EdMD: A History of Success
With over 18 years of experience, EdMD has helped 2,160+ students successfully submit 26,000+ college applications and 35,000+ financial aid forms. With our proven track record and expertise, we can help you too!
Google Rating
Based on 29 reviews
Yelp Rating
Based on 22 reviews
EdMD assists students with career planning, major selection, application completion, essay development and editing, unique extracurricular participation that stands out, and filling out financial aid forms.
2023 Success Story: U Penn Nursing
This student had a 4.53 weighted GPA and was a part of the IB program at her high school. She held several leadership positions in addition to more than 150 hours shadowing a midwife. She was unable to earn a strong enough SAT/ACT score for her reach schools. As a result, rather than submitting her test scores to all schools, she only sent them to ones where her score ranked in the top 50% of admitted students. For reach schools, she applied test blind. The strengths of her essays and extracurriculars, coupled with her passion for helping others, which was the theme of her application, led to her acceptance at Boston College, UC Irvine, and the University of Pennsylvania.
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Client Reviews
Arian Dehnavizadeh
1731907003
Julian helped me transfer to one of the most competetive majors and schools (UCLA computer Science with less than 5% acceptance rate!), and made it look easy. Very responsive, and he is still in contact with me in case I have any questions. Big shout out to him and his great work. 6 stars if I could give him.
Fariba O.
1729152545
I recommend Julian Brooks to anyone looking for guidance and support during the college application process. Thanks to his support, my daughter was...
Nathan Mann
1723597394
I used EdMD to get assistance submitting my FAFSA for the 24-25 academic year. Dan was instrumental in navigating the chaos of the botched overhaul of the FAFSA this year, ensuring that our family was able to avoid the issues that plagued so many people this year. In addition, the aid that I received far exceeded the price that I paid - I highly recommend EdMD's financial aid counseling services.
Brandon S.
1721211860
Julian was amazing for my daughter. Made the process very easy and took her thru admissions in a very stepwise, easy to digest way that both empowered my...
Farzad Dehnavizadeh
1717029352
We are thrilled to share our wonderful experience with Julian Brooks at EdMD College Admissions & Financial Aid Expert. Julian provided exceptional guidance and support for our son throughout the college transfer process. Thanks to his expertise, our son was successfully admitted to multiple prestigious universities, including UC Merced, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, UC Irvine, and Virginia Tech. Additionally, he was waitlisted at UC San Diego.Julian's comprehensive understanding of the college admissions landscape, along with his personalized approach, made a significant difference in our son's journey. He took the time to understand our son's strengths, aspirations, and unique circumstances, crafting a tailored strategy that highlighted his achievements and potential.Throughout the process, Julian was always available to answer questions, provide valuable insights, and offer encouragement. His dedication and professionalism were evident in every interaction, ensuring that our son felt confident and well-prepared for each step of the admissions process.We are incredibly grateful for Julian's support and highly recommend his services to any family navigating the complexities of college admissions. His expertise and commitment have been instrumental in our son's success, and we are excited about the bright future that lies ahead for him.Thank you, Julian, for your outstanding work and unwavering support!
Farzad D.
1717004109
We are thrilled to share our wonderful experience with Julian Brooks at EdMD . Julian provided exceptional guidance and support for our son throughout the...
atreyee mukherjee
1716232828
Julian from EdMD has proven to be an invaluable resource in my daughter's college application journey. His extensive knowledge and expertise in the field make him an ideal guide for students seeking assistance in this critical phase of their academic lives.Furthermore, Julian's flexibility in providing feedback allowed my daughter the opportunity to refine and improve her applications iteratively. This personalized approach not only fosters growth but also empowers students to take ownership of their application process. Moreover, Julian's proactive approach to keeping students on track with application deadlines speaks volumes about his professionalism and reliability. By offering timely reminders and guidance, he ensures that students stay organized and focused, ultimately maximizing their chances of success.My daughter's college applications were accepted by both in-state and out-of-state colleges, all for the major she applied for. Opting to pursue statistics at UC Berkeley, she received acceptance letters from all UCs she applied to, without facing any rejections. Alongside my daughter's hard work, I want to give a shout-out to Julian for his invaluable guidance throughout this entire process Thanks much .
