Endorsements
Sarina Newstead, Parent
I highly recommend Karen Robinson, as a college placement advisor. We asked Karen to help our Daughter in her Junior Year of High School. Karen took all the stress out of the situation, she came to our home, met with our daughter on a regular basis, she conducted personality tests, discussed all the options with my daughter and ourselves. She was always readily available to answer questions and even come on college visits. Basically, Karen became an extended member of our family.
My husband and I are not from America, and therefore had no knowledge to draw upon with regard to finding the right college. Karen became our “go to” person and she offered sound, impartial advice. She took the time to explain everything to us, even sending us reminders of the next step in the process.
Karen is also someone you can fully trust, she is genuine, honest and has integrity. We felt very comfortable and it is well worth the investment. Our son is also about to use Karen’s services, because although we have been through it once, we like the comfort in knowing that we have someone we can call upon, who isn’t just looking at a pay check. Also, sometimes it is better for your teenage child to work with someone outside the family, who still has the best interest of your child at heart. As parents sometimes we are too emotionally attached and Karen can step in and help rationalize the options and situation.
With Karen’s help our daughter secured a brilliant scholarship to her “dream” college. It took hard effort on our daughter’s part, and with Karen’s expertise and dedication our daughter secured scholarships to a number of other very good colleges.
We are forever grateful to Karen and her dedication to helping young people find the college of their dreams.
Gail A. Falk, Parent
During my oldest son’s senior year in high school, my husband and I found ourselves faced with the daunting task of helping our son choose a college. We were feeling totally overwhelmed with the prospect of looking at various colleges and university and really did not know where to begin our search or what we were looking for once we visited a college. Fortunately, Karen Robinson was able to shed some light on the subject and help us move in the right direction.
Karen was a blessing. Without her insight into college life and her knowledge of what a good college or university is, we would not have been as successful in finding a place that suited our son’s needs. In addition to being our first college experience, we also needed to find a school that could attend to our son’s learning disabilities and his attention deficit disorder. Karen prepared us well. She armed us with a list of probing questions to ask and an even more comprehensive list of little known “things” to look for that would indicate the true quality of the colleges at which we were looking.
During my son’s years in college he experienced some difficulties and was faced with the loss of scholarship money. It was Karen who helped calm our fears and gave us the information we needed to approach the university for the help we needed. Our son has since graduated and is now teaching high school. Since then, we have had two other sons attend college and each time Karen was there to help guide us in finding a college best suited to our sons’ unique needs.
When our youngest son began his search, we were in a quandary because his needs were so different from our other two sons. He was much more quiet and reserved and needed a college that would not be overwhelming or imposing for him. After consulting Karen, we visited the college she suggested. It was an instant match. I was amazed at how well Karen was able to take into account his personality and located a college that was right for him. We were extremely pleased with the education our son was receiving but very taken back when we were presented with a less than suitable financial aid package prior to the start of our son’s junior year of college. We were devastated at the possibility of our son not being able to complete his education, especially as his study abroad opportunity was to begin that very year.
With this news in hand and unsure what our next move would be, we once again contacted Karen. After sharing our situation with her, Karen got right to work, guiding us once again through each step. She helped us focus on the problem and led us to a solution. Had it not been for Karen’s hard work, I don’t think we would have had the results we did, because of what Karen was able to do for us, the college agreed to reevaluate our financial aid package and, as a result, our son was awarded a more suitable package and was able to complete his college education.
You are now facing the same journey we faced with our sons. In the array of confusing paper work, mounds and mounds of college mailers, and the need to find a place that will provide the best education for your child; I can whole-heartedly recommend the services that Karen offers. I know how much the knowledge she provided us empowered my family. I also know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Karen will provide the same sense of security for you.
