The transition from high school to college is a significant milestone in a young person’s life…so why does it cause so much stress and anxiety? The truth is that the college application and selection process has become increasingly competitive and confusing. The days of relying solely on a high school guidance counselor are, unfortunately, in the past. Guidance counselors are dedicated, caring people, but many have overwhelming caseloads. They simply aren’t able to give individual students the attention needed to expertly navigate the college application process. Admissions Advocates will ensure that you don’t get lost in the shuffle.

We hold degrees from University of Notre Dame, University of Michigan and Columbia, so we know what it takes to get into a great school. We have over twenty years of combined experience working with teenagers, and we can tailor a list of schools based on what is most important to you. We can help you create an application - and an essay - that will get the attention of college admissions committees. We can help you construct an activities list, practice interviews, plan visits, and more. We’ll help you see that the applying to college can be an opportunity for self-discovery – not stress!

Meet Ali Newman

Ali Newman is a school counselor with almost twelve years of experience working with high school students. A Western New York native and graduate of Williamsville East High School, Ali attended the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) where she graduated with honors with a degree in English Literature. After graduating from U of M, Ali went on to join the prestigious and highly competitive national teacher corps Teach For America (TFA). While in TFA, Ali worked as a high school English teacher in rural South Texas. Upon fulfilling her commitment to TFA, Ali moved to New York City, where she pursued her Masters in Education in School Counseling at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Ali spent seven years working as a school counselor in Brooklyn, helping countless students from diverse backgrounds through the college search process and guiding them as they navigated the intricacies of applying to college. After convincing her husband that Buffalo, NY is not only home to the greatest chicken wings in the world but also the greatest people, Ali returned to her home town. Happy to be back in Buffalo, Ali currently works as the Director of School Counseling at Grand Island High School.

Ali is a member of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), the New York State Association of College Admissions Counselors (NYSACAC), the American School Counselors’ Association (ASCA), the New York State School Counselors’ Association (NYSSCA), and the Western New York Suburban Counselors’ Consortium. She has a certification in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program’s Counseling Level 1 and will be a presenter at this year's NYSACAC conference at Niagara University. She sleeps with a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges on her nightstand.

When she’s not helping teenagers pursue post-secondary greatness, she is a mom to Gideon and Hazel, a wife to special education teacher Desmond, a runner, a knitter, a crossword puzzle fanatic, a swimmer, a hiker, and a reader. (The last book she read that she highly recommends is The Book Thief and she is currently thoroughly absorbed in Tim O’Brian’s The Things They Carried.)

Email Ali Newman at:

Meet Anne Marie Comaratta

Anne Marie has been an English teacher for the past eight years. Like Ali, she is a Western New York native and a graduate of Williamsville East High School. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a dual degree in Studio Art and Philosophy, and a concentration in Philosophy and Literature. She has a master’s degree in English from SUNY Buffalo. She is New York State certified in English 7-12, and she received her National Board of Professional Teaching Standards credential in November 2008. She is one of only 1000 National Board-certified teachers in New York State. She received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant for summer study at Amherst College, and she has done professional development work at Georgetown.

Anne Marie’s teaching career began at Notre Dame’s Snite Museum where she taught a summer art history course to underprivileged students from South Bend. After graduate school, Anne Marie wrote for a newspaper in Pennsylvania and worked as a copywriter for Book-of-the-Month Club. She returned to teaching in 2002. She taught English at The Browning School, a private, all-boys school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. After getting married and moving from New York City to Maryland, Anne Marie taught English at The Key School, a private school in Annapolis.

Anne Marie and her husband Ross – also a Western New York native – were thrilled to move back to Buffalo in June 2007. She currently teaches English at Canisius High School. She has helped countless students, nieces, nephews, and cousins (she has a big family) find their voices in stand-out college essays. She firmly believes that the college application process should be a time of self-discovery, not anxiety. As a certified yoga instructor, she is used to helping people relax. Like her friend Ali, Anne Marie loves the crossword (she dreams about easily completing the Times’ Saturday puzzle) and reading. She and Ross are parents to Luca and Rosalie.

Email Anne Marie Comaratta at: