College counseling that tells you
the price.
$600 flat. Six sessions, every essay, one number you can see before you ever pick up the phone.
Nobody else will tell you this on their homepage.
We're students, not a firm with an office lease. The price isn't a discount. It's the point.
How it works.
Book the free call
Twenty minutes. We learn about your student and tell you honestly whether we can help.
Sign and pay
One agreement, one flat price. Pay in full or split it, $300 now and $300 October 1.
Start within a week
First session on the calendar, portal set up, essays underway.
All sessions are over Zoom. We work with families across the Bay Area and beyond.
Six sessions. Here's exactly what happens in each one.
Profile strategy
Where the student actually stands: academics, activities, goals, and the story their application will tell.
School list & merit money
10-12 schools built around fit and scholarship dollars, with realistic award ranges. Full UC strategy included.
Essay strategy I
Personal statement brainstorming and drafting approach. We find the story only this student can tell.
Essay strategy II
UC Personal Insight Questions: strategy and revision workshop.
Scholarships & applications
Application review, honors college opportunities, scholarship applications, deadline management.
Decisions
Comparing offers, appealing financial aid packages, and making the final call with clear eyes.
Every session is 60 minutes, 1:1, with Varun, directly.
And everything around them.
Essay feedback, in writing.Personal statement plus all four UC PIQs, two full revision rounds each. Ten rounds of written feedback in total.
Weekly private check-in slots.Book a 20-minute 1:1 with your counselor any week you need one. Always private, never a group call.
Real response times.24 hours on weekdays. During Deadline Weeks, the two weeks before November 1 and November 30, we respond within 12 hours.
Direct access, no assistant.You get Varun, directly, for every session and every email. No ticket system, no account manager.
The Equinox Resource Library.Guides, timelines, trackers, and our merit scholarship database. The same materials we used ourselves.
Your private family portal.Every school, essay, and deadline in one place, shared between student, parents, and counselors.
Two people. Both of whom did this recently.
Varun Chalamalasetti
Co-Founder · Essay Strategy & Profile BuildingI'm one of Equinox's co-founders, and I'm the person your family works with. I do the essay strategy and profile work. I founded a startup that was sponsored by Harvard University, and I study computer science at San José State University. I help students find the story only they can tell, and turn it into a profile and essays a reader remembers.
Tarun Chandra
Co-FounderI'm one of Equinox's co-founders. I earned a major merit scholarship offer from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, then chose UC Santa Cruz, where I lead the Product Management Club as president and work as a researcher. I started Equinox because I watched what honest, affordable guidance is worth to a family.
We're not thirty years removed from this process. We went through it recently, in the same competitive landscape your student is in right now.
We won't tell you what you want to hear.
We can't guarantee admission to any school. Nobody honestly can. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
What we do promise: a smarter school list, stronger essays, real merit scholarship opportunities, and two people who answer when you write.
Every price, in one place.
Payment plan
$300 at signing, $300 due October 1. No interest, no fee.
Founding families: $300
Our first five families get the full package at half price, in exchange for an honest testimonial.
Siblings: $500
For any additional student in the same family.
Refunds
Full refund before your first session. 50% before your third.
Need-based spots: $150
Two per season. No paperwork, no means-testing. Just ask.
One of us hired a college counselor and watched our family struggle to pay the bills. That's why this business exists, and it's why these spots aren't an afterthought.
Questions parents actually ask.
Because we're students, not a firm with an office lease and a sales team. We built this after watching a family struggle to pay a traditional counselor's bills. The price isn't a discount. It's the point.
Fair question. Equinox was started by two people who went through this exact process recently and successfully. One earned a major merit scholarship offer to a top business program. The other founded a startup funded by Harvard University, and he is the person your family works with directly, on essays and profile strategy. We are not claiming decades of experience or a professional title. We are claiming current knowledge of what works right now, not what worked in 2009.
Extra sessions are $75. Supplemental essays beyond the personal statement and UC PIQs are $40 each, including two revision rounds. Most families need neither.
Yes. Hourly consults are $50/hour, up to three hours, live time only. If you upgrade to the full package within 30 days, everything you've paid is credited toward it.
Yes. Merit scholarship strategy is often strongest out of state. That's a large part of what we do.
The Senior Package is built for application season, so we work with seniors first. If your student is a junior, join the waitlist for the Class of 2028 and we'll reach out in the spring. Join the waitlist
Applications open August 1 and early deadlines hit November 1. Most families start between August and early October. Later is workable. Earlier is easier.
No, and neither should anyone else.
Not ready to book? Ask us anything.
Write to us at hello@equinoxcollegeconsulting.com or use the form. We reply within 24 hours on weekdays.
Got it. You'll hear from us within 24 hours on weekdays.
Applications open August 1.
Book a free 20-minute callTwenty minutes. No commitment, no credit card.
We'll tell you honestly whether we can help.