What Our Clients Say

I cannot believe [my daughter] is a senior . . .- I am really going to miss her when she leaves – but I am really confident she will end up where she is meant to be. I cannot thank Emily and Alex enough – I will send more referrals – and they are all well deserved 😉

Parent of George C. Marshall High School Student

Class of 2024

As you’ve heard XXX, has been accepted to XXX.   We are so thrilled that she will have this opportunity to learn and grow!

Your influence, guidance, perspective, tips and humor made the college process easy, manageable and interesting. Thank you for all you both did!

Please feel free to use us as a reference; we are more than happy to tell anyone about our wonderful experience with your team.”

Parents of Student at South Lakes High School
Class of 2023

Emily & Alex,

Words can’t express how thankful we are for your support. This process for us as parents… you made it seem like a piece of cake.

Parents of Briar Woods High School
Class of 2023

Thank you for being apart of this big moment. Your advice is always wonderful. More than anything, thank you for encouraging me to keep striving for the best.

Georgetown University, Transfer Student
Northern Virginia Community College, Class of 2022

“. . .I just want to say thank you much for recommending me to apply to Case Western Reserve University. Over the past academic year, I switched my major from Biomedical to Mechanical Engineering and I am planning to do the 5 year undergraduate and master’s program with a thesis by getting a MS in Materials Science and Engineering. This year I was also able to complete half of the pre med classes. In addition to that, I got close with a Materials Science professor and he helped me to get into a solar panel research lab at Case and I am currently working there this summer. Also, I created a Mediterranean club (where we will host food events for philanthropy service) and I have a lot of friends over there. The students at Case are mostly supportive and the environment is not cut-throat at all. Case is a very good school for Medical and Engineering research and I recommend it. You can share my email to anyone who wants to know about Case. . . . “

Current Case Western Reserve College Student
High School Graduate, Class of 2021

First let me say how much we, especially our daughter, enjoyed working with Alex.  We couldn’t have asked for a better fit.  He was such a pleasure to work with and provided all of the guidance and support we needed.  We have visited the University of Tennessee twice already, are going back for orientation in June and she is excited to start there in August.

Parent of Graduating High School Senior,
Class of 2023

Emily, You and Alex did a good job for [ . . .], and we will continue to recommend your services to friends who have children or grandchildren preparing to go to college.

Grandparents of Loudoun Valley High School
Class of 2022 Graduate

Emily, We greatly appreciate all of the help, guidance and counsel that you and Alex provided during our son’s college process.

All of us are thrilled that he will be going to [. . .] , and it seems like a perfect fit academically and athletically for him.

Parents of Gonzaga College High School
Class of 2022 Graduate

Emily,

I wanted to let you know that [Our daughter] graduated from Georgetown yesterday at a ceremony at National Park in WDC. [. . . ]

Working with you on [our daughter’s] college admissions was truly one of the best investments of my lifetime. She just thrived there [ . . . ] We are so very proud of her, as you can imagine.

I could not let this special day pass without once again thanking you for all you did to help [our daughter] navigate the college admissions process, which resulted in her acceptance into Georgetown.

Go Hoya!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart”

Mom of Georgetown University Graduate, Class of 2021
Madison High School Student, Class of 2017

Alex, I am sooooooooo grateful for your humor, ease, warmth and guidance! You and Emily are such a gift to our family as [our daughter] navigates this [college] journey.”

Mom of South Lakes High School Student
Class of 2023

Hi, Kim & Emily!

Hope you are hanging in there and that you are your families are well! I just wanted to update you that our daughter had a wonderful semester at Tulane.  She was happy all her classes were in person and the school built a bunch of temporary buildings and moved things around.  They did a great job with COVID testing and tracking and isolation protocols and even with 5 hurricanes to deal with.  She has a fabulous group of friends who hail from all over the country, CA, IL, MD, etc.  It’s been so great and she just found out she made the Dean’s List!  She’s majoring in neuroscience and Psychology with a minor in Studio Art if she can swing it.

Just wanted to send you an update.  Our other daughter is also just thriving at W & M with near-perfect grades and she’s in KD there and loves it.

Thanks for everything!

Parent of 2 James Madison High School Students,
Class of 2020 now a first-year student at Tulane University;
Class of 2018 now a third-year student at the College of William and Mary

Dear Emily & Alex,

Firstly we would like to wish both of you a very Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!  We also like to thank you both for everything you have done to make this difficult time much easier for us.  In particular, I would like to thank Alex for the commitment he made to our son’s success.  Besides his outstanding knowledge, Alex helped to turn a very stressful time into an enjoyable process with his remarkable people skills.  We also noticed our son’s maturity and focus increase significantly during the period he worked with “Know Your Options” and this is in no small part due to Alex’s coaching.   Having worked for a professional services firm for 32 years myself, I feel very confident in saying that you (both) and the “Know Your Options” organization are “world class”.  Thank you so much again and while the results of our collective efforts are not known yet, we feel excited about our son’s future and you have played such a key role in that!

