EdMD College Admissions & Financial Aid Experts — Local services in San Ramon

This review is for EDMD and especially about our awesome admissions/ financial aid counselor Julian Brooks. We were really late in the game. Our high school senior, who has significant physical and health challenges hadn't decided that he wanted to head to the 4 year college route until the summer of his Junior year. At that time, we registered for the SAT test in August and October of his senior year. Then came in the deadlines of early application for some private colleges and the UC/CSU applications. We were clueless about the whole process and what it entails. I happened to talk to a mom who was working with Julian as their counselor and she referred me to him. We were thrilled to know that Julian was willing to work with us at this late juncture of the application process. I must say that our experience with Julian has been amazing. He helped us not only to make our essay questions concise and precise but also helped us highlight and list all the extra-curricular activities and clubs he was involved with. Our criteria was very concrete about our college choices as we wanted to keep it as local and close to home as possible due to the health needs of my senior. When applying for colleges, he kept this criteria very well in mind but still let us apply to a few universities like UC Davis and Cal Poly Slo for bragging rights as my senior really wanted to apply to those even though he knew that going there wouldn't be an option. He got into almost all the colleges he had applied for except UC Davis. He got substantial scholarships from Saint Mary's College of Moraga and University of Pacific and got financial aid from Santa Clara University as well. When applying for FAFSA, Julian filled out all the paperwork for us. After a lot of deliberation and input from Julian, he has decided to go to Santa Clara University. We as a family strongly believe that because of Julian's expertise, we are where we are today. Thank you Julian!! I would wholeheartedly recommend Julian's services for your entire...

Dan and his staff have been fantastic!  They have been extremely helpful and responsive to ALL our crazy questions!  We have twins and knew it was going to be quite the process to get all the details figured out in this complicated college process. I had interviewed a few college planners and they all seemed to want to make us and our twins feels as though they needed to do even MORE preparation for college then they already had (AP, volunteering, SAT/ACT, essay writing) and that they possibly wouldn't get into the colleges they wanted.  Dan was the exact opposite...he made all of us feel great about their accomplishments and when we left his office, we got in the elevator and looked at each other and said, "Wow, he made us feel 100% better about this process"!  He not only communicates and responds to us as the parents, but also immediately calls our kids back with any questions they may have. He did everything from the filing of FAFSA, college applications, online acceptances, as well as discussing our options of students loans and the financial strategies to help offset the financial burdens. Both of our high school graduates got into almost every college they applied to because Dan knew the process and which schools to go into as a "Declared" or "Undeclared" major.  He was able to give us the insight of which schools and majors were impacted and what the work around should be. Our twins are both going to their preferred and dream colleges, and no doubt Dan has been a huge part of that! There is a fee for service like this, but he's upfront about what he thinks his services will cost and will help you as much or as little as you need. I have recommended him to all our friends that have high school aged students and have received positive feedback from them as well!  Why make such an overwhelming process difficult if you don't have...

Without a doubt, choosing to work with EdMD was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for my daughters’ educational futures. The support and guidance we received—especially from our counselor, Dan—was truly exceptional and has had a profound impact on both of my children’s college journeys.

Dan is nothing short of amazing. His depth of knowledge and experience with the college application and admissions process is unmatched. Thanks to his strategic insight and thoughtful mentorship, my eldest daughter was accepted to multiple top UC schools and ultimately chose UC San Diego.

We continued working with Dan for our younger daughter as well, and once again, he delivered incredible results. With a carefully crafted strategy and his constant encouragement, she earned acceptances to San Diego State, UC San Diego, and UCLA—where she will proudly begin this fall.

Beyond admissions, Dan goes above and beyond to help families navigate the often overwhelming financial aid landscape. He left no stone unturned in ensuring we accessed every available option. The amount he helped us save through scholarships and aid programs easily exceeded six times the cost of his services.

Dan’s process is structured, highly organized, and always centered on the student. Both of my daughters genuinely enjoyed working with him—not only because of his expertise, but because he’s an incredibly kind, thoughtful person who truly cares.

I’ve referred Dan to at least five other families, all of whom have shared similar gratitude for the impact he’s had. If you’re serious about giving your child the strongest possible path to college success, I can say without hesitation that Dan and EdMD are the absolute best investment you can make. I recommend him with the highest level of confidence and...