The College Goals Team

GAIL LEWIS, College Admissions Consultant
  • Twenty-five year educational career as a teacher, home educator and counselor
  • Editor, Youth Studies Abstracts & Bulletin, Australian National University
  • Information Coordinator, Careers Research & Information Center, Cape Town, S.Africa
  • Parent of three children who have all attended prestigious US universities

I delight in leading young people to envisage, and then reach, their exceptional potential. I do this by helping college-bound students, from the US and other countries, to successfully navigate the complexities of submitting comprehensive, compelling applications to US colleges. I draw on my experience to help them successfully present their unique profiles. My work also involves helping individuals to explore and incorporate learning opportunities that help them stand out amongst the crowd. In particular, I encourage my students to emphasize the rich personal strengths that come from their individual paths to learning and their unique backgrounds.

As an educational strategist for younger students, I also advise on college-oriented general education planning for families of students aged 11-15, and for homeschooling families. I embrace these rewarding opportunities to help enrich students' educational experiences prior to the narrowing demands of high school college preparation. My philosophy of education blends a belief in a solid essential knowledge base with the need to nurture eclectic individual interests.

I hold an interdisciplinary Master's Degree in Educational Foundations from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and an undergraduate B.A. degree from the University of Cape Town. I took British A Levels for high school. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, I have a global perspective, having lived in the US for 25 years, with periods of residence also in South Africa, Australia, and Germany. In Hawaii, where I now live, I have experience as a classroom teacher, as a home-school teacher for local families and as a community educator in Enrichment Math and SAT/ACT test preparation. Prior to this, I worked in Africa and Australia in careers education, academic research in Youth Studies, and job training for unemployed people. The common thread has been my lifelong interest in young people and their education.

Recent research data indicates that a modest 30-point increase in SAT scores can make the difference in a college admissions decision. As a test prep instructor, I have seen students from a wide range of ability levels raise their scores through tailored preparation and personal dedication to practice. Colleges reward this effort through higher offers of merit and grant aid.

Work and education are part of a continuum of learning in a world where strong foundation skills and adaptability to change are the keys to success. A broad, well-planned education is the best possible preparation for the as-yet-unknown but fulfilling careers that await our young people.