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Ariadne College Advisors

About Ariadne
College Advisors

We Help You Find Your Path to College Success

Ariadne College Advisors guides families through every step of the college process, helping them achieve academic and financial success customized to their unique needs. Our committed community of family advisors provides calm, reassuring guidance as they lead families through creative solutions to challenging college problems.

The college planning process—finding the right school, navigating applications, improving test scores, and securing financial aid—has grown increasingly complex over the past decade. Families find themselves in a college planning conundrum, making decisions through a fog of guesswork, incomplete information, and mounting pressure.

That’s why 98% of parents who attend our sessions say they would recommend our services to others, with thousands of families across the United States choosing Ariadne College Advisors as trusted advisors in this increasingly chaotic space.

Our Mission and Values

Our mission is simple: we facilitate more access and more options for families. We exist to aid families as they navigate their post-secondary pathway. We provide counsel and context to reveal previously unconsidered options, and increase the odds of academic and financial success for families from all backgrounds.

 

Our commitment to access

We are proud to offer the Ariadne Access Program. All eligible families receive any and all Ariadne services at a 50% discount. A family can be eligible through two pathways:

  1. Current participation in a qualifying program. If your household currently participates in any of the following, you qualify automatically. There is no income paperwork required:
      1. SNAP (Illinois Link card), TANF, Medicaid or All Kids, WIC, or SSI
      2. TRIO, Upward Bound, or GEAR UP
      3. Housing assistance (Section 8, public housing, or CHA), foster or kinship care, or McKinney-Vento services
         
  2. Your income is within the program limit. You qualify if your adjusted gross income (IRS Form 1040, line 11) is at or below 250% of the federal poverty guideline for your household size:

 

Saying Thank You

For any families who are not eligible for the Ariadne Access Program but do have at least one family member working in the following fields, we provide a 15% discount on all services:

  • Military: Active, Reserve, National Guard, and Veteran
  • First Responder: State & local fire, police, and EMS personnel
  • Public School Employee: Pre-K, Primary, and Secondary

Reduce Stress, Don't Add

Full transparency. No surprises. No ticking clocks. We’re here to be the helpful, reliable, and accessible throughout an otherwise difficult and stressful process.

Find a Way to Yes

Whether it's a creative payment solution or a complex appeal letter, we empower our team members to solve the problem, not just identify it.

Be in for the Long Haul

We build relationships, beyond transactions. From high school through graduation, our families have a partner for the entire journey.

Measure Whole Family Impact

We view the family unit as a whole. We want to enable academic success, safeguard retirement savings, and connect families with the services they most need.

Value and Support Community Partners

Our services are additive; we do not contradict nor disparage the professional counselors already trying to help families. It’s never us versus them.

What's in a Name: Ariadne

As we evolved from our first fifteen years of success as My College Planning Team, we took inspiration for our next chapter from the Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus.

Every seven years, the king of Crete demanded Athens send seven young men and seven young women as tributes to navigate his labyrinth, but none ever survived. Until Theseus, the prince of Athens, volunteered as tribute. Ariadne, the king’s daughter, used a crimson thread to guide Theseus through the labyrinth, helping him find his way out of the maze.

Just as Ariadne brought Theseus out from an anxiety-inducing place with unknown challenges, Ariadne College Advisors exists to provide families with intentional guidance through the complex college process.

The crimson thread in our logo represents how we serve: We are the connective thread that transforms an overwhelming labyrinth into a navigable, personalized journey. We deliver empathetic counsel to navigate the college selection process with agency and assurance, from initial exploration through enrollment and financial guidance.

Our Team
Chandani Rao

Chandani Rao

Chief Operating Officer

Chandani has an in-depth knowledge of the wild world of college applications, admissions, and financial aid. She also has first-hand experience with the appeals first appeal resulted in over $30,000 in additional financial aid for her first child’s first year of college.

About
Becky Martin

Becky Martin

Head of Student Services

Becky has dedicated her career to developing transformative programs that empower students to achieve their post-secondary and collegiate goals.

About
Sylvia Cason

Sylvia Cason

Head of Community

Sylvia is excited to be part of Ariadne College Advisors because it allows her to pursue the work that she is passionate about, which is helping students reach their goals.

About

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