355. IEC PROFILE: Laurie Kopp Weingarten

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced independent educational consultant? MEET OUR GUEST Laurie Kopp Weingarten attended The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Beta Gamma Sigma honor societies.  She worked in marketing for several Fortune 500 corporations until she decided to pursue an MBA at Harvard Business School. After returning to New Jersey, Laurie and her partner, Elsie Koo, co-founded One-Stop.  In her role as Chief Educational Consultant, Laurie guides students through each stage of the college admissions process.  She is passionate about helping students reach their full academic and extracurricular potential; there is nothing more rewarding than their look of elation upon acceptance to their top choice schools! Laurie starts working with students as early as their freshman year of high school and acts as their personal guide and consultant until they select and commit to their ideal college! She covers all aspects of the admission process from high school course selection, standardized test choices, extracurricular activity enhancement, volunteer work, summer jobs/internships, essay topic selection, resume guidance, early decision/early action strategies and practically every other situation that arises during the high school years! For over two decades, Laurie was an alumna interviewer for the University of Pennsylvania, meeting with hundreds of students from various areas of the country. She applies this experience by coaching our students on how to improve their interview skills, whether it's for summer internships or college admission.    Laurie visits various colleges and universities regularly and speaks directly with admissions officers to remain up-to-date on current admissions policies and practices. Awarded the CEP by the American Institute of Certified Educational Planners (AICEP), Laurie has been recognized for achieving the highest level of competence in her field. She has been regularly featured in numerous newspapers and publications. Laurie is also a professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), and a member of the Higher Education Consultants Organization (HECA), the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), the New Jersey Association for College Admission Counseling (NJACAC), and the Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counseling (PACAC). She is also a proud member of the Character Collaborative. Laurie is married and has two children who, in the time it takes to blink, suddenly became young adults. One graduated from Princeton, and the other graduated (virtually, due to Covid) from the University of Pennsylvania.  Find Laurie at [email protected]. ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.