Parents, Langley High School Student
Class of 2021

Hi Emily,

Thank you so much for all the work you have done with our son.  It helped him tremendously and we are so appreciative of the confidence that you have given him moving forward.

Parent, Langley High School Student
Class of 2021

Alex,
I wanted to let you know how happy we are to have you guiding our son through the process. He truly looks forward to your calls and values your candid and caring style. I know there are no guarantees that he will get into his first choice but I’m grateful that we brought you on for the ride.

Parent, Oakton High School Student 
Class of 2021

Thank you!!! You made applying to college a pleasant experience! You told us about colleges we never would have thought of. You broke down the application process into logical steps. THANK YOU!

Grandparent of Woodson High School Student
Class of 2021

“I wanted to let you know how happy we are to have you . . .[Alex] . . . guiding. . . [our son]. He truly looks forward to your calls and values your candid and caring style. I know there are no guarantees that he will get into his first choice but I’m grateful that we brought you on for the ride.”

Parent of an Oakton High School Student
Class of 2021

“Kim is the best! So patient, kind and knowledgeable!”

VCU BS/MD Medical School Program Graduate
Current Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Resident

“Thank you for guiding us! You’re so knowledgeable and professional!”

Parent
VCU Undergraduate Business Major, Class of 2019

Working with Kim was wonderful. She had direct and clear advice and helped me feel confident in my application. It’s been submitted now so I just have to wait until July for secondary apps to be sent out.

Mason
Medical School Applicant, Class of 2021

Many of the students and families we work with stay in touch with us over the years. It is so much fun for us when we continue to hear what the students we work with are accomplishing while in college and after they graduate. While Lisa has written us a review before, we received the following verbatim unsolicited update on her daughter Jamie in the mail along with her graduation announcement.

As with most of the students we work with, we couldn’t be more proud of each and all that they have achieved!

May 8, 2017

Dear Emily,

Another success story to add to your list! It seems like ‘forever ago’ when Jamie and I came to your office for college consulting. I am so thankful your guidance lead us to Emerson College. It has been the right school for Jamie and the teachers played a large part in Jamie’s ability to reach her graduation goal. She will graduate from “Writing, Literature, and Publishing” with a BFA (she even did an additional 50 pg written work to get the BFA!) – the graduation is this Sunday 5/14 – Mother’s Day, which gives me the most special mother’s day of all!

Best Regards and Take Care,

Love,

Lisa and Jamie, of course!!

Lisa, parent of Jamie
2017 graduate of Emerson College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Writing, Literature, and Publishing, and the GW Community School’s Class of 2013 and Adrienne, a Woodson High School 2010 graduate, Class of 2014 Undergraduate and 2016 Teaching Graduate from Hofstra University​

The guidance that I received from Know Your Options was completely invaluable. I had absolutely no idea how I was going to get through the college process. Emily’s incredible knowledge of not only the whole process in general, but also the specific admissions statistics, tendencies, and attitudes of the colleges that I was looking into made me feel assured that I was in the right place for college counseling. She was encouraging and realistic with me about my options and helped me find the schools that were the best fit for me, where I could be happy and thrive. I was provided amazing support through every part of the process, and I know that I will never forget my experience with Know Your Options. Now, almost a year after receiving my acceptance letter from the school of my dreams, I could not possibly be happier with where I am, and I know that I could never have gotten here without the advice and counsel of Emily and Know Your Options.

Student, 2017 James Madison High School Graduate
Class of 2022, Georgetown University, Undergraduate Student

Thank you for all of your help!

Parents of 2018
West Potomac High School Graduate

I wanted to thank you and Kim for all the guidance and input you provided as you worked with our son through the last 8 months. We truly appreciate it. It had been especially helpful as he worked through his college essays. We have had several friends approach us for recommendations about college counselors and we have provided your name to them.

Parent
Class of 2017 Graduate, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Thank you, Emily, for all you have done to help Kevin during this critical college search period. He (and we!) are very excited for him and feel that he has made an excellent decision with all of the right criteria in mind. We look forward to continuing to stay in touch in the coming months and again are grateful to you for all your assistance and thoughtful support.

Parent, Oakton High School Graduate, Class of 2017
Will be attending James Madison University, Class of 2021

We are very grateful for all of your assistance and will continue to recommend your services to friends. You have a real gift for working with teenagers, and we have so appreciated your kindness and your counsel to both of our boys and to us.

Parents, Oakton High School Graduates, Class of 2014 and 2017
Attending Drake University, Class of 2018 – Will be attending College of William and Mary, Class of 2021

It doesn’t give Emily and Kim enough credit to say that they worked with Hannah on her college applications. They did so much more – from helping Hannah feel like she took control of the daunting college entrance process to guiding her on which colleges she should apply to and then working with her on the applications–Emily and Kim made the process so much more productive and far less stressful than if we did it on our own. Hannah is now at Pitt (her first choice) and could not be happier. We were so impressed with Know Your Options that we hired Emily and Kim again to help Hannah find a summer overseas writing workshop this summer. Another great experience working with them and Hannah is off to Scotland in a few months for a five week writing course.

