Allison Cummings

DIRECTOR

Allison is a 2005 graduate of the University of Redlands where she studied English and creative writing. As an undergraduate, she began working in the admissions office and decided that the world of college admissions was her calling. She spent two years after graduation as a University of Redlands admissions officer where she personally reviewed over 1,000 college applications, then joined Collegewise as a college counselor in 2007. In college, Allison had a part time job as a barista at Starbucks. And let's just say that along with great information about college, Collegewise families now enjoy vanilla lattes (with or without whip, and with or without foam) at our Saturday morning seminars. Allison is also a Taylor Swift fanatic, though she does admit (reluctantly) that Taylor's performance and choice of attire at the 2010 Grammy's were both disappointing. It's hard for a true fan to say that, but as Allison intends to tell Taylor, "Best friends are honest with each other."  

Breanne Boyle

college counselor & essay specialist

Back in high school, Breanne worked at Baskin Robbins where she could scoop ice cream with both arms simultaneously, a feat that earned her much acclaim in her hometown of Upland, California.  Upon graduation, she turned down lucrative full-time job offers from several nationally-ranked ice cream establishments who were eager to capitalize on her scooping stardom, choosing instead to enroll in college, more specifically, Miami University, not to be confused with the University of Miami, which is why the school officials refer to their institution as either “Miami University of Ohio” or “Not the University of Miami!”  After winning a collegiate national championship in Mock Trial, Breanne graduated with degrees in English and creative writing, enrolled in UC San Diego’s college counseling certification program and went to work as a recruiter for Miami where she visited high schools, spoke with interested students and often said things like, “NO—we are NOT the University of Miami!  What is WRONG with you people!?”  Today, she is both an essay specialist and a full-time college counselor at Collegewise, a closeted World of Warcraft gamer, and not-so-closeted fan of the Real Housewives franchise (with strong opinions as to the relative merits of each cast and storyline).  She also has a horse named “Sassy” who is, apparently, aptly named.  

Stefanie Miller

College Counselor

Stefanie is a black belt in Karate and has been since age 12. She's not at all intimidating or confrontational, but even if she were, we would never say so, no sir, not with that black belt accreditation (and her ability to break boards). Before joining Collegewise in 2010, Stefanie was an assistant director of admissions at USC (University of Southern California) where she personally evaluated over 5,000 applications and conducted over 400 student interviews. Before that, she was an admissions intern at her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis where she earned a degree in psychology. Before that, she was a high school kid and a--not one, not two--but three time spelling bee champ (she can spell words like "bougainvillea," "dachshund" and "triskaidekaphobia)." And before that, she was a child model who appeared in diaper commercials. That's about as far back as we can go for Stefanie. Getting back to the present day, she got married in July, 2011--before college application season officially began. Yes, college counseling instincts run deep with Stefanie.  

Mamie Cosentino

managing editor & College Essay Specialist

Mamie is a graduate of UC Riverside, where she earned both a B.A. and M.F.A. in creative writing. She's held several jobs in her lifetime--dance instructor, news clerk, wedding coordinator, and copy editor are a few of the hats she's worn--but she most enjoys her annual "summer job" at Collegewise, where she helps students find their best stories for college application essays. Having written hundreds of essays herself, Mamie was thrilled to join the Collegewise team in 2007 and has since worked with more than 120 students. If you have a brainstorming session with Mamie, she'll likely ask you to describe yourself in 3-5 words and list your birth order. If she were asked to do the same, Mamie, a typical first-born, would choose the words animated, imaginative, and grammatically correct. "Grammatically correct" is putting it lightly, by the way; she once shielded her young daughter's eyes in punctuation horror while passing a local shop whose sign above the door read, "Jean's Gift's." Mamie also memorized Walt Disney's opening day speech when she was eight years old and can still recite it on command.