College Torch - Sierra Madre, California

Remy Rabideau

Robert has been such a fantastic help during my college search and application journey. He was there from day one, when I first began to work on my college and activities lists. (Having that head-start helped immensely.) But Robert’s greatest strength is helping with college essays. Through constant guidance and assistance, he helped me write my essays in the way that best reflects who I am and what I wanted to convey. Overall, Robert genuinely cared about my success and made himself available for any questions or concerns I had, no matter how small.

Yanxin Luo

As a parent, I couldn't be more grateful to Robert for his guidance with my son's college application. Robert cares, not only because he is a professional, but also he has made efforts to make things right. Robert spent time to get to know my son, to help him understand his strengths, to educate him in identifying the right schools, and to coach him developing the personal statements that highlight his uniqueness. I was very impressed with how Robert guided my son in evaluating a good fit of the colleges for him, not just because the schools are academically strong and reputable, but culturally, how the colleges would provide him with an environment in which he could thrive and grow.
In addition, Robert was available to answer my questions as a parent and offer advice on how to be more supportive in my role as a parent throughout this process. I appreciate Robert's honesty and straightforwardness.
I highly recommend Robert Powers as a dedicated, experienced, and effective college counselor. He truly cares about his students and their success. He made the entire process smooth, educational and efficient. We are so grateful to have had him.

Alex Chi

Robert's expertise ensured that my college application season was a smooth, enjoyable experience.

Robert did more than help me plan and revise college essays: working with him improved my writing skills in general. He helped me craft an application that highlighted my strengths, and under his guidance, I was admitted to my first choice college.

When my admissions result was released, surprisingly, I did not feel much stress or apprehension unlike many of my friends who were counting down the days, as Robert had helped me create a list of colleges with safety schools that I also felt comfortable attending.

Robert's greatest strength is his extensive knowledge of the application process as a whole. Beyond my essays, whenever I had a question about how to input courses correctly or ensuring that my transcripts and test scores were sent, Robert had the answer. My job was to write my essays and activities, and Robert addressed any worries from the process of filling out the application itself.

Having Robert guide me through the college application process turned an otherwise terrifying prospect into something completely manageable, and I can certainly say that his guidance was crucial toward me getting into my dream school.

K Yoon

After going through the college application process on our own with our first child, I promised myself that we'd find a professional to take stress off for our second. Robert helped ease the burden of us having to nag about essay rewrites and deadlines and allowed us to take a more supportive role during the college application process. Our son was able to speak honestly to an impartial party about what type of college he was looking to attend and gain insight into which school was a reach, target or safety. Robert helped tremendously with his applications and gave great advice on how to improve his essays so that the schools could see his strengths. We are thrilled that he was accepted to his top choice school. Thank you Robert for guiding him through the process!

Owen 2608

Robert was able to support me very well during the application season. Robert was able to help me in choosing safety and reach colleges, as well as helping to create a consistent schedule to allow me to completely finish applications to over 10 schools. Robert was very encouraging and helpful but also taught me to be independent and work on my own. I became a better writer and also had a much better understanding of the college application process.

Alyssa Moshrefi

Robert was able to help me a great deal with my college applications this year. He kept me accountable for writing my essays every week by holding sessions each Sunday to make sure I had time to work on my college applications along with questioning me about my progress. This is very helpful especially if procrastination is a struggle. Robert was always fast to respond at all times and helped me form the perfect essays that fit the requirements for each application. He was knowledgeable about every college that i was interested in and was able to provide me with tons of information about each one. The most memorable part of the season is when I was finally able to share my acceptances with him because it was a relief that all the hard work paid off!

Kristin Hoffman

Robert was fantastic from day one! He has a well-thought out plan that helps students get through the entire process of finding colleges that fit, writing essays, managing timelines, applying for financial aid, and making a final college selection. Robert is knowledgeable about the entire process and is available for questions throughout. His service is not just a support to the student, but to the parents as well. Having Robert manage our son’s progress and keep him on track, meant far less tension for our family. This was our first time going through the college application process and we would never have been able to navigate our way through it without Robert’s assistance. His services are worth every penny! We are so happy we made the choice to work with College Torch and we are guaranteed to be repeat customers when our second son applies to college.

Natalie Torres

Robert was not only incredibly helpful throughout the college application process, but he truly cared and took the time to know me as a student, individual, and artist. He was always very involved and guided me through the challenges I faced when applying to colleges. In lesser words, he was able to alleviate many of the fears and stress that came along my application journey. Robert helped me organize and revise my essays to showcase my best work. I thank him tremendously for being such a big help and for being patient. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it without him!