Nancy Worsham
Past President
Loveland High School PTSA
During my tenure as PTSA president, we conducted a lecture series for parents who where just starting the daunting task of search for the perfect college for their child. By far, Karen Robinson was our most requested speaker. We even brought her back after her last scheduled date to answer parent/student questions. Karen has a detailed program that not only shares the insight of her vast experience as an academic professional but she also is a parent herself who has been though the exact same issues that we in the audience were facing. We have used her guidance with our own children who both ended up choosing a college that is perfect for them.
Jen Day Shaw, Ph.D
Associate Vice President, Student Affairs and Dean of Students
University of Florida
It is my great pleasure to provide this letter of support and endorsement for Karen Robinson. Karen and I have been professional colleagues for 22 years. She holds a Master’s degree in College Student Personnel Services from Miami University, a nationally known program for producing successful student affairs professionals.
Karen will bring to your interactions an amazing work ethic, strong organizational skills, dedication, and perseverance. I have no doubt that you will be satisfied with how hard she works for you and the quality of her output. Along with her amazing ability to put others at ease, Karen possesses the professional training and experience to be extremely successful in this endeavor.
Best of luck to you during this process! I’m very glad you have selected Karen Robinson as your advocate.
Judy Petricevic, Parent
I highly recommend the wisdom and experience that Karen Robinson can bring to families to promote successful college decision-making skills. As parents, we are asked to step back and let our adult children find their way through the maze of career decisions, course selections and adjustment to college life. We are all asked to lend support and our checkbooks only!Sabrina Newstead, Student
Our daughter was in her 6th year of undergraduate work when we needed the help of Karen. After several switches and college majors, our daughter had decided on Biology Education. In the Fall of her 5th year, with all course work completed, our daughter agreed to complete her student teaching at a local university. This cooperative agreement required supervision at the local level. This got off to a rough start with late communication between universities, and our daughter struggling with the experience. The experience was leading to the recommendation that she terminate the course and return back to her “home” school. This would have resulted in a lost year, delayed graduation by more than a year, and a significant mark on her resume and grade point average. Our daughter had good grades until this point and was attending a reputable teaching college.
As parents, we were in a quandary. Do we step back and let this happen? Do we help our daughter work through this? My neighbor recommended that I call Karen, who had experience with college student services. It was the best call that we made! Karen gave our daughter valuable tips on the key people in college that can help look at the issues in an objective way. My daughter was able to talk to the Ombudsman and other people in the Education Department. Another supervisor was assigned to monitor the successful conclusion of her student teaching experience. Thankfully, our daughter was able to graduate that year and is now gainfully employed as a Science Teacher in the community.
I highly recommend Karen as a knowledgeable resource for families and their college-bound & college-aged students.
I met Karen Robinson my sophomore year of high school through her son, Alex. Junior year quickly approached, and after I discovered that Karen has experience in the college admission process, I contacted her for help. Applying to college seemed so scary and stressful. I am the first one in my family to attend college in the United States, so the whole process was new to my family and me.Elizabeth Higgins-Lewis
Right away, Karen began to help me plan for my future. The first advice she gave me was to visit as many different colleges and universities as possible. She also came to my house to sit down and discuss the application process. It was such a blessing to have someone so knowledgeable in the area to help guide me through the steps of entering college. Not only did Karen help me discover different schools in the area, she helped me find out who I am and what my strengths and weaknesses are. This greatly helped in the search for my future home. I knew straight away that I wanted to stay in state and go to a small school. Karen had me take personality tests and also career placement tests in order to better prepare for my future. Although I already knew I wanted to study medicine, the test helped me figure out my strengths and weaknesses in the area I wanted to study.
After all of the searching was over, I began the application process. Karen was there every step of the way answering all my questions. By December of my senior year, I found out I got into all the colleges I applied to. Not only that, but because of all the preparation we did before hand, I knew what college I wanted to attend as soon as I got the acceptance letter.
