HelloCollege — Local services in Oak Brook

Working with Dr. Raymond Gonzales through HelloCollege has been one of the most valuable and positive experiences of my entire academic journey. Not only did he serve as my college counselor, but he also acted as my high school counselor, providing guidance and support well beyond the college admissions process.

From the very start, Raymond took the time to truly understand who I am — not just as a student, but as a person. He carefully listened to my interests, goals, and aspirations, and was always open to hearing my parents’ perspectives as well. One of the things I appreciated most was that he never rushed us through decisions. Whether it was brainstorming college essay topics or helping narrow down my college list, he made sure we felt informed, supported, and confident every step of the way.

Raymond’s ability to guide families through this often overwhelming process is astonishing. He patiently answered all of my parents’ major questions about admissions, essays, deadlines, and even financial aid. He clearly understands how stressful this process can be for both students and families and does an incredible job helping to ease those concerns.

One of the most special qualities about Raymond is his empathy and cultural awareness. He truly understood how my family’s background and values influenced my college choices. His thoughtful approach ensured that I not only found schools that were strong academically, but also a good personal and cultural fit for me — something I believe many counselors often overlook.

Raymond is also incredibly dedicated and hardworking. No matter how busy he was, he always made himself available on short notice even at late nights or early mornings whether we needed a quick question answered or a last-minute essay review. His feedback was always constructive, insightful, and encouraging — helping me improve my writing and strengthen my overall application.

On a personal level, Raymond is one of the kindest and friendliest people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with. He genuinely cares about the students and families he supports, and it shows in everything he does. His calm and positive attitude made a big difference during stressful moments in the process.

Thanks to Raymond’s guidance, I was accepted into many of my top college choices, including many prestigious BS/MD programs (one of which came with a full ride scholarship), and felt empowered throughout the journey. I truly could not have done it without him. If you are looking for a college counselor who will go above and beyond, listen carefully to your goals, understand your family’s needs, and provide expert advice every step of the way — I highly recommend Raymond Gonzales. He made a lasting impact on my life and on my family, and I am...

Hello College (HC) has provided a thorough college consulting program that reduced anxiety over college preparation and the application process for my student and myself. Starting in my students freshman year of high school with HC allowed him to benefit from HC feedback on high school class selection and extracurricular activities related to his intended college major(s); thus, optimizing his chance for acceptance to the collegiate program of his choice. This also helped stretch the necessary preparation period over a greater length of time and avoid college preparation work overload in his sophomore and junior year of high school. While my student identified his career interest and his intended college major early, HC provides an assessment of a student's career interest(s) and provides general guidance. For my student, the personal interest assessment reaffirmed his career choice and gave him a better picture for how college should benefit him for job placement upon college graduation. In regards to test preparation, HC’s guidance and encouragement to keep to a test prep timeline has been invaluable. Again starting early was helpful. My student identified areas in standardized testing that needed improvement and targeted extra study for those topics. He has received both SAT and ACT test scores that exceeded his initial target. As a parent, I appreciate the support for good time management from HC. The various HC student workshops have been informative and worthwhile. Lastly, our college counselor has been amazing. She provides guidance, support, coaching, encouragement and nudges parents and students to stay disciplined to keep up with the process. Our counselor’s insight into the college application process reassures me that nothing was overlooked and no deadlines missed. Our counselor has adjusted to meet our needs and tailored my student’s preparation to him. As a result, my student is approaching universities and college admissions with confidence and a background with experience related to his...

I am a current senior in high school who recently completed the college application process. HelloCollege was an incredible help to me during application season, and I am confident that I would have had a much more chaotic, messy, and stressful time had I not worked with the cheerful, supportive, helpful people on the HelloCollege team. There is one individual that I feel deserves personal recognition for the tremendous amount of help she's given me. This is my college counselor, Pamela Greene. Pam was accommodating to any new developments I shared with her in regards to my academics or interests, was open to any and every question I had, made herself easy to contact, and cooperated with me through this stressful time. This organization has provided me with valuable resources, experienced coaches, and excellent advise on where to apply, what to change about my application, and what tasks I should prioritize.

In addition, there is a wide, respectable variety of different kinds of support that HelloCollege provides: from essay coaches (for both the CommonApp Statement and Supplementals) to live, interactive workshops that target different parts of your application. For example, there are specific workshops and information sessions for what to put in your Activities & Honors section, what to write about in your CommonApp, and how to translate your interests into a method of finding colleges you'll be happy at!

Overall, HelloCollege has been a huge help to me and I hope that those interested in pursuing an education beyond high school heavily consider this company as a means of support through...