Atreyee G.
1716207733
Julian from EdMD has proven to be an invaluable resource in my daughter's college application journey. His extensive knowledge and expertise in the field...
M. Moya
1694295638
Julian Brooks at EDMD has been absolutely amazing! He supported 2 of our 3 daughters with their college experience.With both of our daughters, he provided feedback and created a customized plan, suggested courses and even took the time to help us during the dreading appeal process.His grounded approch to deal with the schools has been stellar. Because of his creative approach my daughters aid and grants increased significantly compared to what was originally offered at UC Santa Cruz and at the University of San Francisco. Not to mention, being admitted to multiple great schools.I'm extremely greateful and if I could rate him 10stars I would. Best investment ever! Thank you so much, Julian, I'm looking to continue to work with you!
Mimi M.
1694269765
Julian Brooks at EDMD has been absolutely amazing! He supported 2 of our 3 daughters with their college experience. With both of our daughters, he...
Tahirah Anderson
1691194039
Julian Brooks at EdMD was an asset to have for my daughter's college preparation. He listened to all of our needs, he walked her through the preparation for college applications and admissions. He was there for all of our questions and concerns. He prepared her months ahead of time for the application and financial aid processes. He meet with her on a regular basis and updated myself. He was amazing when it came time for the application process and he made it so much easier on all of us. He stayed on top of her regarding her deadlines and helped her begin preparing her admissions essays and information months in advance along with reviewing and giving her insight and advice on improving her essays. I recommend using the service and especially recommend Julian. My daughter was accepted into several schools including UC Berkeley and UCLA. She will be attending UCLA this fall.
Tahirah A.
1691168680
Julian Brooks at EdMD was an asset to have for my daughter's college preparation. He listened to all of our needs, he walked her through the preparation for...
Anirudh Y
1691100144
This is long overdue but Julian Brooks is a great counselor and really helped me. He is very flexible and easy to work with, and is also always available to answer questions. I was really late looking for a counselor but Julian worked with me from day 1 to help me get up to speed and really helped me improve and strengthen my essays. He also made navigating the application process and all the different forms I had to fill out much easier to do.Of everything he did, his help with the logistical aspect of the college application process really removed a lot of stress. A lot of my friends had a lot of trouble with this, something I did not have to worry about because of Julian. This allowed me to focus more on writing my application rather than figuring out what to fill out and when to fill it out. In the end, I managed to get into some top universities so I am really happy about my decision and would recommend EdMD to any parents that are looking for a college counselor for their kid. Thank you Julian!
Anirudh Y.
1691074694
This is long overdue but Julian Brooks is a great counselor and really helped me. He is very flexible and easy to work with, and is also always available to...
Ari Welti
1682746003
With Julian's assistance, I recently finished my college applications, and I can't say enough wonderful things about the process. I couldn't be more grateful to him for his advice and assistance in helping me get admitted into UC Irvine as a Business Administration student—my top college and major.From the very beginning, Julian was incredibly attentive and took the time to get to know me as a person and understand my goals and aspirations for college. With his help, I was able to submit a strong and personalized application that truly showcased my strengths and accomplishments. His extensive knowledge of the college admissions process was evident at every turn, and I never felt like I was navigating the process alone.Ultimately, I couldn't be happier with the results of his counseling services. I was accepted into my top college, and I know that it wouldn't have been possible without his help. I would highly recommend EdMD services to anyone who is looking for guidance and support in the college admissions process!
Qiu Yang
1682720392
We'll take this opportunity to formally thank Julian Brooks for the assistance and guidance he has provided Daron over the past year. Daron was successfully admitted by New York University this year for Class of 2027! Daron would not have gotten nearly this far without his assistance and we are very fortunate to have had his help. Julian's availability and creative suggestions were above and beyond expected. It was a stressful few months of concern, doubt, and hope, but his vast experience, professionalism, insight and knowledge were invaluable in this crazy college process and made everything easier and successful. We would highly recommend Julian to anyone needing help with the college process!
Qiu Y.
