Our College Counseling has two phases:
- College Planning Service - to help with the holistic student and skills development
- College Admissions Counselling - Starting from 11th grade spring to help step-by-step through the entire college applications process
PHASE-1: We offer private 1:1 College Planning Service:
The college planning session helps students to utilize the high-school years effectively and align their time and efforts with their passion and career aspirations.
The best time to get started is late 8th grade / early 9th grade. But, we are here to help even if you missed an early start.
Students who have followed the plan have found the later college applications process to be less stressful and felt well prepared. 
College Planning Services:
Our Planning Process:
- Family meeting with parents and student
- Identifying student’s passion, strengths, and career aspirations
- Mapping to academic goals, personal and skills development
***FREE First 30 mins Consultation***
- Creating Individualized College Plan-
- We will provide individualized 4-years plan (for the school years and also the summer breaks) from academics to extracurricular activities, covering all aspects needed for building a holistic student profile.
- Please come prepared for a long first meeting, as it takes a minimum of 3 to 4 hours with the student and family
- Four follow-up guidance/advisory calls or in-person meetings per year
- Follow-up meetings helps student with mentoring for the implementation of their plan and also offers guidance for any changes that needs to be considered from academics to extra-curricular activities.
- Advisory and Nomination for the following awards (for eligible students)
-
- President's Voluntary Service Awards (PVSA)
- Congressional Awards
ONE TIME PAYMENT FOR COLLEGE PLANNING (covers the entire High School years)
College Planning Service fess = $3000
(for current 8th grader)
College Planning Service fess = $2500
(for current 9th grader)
College Planning Service fess = $2000
(for current 10th grader)
College Planning Service fess = $1500
(for current 11th grader)
Payment Methods
Zelle pay to 510-894-1497 or cicpay25@gmail.com (no additional fees)
PayPal payment below will add 5% tax for PayPal processing. You can also use the alternate payment option as stated above.
PHASE-2: We offer comprehensive private 1:1 College Admissions Counselling:
Our packages offers 1:1 college admissions assistance and we will take your student step-by-step through the full admissions process, offering personalized guidance at every step, which includes:
- Resume Writing
- Offer guidance to students for obtaining Letters of Recommendations from teachers and counselor
- Create a customized college list of recommended “best fit” colleges
- Provide guidance for reporting activities/awards/recognitions and help prepare the descriptions for each
- Guide with academic history reporting
- Help select the majors for each college in the list
- Essay Writing Guidance for students:
- Understanding Writing Nuances: Assist students in comprehending the intricacies of effective essay writing.
- Brainstorming Essay Questions: Help students select appropriate essay prompts that align with their goals and experiences.
- Ideation Assistance: Provide creative ideas and guidance for each chosen essay question.
- Unlimited Reviews and Feedback: Offer continuous feedback and revisions via a shared folder until essays are polished and ready for submission.
- Comprehensive Support: Extend similar comprehensive guidance to supplemental essays and other written responses.
- Guidance for financial-aid and scholarships
- Admissions Interview prep
- Application full review before submission
- Guidance provided to assist students in selecting their college based on acceptance offers
Sample Recommended Schedule for Admissions work: (Grade 11 to 12) Starting early, will reduce stress!
- We recommend to start around February of Junior year, so all activities could be spread out.
- February-March: Understanding and data gathering of student's academic and extracurricular activities and achievements
- April-May: Prepare and ensure some important tasks are completed before the end of school year (Junior year).
- June: Student completes the essay writing course. We will then meet 1:1 to brainstorm essay questions, ideation, and work rigorously on all the documents/templates provided for application preparation
- July-December: meet as needed, along with remote guidance, until all applications are submitted.
- January-February: Interview preparation
- March-April: meet as needed to finalize college selection
College Admissions Counselling - Payment Options
Zelle pay to "510-894-1497" or "cicpay25@gmail.com" - no additional service fees
PayPal payment method will add a 5% service tax.
College Admissions Counselling Service - All-inclusive Package
UCs + CSUs + 6 other colleges (OR) a total of 10 to 12 colleges using CommonApp
$5000 (Fees to be paid in full upfront-no exceptions)
PayPal payment below will add 5% tax for PayPal processing. You can also use the alternate payment option as stated above
Intro to our Independent College Counselor:
Shanti Balaraman, a trailblazer in transformative education, has dedicated over 16 years to revolutionizing our traditional industrialist educational system. As a staunch advocate for practical learning, she has played a pivotal role in shaping effective pedagogical methodologies that encourage independent thinking and foster a genuine connection with the real world.
Across the nation, Shanti has mentored and guided hundreds of students, helping them uncover their passions, recognize their strengths and weaknesses, and discover a profound sense of purpose. Armed with the right information and guidance, these students have embarked on their unique academic and career journeys.
Now, in her retirement, Shanti leverages her wealth of knowledge and experience to continue supporting today’s youth. As a Research Mentor and Independent College Counselor, she remains committed to empowering the next generation.
Her approaches to college counseling have been more pertinent especially during this era of holistic selection process. You will not see any gimmicks or false claims!
Are you ready to start your journey with such expert guidance?
