Frequently Asked Questions

Decision Drop is an independent college admissions consulting firm founded by former university admissions professionals Lisa Clay and Josh Hudley. We help students and families navigate the college process from early high school planning through applications and final college decisions.

College admissions consulting can include academic and extracurricular planning, building a balanced college list, developing an application strategy, essay coaching, testing guidance, recommendation planning, interview preparation, organization, and decision support. At Decision Drop, every student benefits from the perspective and expertise of both Lisa and Josh throughout the process.

You can meet Lisa and Josh, learn more about what an Independent Educational Consultant does, or hear the story behind Decision Drop in Episode 1 of Drop In.

The biggest difference is that every Decision Drop student benefits from both Lisa and Josh, rather than being assigned to a single counselor.

Together, Lisa and Josh bring experience from both sides of the admissions process. They began their careers working inside selective university admissions offices and later spent decades counseling high school students and families. That combination gives students two professional perspectives on college fit, application strategy, essays, and the many decisions that come up along the way.

Our approach is highly personal. We get to know the student behind the transcript, help families cut through conflicting information, and build a process around the student's actual goals rather than a formula.

Learn more about Lisa and Josh's backgrounds, read reviews from students and families, or listen to why we created Decision Drop.

A college admissions consultant with former admissions experience can provide valuable insight into how applications are reviewed, evaluated, and discussed within admissions offices. However, admissions experience is only one part of effective college counseling. Families should also look for a consultant who understands students, communicates honestly, and helps develop a thoughtful strategy based on the individual student.

At Decision Drop, Lisa Clay and Josh Hudley bring experience from both sides of the admissions process. Lisa and Josh began their careers working in university admissions, including Lisa’s experience as an admissions officer at the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University, and Josh’s admissions experience at Washington University in St. Louis. They later spent decades counseling high school students and families, allowing them to combine admissions knowledge with the perspective of experienced school counselors.

You can learn more about Lisa and Josh’s backgrounds and hear more about why they created Decision Drop in Episode 1 of Drop In.

Families should look for a college admissions consultant who combines experience, expertise, honesty, and a student-centered approach. A strong consultant should understand the admissions process, communicate clearly, help students develop authentic applications, and provide realistic guidance rather than promises or guarantees.

Important questions to ask include: What is the consultant’s background? Will my student work with one counselor or multiple professionals? How does the consultant approach essays and application strategy? Does the consultant focus on helping students find the right fit, or only on rankings and admission rates?

At Decision Drop, every student benefits from the perspective of both Lisa and Josh. Their combined experience in university admissions and high school counseling allows them to help students build thoughtful college lists, develop strong applications, and navigate the process with greater clarity and confidence.

Learn more about what an Independent Educational Consultant does or read What an Independent Educational Consultant Does That Your School Counselor Cannot.

Decision Drop provides personalized college counseling throughout high school, with the specific support changing as students move closer to application season.

Our work can include academic and course planning, extracurricular and summer planning, college research and list development, application strategy, Common App guidance, personal statements and supplemental essays, activities and résumé development, SAT/ACT and test-optional strategy, recommendation planning, financial aid and scholarship guidance, interview preparation, application organization, and final college decision support.

Families can explore our services for freshmen and sophomores, high school juniors, and high school seniors.

For deeper guidance on individual parts of the process, explore our resources on building a college list, choosing a college essay topic, standardized testing, recommendation letters, and scholarships and financial aid.

For many families, sophomore year is an ideal time to begin, but there is no single right starting point.

Freshmen and sophomores can benefit from thoughtful course planning, extracurricular exploration, summer planning, and learning how to make intentional choices without turning high school into a four-year college application. Learn more about our freshman and sophomore college planning.

Junior year is a particularly valuable time to begin because students can build their college list, create a testing strategy, think ahead about recommendation letters, organize activities, and begin application preparation before senior fall becomes hectic. Our junior-year services and guide to getting a junior-year head start explain that process in more detail.

And no, senior year is not too late. Seniors can still receive concentrated support with college lists, essays, applications, deadlines, and strategy through our senior college admissions services.

Earlier gives us more time to plan. Later simply means we prioritize what matters most right now.

Not necessarily. School counselors and independent college consultants serve different roles, and they can work extremely well together.

Lisa and Josh both spent years working inside high schools, so we deeply respect the work school counselors do. A school counselor brings important knowledge of the student within their school community and plays a critical role in the application process.

An Independent Educational Consultant can add time and individualized depth that many school counseling programs simply cannot provide because of caseloads and competing responsibilities. That may mean multiple rounds of essay feedback, detailed college research, testing decisions school by school, application organization, recommendation planning, or availability outside the school day.

Our goal is not to replace your student's school counselor. It is to expand the support around your student.

For a deeper explanation, read What an Independent Educational Consultant Does That Your School Counselor Cannot or our guide to what an IEC actually does.

Every Decision Drop student is a shared client, so families benefit from the perspective and expertise of both Lisa and Josh throughout the college process.

Depending on the student and the task, a meeting may involve Lisa, Josh, or both, but the work does not happen in separate silos. We collaborate on college lists, application strategy, essays, major decisions, and the questions that inevitably come up along the way.

That means a student is not dependent on one person's perspective, experience, or availability. Lisa and Josh bring different professional backgrounds, counseling styles, institutional knowledge, and insights to the same student.

You can learn more about their individual experience on our team page and hear them work through admissions questions together every week on the Drop In college admissions podcast.

Our coaching is student-centered, collaborative, direct, and encouraging. We help students figure out what they genuinely want to say and how to communicate it effectively, but the student's ideas, experiences, and voice remain their own.

