I was in a similar position to your brother about a year ago. I had solid stats (2260 SAT, 730s on Spanish and Literature, 770 on Math 1, 41 IB total), was President of and internationally competitive MUN team, debate team, editor of the school newspaper, had worked extensively with a charity, and had very similar summer experiences (NSLI-Y, Political Campaigns, CTY, etc). Most of the university counsellors I looked at were exorbitantly expensive and seemed a bit superfluous, so I’d resigned to deal with the process on my own until I stumbled upon College transitions. Over the course of about 6 months, I worked extensively with their CEO - Andrew Belasco - and he was superb in helping me develop a more pointed application, as well as in choosing just the right schools to apply to. He pointed me towards specific programs (i.e. Columbia-Science Po Dual BA, NYU Stern’s Business and Political Economy program, John’s Hopkins 5-year MA-BA, etc) that I otherwise would have entirely overlooked. He was also incredibly effective at tailoring my writing skills to the application writing process. I consider myself a fairly competent writer (800 CR, 5 years of intensive CTY English courses), but good writing isn’t always synonymous with good college application writing; Dr. Belasco was crucial to bridging that gap. I’m heading to Columbia in the fall, after having been admitted off the waitlist, and I’m confident that the process wouldn’t have worked so well in my favour had it not been for his help.
You can check them out here: http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ and I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you (or anyone) may have about their services, just PM me or respond on this post.
I recommend them without the slightest hesitation.
P.S. He should 100% apply to Columbia ED. They fill more than half their class through ED to improve yield, and their differing admissions rates reflect that (~6%RD vs ~17% ED). It’s also an incredible university in the best city in the world.