Gina Gerrato Greenhaus is helping students and families rethink the college admissions journey by starting earlier and focusing on intention over pressure. Through programs like her Sophomore Jumpstart Package and tools like the Strong Interest Inventory®, she empowers students to explore their interests, build meaningful experiences, and develop confidence long before application season begins. By breaking the process into manageable steps and emphasizing authenticity over résumé-building, Gina is shifting the narrative — showing that the strongest applicants aren’t the busiest, but the most self-aware, purposeful, and genuinely engaged in their path forward.
Regina, what inspired you to focus on early intervention like your sophomore jumpstart package rather than waiting until junior or senior year?
What inspired me to create the Sophomore Jumpstart Package was seeing how much unnecessary stress students and families experience when they wait until junior or senior year to begin the college process. By that point, students are often trying to figure out everything at once — academics, extracurriculars, testing, majors, essays, leadership, and applications — while already overwhelmed with a full schedule. By the time the students were reaching out to us in their junior year there was little time for them to start a club at school let alone redirect them towards the necessary coursework.
I realized that students thrive when they are given guidance earlier, before the pressure peaks. Sophomore year is such an important developmental window because students are beginning to discover their interests, strengths, and confidence. Early intervention allows them to make intentional choices instead of reactive ones.
The Jumpstart Package was designed to help students build a strong foundation: exploring potential majors and careers, understanding how colleges evaluate applications, developing meaningful extracurricular involvement, and creating academic plans that align with their goals. It also gives students time to pursue authentic interests rather than feeling like they need to “build a resume” overnight.
At Greenhaus College Consulting we are especially passionate about supporting students who may need additional structure of encouragement. Starting v sooner helps students feel empowered, prepared, and much more confident in their own story by the time applications arrive.
You use the Strong Interest Inventory®. How does this assessment change the way students approach choosing a major or career path?
Over the past few years we noticed that many students were very unsure of their intended college major which is understandable for a teenager but this idea of a career direction puts stress on a student when the college application is asking for them to choose a major at the time of application and many colleges admit by major. With this in mind I knew I needed to take things to the next level and get some in depth training in advising on careers.
Strong Interest Inventory® helps students move beyond vague ideas like “I’m good at science” or “I like helping people” and instead gives them a clearer understanding of how their interests naturally align with academic environments, work settings, and career fields.
For many students, especially sophomores and juniors, choosing a major can feel overwhelming because they are making decisions with limited exposure to careers. The assessment creates a structured starting point by identifying patterns in a student’s interests, motivations, and preferred activities.
What makes it especially valuable is that it often:
- Confirms instincts students already have but may not trust yet
- Introduces career paths they may never have considered
- Helps students understand whycertain subjects energize or drain them
- Connects personality, interests, and work environment preferences
- Reduces pressure to “pick the perfect major” immediately
Students also begin to see that majors and careers are not always linear. For example, a student interested in psychology may discover strengths connected to communications, marketing, law, healthcare, or education. An engineering-minded student may realize they thrive in collaborative, creative environments rather than purely technical ones.
The assessment is particularly powerful for students who:
- Have many interests and struggle narrowing options
- Feel unsure of what they want to study
- Are choosing between very different academic paths
- Need confidence in their decision-making process
- Want to align college choices with long-term goals
When paired with counseling and discussion, the Strong Interest Inventory® becomes more than a test — it becomes a conversation tool. It helps students reflect more deeply on who they are, what environments they thrive in, and what kind of future feels meaningful to them.
Ultimately, it shifts the process from “What should I major in?” to “What kind of life and work would genuinely fit me?”
In terms of summer planning we want to make sure that students are being intentional. When our counselors are advising about starting a club or choosing a volunteer activity we always focus on their interests and passions.
Many students feel overwhelmed by college prep. How do you simplify the process while still keeping it strategic and personalized?
Since so many students feel overwhelmed as well as their parents we have learned how to break down the process to management steps as well as personalizing the services based on the goals for each student. Many students and families begin the college process feeling overwhelmed because they believe they need to do everything all at once — perfect grades, endless activities, test prep, leadership, essays, internships, and college visits. The key is simplifying the process into manageable, intentional steps while keeping the student at the center of every decision.
We start by helping students understand who they are before focusing on where they should apply. Through conversations, assessments like the Strong Interest Inventory, and academic planning, we identify a student’s strengths, interests, learning style, and long-term goals. Once students understand their direction, the process becomes much less overwhelming and far more strategic.
From there, we create a personalized roadmap broken down by grade level and priorities. Instead of giving students generic checklists, we focus on what will have the greatest impact for their specific goals. For one student, that may mean developing leadership through a meaningful club or community project. For another, it may mean pursuing research, improving academic confidence, or finding the right summer opportunities connected to their intended major.
We also emphasize quality over quantity. Colleges are not looking for students who joined twenty random activities. They are looking for authenticity, initiative, intellectual curiosity, and consistency. Helping students focus on a few meaningful experiences often reduces stress while strengthening their applications.
