Meet Ian!
ianp@collegewise.com
Get to know Ian
Ian Parker, College Counselor
Since leaving both the classroom and the living room behind in 2022 as a teacher and a private tutor respectively, Ian’s Collegewise students have been accepted to more than 150 colleges including all the UC (University of California) schools, Brown, Penn, Northwestern, USC, Boston College, Tulane, Carnegie Mellon, Colorado School of Mines, Penn State, Lewis & Clark College, Reed College, Cornell College (the one in Iowa), UT-Austin, Texas A&M, University of Michigan, University of Miami, and St. John's University.
A teacher at heart, in 2025, Ian was selected as one of two Collegewise counselors to lead our internal Learning and Development team responsible for defining and training our standard of college counseling, both for counselors new to Collegewise (every counselor, regardless of their experience, must successfully complete our initial training) and our most veteran counselors hoping to level up in their work. He also led the creation of our internal activities guide that helps counselors and students work together to expand resumes and activity lists, he’s contributed to our annual Common App Guide, and he’s a frequent webinar presenter on topics like UC admission and academic success.
Testimonials from Ian’s Collegewise families consistently praise three traits: partnership, positivity, and humor. They sense he understands what they’re going through. He brings an unrelenting positivity to his role that impacts the entire experience, not just the outcomes, for the families he works with. And he pairs his deep sense of responsibility with a natural levity that helps students, parents, and colleagues find more joy in what should be an exciting time in a teenager’s life.
The best college counselors treat their work like a craft, one that feels more like a calling to them and less like a job. As Ian puts it:
When I was teaching, my favorite parts of my day were not lecturing in front of the class, or grading assignments, or lesson planning; it was when I could kneel down next to one student who needed help to understand a problem, and we would work toward a solution together. It was always a small piece of my day, but at Collegewise, I get to do that all the time—it’s essentially my entire job. And that's really, really fulfilling.
A parent of two kids himself who understands the natural anxiety that comes with being entirely responsible for another human being, Ian is also a big reader (J.R.R. Tolkien fans will have plenty to discuss with him), and he has strong opinions about what makes a good Philly cheesesteak.
Education & Experience
B.A., Economics, Saint Joseph’s University
Former Master Tutor, The Princeton Review
Teaching Credential, Social Science, California State University Long Beach
NCLB-certified (No Child Left Behind) & EL-certified (English Learner)
Professional Organization Memberships
NACAC: National Association for College Admission Counseling
Ready to tackle the admissions process?
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