Our Method

At ELM, we believe that high quality college counseling should be accessible to all students. As experienced educators and college admissions experts, we provide strategic guidance on what admissions officers are looking for in the college application process to transform results using methods that resonate with teenagers. Using a combination of one of our group workshops and one-on-one offerings, students will receive personalized guidance and support in order to create a college application they are proud of. We believe the college process can be a transformative and positive experience if approached in a balanced and strategic manner.

Meet The Team

Liz Matthews

Writer, Teacher, Tutor

Liz Matthews is a writer and editor who received her M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts (2008) and M.A. in English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Liz began her professional career in publishing, both at a literary agency and as an Editorial Assistant at Random House before teaching middle and high school English at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in Town & Country, Brain Child, Mothers Always Write, The Rumpus, and Big Fiction Little Truths among other places. Liz teaches Introductory & Intermediate Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Creative Writing at Westport Writers' Workshop.

Emily LaFemina

College Counselor

Emily LaFemina has been a college counselor at high schools in New York City since 2010 and has supported hundreds of students and families through all steps of the college process. With a deep commitment to increasing access to higher education, Emily has developed comprehensive college counseling programs at several high schools and dramatically increased the selectivity of students college acceptances and matriculation. She received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Trinity College, Hartford, CT and earned her Ed.M. in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University.

In the last two years, Emily has supported nine students who won the highly competitive Questbridge Scholarship. Her students have gained admission to colleges throughout the country including Dartmouth, Cornell, USC, U. Chicago, Emory, NYU, Purdue, Columbia, Northeastern, Notre Dame, UVA, Wash. U. St. Louis, Brandeis, Haverford, Tulane, Boston College, Stony Brook, Emerson, Fordham, Howard, and many more!