Kaila Brown
Former Vanderbilt Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions & Collegewise Counselor
Kaila’s seven years of college admissions experience include time spent on both sides of the desk—as both an admissions officer and a school counselor. After earning a master’s in higher education from the University of Pennsylvania, Kaila returned to her alma mater, Vanderbilt University, where she spent the next five years as an Assistant Director of Admissions, evaluating applications. She then accepted a post at Marist School in Atlanta as the Associate Director of College Counseling, assuming responsibility for college admissions support for an annual caseload of over 100 students whose college interests ranged from the most selective schools in the country, to Division 1 athletics, from competitive engineering programs to theatrical arts. Finally, she rounded out her experience with a successful two-year stint in the business world as a Customer Success Manager for a company that provides a college admissions guidance management system for high schools (the only counselor at Collegewise to have held such a post).
Ali Springer
Former Colorado College Associate Director of Admission & Collegewise Counselor
A career-long educator, Ali has spent the last fifteen years helping students on their educational journeys. She served as an Associate Director of Admission at Colorado College, her alma mater, for eight years, where she read thousands of applications, interviewed hundreds of students, and oversaw strategy on the leadership team. Working in the admissions office of a school that typically admits less than 15% of applicants imbued Ali with a thorough understanding of highly selective admissions. Ali now enjoys teaching families about the secrets of admissions and guiding students on how to best distinguish themselves in a compelling, competitive applicant pool.
