College Counseling
It is our mission to prepare our twice-exceptional students to embark on a successful future—and our robust in-house Cloverleaf College Counseling & Talent Development Program, led by Director of College Counseling, Lisa Marfleet, is equipped with resources and initiatives to fulfill this mission.
Building on the talent development experiences in the Lower School years, the Cloverleaf College Counseling and Talent Development program acts as a nexus for the next steps our students choose to take to make their impact in the world.
Cloverleaf College Counseling & Talent Development Video
For the best experience on mobile, watch in full-screen mode and tap to enable sound.
Video Transcript (Recommended)
Kimberly Busi, Founder and Head of School: (0:07) We start thinking about our students' future the moment they come to Quad Prep. It starts with talent development. It starts with giving them ample opportunities to engage in things that they love, and that they're passionate about, and that they have strength in.
Follow that thread all the way through to college counseling and test preparation. Our aim is that they can find meaning and joy in the futures of their choosing.
Lisa Marfleet, Director of College Counseling, Cloverleaf Program: (0:31) My name is Lisa Marfleet. Since 2018, I've been the director of college counseling and the Cloverleaf program at the Quad Preparatory School.
At any school, applying to college is a massive project. Through the Cloverleaf program, we manage it side by side with our students, both educating and assisting them.
Omri, Class of ‘26: (0:49) Hello, I am Omri Kanetsky. I am in 12th grade, and I am going to attend Swarthmore College after my graduation.
Lisa: (1:00) Early support begins in middle school, through electives, clubs, after school, idea lab, and summer planning. In grades 10 through 12, students take a semester of college counseling, which covers college planning, essay writing, recommendation etiquette, and finding the right fit.
Vivian, Class of ‘29: (1:16) My dream schools are probably Duke or Stanford or maybe NYU. Who knows? At Quad I'll be prepared, so we'll see what happens.
Lisa: (1:28) Students finish the 11th grade with a completed college essay draft. 12th graders meet weekly one-on-one with their college counselor to finalize all their college and post-graduation applications by the deadline. We handle the entire logistical engine, from mastering the common app and building resumes to the deeper work of crafting a personal statement and supplemental essays.
Teacher: (1:49) The students right now are doing kind of a color-coded annotation. Each of the colors corresponds to an element that is present in most college essays.
Lisa: (2:01) Quad Prep uniquely tailors courses to student interests and offers a large selection of AP courses with the flexibility to add others based on student passion.
We also offer AP testing on campus. We run interview prep, and we help them secure teacher recommendations so by the time they hit submit, they feel like professionals.
Omri: (2:21) At first, the college application certainly seemed too big to manage.
I think Quad and Cloverleaf program helped station me in something real.
Lisa: (2:35) At Quad Prep, our college counseling isn't a one-size-fits-all checklist. It's a deeply customized process. I spend hours in groups and one-on-one sessions with parents translating their child's unique profile into a college list that doesn't just look good on paper, but feels like home for the student.
Keri Kanestsky, Alumni Parent: (2:54) I feel totally supported by the Cloverleaf program, by Lisa's support, by Lisa understanding and knowing who my kid is and making really solid recommendations. And just by Quad overall, teachers, counselors, academic advisors.
Lisa: (3:08) For a twice exceptional student, the path to adulthood isn't necessarily a straight line. It can be complex and asynchronous. Cloverleaf meets them where they are, helping them take real ownership and replacing the anxiety of what's next with the excitement of what's possible.
Daniel, Class of ‘26: (3:27) Don't be scared because this is one of, if not the most, welcoming space that I've ever been at.
Max, Class of ‘26: (3:34) Challenge yourself. Go high.
Maylene, Class of ‘26: (3:37) And also, don't be nervous for this new chapter in your life, you know? Just stay swag.
Kim: (3:43) Our students go on to incredible colleges, from Swarthmore and Vassar to Carnegie Mellon, NYU, Berkeley School of Music, Parsons and beyond.
But what matters most is not where they go. It's that they go as themselves prepared and confident that the sky is the limit for them.
Cloverleaf College Counseling and Talent Development Program for Twice-Exceptional Learners
The transition to adulthood is a developmental process, and for our gifted, twice-exceptional students, this can be a complex and nuanced process. Our all-encompassing Cloverleaf College Counseling & Talent Development Program is uniquely tailored to each individual student to support the asynchronous nature of the twice-exceptional education journey.
