College admissions & Career Consultant
About
Hello! My name is Mike Dunn and I’ve been working in independent, progressive, public, charter, and outdoor schools for more than 15 years. My career has focused on helping young people make positive, active, authentic decisions in their daily lives, while preparing them to upend oppression and cycles of poverty they may be experiencing. In the classroom, I have taught a range of subjects while consistently preparing students with the skills, tools, and reflective processes to be positive, productive citizens in our complex world.
I started this work as the primary counselor, developer, and innovator for a college guidance program focused on students with language-based learning disabilities and now acts as the Dean of College & Career Counseling for students seeking an authentic, transformational, liberatory high school experience. I have helped students get clear on their interests, submit applications to colleges around the United States, and pursue a range of other paths that are in line with their values and the lives they wish to live.
As a first-generation college student I am committed to helping students and families more easily access the postsecondary planning process from Research + Exploration to final Decision. I also work with individual schools and school leaders to help hone their departmental functions, curricula, and leadership to better serve their local student populations.
I hold a BA in History from Michigan State University, a MA in Secondary Teaching from Wayne State University, a Certificate in College Counseling from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an EdD Leadership from Northeastern University.
When not helping students find their future path, I am often drinking coffee, playing the guitar, and taking my therapy dog Kelly on walks in the Rocky Mountains.
Philosophy
At all stages of the college admissions and postsecondary planning process, the world has created a whirlwind of stress. Students are faced with unyielding pressure to end up at the "right" school, or to be sure that they are getting the best opportunities possible. Stress for caregivers (parents, guardians, family, or others) comes in the unknown. Although caregivers may have attended college themselves, it seems as though so much has changed since those days of filling out paper applications and selecting two or three schools to consider. For teachers and schools, the stress comes as you try to ensure that every student is racing to the top or trying to be the next Jobs, Bezos, or Marshmellow. For us all, the agita induced by the mere thought of college and the college-going process can be petrifyingly intense.
My work was created to address this agita – to help students find their best-fit option for continued learning and growth after high school, to help caregivers more aptly navigate the process, and to help schools continue to address the changing needs of their students.
The core of my approach focuses on encouraging students to exercise their voice and agency, with sessions designed to empower students to be actors in the future planning. I work with caregivers in a measured, timely, and encouraging manner to access a process that feels vastly different from what they may have accessed previously.
My approach is comprehensive and individualized, taking into account all aspects of a student's learning profile, and addressing all aspects of the process. I encourage students and caregivers to keep an open mind, to consider their future as one that is still in formation, and to be mindful of the timing of their process.
Services
Comprehensive packages are designed for students and caregivers beginning as early as Sophomore year of high school, generally ending when students make their final decision. Each package looks a little different for each situation and begins as a conversation. Work with students focuses on the below key areas.
Research + Preparation
Through the initial phases of the postsecondary planning and search process, I offer options and tools to help students make good academic decisions, while researching potential options for future learning.
Exploration
With countless opportunities for study around the United States, this aspect of the guidance process emphasizes discovery of types of options that the student might enjoy, as well as those that make sense for their financial situation and learning needs.
Application
This aspect of my work helps students and caregivers manage the building of a thoughtful college list, completion of applications, and consideration of other areas of preparation. Assistance is provided in writing the college essay, constructing an activities resume, and managing all application elements in a timely manner.
Decision
The final attendance decision can be a challenging one for students and caregivers. I works with everyone to help them come to a decision that makes sense for the student's happiness, learning needs, and financial needs. Each student leaves my guidance with an exit plan that outlines the next steps for everyone to take as they begin their postsecondary plan.
For Schools
If you are a school looking to construct a thoughtful and positive guidance process, or to examine your postsecondary preparation or curriculum, please contact me. As a founding teacher of a Philadelphia Charter High School, the founding architect of a college guidance program, and a well-rounded nonprofit consultant, I offer breadth and depth of knowledge will lend great insights to your school's efforts.
Work With Mike
I offer flexible package and hourly options for students, caregivers, and schools as they navigate the postsecondary planning process. Call or email to begin a conversation about which option might be best for you.
HOURLY RATES
For people looking for a little extra support on specific aspects of the postsecondary planning process. Meeting times, locations, and topics are flexible.
PARTIAL PACKAGE
Work through a specific selection of services that are catered to what the student or caregiver need most. More limited in scope than the Comprehensive Package, but more robust than Hourly meetings.
COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGE
Work with me through the entire process. From initial Research + Preparation to final Decision. Inclusive of all aspects from strengths assessments and transcript reviews, to essay building and timelining.
