Brooke Libby
Brooke Libby
College Admission Counselor

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE


  • 15 years experience as Director of College Counseling in independent schools
  • 20+ years experience advising high school and college students
  • Elected to two terms as Assembly Delegate, National Association of Colleges Admissions Counselors (NACAC)
  • 2014 Professional of the Year (New England Association of College Admissions Counselors)
  • Yale College B.A., Tufts University M.A./abD
  • Parent of one recent college graduate and two college students

For me, the best part of helping a student apply to college is working together to uncover their story. Many students worry that they don’t have an important story to tell, but they do. Our work together asks them to reflect on their lives, values, quirks, accomplishments, fumbles, ambitions, and joys. We sit side-by-side to pull all of this information together and then consider what it all means. What emerges eventually shapes their college list and lays the foundation for a college application that is both compelling and personally meaningful. I hope students feel proud of what they have achieved in applying to college – even before they learn the results.

After completing my BA at Yale, I spent two years teaching high school English and French, and then another two years writing professionally before heading to graduate school. At Tufts, I earned my masters and completed doctoral studies in English Literature with a focus on Women’s Literature and Contemporary American Nature Writing. I also ran the Writing Center, so, for me, it’s always been about writing in some way. Like many, I don’t love sitting down to write, but I do love the writing process: living with a draft (after the hard work is done) to see where else it may lead; revising, considering word choice and connotation; and pruning away the excess. I enjoy sharing this process with students – breaking it down into manageable, less intimidating pieces and helping them uncover their authentic voice.

After a short break to have my children, I returned to independent school education where I directed college counseling programs and was fortunate to work with hundreds of students, design programming with talented teammates, and develop a network of incredible colleagues in college admission offices. This field has changed enormously, even over the past ten years, so assembling these trusted collaborators is crucial. Over the years, I have relished the opportunity to work with students from vastly different backgrounds and with wide-ranging goals. International students from South Korea, Japan, China, Malaysia, Turkey, Spain, Mexico, Afghanistan, and the UK have shared their cultures and traditions, and taught me about their educational systems. I have supported ceramicists, illustrators, and fashion designers headed to art schools, as well as actors, musicians, and theater technicians in pursuit of conservatory education. And I have loved helping athletes with their eyes set on NCAA skiing, basketball, tennis, baseball, cycling, lacrosse, and mountain biking. With each student, I have found such joy in helping them unpack the dynamic concept of “college fit.” They have each defined it differently.

I am so grateful for the colleagues and partners I have found in College Goals; in them, I have assembled a group of like-minded collaborators to support students and their stories. When I am not writing or working with students and families, I’m usually wandering down a new culinary path, warring with a groundhog who enjoys destroying my garden, or spinning. My partner and three grown children are more outdoorsy than I, and so they often coax me to go backpacking or Nordic skiing in the mountains right outside our backdoor

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