Paul and Michele Nathanson, Parents of Hannah
Robinson High School Class of 2015 Graduate International Summer Writing Program, 2017

Thank you for helping our daughter with her applications. Having Kim’s guidance really took a lot of pressure off her and likewise, she enjoyed working with Kim.

On another note, she got a 10K merit scholarship per year to another state university but is happy with her decision to attend Penn State.

Parent
Oakton High School Graduate, Class of 2017

Emily Snyder worked with all three of our daughters during their college search and application process. She was amazing. Emily sat down with each daughter to discuss what they were looking for from a college. She honestly advised them, based on their grades, test scores and other activities, as to their best options and developed lists to help with our college visits. Emily was there for us through the entire stressful time. She provided an outside, non-partisan opinion, taking out the emotion of the college application process. My husband and I were grateful to have her advice and counsel. The great news was that all three of our girls got into their first choice universities – University of Virginia, Duke University and Elon University. Two of the girls got in early decision – Duke and Elon!

Glen and Carol Bolger- Parents
West Potomac High School Graduates

In her senior year, my daughter Madison had narrowed down a list of about eight colleges that she thought might be good options for her but she was anxious about the application process and whether she was missing something. Talking with Emily gave her the reassurance that she had a good plan but Emily offered a few additional options Madison hadn’t considered. Emily walked her through which schools on her list offered early action and which didn’t and that helped Madison schedule and prioritize her applications. Emily gave her some realistic expectations on her chances of acceptance at each school and that prodded her to complete the early action application to the University of Michigan rather than wait for the general deadline and that is the school she ended up attending. Emily reviewed Madison’s essays but knew better than to smother her individual voice trying to make the words and phrases seem perfect.

We introduced Emily to our son earlier in his high school career to help guide him toward a plan for reaching his goals. Hearing from Emily the importance of participating in clubs and activities, of using his time well, made more of an impact than if we had told him ourselves. We plan to schedule more visits periodically so that Emily can help him see if he is on track.

Janice, Parent of Washington and Lee High School Graduates
Class of 2015 and 2019

I was hesitant and rusty applying to law school after being out of undergrad & my Master’s for a couple years. Kim was wonderful at helping me determine if it was the right decision based on my interests and career goals. We first spoke about my motivations, what I could expect with the application process, and how best to prepare for the whole process. She was great at encouraging me to stick to a timeline that covered all aspects and not leave any one item until the end. All of my emails and questions were responded to thoughtfully and quickly. When it came time to review my personal statements, her input was invaluable. She really took the time to read through and explain to me how and why to change certain areas that not only improved my letters, but also my writing in general. The insight they provided into the whole process and how applications/applicants are viewed was incredibly helpful. I know that I wouldn’t have made it through as successfully as I did without their help.

Amanda
First Year School of Law Student, Case Western Reserve University

Matt chose GMU and he is doing well so far. The school looks like a good fit for him and he is taking some challenging courses such as Chemistry and Calculus. Thank you for all of your help with Matt; it really made all the difference. I hope you can take on Elizabeth, our friend’s daughter; she too could greatly benefit from your support.

Andrew
Parent of McLean High School Graduate (2016)

I just wanted to say thank you for everything.Your advice you gave and the support I felt from you with every decision made this crazy mess so much simpler and efficient, and it’s been amazing knowing I’ve got you in my corner.  Thank you so much for helping me through everything.

Langley High School Graduate (2016)

I wanted to update you on Adrienne. She finished her masters in Special Ed from Hofstra last week. She decided to explore “Higher Ed” as a job possibility after spending the last 2 years as a graduate assistant in the office for commuter students while in school. She is now the Assistant Director in the office of Parent and Family Programs at Hofstra, starting today! Hofstra continues to be a huge part in Adrienne’s life. So glad you suggested it as a school for her!! Both of my kids went to the “perfect” school for them because of you!

Lisa, parent of Adrienne 
Woodson High School 2010 graduate and 2014 Undergraduate and 2016 Teaching Graduate from Hofstra University, and Jamie, a 2013 graduate of the GW Community School, currently enrolled at Emerson College, and expecting to graduate in 2017.

It meant so much to us that you were not focused on her learning differences but on her as a complete high school student and athlete. She can be a bit of a hard sell but you didn’t push her, leaving her open minded throughout the process. I know I had my concerns about the size of VCU and again, you listened and waited until all of our thoughts were on the table and said the magic words – ‘Nobody comes back from VCU unhappy.’ In a nutshell, thank you for everything. It seems like two such small words but we were so fortunate to have you share this process with us and both of our children.

Parents of a Woodson High School 2012 graduate
Completed his senior year (2016) at The College of William and Mary and a Fairfax 2015 High School Graduate, currently enrolled as a student athlete at Virginia Commonwealth University and on schedule to graduate in 2019.