1682691688
We'll take this opportunity to formally thank Julian Brooks for the assistance and guidance he has provided Daron over the past year. Daron was...
Zack H.
1681897041
I have been a client of EdMD for the past four years and have utilized their financial aid services for my son, who is at Chico State, and my daughter at...
Linda G.
1681751954
We worked with EdMD on our son's college admission and we were so fortunate to do so. Julian did all the work for us regarding financial aid application...
M L
1677900429
Julian has been an invaluable source of guidance and support to help my daughter in change of major at her university, especially advising her to think of pros and cons and the process. Thank you again.
Hannah Rohr
1653406981
Julian at EdMD College Admissions helped me navigate my college applications in the most seamless way possible. He set specific goals within well-divided deadlines, making the whole process so much more organized. I am so grateful to have been able to work with Julian and will be studying marketing at Oregon State this fall!
Aarnav Sanghvi
1650481537
Julian was great when it came to helping me with my college applications. He told me what I could do to strengthen my application, as well as advised me on what classes would be beneficial to take. He was also great at editing essays and was pretty responsive to comments and messages. I will be pursuing EECS at UC Berkeley this fall and would definitely recommend Julian as a counselor.
Victor Doss
1626482151
We had no clue how to navigate the college prep mess. But Julian put us at ease and guided my daughter every step of the way. He set the expectation right early in the process and helped narrow down the college list tailored to her requirements. From then on she was mostly consulting directly with him and we didn't have to interfere. Still remember the day she came out of her room with big smiles holding her laptop with acceptance from UT Austin. Overall a great experience and what a relief to have Julian by our side.
Victor D.
1626456683
We had no clue how to navigate the college prep mess. But Julian put us at ease and guided my daughter every step of the way. He set the expectation right...
Gowri Anupama
1623364719
Everyone at EdMD made the entire college application process such a smooth experience. Dan worked with me, along with Julian, throughout my freshman college application process through their expertise. They were dedicated and detailed when helping me put my application together. By taking my strengths and helping me showcase and highlight them in my application, they worked alongside me without every pressuring me. I was accepted into numerous schools, receiving scholarships, and ultimately chose to attend UCSB for Biopsychology.This past year, Julian provided immense support in my transfer application to USC. With his confidence, I chose to apply to just one school and was accepted to my choice of major, Neuroscience (BS). He was organized and spent countless hours helping me, making the entire time free of any stress. My family and I have always felt prioritized by everyone at EdMD, especially in the specialized and personalized attention/guidance I got. I have multiple friends who have worked with them and had the most positive and successful experiences. Dan and Julian have helped me frame long term goals as well. Moving forward, I feel confident in my path academically and professionally. Huge thanks to everyone at EdMD!!
Biju Nair
1623362007
EdMD the Single Stop Shop for College App counselling! Dan and his staff are fantastic. I worked with Dan and Julian Brooks for my daughters College Admission for Freshman and Transfer App.My Daughter got the admission at UC SB and many other UCs in 2019 as freshman with the guidance from Dan and it was probably one of the smoothest sails we had. His greatest capability is assessing the needs of the applicant and weigh against the capability of the applicant. Absolute Zero push in attempting to unachievable goals! Calm and professionalIn 2021 Julian Brooks helped in Transfer application for my daughter to USC CA. My daughter applied to only one school, and she got it. The entire journey in preparing her to pick the right courses during her first two years in the college to match and meet the requirement of USC transfer needs were amazing. Very personalized and professional guidance. He is one of the easiest people to work with. He was extremely responsive and helped my daughter with lots of focus and diligence. I highly recommend EdMD to any parent who has kid preparing to go to college. Julian is a rock star!
Sumita B.
1618926992
Julian Brooks is wonderful. He stepped in to help us out in a crisis (not of his making), and without hesitation made himself available during the critical...