Cloverleaf is organized around three components:
- College Counseling
- Talent Development
- Experiential Learning
College Counseling
Cloverleaf’s college counseling program is highly customized, tailored to each student’s profile and path. This involves assistance with designing the college list, consulting on college visits, educating parents when applicable about financial aid options, researching academic and lifestyle options on campus, and working with them through the acceptance and final enrollment decision phase.
At Quad Prep, we simultaneously educate and assist students with the entire logistical process of applying to college, including:
- The Common Application
- Teacher Letters of Recommendation
- Activities Lists & Resumes
- The Personal Essay
- Supplemental College Essays
- Interview Prep
We also provide guidance on applying for college accommodations when needed and understanding the variety of support services available to college students.
Testing
We are able to offer on-site testing for the PSAT 10, PSAT 11/NMSQT, SAT, and AP exams. We also offer an after-school SAT prep class.
College Acceptances
By designing customized college lists and encouraging students to apply broadly and creatively, we aim to give families—parents and students—choice in terms of college acceptances. Being accepted to one college is wonderful—being accepted to several colleges gives a student a chance to create their future with a variety of choices. Learn more about our students’ college acceptances.
Talent Development
Talent development is key for both gifted education and college planning. We help students start to look at what they do for fun—how they spend their free time, what they’re naturally drawn to—as a window into what they might want to do for work someday. Often, that’s the most authentic starting point. Our goal is to bridge the gap between schoolwork and real work by helping students explore college and career paths that align with their strengths and interests.
One thing we think about with talent development is access. Access is everything in education and in life. By providing students with access to comprehensive extracurricular resources, often through colleges, museums, and other arts & academic organizations, we are giving them the chance to “work” outside of school in an area of interest alongside professionals in that field.
Experiential Learning
Rooted in gifted education and talent development principles, experiential learning is a natural extension of our daily personalized curriculum.
Experiential learning helps students answer questions such as: Why am I learning this? How is this used in the real world? What careers connect to my interests? Through meaningful experiences, students connect classroom learning to future possibilities—and start to envision how their dreams can take practical shape.
Through authentic experiences such as guest speaker seminars, job shadowing, mentorships, school trips, and internships with professionals, workplaces, mentors, and community partners, students move beyond learning about a subject to engaging with it. By identifying opportunities that connect to their passions and strengths, they graduate from observers to practitioners, developing expertise, making interdisciplinary connections, and understanding how their gifts and interests can contribute to the world beyond school.
"One of the most exciting things about Quad Prep is that we are able to create courses based on student interest. We have a number of AP courses available each year. And we are able to offer others if students are passionate about other subjects."
Lisa Marfleet
Director of College Counseling, Cloverleaf Program
Cloverleaf Process
In middle school, students are supported in exploring possible post-secondary passions through electives, clubs, After School, Quad Prep IDEAlab, and summer planning.
Starting in 10th grade and continuing through graduation day, high school students engage in college counseling courses, college application and essay writing workshops, and 1:1 meetings with college counselors to ensure they’re fully prepared for life after high school.
Parents are invited to college workshops by grade level that cover a variety of topics, including the college admissions timeline, applying for accommodations in college, and financial aid. Parents also meet 1:1 with our college counselor to outline a personalized college admission plan for their student.
AP Classes
AP offerings have included:
- AP Calculus AB
- AP Statistics
- AP Biology
- AP Physics 1
- AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
- AP Physics C: Mechanics
- AP Language and Composition
- AP US History
- AP European History
- AP Modern World History
- AP Principles of Computer Science
- AP Seminar
- AP Literature and Composition
- AP Psychology
- AP Chemistry
- AP Environmental Science
- AP Computer Science A
We also offer a number of AP tests on campus each year. In addition, our course offerings include many classes designated as “college level.”
Cloverleaf Transitions Program Team
Lisa Marfleet | Director of College Counseling, Cloverleaf Program
Since joining the team in 2018, Lisa, in addition to her current role as Director of College Counseling, has filled several other roles including Director of Talent Development and Upper School Coordinator for Community Partnerships. Lisa brings over 25 years of educational consulting and college counseling experience to Quad Prep. As a member of Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), her background and focus has been dedicated to supporting students from non-traditional educational backgrounds as they transition to higher education. Helping to provide access to underrepresented students is at the heart of the work she has done for decades and has been instrumental in our mission to help students embark on their chosen futures. Lisa's varied background in arts and education has included work as an NYC public school teacher, humanities tutor, educational consultant, college advisor, fiction writer, literary editor, talent agent and film casting director.
