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Cecilia Grano De Oro

Cecilia Grano De Oro has worked with hundreds of students as a school-based college counselor at The Sagemont School, Scheck Hillel Community School, and North Broward Preparatory School. Prior to joining Collegewise, Cecilia served as an educator and counselor coach with Breakthrough Miami, a national CBO. Cecilia earned her bachelor's in psychology from the University of Miami, and she went on to earn two master's degrees in education: one in mental health counseling, and one in higher education administration. And this fall, she's on track to earn her Doctorate of Education in Higher Education Leadership. Cecilia's worn a lot of hats in education: first in regulatory and ethics work at the U Miami School of Medicine and Harvard's School of Public Health and graduate student advising and programming at U Miami. She's also very involved with the Southern Association for College Admissions Counseling as a mentor and faculty member, and was a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling's Inclusion, Access & Success standing committee. Being a first-generation college student was a huge milestone for Cecilia, and her passion for college admissions counseling stems from her own experience. Her approach to working with families is largely based on how college transformed and shaped her life, and her intent is to support students in pursuing opportunities that can have the same impact on them. When she isn’t counseling, Cecilia enjoys spending time with her boys Cameron and Aiden, as well as learning new recipes, practicing hot yoga, and watching reruns of her favorite TV shows, commercials included!

Choosing a College

Questions to Ask College Admissions Teams
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By Cecilia Grano De Oro
June 16, 2022 | 6 minute read

Heading into the summer, high schoolers are usually excited about the opportunity to take a (much-needed) break from the rigors of academic life. But for upperclassmen (looking at you,...

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College Applications

Letters of Recommendation: Who to Ask?
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By Cecilia Grano De Oro
February 23, 2022 | 7 minute read

Junior year tends to be a fairly busy time for high schoolers, as they balance the competing demands of remaining engaged in extracurricular activities both on- and off-campus, taking on...

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Life Advice for Teens

Should Students Consider Taking a Gap Year? (Part 2)
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By Cecilia Grano De Oro
February 9, 2022 | 4 minute read

My last post on this topic explained gap years and some of the reasons students opt to take them. Here, I’ll explore the differences between two important gap year options: (1) applying to...

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Life Advice for Teens

Should Students Consider Taking a Gap Year?
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By Cecilia Grano De Oro
February 2, 2022 | 4 minute read

Editor’s note: next week, we'll be back with part two of this series on gap years, specifically focused on how colleges really feel about this option, when to apply to college if you’re...

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Course Selection

How To Get An IB Diploma
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By Cecilia Grano De Oro
September 16, 2021 | 8 minute read

Editor’s note: If you’ve already read our first installment of the IB programme blog post, this post now goes through the nitty gritty of the program. Whether you’re a student or parent...

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Course Selection

What is IB? Making Sense of the IB Diploma Programme
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By Cecilia Grano De Oro
September 15, 2021 | 5 minute read

Editor’s note: This is a two-part series to help our readers better understand the IB programme, offered at many high schools both in the US and abroad. We’ll be back next week with even...

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