Bell College Consulting -

Devin Hibbard

Chris Bell is an amazing college counselor. My son loved working with him - finding out more about himself, building the college list, researching and writing essays. And I loved that Chris took on the role of helping Nile edit essays, track deadlines, submit things on time, and generally be the one guiding the process so I could just focus on enjoying my last year with my kid at home.

Peetie Van Etten

Chris is wonderful to work with. I was helping my grandson apply to college and it was a great relief to have someone so knowledgeable and calming helping me. Chris is extremely personable, really knows the colleges/universities and is very flexible and accommodating. Can’t imagine a better person to have at your side when going through what can be a challenging process.

John Trone

We have twin boys who both worked with Chris for their college selection and application process. We only met once in-person, and Chris held the rest of the meetings online with our sons. Video conferencing was great, allowing the boys to have frequent meetings and check-ins throughout the process even during their busy senior year. One of our sons was very unsure of where or what type of college he wanted to apply or attend and Chris helped him select a diverse group of schools to apply to and evaluate so that once the acceptance emails arrived, he had a range of choices to visit and think about. Chris is adaptable and goes the extra mile, even doing a late-night interview prep with my one son remotely during an east coast college visit when the school asked him to do an unexpected interview. Both our sons enjoyed the process and most importantly, feel confident that they made the right choice for their future.

Emilie Young

Chris takes an overwhelming, stressful process, demystifies it and breaks it down so that each piece feel manageable. We started working with Chris when my daughter was a junior. He helped her with all aspects of the college application process, from advice on how to get test prep, exploring a wide range of potential schools, up through all aspects of the college application process, including preparing for interviews. My daughter ended up getting accepted into her first choice 'reach' school which is a perfect fit for her. Chris really looked at my daughter as an individual and helped her find and get into the right school for her.

Chris is unfailingly upbeat, supportive and compassionate, all while being an expert in the college search and application process. It also helps that the can be very funny. After every meeting, I could see my daughter feeling more relaxed and energized to do the next set of tasks.

Given the recent news, I'm compelled to note Chris' impeccable ethics. He would never advocate anything questionable. One, because of his personal code, but also because he was focused on finding the right fit for my daughter, exactly for the person she is, not a constructed version of her. I highly recommend working with Chris.

Seth Spielman

We loved working with Chris. He took the time to get to know our kid and guided him (and us) through a complex and unfamiliar process. Not sure how we would have navigated the transition to college without his help.

Cindy Outlaw

Chris has been an amazing resource for my son and our whole family--truly one of the most genuine folks we know. He has been calm and supportive from start to finish. This is true, my son recently said, "I am having fun with this!"
Chris takes enormous effort to get to know your student and figure out "right fit" options for them. And because he is kind, you child will not want to disappoint and will stay on task.
And at this point, we are all really pleased with outcomes. Our son will have some lovely options to choose from that awarded scholarships-something we were hoping for. We are so happy that we made the decision to work with Chris!

Michelle Wolf

When Chris Bell walks through the door, in comes sunshine! He brings his positive attitude and upbeat manner—along with a wealth of knowledge about every aspect of the college application/selection process.

Because Chris is a people person, he connects quickly. He gets what’s going on for families, and easily draws out the teens to help direct them. (None of the push-pull we parents get with our own kids.)

My son met with Chris regularly to go through a series of steps around self-knowledge and preferences, and then they started in on “the list.” Chris was there for me, too, to ask questions over the months—advising us about SAT re-takes, financial aid submittals, deadlines, essays, and much more.

With my son’s applications in, we are in the waiting game now. But I’m confident that he’ll have some good options. I highly recommend Chris Bell to guide your teen and family!

Paul Sussman

Chris did a fantastic job helping our kid figure out the college application process. He was truly an amazing support person and we are thrilled with the outcome. We also feel like it took a lot of stress away from our child.