Discover the Path
to Your Next Stage
How do you set the stage for a best-fit college list?
It doesn’t have to be hard. Discovering the path to the next stage of your educational journey can actually be enjoyable. It starts with knowing yourself, and understanding what you want.
How do you ensure YOU are center stage in the application and position yourself to gain admission?
You being you! Trying to create some fake persona or activity list to suit what you suspect admissions officers want doesn’t work. Knowing how to tell your unique story in a way that highlights your authenticity, does!
Because the world awaits your talent.
Learn how I can help.
Set up a FREE 30 minute meet and greet today!
“Maria did more for my son than any AP teacher, counselor or coach did in four years of high school.”—parent of student admitted to Cal Poly engineering
Get started today!
Get started today!
STEP 2
Learn
How I can help.
STEP 3
Choose
the package best for you.
STEP 4
Enroll.
Start your application journey!
STEP 1
Schedule
your FREE initial consult.
Why Act One?
We save drama for the stage.
We have a grounded, empowering and one-of-a kind-process grounded in brain science, that we’ve finessed with over 25 years of experience working with young adults.
Our students typically receive thousands of dollars in scholarship offers, and admission to at least one or more of their top 3 schools.
How do we help? We…
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Identify
An individualized range of best-fit schools.
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Navigate
College research, admissions processes, and financial aid.
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Empower
Students to clarify their college experience using tools to identify and articulate goals.
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Assess
Academic trasncripts, pathways, activities, testing and application options.
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Curate
Complicated visual and performing arts prescreens, auditions, and portfolios.
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Balance
Deadlines and application action plans with wellbeing, school visits, auditions, and interviews.
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Inspire
Exceptional and compelling essays, video statements that reflect a student’s authentic voice.
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Evaluate
The final acceptances, scholarship and financial aid offers, and develop a game pland for a successful college launch.
Maria Nicolacakis, MFA
My specialty is empowering students’ journeys.
As a graduate of the UCLA’s rigorous College Counseling Certification Program With Distinction, I know current admission trends, hundreds of schools and programs and how to integrate best practices and ethics into the application journey.
As a college professor, I know what is happening in higher-ed instruction, and what students should explore to ensure school offerings fit their needs.
As a professional artist, I know the arts industry, bi-coastal training approaches, and how to advise students preparing and curating complex visual and performing arts portfolios.
Most importantly, I know how to curate a good story, and that’s precisely what the application process is all about.
