Meet Nikki!

Nikki Rawson, College Counselor

Nikki began her career in education as a special education teacher at Sheridan High School in Colorado, then spent three years as the as a counseling/curriculum specialist at University of Iowa’s Upward Bound Project. She then returned to Colorado and spent seven years as the director of college placement and success at Green Valley Ranch High School in Denver, where 100% of her students were accepted to college. She later served as a college and career transition coordinator at College Community School District in Iowa. 

Nikki joined Collegewise in 2022, and her students have been accepted to more than 75 colleges and universities, including Stanford, Yale, Cornell, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, MIT, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Claremont Mckenna, Colorado School of Mines, Occidental, Grinnell, Washington University in St. Louis, Rice, Virginia Tech, University of Michigan, University of Miami, Villanova, and all the UC (University of California) campuses. 

Nikki’s previous experience as a social worker makes her an excellent match for students who have anxiety around this process and need a patient, supportive guide to inject some confidence into their journey to college. Nikki enjoys getting to know her students and finds she is at her counseling best when she’s making the complex admissions process feel more manageable for families, whether doing so in personal meetings, webinars, or workshops she facilitates. Like all great college counselors, Nikki treats her work like a calling and is driven by a sense of purpose that’s bigger than the relative prestige of the schools that admit her students. As Nikki puts it:

I do this work because I believe the students I work with will change the world one day, and college is a powerful tool to help them do just that. And I continue to do so at Collegewise because of the people—my colleagues are passionate about their work, eager to share their expertise, and truly want what is best for all our students.

An avid runner who loves to explore the outdoors via hiking and skiing, Nikki is also a diehard Chicago Cubs fan and remains steadfastly committed to the Rawson family goal to see at least one baseball game in every MLB park in the US.

Education

University of Iowa, B.A., MSW

College and Career Transition Coordinator, College Community School District 

School social worker, Keystone Area Education Agency

Director of College Placement and Success, Green Valley Ranch High School

Counseling Specialist/Curriculum and Assessment Specialist, University of Iowa Upward Bound

Professional Organizations and Memberships

NACAC: National Association for College Admission Counseling
NASW: National Association of Social Workers