Melissa

(Fictional Consultation)
Personal Consulting Report, December 2018

Dr. James Rovira

December 10, 2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MELISSA FICTIONAL STUDENT

01 FAMILY OVERVIEW

02 FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

03 PERSONAL PREFERENCES

04 HIGH SCHOOL GRADE ANALYSIS

05 VOCATIONAL PREFERENCES

06 COLLEGE PREFERENCES

07 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. FAMILY OVERVIEW
Note: all persons and institutions in this report are fictional. There is no reliable data in this report. It
is intended to be a sample only, presenting the kind of information provided by BFEC’s reports.

Student: Melissa Fictional Student

Age: 17
Education: Oscatobe School, Senior
School Rating: B for the last three years
Cumulative GPA: 3.19 State; 3.52 District
Place in Class: 62nd
email: xxx

Parents
Mother: Cindy Fictional Parent, University of New Hampshire, Bachelors in Health Science
email: xxx

Father: John Fictional Parent, University of New Hampshire, Bachelors in Science, Engineering
email xxx

Fictional address

Two parent household, no veteran status, no minority status. Student not independent, two children in the household. Melissa is the oldest child with a younger sibling aged
16. She should be attending college concurrently with one sibling within two years.

CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 3

2. FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
Melissa’s financial situation as she begins college. . .
General Assessment: Very Good
Melissa’s family has enrolled in the Florida Prepaid College Program, which
places Melissa in a very good position for college attendance. Her Return on
Investment (ROI) for any degree will be high. Bright Futures was not provided
with the details of Melissa’s specific plan or with family finances, so the following
information assumes that the plan covers four years at a state university but does
not include room and board. Because of her parents’ advance planning, there is a
high probability that she can begin graduate school with low or no debt.
Recommendation: Parents are advised to consider filing a FAFSA to offset
expenses for room and board and other expenses. The FAFSA will calculate an
Estimated Family Contribution which represents the amount the family is expected
to pay toward their child’s education in any one school year. This cost is divided
by the number of children the parents have in college simultaneously.
Bright Futures Educational Consulting can provide FAFSA assistance for an
additional fee, but the student and her parents can file it themselves at any time for
free at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa.
Estimated costs for Melissa’s college attendance for the 2019/2020 school year
are:
• Faber College’s estimated costs for room, board, and other expenses:
$12,000/year.
• GURPS’s estimated costs for other expenses: $7,200/year (student lives
at home and commutes to school).
• Miskatonic University’s estimated costs for room, board, and other
expenses: $22,000/year.
“Other expenses” typically include books, fees not covered by the prepaid college
program, transportation, entertainment, clothing, and other miscellaneous
expenses. These figures are usually arrived at through the institution’s financial
assistance office by averaging student survey data.
CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 4
3. PERSONAL PREFERENCES
Her stated personal interests. . .
Melissa expressed an interest in
95% working with people in almost
every way possible on the
questionnaire. She believes she is
good at this.
Melissa expressed an average or
50% moderate interest in lab science
and math, and she believes she is
moderately capable in these areas.
Melissa expressed above average
75% interest in ideas, but specifically
ideas related to people. She
doesn’t seem interested in
abstract concepts.
Melissa expressed the highest
75% interest in freedom, followed by
meaningful work and then money.
Melissa has almost zero interest
in romantic relationships or sports
as she thinks ahead to college.
CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 5
4. High School Grade Analysis
Melissa’s academic performance grades 9-11. The legend at the bottom refers to bars in the top graph and the bottom graph in the same position.

Grade Comparison

3.75
Math and Science

EARLY CHILDHOOD IS HER

BEST G.P.A.
Melissa has a 3.74 G.P.A. in her Early Childhood
classes.
Humanities and Education

2.32
0 1 2 3 4 5 MATH AND SCIENCE ARE
HER WEAKEST SUBJECTS
Depending upon her major/vocational choices,
Human Sci. | Foreign Lang. Phys Sci | Eng, Hist Math | Edu she will have to work harder in these classes and
get extra help in college.

CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 6

5. VOCATIONAL PREFERENCES
Melissa’s dream jobs…

25%
40% 43%
2013 2016 57%
2019
60%
75%

40% 35% 25%

Osteopathy Education Psychologist

Melissa’s first preference was for Osteopathy, but several mitigating factors make other professions a close second.

CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 7

5. VOCATIONAL PREFERENCES con’t.
Let’s get into specific detail about these different professions. . .
First choice: Osteopathy
Average salary: $250,000 - $375,000 per year.
Educational path:
Bachelors: Pre-med, biology, or chemistry
and pass the MCAT.
Medical school: earned M.D. and pass the
USMLE (United States Medical Licensing
Examination).
One year internship in Osteopathy
followed by a three year residency.
Highly competitive overall, but very competitive
depending upon the school of choice.
Less than 4% of students are accepted to
Miskatonic’s medical school and only 9% are
accepted nationally.
Strengths and liabilities:
Strengths of this degree path: high ROI on
your degree and a high degree of job
satisfaction for someone who wants to
help people.
Liabilities of this degree path: high
academic requirements needed to apply.
For example, FAU has a combined BS/MD
program for students, but it requires a
weighted G.P.A. of 4.1 and a minimum
SAT score of 1400.
How can Melissa pursue this degree? Her HS
G.P.A. is going to make it difficult to gain entry
into good programs right out of high school.
Enroll in a lab science bachelor’s degree program,
work at close to a 4.0 level, and pursue a
humanities minor (creative writing) to show
breadth of interest, which is attractive to many
medical schools. Then score high on the MCAT.
Personal liabilities for this path: none of
her favorite high school classes were lab
science classes. Math/science G.P.A. in
high school less than 3.0. She’ll have to
reverse this pattern in college to make
medical school a possibility.
For this reason, she might have a difficult
time gaining entry into a lab science
major. She may want to start with an
undeclared major, take lab science classes
early, get As in them, and use that
performance to gain entry into a pre-med,
biology, or chemistry major. She’ll then be
on track for medical school.
CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 8
5. VOCATIONAL PREFERENCES con’t.
Let’s get into specific detail about these different professions. . .
Second choice: Education
Average salary: $48,000/year in Florida with a
great deal of difference between school districts.
Lowest is about $33,000/year and the highest is
about $58,000/year.
Educational path:
Bachelor’s degree with continual
professional development required.
Master’s degree recommended.
Doctorate only for leadership or research
positions.
Less competitive: typically, a 2.5 to 3.0 G.P.A. is
required to maintain matriculation in these
programs.
Strengths and liabilities:
Great deal of job satisfaction if you’re a
people helper and enjoy teaching,
assuming you land at a good school and in
a good district. When the time comes, the
State of Florida publishes information on
which schools are receiving which grades
as well as on the higher paying districts.
Look for schools with an A rating and a
high level of pay and apply there. Ask
teachers working there if they feel
supported by administration with student
disciplinary problems.
Most teachers do not in fact experience a
high level of job satisfaction. The average
teacher drops out of teaching after five
years. The pay scale is on the low end
among professionals.
How does this area look for Melissa?
Overall, good. Straight A average in her
early childhood classes in high school can
be leveraged as a talking point in an
application essay.
The fact that she specifically wants to
work with children is a plus as well. She
should think about the age groups she most
enjoy as she considers entering an Early
Childhood (pre-K or K-6), Middle School,
or Secondary Education (High School)
teaching area. Secondary Education will
require content area courses as well and
can be close to a double major. Choose
this path early.
CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 9
5. VOCATIONAL PREFERENCES con’t.
Let’s get into specific detail about these different professions. . .
Third choice: Psychology
Think of psychology as a generalized degree that
can lead to a number of different vocations. At the
Bachelor’s level, average salaries run from the
mid $30s/year (Case Manager) to the mid
$60s/year (Human Resources) depending on the
field. Average salary around $80,000/year in
Florida for people with Master’s degrees.
Educational path:
Psychology has a number of different
career paths, but if you're interested in
people helping, pursue counseling and
therapy options.
Plan on getting a Master’s degree if you
pursue this career path.
Competitiveness of this degree varies by school Other factors to consider:
and area. Heavily science-based degrees will be
more challenging than degree options focused on This field has a high potential for owning
counseling, therapy, or human resources. your own business as a therapist, which in
turn supports her high value for freedom.
Strengths and liabilities:
Melissa also said she values a stable
High possibility for job satisfaction if she income, however, and owning a business is
pursues areas of psychology directly always a risky business. It takes time to
related to people helping. If she has some build up a client base.
interest in owning her own business, there
are good opportunities here.
No clear path to a specific job unless she
plans carefully.
How does this area look for Melissa? Good, if she
focuses on counseling and therapy and finds a
subfield that interests her.
CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 10
5. VOCATIONAL PREFERENCES con’t.
Let’s get into specific detail about these different professions. . .
Sleeper choice: Creative Writing
Melissa expressed the highest interest in creative
writing in her overall survey responses.
Because her strongest stated interest was in
creative writing. I recommend this as a minor
regardless of her major. I can’t recommend it as a
major without having read her writing, but if she
does pursue this major, I strongly recommend that
she pairs it with a vocational minor such as
marketing or public relations that can land her a
job. Even successful writers tend to experience
feast or famine lives. The median salary for
people with a Bachelor’s degree in Creative
Writing is around $50,000/year for those who
move into business areas such as marketing. The
median salary for an M.F.A., or Master of Fine
Arts, is around $58,000/year.
The educational path for creative writing is a
degree in English with a concentration in creative
writing. Some schools offer a B.F.A. (Bachelor of
Fine Arts) in Creative Writing, but these are rare
programs and tend to be offered at art schools.
Take note that the small pay differential between
having a Bachelor’s and the terminal degree in
Creative Writing is a bad sign for graduate study
in this area. The M.F.A. is the terminal degree
(highest degree offered) for the area of Creative
Writing even though a few schools offer a D.F.A.
Also note that M.F.A. programs are notoriously
expensive with no clear job prospects. The key to
a good M.F.A. program is developing a good
enough creative writing portfolio to get into a top
program, and to get into a top program: pay
attention to each program’s professors and see
what and where they’ve published.
The primary value of an M.F.A. for students is
developing them enough as creative writers so
that they can publish. Along with that skill
development, professors in an M.F.A. program
should be published well enough to have strong
connections with agents and publishers that can be
shared with their students.
Be wary: college advisors will tell you that
Creative Writing, especially the M.F.A., is a good
degree choice whether you make your money
writing or not, but there are many cheaper degrees
that can develop the same skills. This degree is
only valuable if a leads to making a living
publishing.
Melissa shouldn’t be wary of Creative Writing as
an undergraduate minor, however. It will give her
a much needed creative outlet that will help her
develop in other areas in unexpected ways.
CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 11
6. COLLEGE PREFERENCES
Let’s get into specific detail about your preferred colleges. . .

