UC Admissions Consulting with Maya Kobashigawa

To most families, it's no secret that college admissions are extremely competitive these days, especially in California's much vaunted UC system. Schools like UC Berkeley and UCLA are ranked among the top universities in the world, and even schools like UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara, which at one time seemed well within the reach of most high achieving high school seniors, are hard to secure a spot at.

What should families with high school students do? Many turn to college consultants and counselors, and my family and I were thrilled to find Maya Kobashigawa, a Bay Area college admissions consultant who specializes in guiding students through the maze that is the University of California application. Maya has years of experience working as an undergraduate admissions reader for several UC campuses, including UC Berkeley and UC San Diego.

While my daughter is only just finishing her sophomore year of high school, it was still really important to meet with Maya at this early stage and review what she's done so far and what she had planned for her all-important junior year. We met with Maya at her home in the East Bay, where she presented a detailed presentation which outlined my daughter's transcript and showed her the best ways to approach not only the UC application, but the Common App (used for many private schools and out-of-state institutions) as well as the CSU system application. She also provided us with a comprehensive printed packet with information from the consultation.

Maya also guided us in how to prepare for the activities and awards section of the application, as well as the personal insight questions (AKA essays). It was really valuable for us to see that she was on track and to discuss her plans with Maya. We definitely feel like this has given us a head start in preparing for college applications, which will be here before we know it.

All students meeting Maya get an individualized presentation and packet tailored to what they want to learn, which Maya researches and prepares this in advance of meeting. Students can meet with Maya as soon as the 8th or 9th grade, which allows her to set up a plan for high school. Juniors and seniors can review what they've done in school so far and learn how to present their accomplishments in the best possible manner.

One of the differences between Maya and private college counselors is there is no long term or multi-year commitment working with Maya as she charges on an hourly basis. Students can meet with her just once if that is all they need.

We asked Maya a few questions about her and her business and how she helps students prepare for applying for college.

• Please tell us a little about yourself and your background.

  Education has been an important part of my life as I was a teacher in the Lafayette School District for several years. More recently, for the last 7 years, I have worked in admissions for several UC campuses including UC Berkeley, UC San Diego and UC Santa Cruz. I have read and scored thousands of undergraduate applications for the UC’s.

• When should students and families start working on a plan for college applications?

  I recommend students and parents start to think about planning for college when the students are in 8th or 9th grade. Decisions made during that time can have an impact.  Almost every time I meet with rising seniors whom I have not met with before, they always say they wish they had met with me when they were starting 9th grade. Having a better understanding of what colleges are looking for when a student is just starting high school will allow the student to make better more informed decisions as they navigate their high school career both in regards to academics and extracurriculars.

• What’s something all families should know about applying to the UC system?

  Although the UC’s are competitive, the review process is very holistic.  It is not just about grades and your GPA.

We really found our time with Maya and the insights she provided to be valuable, but don't take our word for it. Here is a testimonial from one of her other clients:

"Maya was absolutely fantastic to work with. She was incredibly insightful in the application process and gave me so many helpful tips that I never would have thought of. In addition, she is so kind and wants to see you truly succeed in your endeavours. Thank you Maya for helping me get into my dream school!!"

—Ethan, UCLA Class of 2026

To schedule your student's session with Maya, email her at mayakobash@comcast.net or call her at (925) 202-6153. You can can learn more Maya and her services by downloading her brochure here or by clicking on the image below.

Disclosure: Maya Kobashigawa provided us with a consultation for our review.