Malissa Takacs, M.Ed., MSSA, LSW

As a licensed counselor and social worker, Malissa has worked for two decades in the field of college counseling and admissions. For the last eight years she’s worked in private international schools in Switzerland and Singapore as well as in her own practice as an independent college consultant. Over the previous eight years she served as Director of College Counseling at a therapeutic college preparatory boarding school in Virginia,

Malissa has closely worked with over 1,500 students and has overseen all aspects of the college and post-graduate counseling and application processes. Her students have applied to a range of institutions of higher education as well as boarding, other secondary schools, and community colleges. Her area of expertise is in guiding students who have overcome personal and academic challenges or have taken non-traditional pathways to high school completion on their way to university. Some have attended wilderness therapy programs, therapeutic schools, and other treatment programs and alternative paths.

Malissa is also a seasonal application reader for Undergraduate Office of Admissions at Northeastern University, which allows her to evaluate over 1,200 applications annually for a university that admits less than 15% of its applicants. She has visited nearly 200 universities worldwide and She maintains a current understanding of university application systems around the world and has visited nearly 200 universities worldwide. 

Malissa is deeply committed to helping students realize their full potential. She mentors them through a process of self-discovery to promote the version of themselves that feels most authentic. Her goal is to be available to students and parents in a way that ensures the least amount of stress and the most amount of excitement about future opportunities.