Alberto Bassi-Smith, MEd | Director of Experiential and Global Learning & World Languages Department Chair
Alberto joined Quad Prep in 2014, and he developed its first curriculum for foreign languages. Alberto is also a member of the World Leadership Council, which provides a regular forum for world language educators and administrators to discuss and share their questions, concerns, and suggestions with the New York State Education Department.
In Italy, he received a BA in Liberal Arts and an MA in History of Italian Theater and Events Management. Before moving to the United States, Alberto worked as a producer for his theater company, which staged Italian literature masterpieces for middle and high schools. When he moved to NYC, his love for sharing his culture and language combined with his interest in pedagogy pushed him to earn his second MA in Adolescent Education at Hunter College, where he received the Teaching Award in Romance Languages and the Distinction in Graduate Studies Award. Currently, Alberto is furthering his education in the Educational Leadership program at SUNY Fredonia, driven by his desire to have a broader impact on students' educational experiences.
Before arriving at Quad Prep, Alberto worked with several private language schools where he taught both adults and teenagers. He firmly believes that learning a language must incorporate group interaction that sparks the interest of the students while instilling love and respect for other cultures and nationalities, and consequently creating a sense of community.
Francesca Cicale | Clinical Advisor to Cloverleaf College Counseling
Bio coming soon!
"As an educational consultant and college counselor, my main focus has been on providing access and opportunity to those students from non-traditional and eclectic educational backgrounds to help them achieve their full potential as original thinkers and confident self-advocates in this complex world. Access is everything, and I’m thrilled to be able to work alongside our students and help them learn to navigate the world that awaits them beyond high school."
Lisa Marfleet
Director of College Counseling, Cloverleaf Program
FAQs
What is the Cloverleaf College Counseling and Talent Development Program?
The Cloverleaf Program is our hallmark all-encompassing talent development and college counseling program. Each student’s journey through the program is uniquely tailored to support the asynchronous nature of their twice-exceptional education journey. The three main components of the Cloverleaf Transitions Program are college counseling, talent development, and experiential learning.
What does the college planning pathway look like for gifted high school students at Quad Prep?
In middle school, students are supported in exploring possible post-secondary passions through electives, clubs, After School, Quad Prep IDEAlab, and summer planning.
Starting in 10th grade and continuing through graduation day, high school students engage in college counseling courses, college application and essay writing workshops, and 1:1 meetings with college counselors to ensure they’re fully prepared for life after high school.
How is college planning different for gifted, twice-exceptional students?
The transition to adulthood is a developmental process, and for our gifted, twice-exceptional students, this can be a complex and nuanced process. To support the challenges that can come with a twice-exceptional profile, such as executive functioning, self-advocacy, or life skills, we holistically support every student by simultaneously educating and assisting students with the entire logistical process of applying to college
We also provide guidance on applying for college accommodations when needed and understanding the variety of support services available to college students.
How are parents involved in the transition planning process?
Parents are invited to college workshops by grade level that cover a variety of topics, including the college admissions timeline, applying for accommodations in college, and financial aid. Parents also meet 1:1 with our college counselor to outline a personalized college admission plan for their student.
How does Quad Prep prepare students for college beyond gifted academics?
Through integrated post-secondary planning courses, students’ transition goals build independent skills for academic learning, executive functioning skills, self-advocacy, leadership, and college and career readiness. Learn more about our executive functioning program.
What kinds of colleges do Quad Prep students get accepted into?
Quad Prep students are often accepted into several colleges, giving students a chance to create their future with a variety of choices. Recent acceptances include Swarthmore, Cornell, Bryn Mawr, Bard, RIT, Skidmore, and Sarah Lawrence. See our full list of college acceptances.
A not-for-profit independent college preparatory school, Quad Prep’s rich and robust curriculum engages, challenges, and inspires students at all levels, K–12, through our Lower School and Upper School programs. Quad Prep does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. This policy applies to, but is not limited to, educational policies, admission, financial consideration, hiring and employment practices, use of school facilities, athletics, and other school-administered programs.