Peer Guidance Isn’t a Shortcut to College decisions — It’s the Missing Piece
When high school junior Maya sat down to start her college applications, she had the same tools as most ambitious students: a long list of schools, a spreadsheet of deadlines, advice from school counselors, and dozens of open browser tabs filled with Reddit threads, blog posts, and TikTok explainers.
But despite all that, Maya still didn’t know what her story was. Should she write about her robotics internship or her work at a local clinic? Would applying test-optional hurt her chances at NYU? How important was it that she’d only taken three APs compared to others who had six or more?
Her counselor was supportive—but juggling 400+ students. Her parents encouraged her—but had never applied to U.S. schools themselves. The web was full of noise, contradictions, and “chance me” bravado.
What she needed was someone who had been through this exact process, recently—and won.
That’s where peer guidance comes in.
Advice, But From Someone Who Gets It
Peer guidance isn’t casual mentoring. It’s not a friend guessing what admissions officers want. It’s not a Reddit post filtered through twenty opinions.
It’s structured, intentional, paid advice from a student who applied to similar schools, came from a similar background, and achieved real success.
In Maya’s case, she used Pathways to find someone who:
- Attended the same type of public school
- Also applied test-optional and got into NYU, BU, and Emory
- Was South Asian, like Maya
- Chose to major in public health
- Scored in the same ACT range
Maya booked a 30-minute consult and came away with clarity: she had a compelling story around public service, and she didn’t need to apologize for not submitting test scores. In fact, the advisor helped her see how to frame it as a strength.
The consult cost her less than a dinner out. The clarity? Priceless.
The Myth of the One-Size-Fits-All Strategy
The problem with traditional advice is that it often assumes a standard applicant. But admissions isn’t standard.
- A rural Midwestern student with limited APs needs different advice than a competitive prep school senior in Boston.
- An international applicant from Ghana faces different scrutiny than a first-gen Latina from Los Angeles.
- A STEM-focused boy applying to Caltech will need different guidance than an arts-focused girl applying to Barnard.
Peer advisors can speak to these nuances. They were those applicants. They understand the hidden levers—the moments when choosing the right essay topic or positioning an extracurricular made the difference.
It’s Not a Shortcut. It’s the System That Should Exist.
Some might hear “peer” and think less experienced. But that’s a misunderstanding of what applicants need.
They don’t just need general wisdom. They need relevant context.
Traditional counselors can provide macro advice: deadlines, FAFSA, letters of rec. But they rarely have time—or recent personal experience—to walk through:
- What made an extracurricular spike stand out?
- How to choose between prompt 3 and prompt 7 for Common App?
- What “demonstrated interest” actually looked like at Tufts?
Peer advisors fill that gap. And because they’re paid per consult, they’re prepared, focused, and generous with insight.
This isn’t mentorship. This is strategy.
A Better Way, Accessible to All
At Pathways, we believe peer consults should be part of every student’s toolkit.
- For some, it will supplement what their counselor already provides.
- For others, it will replace the missing support they never had.
- For most, it will clarify their unique path—by learning from someone who walked it just a year or two ago.
This is not the future of advising. It’s the present, done right.