S Shah
1593646332
Review:A big thank you to the EDMD team for getting me to the college of my dreams. I especially want to thank my counselor Julian for his sincere dedication to my cause and his incredible help. He has a work ethic like no other and deserves all that is good in life. Before I met him I knew I wanted to go to college but, was ultimately not sure how and what were the required steps. I was quite honestly afraid and feared that I might not be going to college. However, my worry was put to ease when I met Julian. Julian really created a step by step framework to show me what I needed to take in high school, and how to attain my college goal. He also helped me in big ways with my college essays, by showing me what colleges want in my writing, and how to prove to these colleges that I am the right student for them. He also helped with the FAFSA financial aid form and made sure we could apply for it and receive aid without losing any money. Without him, I do not believe I would be able to go to such a great, and wonderful college like "Santa Clara University". Once again a big thank you to the team and Julian for helping me become the person I want to be and putting me on the road to success._Sean
Shriya Shah
1593639604
This review is for EDMD and especially about our awesome admissions/ financial aid counselor Julian Brooks. We were really late in the game. Our high school senior, who has significant physical and health challenges hadn't decided that he wanted to head to the 4 year college route until the summer of his Junior year. At that time, we registered for the SAT test in August and October of his senior year. Then came in the deadlines of early application for some private colleges and the UC/CSU applications. We were clueless about the whole process and what it entails. I happened to talk to a mom who was working with Julian as their counselor and she referred me to him. We were thrilled to know that Julian was willing to work with us at this late juncture of the application process. I must say that our experience with Julian has been amazing. He helped us not only to make our essay questions concise and precise but also helped us highlight and list all the extra-curricular activities and clubs he was involved with. Our criteria was very concrete about our college choices as we wanted to keep it as local and close to home as possible due to the health needs of my senior. When applying for colleges, he kept this criteria very well in mind but still let us apply to a few universities like UC Davis and Cal Poly Slo for bragging rights as my senior really wanted to apply to those even though he knew that going there wouldn't be an option. He got into almost all the colleges he had applied for except UC Davis. He got substantial scholarships from Saint Mary's College of Moraga and University of Pacific and got financial aid from Santa Clara University as well. When applying for FAFSA, Julian filled out all the paperwork for us. After a lot of deliberation and input from Julian, he has decided to go to Santa Clara University. We as a family strongly believe that because of Julian's expertise, we are where we are today. Thank you Julian!! I would wholeheartedly recommend Julian's services for your entire admissions process.
Natalie Williamson
1593569561
Julian Brooks is truly one of the best college counselors out there. If you are looking for one I highly recommend going to him. He is incredibly efficient, knowledgeable, and trustworthy.He has a lot of insight into what particular schools look for and because of that he is able to tailor your application to be more pleasing to specific schools. After assessing my academic strengths and personality, Julian identified that a business-related major would be the perfect fit for me. He informed me that Cal Poly’s Business Administration major is difficult to get into so he provided an alternative major that would improve my chances of getting into the College of Business. Julian not only helped me gain an acceptance to Cal Poly, but also helped me receive a Cal Grant and other financial aid. He is easily accessible via text, email, phone, and video conference - to this day I still text him about random questions that I have lol. Navigating college applications on your own, while possible, can be very challenging even with the help of a school counselor. If you have the extra money and are looking for someone to make your college application process much easier to manage I highly recommend him! I cannot say enough good things.
RIANNA DIZON
1593370225
I'd like to give a big shout out to Julian Brooks. He was very professional and easy to work with! I actually worked with him as a transfer student from Community College and this semester I will be attending Pepperdine University. I got into almost all the schools I applied to. Julian was very helpful with writing my essays, figuring out financial aid and looking for scholarships. I've recommended him to all of my friends that are also applying for universities. Overall it was an awesome experience! I could not imagine going through the application process without Julian.
rishi gopalan
1592531991
Julian Brooks was my counselor for the 2020 admission cycle. At first I was very nervous and didn't think I had much of a chance with many of my targeted colleges. But with his help, the application process was very smooth and my confidence grew. Julian did a great job communicating deadlines and advice to keep me on track. He knows exactly what he is talking about as I ended up getting into many of the UC's. I am overjoyed with my result! He actually saved my parents more money in the long run with financial aid than they spent for EdMD college counseling. This is definitely a worthy investment.
