
INGRID DÁVALOS,
College Admission Counselor
Qualifications and Experience
- Twelve years of experience in College Admission Counseling
- Former Theory of Knowledge and Social and Cultural Anthropology Teacher, and currently Principal Examiner for the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO)
- Extensive experience working with international students applying to the United States, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Canada, and elsewhere
- International Association of College Admission Counseling (IACAC) Member
- Smith College, B.A.; currently pursuing a hybrid and part-time M.Ed. in International School Counseling from Lehigh University
My journey supporting students with their university applications started when I was a student myself at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. I worked at the Office of Admissions with the International Admissions team and learned about the inner workings of university admissions. At the time, it was simply a fun opportunity that allowed me to interact with people from all over the world, something I found very exciting as a cultural anthropology major. I soon realized how much I loved helping international students going through the process of ‘deciphering’ US admissions, and this became a career.
I have lived in 9 different countries, and I am particularly interested in working with international students, expats, and third culture kids (TCKs). I am also very interested in working with students who are open to exploring their university options beyond typical destinations such as the US or the UK.
I believe that deciding where to attend university requires curiosity and an open mind for self-discovery. As a counselor, I strive to make the university application process a reflective, but also fun, process of learning more about personal values and life goals.
My experience includes working at the EducationUSA office in Paraguay supporting people applying to both undergraduate and graduate programs in the US. I have also worked as a Teacher and College Counselor at the United World College in Costa Rica supporting students from over 100 countries applying to 20 different country systems. Most recently, I spent 7 years as a College Counselor in The Netherlands, and got to visit every single research university in this country.
When I am not counseling or studying for my master’s, I enjoy doing yin yoga, reading (especially about anthropology and DEIJ issues), and traveling. I am currently based in Switzerland and have visited 58 different countries so far, and I cannot wait to visit more!
While Ingrid’s predominant specialism is in North American and Canadian Universities, it became very clear in subsequent meetings that she has equal command over information related to universities all over the world. This indeed was a great relief for both my son and me. We both knew that we were in safe hands and I was completely relieved.
– Parent, The Netherlands