Admission Offers this year 2025-2026 (number of students or notes in parentheses)
Bentley
California State - San Jose
California State - Chico
California State - Sacramento
Colorado College
Colorado State University
Columbia - (student received Columbia likely letter, which is sent to 100-200 top notch students each year as a pre-acceptance notification and later admitted)
Northeastern (honors)
Princeton
Regis University
San Francisco State University
Scripps (4 year full ride scholarship via QuestBridge match)
Seattle University
Smith
Southern Methodist University - BBA program Cox School of Business / Honors Program
Texas A&M (2)
University of California -Merced
University of Colorado - Boulder (3)
University of Denver (2)
University of Indiana - Kelly School of Business
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School (out of state applicant)
University of Northern Colorado
University of Texas - Austin, McCombs Business School (2 - 1 student business honors and 1 double honors - business and engineering)
University of Texas - Dallas - Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business (full ride scholarship)
University of Virginia
Important Note: This list speaks more to the ability of the students rather than to my ability as a consultant. Did I help them achieve admissions to amazing schools - yes. But the students’ hard work and abilities were by far the most important factors.
Word cloud created from compliments from this year’s students and parents
Kudos from students and parents (see more)
• "Before working with Dan, I was dreading the college application process and in fact I avoided thinking about my future at all. But he helped make the process much more manageable and as a result I felt less lost. Working with Dan made me get excited about college and no longer be hesitant about working towards my future." - J.O. (student)
• " I will be going to Princeton this fall! Your advice and kindness truly meant a great deal to me, and I’m incredibly grateful for the time and effort you invested in helping me - I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you so much for all of your kind words...." - J.X. (student)
• "Working with Mr. Reust at AHEC was a game changer for me." – S.M. (student)
• "I am incredibly pleased with the personalized support my daughter received from Dan Reust at AHEC." – J.F. (parent)
• "Applying for college was daunting and hazy; we didn’t know where to begin nor what steps to follow. Meetings with Dan made everything manageable. In guiding my daughter through the application process, he shared wisdom that will be fruitful into adulthood. One of his suggestions even helped her to discover a career that she’s excited to pursue!" G.V. (parent)
• "Before working with Dan, I was dreading the college application process and in fact I avoided thinking about my future at all. But he helped make the process much more manageable and as a result I felt less lost. Working with Dan made me get excited about college and no longer be hesitant about working towards my future." - J.O. (student) • " I will be going to Princeton this fall! Your advice and kindness truly meant a great deal to me, and I’m incredibly grateful for the time and effort you invested in helping me - I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you so much for all of your kind words...." - J.X. (student) • "Working with Mr. Reust at AHEC was a game changer for me." – S.M. (student) • "I am incredibly pleased with the personalized support my daughter received from Dan Reust at AHEC." – J.F. (parent) • "Applying for college was daunting and hazy; we didn’t know where to begin nor what steps to follow. Meetings with Dan made everything manageable. In guiding my daughter through the application process, he shared wisdom that will be fruitful into adulthood. One of his suggestions even helped her to discover a career that she’s excited to pursue!" G.V. (parent)
My goal is to serve as many low-income students as possible. The limited spots I have for paying clients help make that work possible.
Through a caring (and thorough) process, Aim High Educational Consulting helps your student discover their strengths and tell their story, presenting the best possible application to colleges that are a genuine match. Education changes lives.
This begins with finding best-fit colleges.
MY fundamental goal is to help your child develop self-awareness, skills, and self-confidence.
I am 50% educator/coach, 50% project manager,
but 100% caring!
College Planning Overview
Support education
Meet Dan
Ready to cut through the confusion and find your path to college? Dan (Opa - that’s grandpa) Reust is here to help.
Dan earned his BA in Economics and Statistics from the U of Colorado and his MBA from CSU, then spent decades geeking out on data and tech as a manager in healthcare IT. Along the way, he published more than a dozen short "Awwww" stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Now he is on a mission to empower students with the power of data and storytelling to craft their college applications.
At a more fundamental level, though, he wants to help each student understand their own interests and strengths. This self-awareness builds the confidence to explore options and find better matches, both for a college choice and what lies beyond. His curriculum is thorough, including a work unit on responsible student use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The future is here now, and students who learn to use these tools wisely will be better prepared for it.
The journey won't begin on its own. As the Tao Te Ching says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Help your student take that first step. All it takes is curiosity, some effort, and a guide who's been there before. Read more
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
Services
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This is best for independent students who need guidance in specialized areas like the personal essay or college list building.
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Best for students who need more guidance. You’ll find this offering is more extensive than many consultants offer.
Timeframe varies, but often begins as junior in high school through end of senior year.
