About this Webinar
Choosing where to apply is one of the most important decisions in the college admissions process. A strategic college list helps you focus your efforts, present your strongest possible applications, and ensure you’re targeting programs that truly fit your goals. In this webinar hosted by CollegeAdvisor Admissions Experts, you’ll learn how to create a personalized list-building approach designed specifically for competitive, elite admissions.

We’ll start by helping students identify their priorities - academic interests, preferred locations, campus size, majors, research opportunities, and financial considerations - so your college list reflects what matters most to you. Next, you’ll gain clarity on how to categorize schools as reach, match, and likely options, and how to choose the right mix to stay ambitious while remaining realistic.

This NSHSS-exclusive session will also cover how to research colleges effectively through campus visits, virtual events, and conversations with current students and alumni. Finally, we’ll discuss how to align your list with a smart application timeline, including Early Action and Regular Decision strategies, so you can balance deadlines and maximize opportunities.

Whether you’re just beginning your search or refining your options before senior year, you’ll leave this webinar with a clear framework for building a college list that supports elite admissions goals and sets you up for the best possible outcomes.
Agenda
  • Building a Strategic College List Presentation
  • Live Q&A
  • 1762362358-473dcfbbce819e1e
    Manuel Stefano Castano
    Princeton University
    My name is Manuel Stefano Castaño. I am an international student that graduated with honors from the B.A. Politics program in Princeton University, and with the LExS Award in the M.P.A. program in Leiden University in The Hague, Netherlands. I am currently a PhD Candidate at the same school. Throughout my academic career, I have been fortunate to have won multiple awards and honors.

    I have been advising high school, university, and adult applicants for over 7 years, specializing in College Admissions Counseling, Applications, Essays, English/Verbal sections of standardized testing (ACT, GRE, etc.), Interviews, and related areas. I have helped applicants stand out and be accepted into schools like Harvard, Columbia, U Chicago, Berkeley, and UCLA, amongst others.

    During my time at Princeton University, I founded the "College Crash Course," a service initiative in cooperation with an NGO called MIRA USA. This was a service initiative based on helping vulnerable student populations understand the application process and succeed in it. I worked as the coordinator of this program for four years, helped hundreds of students apply to their choice universities, and it is still running to this day.

    Outside of College Advising, I am a self-motivated and results-oriented international consultant, political advisor, editor, writer, translator, and interpreter with knowledge and experience in national and international governance. I have professional experience with international organizations like the United Nations, as well as political parties in Colombia. I have founded and led public service projects, as well as cooperated with NGOs in various human-rights related programs.

    Facilitating intergovernmental cooperation, sacrifice, and change through diplomacy to increase the normative and socio-political legitimacy of people's welfare are my prime motivators. I was born in Colombia in 93', where my mother and I escaped the Armed Conflict in 99'. Knowing the struggle of those who are most vulnerable, my passions are justice, peace, and honest governance.
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