Organization is another major piece of reducing anxiety. We build timelines for testing, applications, essays, deadlines, and extracurricular goals so families can clearly see what needs to happen and when. Breaking the process into smaller milestones prevents students from feeling paralyzed during junior and senior year. While it is important to provide a timeline we find that it’s important to set up internal deadlines for students so they can submit their applications way ahead of the deadlines.
Most importantly, we personalize the experience for the student in front of us. A student with ADHD, dyslexia, or anxiety may need a very different structure and pacing than a highly independent student. Some students need accountability and confidence-building, while others need help narrowing down too many interests. The process works best when students feel supported rather than pressured.
When college prep becomes a guided, step-by-step process rooted in the student’s individuality, it transforms from something intimidating into something empowering.
You emphasize summer planning and extracurriculars. What are some of the biggest mistakes students make when trying to “stand out” to colleges?
One of the biggest mistakes students make is believing they need to invent a “perfect” résumé instead of developing a genuine one.
A few common mistakes I see often:
- Joining too many clubs without real involvement
Students sometimes think quantity matters most, so they join 10–15 activities but never take ownership or make an impact. Colleges would much rather see a student deeply committed to 2–4 meaningful activities where they contributed in a real way. - Chasing what they think colleges want
Students often pick activities because they sound impressive rather than because they actually care about them. Admissions officers can usually tell when an application feels manufactured. Passion and curiosity come across much more clearly than résumé padding. - Overloading summers with random programs
Not every student needs an expensive or highly selective summer program. Meaningful work, volunteering, independent projects, part-time jobs, research, family responsibilities, or creating something on their own can be equally powerful when students reflect on what they learned. - Trying to copy someone else’s path
Students hear about another applicant who did research, founded a nonprofit, or launched a business and assume they need to do the same. The strongest applications are usually the ones that reflect the student’s actual personality, interests, and values. - Ignoring depth and growth
Colleges love to see progression: a student who starts as a member of a club, then mentors others, creates a project, solves a problem, or expands the organization. Growth over time matters much more than collecting titles. - Forgetting that character matters
Some students focus so heavily on achievements that they overlook collaboration, kindness, resilience, curiosity, and initiative. The best applications help admissions officers understand who the student is within a community — not just what they accomplished. - Waiting too long to explore interests
Students often believe they need to have everything figured out junior year. Starting earlier allows them to explore naturally, discover what genuinely excites them, and build stronger experiences over time instead of rushing to “build a profile.”
As college admissions become more competitive, what does a truly well-rounded and compelling student profile look like today?
A truly compelling student profile today is no longer about being “good at everything.” Colleges are looking for students who are intellectually curious, emotionally mature, engaged in their communities, and intentional about how they spend their time.
The strongest applicants typically show a combination of:
- Academic rigor and consistency — Students challenge themselves appropriately within the context of their school while maintaining strong performance over time. Admissions officers pay close attention to course selection, upward trends, and genuine engagement with learning.
- Depth over quantity in extracurriculars — Instead of joining 15 clubs, standout students often demonstrate sustained commitment and leadership in a few meaningful areas. Colleges want to see initiative, impact, and growth. A student who founded a tutoring program, led a robotics project, created art with purpose, or worked a part-time job while supporting family responsibilities may stand out more than someone with a long but shallow résumé.
- Authenticity and self-awareness — Admissions offices are increasingly skilled at identifying applications built around “checking boxes.” The most memorable students understand who they are, what matters to them, and how their experiences have shaped them. Strong essays often come from reflection, not résumé repetition.
- Evidence of character — Collaboration, resilience, empathy, curiosity, and adaptability matter more than ever. Colleges are building communities, not simply admitting test scores. Students who contribute positively to classrooms, teams, and communities tend to resonate strongly.
- Intellectual engagement outside the classroom — Competitive applicants often pursue interests independently: research, creative projects, internships, entrepreneurship, volunteering, certifications, independent reading, or community initiatives. Admissions officers want to see students who learn because they enjoy learning.
- A clear sense of direction — without needing life fully figured out — Students do not need a perfect career plan, but compelling applications often reveal patterns of interest and motivation. For example, a student interested in engineering might combine robotics, math outreach, coding projects, and research. A future communications major may show strength through journalism, theater, advocacy, or public speaking.
What has changed most in recent years is that colleges are placing greater emphasis on context and impact. They ask:
- What opportunities did this student have access to?
- How did they use those opportunities?
- Did they create opportunities for others?
- What challenges did they navigate?
- How will they contribute to a campus community?
A “well-rounded student” used to mean someone involved in many activities. Today, colleges are often more interested in a well-developed person — someone with depth, purpose, initiative, and humanity. Many students and families begin the college process feeling overwhelmed because they believe they need to do everything all at once — perfect grades, endless activities, test prep, leadership, essays, internships, and college visits. The key is simplifying the process into manageable, intentional steps while keeping the student at the center of every decision.
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