Contact Us:
info@childrensinnovationcenter.org
Phone/Text: 510-894-1497
We usually reply within one or two days. If our reply is not in the inbox, please also check spam folder and move it. Please add our email id to your contact list.
Please submit the below form if you are interested in our College Planning and Admissions Counselling Services.
We will contact you back at our earliest.
Celebrating the Class of 2024: College Acceptances Unveiled!
We are thrilled to announce that our students have received acceptances from some of the most prestigious colleges and universities across the nation. Their hard work, resilience, and passion have paid off, and we couldn’t be prouder.
The outcomes unequivocally demonstrate that our strategic approach, which emphasizes students’ uniqueness, personal qualities, achievements, and abilities through their essays, activities, and comprehensive applications, has resulted in unparalleled opportunities for our students. Notably, some of them have been awarded very lucrative merit scholarships ranging from $8,000 to $100,000.
- Stony Brook – Biology (Premed)
- Rutgers – Biomedical Engineering (Premed)
- New Jersey Institute of Technology - Biotechnology
- University of Southern California (2) – International Business, Computer Science
- San Jose State University – Aerospace Engineering
- Santa Clara University – Computer Science and Engineering
- UC Berkeley – Biology (Premed)
- UC Merced (4) – Sociology(Prelaw), Political Science(Prelaw), Management and Business Economics, Biomedical engineering
- UC Riverside (3) – Electrical Engineering, Finance/Economics, Biochemistry (Premed)
- UC Santa Cruz – Biomedical Engineering & Bioinformatics
Congratulations, Class of 2024! 
Celebrating Our Exceptional Research Students’ Admissions Success - 2024!
Dear Students and Parents,
I am thrilled to share the remarkable admissions results achieved by some of our outstanding research students from the class of 2024. Their dedication, perseverance, and commitment to excellence have led to incredible opportunities:
- KG.: KG completed her research during 9th grade and went above and beyond by participating in various competitions. Her hard work has paid off, as she has been accepted into Stanford University’s College of Engineering.
- CC.: CC continued his research journey, which began in 10th grade. His impressive work caught the attention of multiple institutions, and he has now committed to UC Berkeley, pursuing Biology on the premed track.
- NV.: NV’s research efforts in 9th grade have culminated in an acceptance to the prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology, where he will study Mechanical Engineering.
- NG.: NG’s dedication to research during 10th grade has led him to the University of Southern California, where he will major in Computer Science.
- AG.: AG’s consistent research journey since 9th grade has earned her a merit scholarship of $83,000 for Computer Engineering at Santa Clara University.
- RV.: RV’s research endeavors during 10th grade were rewarded with a substantial scholarship of approximately $100,000 from Rutgers University for Biomedical Engineering.
These recent successes underscore the value of my research program and the transformative impact it has on our students. By persevering and following my guidance, they have achieved remarkable outcomes. I hope their achievements inspire you as well!
Remember, every great innovation begins with a single step. Take yours today! 
For more information, visit our Research Program webpage : Emerging Innovators Research Program for High School Students (childrensinnovationcenter.org)
Congratulations to the Class of 2023!
A very fulfilling year for our admissions counseling services!
This year, 60% of our students comprised of first-generation / underrepresented communities. We guided our students to secure their life-changing college admissions and secure financial-aid. (full-ride tuition aid, merit scholarship, Cal grant, Pell grant, need-based institutional grant, work/study program)
Through our student-centric, comprehensive and personalized counseling and guidance, all of our students have accepted admissions from their top choice colleges!
Here are their final destination colleges and intended majors (Each student had received several other offers and decided to attend the following colleges)
Duke – Biology BS / minor in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Boston University – BS in Business Administration (Information Science focus – minor in Entrepreneurship)
Santa Clara University – Computer Science
Purdue University (2) – Data Science; Computer Engineering
University of Southern California – Computer Science with an emphasis on game design
Indiana University – Kelley School of Business – Business – Economics and Finance focus
UC Berkeley (3)– Computer Science; Civil and Environmental Engineering; International studies (pre-law)
UC LA (2)– Nursing; Computer Science
UC Irvine – Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
UC Santa Barbara – Political Science (pre-law)
University of Washington, Seattle – Informatics
Best Wishes to all students!
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Congratulations to the Class of 2022!
Academic Pathways Taken: Pre-med, Pre-law, Electrical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Computer Science, Business, Economics, Nursing, and Biotechnology.
Many of our students have received merit scholarships - Full-ride, UC Regents, Dean's Scholarship, Partial as large as $120,000 to smallest $5,000!
- UC Berkeley
- UCLA
- UC Davis
- UC Riverside
- UC Santa Cruz
- Purdue
- Cal Poly SLO
- San Francisco State University
- San Jose State University
- Georgia Tech
- University of Washington, Seattle
- Loyola Marymount University
- Santa Clara University
- University of San Francisco
- University of Texas, Dallas
- Arizona State University
- San Diego State University
- Oregon State University
It is notable that we do not pre-screen and pick our students to work with. Students have come to us when other private counselors did not want to take them. We believe that every student can be shown the path to success and the results speak for themselves. It is the mutual belief and trust that creates the positive energy and motivation to pursue academic success.
