College admissions can feel overwhelming for parents and students. Families are expected to make important decisions about classes, extracurriculars, testing, internships, essays, applications, scholarships, and college lists – often without a clear roadmap.
College Counseling Support for Pleasanton Families
Olympus College Prep provides college counseling services for Pleasanton and Tri-Valley families who want a more strategic, structured, and personalized path to college admissions. Our counseling process helps students with course planning, student profile development, competition preparation, internships, community engagement, passion projects, applications, essays, scholarships, and financial planning.
Our approach helps students build a cohesive academic and extracurricular profile, not just complete applications at the last minute.
| Differentiators | Olympus College Prep | Huntington Learning Center | C2 Education | College Planning Solutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADMISSIONS & FINANCIAL PLANNING | ||||
| College Admissions Counseling | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Dedicated Local Counselor | ✔ | ✕ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Course Selection Planning | ✔ | ✕ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Certified College Financial Consultant (In-House) | ✔ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Interview Preparation | ✔ | ✕ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Financial Aid Planning | ✔ | ✕ | ✔ | ✔ |
| ACADEMIC & ENRICHMENT SERVICES | ||||
| Scholarship Strategy | ✔ | ✕ | ✔ | ✔ |
| SAT/ACT Prep Included | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Subject Tutoring (In-house) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✕ |
| Study Skills Coaching | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✕ |
| Academic Competition Prep (AMC/AIME) | ✔ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Internship Guidance (in-house) | ✔ | ✕ | ✕ | ✔ |
| CREDENTIALS & EXPERIENCE | ||||
| Career Exploration | ✔ | ✕ | ✔ | ✔ |
| WASC Accredited | ✔ | ✔ | ✕ | ✕ |
| NACAC / WACAC Member | ✔ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| 15+ Years of Experience | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Whether your child is just entering high school or preparing to apply, a clearer plan can reduce stress and improve decision-making.
See how Olympus College Prep’s Comprehensive and Full-Scope packages compare
across the 5-Pillar system, development days, included courses, and exclusive partnerships.
Frequency Key: *RegularlyProvided **AnnuallyProvided ***OnceProvided
| Service Feature | Frequency | COMPREHENSIVE $40K Top 10-20 Universities 20 Max Applications 125hrs SAT/ACT Prep | FULL-SCOPE $55k Top 10 Universities 20 Min Applications Aydin Tutoring Eligible |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 PILLAR COLLEGE COUNSELING | |||
| Courses, Certification, & Courses Outside High School | * | ✔ | ✔ |
| Scholastic & Innovative Competitions | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| University Research & Internships | * | ✔ | ✔ |
| Passion Project w/ Recognition | * | ✔ | ✔ |
| Cross-Cultural Community Engagement Project | * | ✔ | ✔ |
| DEVELOPMENT DAYS | |||
| Emerging Majors and Career Advising | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| College Affordability and Financing Days | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| Scholarship Application Course | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| Internship Application Days | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| College Demonstrated Interest Course | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| Research Application Day | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| Research Grant Day | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| Business or 501(c)(3) Advising and Formation Course | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| Competition & Olympiad Preparation | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| Resume Update Days | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| College Decision Days | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| Study Skills Course (10-hour) | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| College Application Course (130 hrs) | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| Scholarship Matching & College Affordability Days | ** | ✔ | ✔ |
| INCLUDED COURSES | |||
| Complimentary 1-1 Tutoring Hours | *** | $800 | $4,000 |
| SAT/ACT Preparation Course (125 hrs) | ***/* | ✔ | ✔ |
| AMC Preparation | * | ✕ | ✔ |
| 1-1 Study Skills Mentorship Program | * | ✕ | ✔ |
| EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIPS | |||
| Berkeley Research Academy | — | ✕ | ✔ |
| BioCurious In-Person Lab | — | ✕ | ✔ |
Tracking the two-phase progression to Top 10 University Admissions, from foundational milestones through elite, competitive achievement.
The Comprehensive plan is split into two distinct phases. Students begin in Phase 1 with Victor Diaz to build a strong foundation. Upon completing all 5 foundational milestones, students graduate to Phase 2 with Head Counselor Aydin to focus on elite, competitive achievements necessary for Top 10 university admissions.
| PHASE 1: T10 ELIGIBLE Counselor: Victor Diaz | |
|---|---|
| Enroll ina study skills curriculum | |
| Achieve top 1% on the PSAT or SAT | |
| Participate in national conferences | |
| Achieve a 3.83+ UW GPA | |
| Introductory Internship | |
| Introductory Competition | |
| Achieve a leadership position (in/out of school) |
Graduates to Phase2 upon completing Phase1 milestones
| PHASE 2: T10 COMPETITIVE Counselor: Aydin | |
|---|---|
| Thrive with an ISEF winning project | |
| Lead a youth committee | |
| Launch a cross-cultural youth committee | |
| Work through an award-winning passion project | |
| Maintain Phase1 Requirements |
Students need a course plan that shows academic strength while remaining realistic and manageable through in-school and outside-school class options. We help families evaluate honors, AP, advanced, and elective choices in the context of the student’s goals.
Academic competitions can help students demonstrate subject-matter strength, especially in STEM, math, science, history, and other competitive fields.
Meaningful internships and academic experiences can help students explore interests and show initiative beyond the classroom.
Colleges want to understand how students contribute to their communities. We help students identify service and leadership opportunities that connect to their interests.
A strong passion project can help a student show intellectual curiosity, creativity, leadership, and follow-through. We help students develop projects that feel authentic and aligned with their goals.
Students can begin building stronger study habits, exploring interests through real-world internships and experiences, and getting ahead academically to stay ahead in high school.
Freshman year is the time to build academic consistency, choose the right course level, and beginning to explore interests in a meaningful way to develop a unique academic niche.
Sophomore year is often when students begin working through targeted advanced coursework, completing standardized testing, earning certifications, participating in regional through national competitions, and establishing a history of leadership outside the classroom.
Junior year is critical for building upon success, and garnering attention and awards within the academic field/niche the student is interested in. at this stage, all 5 college counseling pillars have been completed, and students are working on demonstrating outstanding mastery or achievement in one. Furthermore junior year is when students really begin to tailor their work to the universities they will be applying to.
Senior year requires strong execution: applications, essays, deadlines, financial planning, interviews, and final decision support.





Students can benefit from college counseling as early as 8th or 9th grade, especially if they are targeting competitive universities. Earlier planning gives students more time to make stronger course, activity, testing, and project decisions.
College counseling may include course planning, college list development, extracurricular strategy, test planning, essay support, applications, scholarships, financial planning, and student profile development.
A student profile is the overall academic and personal story a student presents to colleges. It includes grades, course rigor, test scores, activities, leadership, service, projects, interests, essays, and recommendations.
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