn't publish which months its Summer Fridays run or whether they are full or half days. The work is seasonal: postings call fall (September to January) "the most intensive" stretch, with spring and summer lighter.
Perks and Benefits
- Summer Fridays
- Flexible PTO, paid sick time, 10 paid company holidays and "Wiser Relief Days"
- Remote roles anywhere in the US
- Medical, dental and vision insurance
- A 401(k), with eligibility after one year
- Paid parental leave
- A professional development budget, regular trainings and NACAC membership sponsored by Collegewise
- An annual company meetup