30% 30%
40%
2013 2016 2019
60%
70% 70%

40% 30% 30%

Miskatonic Faber College GURPS
University

Melissa’s first preference was for Miskatonic University, but several mitigating factors make other colleges a close second. The good news is that
they are all good institutions for her vocational choices, with some differences among them.
CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 12
6. COLLEGE PREFERENCES con’t.
Let’s get into specific detail about your preferred colleges. . .

First Choice: Miskatonic U. Strong and diverse offerings in

Psychology: five different areas of study,
four of them through the doctoral level.
Science based, but none of these areas are
Miskatonic University focused on counseling.

My general advice when considering all three

Medical school is focused on primary care,
schools is to select a university that will allow you
so may not be the best choice for specialist
preparation. to pursue your study through the graduate level.

Miskatonic is an excellent overall choice, but it

Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s degrees in
should only be a second choice for medical school
Elementary Education, English Education,
or for Education.
and Social Science education.
I recommend Miskatonic as your first choice for
Creative Writing at the undergraduate and the pursuit of a degree in Psychology as it has
graduate level through the M.F.A.
highly diverse offerings in a variety of areas.

CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 13

6. COLLEGE PREFERENCES con’t.
Let’s get into specific detail about your preferred colleges. . .

Second Choice: Faber College Has creative writing tracks in English

through the M.A. plus an M.F.A.

Psychology: Has an MA in Marriage,

Faber College Couple, and Family therapy and different
Master’s degrees in Counselor Education.
Health sciences and biomedical sciences
undergraduate degree with a Doctor of I recommend Faber as your first choice in
Medicine program. Has a Focused Inquiry Psychology and your first or second choice in
and Research Experience within its Education.
medical program that may provide strong
support for specialists. I recommend Faber as your first choice for
medical school as it seems to best support students
Education degrees: early childhood and K- with an interest in a speciality.
6 through the Master’s degree. Secondary
education (HS teaching) in Social Science,
English, Math, and Science, plus MAT in
Teaching in Biology and other sciences

CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 14

6. COLLEGE PREFERENCES con’t.
Let’s get into specific detail about your preferred colleges. . .

Third Choice: GURPS I recommend GURPS as your last choice for

medical school.

I recommend GURPS as your first choice for an

GURPS Education major.

Strong focus on its medical program, I recommend GURPS as your last choice for
highly competitive. Psychology or Creative Writing.

Wider range of educational degree

programs than Faber.

Creative writing only offered through an

honors program requiring an minimum 3.0
overall GPA and a 3.5 G.P.A. in English
courses. Does have an MFA.

Psychology through the B.A.

CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 15

7. Conclusions and Recommendations
Our advice to you. . .
POINT 01
Don’t be afraid to pursue your true
passion. If Osteopathy is what you
most love, pursue it. However, your
most difficult path will be a pursuit of
a medical degree. After that, your
most difficult path will be a career in
Creative Writing. Creative Writing
would meet your need for freedom,
but would make it harder for you to be
a people helper.
POINT 02
You seem to be a natural for early
childhood or K-6 Education. That
field seems to represent the
convergence of your interests in
helping people and working with
children.
Psychology would be my second
choice recommendation for you, but
you can specialize in working with
children, and it has the potential for a
high degree of personal freedom and
business ownership, which is less
likely in education.
POINT 03
Since high earnings were a low
priority for you, Education and
Psychology represent valid degree
choices.
However, because your earnings will
be low, especially early in your career,
focus now on keeping debt low to
non-existent as you pursue your
education.
POINT 04
Whatever your major, I recommend a
minor in creative writing. Creative
Writing is a gamble in terms of
earnings: it can pay off very high or
very low. However, it is also a field
that gives its practitioners the highest
degree of freedom among all those
considered in this report.
CONSULTATION REPORT 2018 // PAGE 16
Feel Free To Contact Us for More Help!

CONTACT US
Dr. James Rovira

Bright Futures Educational Consulting

Merritt Island, FL

(321) 351-8497

home@brightfuturesedconsulting.
com

www.brightfuturesedconsulting.com

PERSONALIZED REPORT 2018 // PAGE 17

 THANK YOU
I remain your consultant: please contact me when you need help with your next steps. My services
end when you’re accepted to college.