Junior - High School
• Review of initial questionnaires, academic performance
• Assessments and visioning
• Budget meeting (parents and student)
• Standardized tests (SAT / ACT / others)
• Assessment review and discussion on potential career interests
• Activity list creation and review
• College data collection - initial college list
• Common Application and other applications
• Early Decision (ED), Early Action (EA) and all the other admission variants
• Financial aid / FAFSA / CSS
• Net price calculators / loan calculators
• Scholarship discussion
• Recommendation letters
• Class selection planning
• Student interest-centered activity exploration and planning
• Essay prepTypically about a dozen meetingsSenior - High School
• Essays and personal statement completion• Finalize college list
• Senior kickoff - readiness review
• Recommendations
• Standardized tests
• Application checklist
• Timeline checklist
• Scholarship applications and review
• Evaluation of offers and decision support
• Financial aid appeals
• Transition review
• College class selection planning
• Celebration!!Typically 8-10 meetings, most prior to December of the senior year
Important NOTE!
My practice is dedicated to serving as many students as possible from low income families. I work both through national organizations such as QuestBridge, MatchLighters, and ScholarMatch, but also with local Denver area high schools. Frankly, my preference would be to assist more local students.
Please contact me if you want to explore possibilities. You can book an introductory meeting here.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Selecting an IEC
Aim High Educational Consulting, LLC (AHEC) offers these tips for selecting an independent educational consulting practice.
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Earning a certificate from a national or regional professional organization and membership ensures a level of expertise and commitment in this unregulated industry. These organizations have ethical guidelines that their members are required to follow.
Look for IECA, HECA, NACAC, and AICEP for national associations.
Our consultants either have certificates from one of these organizations or have multiple years of experience and are in the process of obtaining a certificate. We abide by the ethical guidelines of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) and College Consultants of Colorado (CCC).
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Determining the best fit between a student and a college is a two-way street and requires the consultant to not only know colleges and universities but also to come to know your child.
A consultant that relies only on the information from the high school (grade point average or GPA), from standardized test scores like ACT/SAT, and conversation may be missing a fuller understanding of your daughter or son.
If time allows and depending on the plan selected, AHEC performs visioning exercises and standardized assessments to measure your child's strengths, weaknesses, and interests at this point of their development.
See our story video to understand the reasons we believe this is important.
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Often a consultant’s package or plan is titled comprehensive. Sometimes, though, the consulting practice does not handle important areas of guiding the student through the crazy college admissions process.
Ask about these:
Do they handle working with essays or refer it out?
Do they guide the financial aid process and FAFSA?
Are there types of students they refer to other consultants or resources?If you have to contract with separate resources, plan on that extra cost and complexity.
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Colleges and universities change over time. Programs are added or eliminated. Buildings are constructed, remodeled, or repurposed based on changing fields educational demands. Most colleges are much different than what they were 20 years ago, 10 years ago, and sometimes even 5 years ago.
Virtual tours and review articles are helpful (see our curated resources), but seeing a campus firsthand, while classes are in session, provides a deeper level of understanding. It also connects the consultant to the admission staff of that college.
Talking to as many students as possible while on campus gives a much better sense of students’ experience and why they chose to attend that school.
Our practice curriculum offers an entire Work Unit on how students should plan for and take college tours to make the tour most informative and effective.
AHEC requires its consultants to visit at least a dozen colleges or universities each year.
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A consultant should have an overview of each plan that gives a short summary of what is covered at various points in the college application timeline, sometimes called a curriculum, which is made up of more detailed sections - the details presented and reviewed to the student.
If a consultant does not use a curriculum, be sure you trust their experience and that experience is current and relevant. Do they attend conferences? What are the best books to read or listen to for prospective clients? See our recommendations on the three most important books for families to help understand this process here.
We maintain a curriculum for each plan and each of those plans has dozens of Work Units. Each Work Unit is reviewed and updated at least once a year.
At AHEC, a Work Unit covers a specific topic and is a PDF document shared with the student. It contains background, a discussion guide, details of “do’s” and “don’ts”, and resource materials as well as links to other independent resources in various formats, such as video content.
The curriculum summary of our standard plan is available by clicking below.
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Very few independent educational consulting practices have tackled this subject directly, although many are starting to educate themselves and think through AI’s impact on their practices and students.
We provide an AI Work Unit to help your child understand the best practices in their responsible use of AI. Here is a summary summary of our AI Work Unit our AI Work Unit.
We also include discovery using AI in the process of building a balanced college list with your student to find the best possible matches for them.
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A qualified consultant should be able to show you a specific curriculum or explain in detail what they will cover and what resources are provided to the student. Ask them how they would coach your son or daughter on essay writing and then ask, “How important is the college essay for admission?”
Ask to see what they present or hand out to the student for essay writing.
Click on the essay work unit link below to see an example of our detailed Work Unit on essays. Feel free to download and review. We won't require your contact information. We do ask that you respect the copyright.
Dan’s Note: I love working with students on their essays since I've published short stories in the past, including over a dozen in various Chicken Soup for the Soul books, as well as magazines and newspapers.
Essay Work Unit | Teacher / Student Story | Free Consultation
“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”
Curated Resources
Must Read/Listen To Books
These are the three most important books for parents to read or listen to to help understand and cope with this process.
Read more
