Faina Prager

Background

Three vantage points on the same process.

Faina spent many years as a software engineer before moving into education, where she taught AP Computer Science A and mentored students through advanced STEM coursework. As families began asking for guidance that went beyond the classroom, that work grew into a focused practice in STEM college advising.

She also served on the admissions team at Santa Clara University, which is the part most counselors cannot offer. Having read applications from the university side changes what you tell a student to do — not in theory, but in the specific decisions about what to take, what to build, and what to leave out.

Why STEM only

Specialization is not a marketing position.

STEM applicants are judged against expectations that do not apply elsewhere: advanced coursework taken in the right order, research and competitions that show genuine depth, and technical work that has to be legible to a reader who knows the field.

Positioning that profile correctly requires understanding the subject matter, not just the application. A counselor who cannot tell a serious research project from a summer program brochure cannot advise on which one is worth a student's year.

That is why this practice takes only students headed toward mathematics, science, engineering, computer science, and medicine.

How she works

Structured, strategic, and honest.

Families come back to the same three words. Structured, because decisions get made early and in order rather than in a panic each spring. Strategic, because a trajectory built over four years beats a résumé assembled in one. Honest, because a student is better served by hearing that a plan is not working than by being told what they hoped to hear.

The goal is a strong, authentic application built on substance rather than noise — a student who has actually done the work, presented clearly.

For essays, Faina collaborates with a dedicated writing advisor, so students get expert support on language, clarity, and storytelling alongside the strategic work. The student still writes every word themselves.