Lauren Watson
Watson College Consulting, LLC
58 Gay St, Westwood
What I Do
College Admissions Counseling
- Job Title: Owner/College Counselor
- Years in Profession: 21
- Job and Daily Responsibilities:
After learning the “behind the scenes” work as an admissions officer at Boston College, I spent many years working in independent high schools as an in-house college counselor to my students an their families. Now, I work privately with students and families who hire me to guide them in a one-on-one setting as they navigate the college process. I meet with my students on monthly, learning about their high school experiences, how and why those experiences might impact their college processes, as well as teaching them about the nuts and bolts of applying and providing important information about the current admissions landscape. Some of the things my students and I do together are: build college lists, talk about course selection and standardized testing, discuss their hopes and goals for the future, practice for interviews, brainstorm essays…It’s all very exciting!
Education
High School – Lexington High School
College – Boston College BA in English
Pre-Employment Experience
As an undergraduate, I had several jobs that lead me to where I am now. For example, I had a work-study job (a form of financial aid) in the MBA/Graduate School of Business at Boston College. That job was where I first learned about the admissions cycle and became curious about careers in higher education. I also was heavily involved with The Office of First Year Experience as an undergrad, where I learned a lot about how to thoughtfully aid students in their transition from high school to college.
List of classes that are most important/applicable to succeed in your profession:
My high school English classes lit me up from the inside and inspired me to select my major. Writing and presenting are two essential skills in my work; I am grateful for all of the practice I gained in these areas both inside and outside of the classroom.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Opportunities available for high school and/or college students to learn:
My work enables me to spend most of my time with high school students and I find them to be wise and wonderful. I’m always open to talking with students about designing their lives after high school, and am happy to chat with students who might be interested in working as educational consultants.
Contact Me
Advice From A Leader
Education consulting is a field that is based on experience. If you’re interested in this path, my advice is to open and willing to put in the time and energy that it takes to collect that relevant experience. Explore in different types of educational settings, with different types of students. Gathering as many varied experiences as you can will inform and contribute to your ability to guide people in the future, and it will help you determine if this type of work is for you.