Joedel Dizon
1592528561
We worked with Julian Brooks in helping my daughter with her college apps. Not only that he is very professional and easy to work with, he is also very responsive to questions that we have. He is also very knowledgeable from the stand point of getting scholarships and grants which we as the parents are very limited in that knowledge-base and it would take us hours to research when he will take minutes to fill out the apps. It turned out that he was able to get my daughter a significant amount of scholarships and grants!!! I highly recommend EdMD to any parent that has a kid that is preparing to go to college.
Joedel D.
1592503686
We worked with Julian Brooks in helping my daughter with her college apps. Not only that he is very professional and easy to work with, he is also very...
Annette Erce
1557355010
We are so happy that we had Julian Brooks help us with the college application process. He was very knowledgeable and professional. He was super great at being able to communicate with my daughter and making her feel comfortable and at ease with the college application. He helped us navigate all the options to find the right college that would best suit my daughter's educational and financial needs. I would definitely recommend him.
Susie Uramoto
1537851463
The EdMD team has a wealth of knowledge related to setting the most effective road map and providing hands on support in a successful path to higher education. The advice we received empowered us to set the proper curriculum in high school to enable our daughter success in entrance into her desired university and major. Dan and his team truly care about her as an individual and are invested in her success.
Susan Snyder
1537822152
The best college application prep and financial aid counseling in the east bay. Dan is worth every penny! Our daughter was accepted into her first choice school and Dan helped navigate the FAFSA process on top of all of the other items. We highly recommend his firm
Rob Scott
1537482779
Dan has been instrumental in assisting us with our daughter's higher education. Everything from the planning stages in identifying a good fit for the school and curriculum to assisting us in navigating the financial piece, he has been a great resource. Through his services in the financial spectrum, we have saved so much more than we paid him that it was a great investment. He was also very good at keeping the student engaged in the decision making process, which served to conclude at the best option. I am very pleased with the service I receive and continue to refer people to him to utilize his services.
Madison Jackson
1500918811
Dan and his staff have been fantastic! They have been extremely helpful and responsive to ALL our crazy questions! We have twins and knew it was going to be quite the process to get all the details figured out in this complicated college process. I had interviewed a few college planners and they all seemed to want to make us and our twins feels as though they needed to do even MORE preparation for college then they already had (AP, volunteering, SAT/ACT, essay writing) and that they possibly wouldn't get into the colleges they wanted. Dan was the exact opposite...he made all of us feel great about their accomplishments and when we left his office, we got in the elevator and looked at each other and said, "Wow, he made us feel 100% better about this process"! He not only communicates and responds to us as the parents, but also immediately calls our kids back with any questions they may have. He did everything from the filing of FAFSA, college applications, online acceptances, as well as discussing our options of students loans and the financial strategies to help offset the financial burdens. Both of our high school graduates got into almost every college they applied to because Dan knew the process and which schools to go into as a "Declared" or "Undeclared" major. He was able to give us the insight of which schools and majors were impacted and what the work around should be. Our twins are both going to their preferred and dream colleges, and no doubt Dan has been a huge part of that! There is a fee for service like this, but he's upfront about what he thinks his services will cost and will help you as much or as little as you need. I have recommended him to all our friends that have high school aged students and have received positive feedback from them as well! Why make such an overwhelming process difficult if you don't have to...call Dan!
Keith Crook
1499815723
We had a wonderful experience working with Dan Claffey and his team. After attending a couple college workshops in trying to decide who to hire, we chose EdMD due to Dan's vast knowledge with college applications, financial aid applications, college essays, etc. In regards to costs, he was one of the few who didn't charge a large lump sum in advance. With Dan, there were financial options which allowed us to pick and choose which areas we needed his assistance and he only billed us for the hours he assisted us. As an added bonus, he worked very efficiently. He worked closely with myself as well as our son during the entire process. College applications can be confusing causing stress, but with Dan at the helm, our process was streamlined. I learned that even though we could have completed the college application process on our own, it would have been very stressful and costly due to the many mistakes we would have made on the financial aid applications. After all, you don't know what you don't know, and his knowledge is extensive, and very much appreciated. This is an investment that is well worth it. I also forgot to mention that the first appointment with him is free so that you can meet and make sure that it is a good fit for all parties involved. Nothing to lose! Highly recommend!