Everything You Need to Know,
Answered Here.

We do not publish fixed prices online because every student's needs and service combinations are different. After a free evaluation, your counselor will provide a custom plan and quote based on your grade level, target schools, and service duration. Generally, Sprout offers premium boutique-level services best suited for families who value highly personalized care and are willing to invest in quality processes and outcomes.

Our pricing is typically higher than large, standardized agencies because our counselors serve strictly no more than 10 students at a time, and our core team includes former admissions officers. What you are paying for is abundant counselor time and deep, personalized service.

Yes, we offer flexible payment plans. Please discuss specific arrangements with your counselor during your initial consultation.

We do not offer guaranteed-admission contracts (we advise caution with any agency that does). What we promise is the quality, dedication, and transparency of the process. We clearly define service boundaries and standards in our contract to protect both parties.

Essays are written by the students themselves. Counselors guide brainstorming, structure, and provide revision feedback. We do NOT ghostwrite essays—not only because it violates university integrity policies, but because ghostwritten essays lack the authentic voice of the student. Admissions officers can spot them immediately.

We primarily cover the United States (Common App / QuestBridge, etc.), the United Kingdom (UCAS), and Canada. Some of our counselors also have extensive experience with universities in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Europe. Please mention your target regions during the evaluation.

We strictly cap the number of active students per counselor at 15. This is the core guarantee of our service quality and the reason we intentionally maintain a boutique scale.

Yes. If you feel the counselor's style doesn't suit you, we will do our best to arrange a rematch. However, we ask that you bring this up as early as possible to ensure the application timeline isn't disrupted.

We recommend starting application strategy planning in G9 and PBL explorations in G7, but G12 students are also welcome. The earlier you start, the more we can do; joining in G12 means focusing primarily on the application execution phase.

It's not too late, but the scope of what we can change is reduced. The pace for essays, school selection, and interviews will be much tighter. If you are already in G12, please contact us ASAP—every week delayed is a week lost.

Yes. Summer is the most critical preparation window for rising seniors (G11 to G12). We offer intensive summer support programs.

A typical counselor's experience comes from successfully entering a top school as an applicant. A former admissions officer's experience comes from sitting on the other side of the table and reviewing thousands of actual applications. They know exactly how committees discuss files, what kind of essay moves readers in five minutes, and what kind of activity profile looks hollow to an admissions officer.

Yes. After signing with us, we will arrange at least one deep dive conversation with a former admissions officer best matched to your target schools.

They participate in setting the student's overall application strategy, establishing the initial essay direction, and conducting mock interviews—the most critical milestones. Day-to-day counseling is handled by our senior local advisors, while former AOs provide top-tier professional input.

SproutPortal is included in all Sprout service packages at no additional cost once you sign with us.

Yes. Students have their own full-featured account. Parents have a separate read-only and notifications perspective to track progress without interfering with the student's workspace.

SproutPortal features a responsive design that works perfectly on mobile browsers. Native iOS/Android apps are currently in development.