Then came time to fill out scholarships. The scholarships applications were extensive and confusing. Again, Karen came to my house and went into detail about what I needed to do. Since I knew where I wanted to go to school, it saved time and energy applying for scholarships. I wrote the scholarship essays for the school I planned on attending. After what I thought were good essays, I sent them to Karen for her input. I cannot express my gratefulness for her reading all of the essays and giving me feedback. I modified my essays and submitted them to my school. Soon after I submitted them, I received a call from the university asking to interview me, as I was one of the finalists for the scholarship I applied for. A couple weeks later I was given a letter saying I had received the full scholarship. I am going to my first choice university on a full tuition scholarship this fall thanks to Karen and all of her efforts in helping me for my future.
Karen has taken away all of the stress of preparing for college. I thought she was just going to help me apply to schools, but she did way more than that. She made applying to college fun and exciting. She was there every step of the way and she still helps me to this day. I will forever be grateful for her help and insight to the beginning of my future. She is an amazing woman with an amazing talent in this area and I am thrilled she is helping others reach their full potential.
Director of Community Standards and Student Conduct
University of Washington
It gives me great pleasure to recommend to you Karen Robinson. I have known Karen professionally for 28 years and continue to be impressed with her insight, creativity and knowledge of the post secondary educational environment.
As a student affairs professional who works directly with students, I know how important finding the right “fit” with a college or university can be in helping students to be successful. Students considering college receive publications from a variety of institutions. Sorting through this information and deciding on “fit” can be an overwhelming experience of paperwork, interviews and campus visits.
Karen can assist in demystifying the college search and admissions process. Her skills in advocating and coaching provide students that needed edge when applying for scholarships, admissions and financial aid. Karen assists in orienting students to college by exploring career and major aspirations, what to expect from the academic environment, and how to negotiate living with someone else. Karen’s background in Student Leadership, Residence Life and Career Counseling will provide you with the necessary tools to find the right collegiate environment for your particular interests.
Karen possesses a passion for students and education as demonstrated by her leadership in multiple PTAs , numerous district wide committees, frequent guest speaker and as a faculty advisor to student leadership initiatives. I engaged Karen as a facilitator for an all day professional in-service, and was impressed with her dedication, hard work and enthusiasm. It is a pleasure to work with Karen.
Robert Worsham, ParentHer professional expertise and guidance are assets to all who have the opportunity to employ her services.
Emily Pauly, Student
Recently when moving our daughter into her dorm suite, we discovered that the bathroom was dirty and needed immediate repairs. We approached the RA who said that work requests had been submitted earlier that week, but they did not know when maintenance would get to it. As her parents we made plans to purchase supplies and do the work ourselves, I also sent a text message to Karen explaining the situation. She sent instructions for us to not touch the room and to go directly to administration to have the repairs made before our daughter and her roommate used the facilities.
With her guidance, I was able to by-pass the red tape and contact the residence hall administrator who made the arrangements himself. Within hours the shower was re-caulked, ceiling fan cleaned and the bugs removed from the light fixture. We give Karen full credit for helping us to remedy a situation that normally would have taken weeks to settle.
I have had a great experience working with Karen Robinson. As a 23 year old, I am somewhat of an unconventional "new" student. Karen has cleared up so many of the questions I had. I attended college after graduating high school in 2008, but was unfocused and unprepared. After spending a few years in the work force, I have decided to return to college. Mrs. Robinson is extremely understanding, knowledgeable, and easy-going. My school record is atrocious, and yet she approached the situation with a professional, problem-solving mindset. She took the time to learn my background, likes and dislikes, goals, and shortcomings. She went over and above to research any questions that she could not immediately answer in person. She has an impressive portfolio of information on financial aid, course descriptions, and much more. The thing I appreciated the most about Karen is that she is realistic. She does not sugar coat things. She does everything in her power to find a solution to a problem, but she won't leave you with any false impressions. Since working with Karen, I have recommended her services to friends, and would not hesitate to recommend her in the future. She has truly made my transition back into college a smoother one.