We do not believe a college essay needs to sound impressive for the sake of sounding impressive. The strongest essays usually reveal something meaningful about how a student thinks, what they notice, what matters to them, or how they have grown.

That means our role is to brainstorm, ask questions, challenge vague writing, provide editorial feedback, and help students revise. We do not write essays for students or turn their writing into something that no longer sounds like them.

For more on our approach, read How to Choose a College Essay Topic That Actually Sounds Like You, listen to Episode 4: Common App Essay Tips, and then dive into Episode 5 on supplemental essays.

Meeting frequency is customized to the student and where they are in the college process.

Some periods require more frequent contact than others. A freshman or sophomore may meet periodically for planning and check-ins, while a junior may meet more regularly as testing and college research accelerate. During senior essay and application season, meetings may become weekly or even more frequent when needed.

Students and families can also communicate with us between meetings, so a quick question does not always need to wait for the next scheduled appointment.

Most of our work can be done virtually, which allows us to work with students throughout the United States and internationally. In-person options are also available in select Florida and Houston-area locations.

Explore our specific programs for freshmen and sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

Yes. Decision Drop works virtually with students and families throughout the United States and internationally, and every student benefits from both Lisa and Josh regardless of location.

In-person college counseling is available primarily with Lisa in Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, and the Tampa Bay area, and primarily with Josh in the Houston metro area. Because every student works within our collaborative two-counselor model, location does not determine which counselor's expertise a family receives.

Families can learn more about our specific experience with Florida college admissions, Texas college admissions, and international university admissions.

Decision Drop primarily works with high school students and families navigating the undergraduate college admissions process, from students who already have a clear college goal to those who are still exploring what they want their future to look like.

We support students applying to public universities, private colleges, liberal arts colleges, honors programs, highly selective institutions, international universities, and schools that may not always appear on the most common college lists but could be an excellent fit for a particular student.

We also have experience supporting students with a wide range of backgrounds and goals, including international students applying to U.S. universities, U.S. students applying abroad, student-athletes, arts applicants, students with learning differences, and students whose college search requires a more individualized strategy. For students pursuing creative fields, we can provide guidance on art school applications, portfolio development strategy, creative supplements, essays, and finding programs that align with their artistic goals.

In addition, Lisa and Josh have experience supporting graduate and professional school applicants and can provide specialized guidance for select students navigating advanced-degree applications. While undergraduate admissions is the primary focus of Decision Drop, our experience across higher education allows us to help students think strategically about the next steps in their academic journey.

You can learn more about our international admissions support, read about college admissions for student-athletes, explore guidance for students pursuing creative fields in Applying to Art School: Portfolios, Essays, and Finding the Right Fit, or contact us to discuss your student's individual situation.

Yes. Decision Drop works with students applying to highly selective colleges and universities, including Ivy League institutions, but we do not believe a student's college process should be built around prestige alone.

Selective admissions are unpredictable, even for outstanding applicants. Our job is to help students understand where they are genuinely competitive, develop a thoughtful application strategy, present themselves authentically, and build a balanced list containing multiple colleges where they would be excited to attend.

No ethical college admissions consultant can guarantee admission to a highly selective university. We would rather give a family a realistic assessment than sell certainty that does not exist.

You can see examples of students and families we have supported on our testimonials page, learn how we approach building a balanced college list, or listen to Episode 3: How to Build a College List.

Yes. While Decision Drop works with students throughout the United States and internationally, Lisa and Josh bring particular experience with Texas and Florida college admissions.

Lisa spent more than a decade working in university admissions, including serving as an admissions officer at both the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University, where she evaluated undergraduate applications. She also spent years counseling students and families through the college process in Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida.

Josh brings extensive experience from both university admissions and high school counseling, including his time in admissions at Washington University in St. Louis and decades guiding students through the college process. Together, Lisa and Josh help students navigate institutions across Texas, including UT Austin, Texas A&M, Rice University, SMU, and TCU, as well as Florida universities such as the University of Florida, Florida State University, University of Miami, UCF, and USF.

Regardless of location, every Decision Drop student benefits from the perspective and expertise of both Lisa and Josh.

You can also explore our Florida college admissions support and Texas college admissions support.

Decision Drop offers both comprehensive and hourly college counseling options, allowing families to choose the level of support that makes the most sense for their student.

The right structure depends on the student's grade level, where they are in the process, and how much support the family wants. Some families want comprehensive guidance across the entire process, while others need help with a specific stage, application, essay, or strategy question.

During a free introductory conversation, we learn more about your student, explain the available service and fee options, and help you determine what level of support makes sense. There is no obligation to move forward.

You can review our services for freshmen and sophomores, juniors, and seniors, or schedule an introductory conversation.

It depends on the student and family. Not every family needs a private college counselor.

Independent college counseling tends to be most valuable for families who want additional individualized time, college research, application strategy, essay coaching, organization, testing guidance, or an experienced second set of eyes throughout a complicated process.

It can also be helpful when parents want to remain supportive without having every conversation at home turn into a conversation about applications and deadlines.

A good consultant should make the process more understandable and intentional, not create additional anxiety or convince a student that there is only one acceptable college outcome.

If you are deciding whether private counseling makes sense for your family, start with What Is an Independent Educational Consultant? and What an IEC Does That Your School Counselor Cannot. Then talk with us and decide whether the fit feels right.

The first step is a free introductory conversation with Lisa and Josh.

Complete our contact form and tell us a little about your student. During the call, we will learn more about where they are in the college process, what your family is looking for, answer your questions, and discuss the service and fee structure that makes the most sense.

If it feels like a good fit on both sides, we will develop a plan and get started.

Before your call, you are also welcome to meet Lisa and Josh, read what students and families have said about working with us, or listen to Episode 1 of Drop In.