College Admissions Consulting With Quad Education

Darryl acquired nearly 20 years of experience working in college admissions before leading a successful college counseling office for an independent secondary school for the past 12 years. Previously Darryl was Senior Associate Director of Admissions at Tufts University, where he gained valuable insight into the world of highly selective college admissions. Darryl began his career at Union College (NY), his alma mater, in 1992, where he started as an admissions counselor and rose to the leadership role of Associate Dean.

Darryl has nationally recognized expertise and industry insights in every aspect of the college admission process. He has been featured in several admissions publications throughout his career, including the NY Times best-selling book, “Who Gets in and Why.” Darryl has an extensive network of college admissions professionals with whom he continually collaborates.

He has sat in on admissions selection for various highly selective institutions, including colleges in the Ivy League and NESCAC, like Dartmouth College and Middlebury College. Darryl has also served on selection committees for prestigious scholarships at Davidson College and Lafayette College. He regularly trains new admissions professionals and conducts presentations and workshops for organizations, including The College Board and the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

At Quad, Darryl is passionate about sharing his knowledge to make the college admission process more accessible and less mysterious. He has a special interest in how the admission process is perceived from the student and parent perspective and is known for putting families at ease.

Mary Banks is the Director of Admissions Consulting at Quad Education Group and has worked for almost 40 years in the higher education industry.

Mary received her BA in English from UC Boulder in 1970 and then decided to pursue her passion—teaching! After teaching in high schools across the country for over 16 years, Mary became the Assistant Director of Admissions at Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1983. Since then, Mary received an M.Ed. in Philosophy and Social Science from Columbia University and has held several senior positions in colleges across the country.

Drawing from her experiences in these prestigious institutions, where she reviewed thousands of college applications, Mary takes a personalized, student-first approach with every candidate she helps at Quad Education. Mary is committed to strategically positioning every student as a stand-out candidate to give them an edge in the college admissions process.

Her personal interest in their success has led to many of her student-counselor relationships lasting longer than the typical advising experience.

Jennifer has a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and over 20 years of experience in higher education admissions. Most recently, Jennifer has served as the Director of College Counseling at Springdale Preparatory School. Previously, she has also served on admissions committees at Harvard University and Washington University in St. Louis.

In these roles, Jennifer was responsible for recruitment, making scholarship decisions, student credential evaluation, transfer credit evaluation, and interviewing applicants. This extensive experience gives Jennifer a unique, holistic understanding of selective undergraduate programs. She enjoys encouraging college applicants to maintain a big-picture view of their professional and personal goals and helping them understand the factors that will contribute to a deep engagement with the institution.

Jennifer’s greatest strengths as a coach include helping students articulate their strengths and unique attributes in their college essays, presenting a range of academic programs for consideration, and strategic planning stretching beyond the college experience,

When Jennifer isn’t coaching, she enjoys playing the harp, gardening, and hiking with her beagles. She also loves baking with her twin daughters, traveling, and watching sunrises over the Atlantic and sunsets over Lake Michigan.

Anthony has a Bachelor’s degree in Classical Studies from the University of Chicago. He also has earned a Master’s Degree and a Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology from Harvard University. While at Harvard, Anthony served as Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies. He interviewed prospective students interested in majoring in Classics and the humanities and wrote letters of evaluation for the admissions committee. Professionally, Anthony has over ten years of experience as an educator.

Anthony’s passion for coaching stems from his drive to ensure that deserving students get access to quality education, regardless of their background. Anthony knows how valuable guidance during the college admissions process can be, especially for those with limited means or those who lack access to formal guidance. He strives to do everything in his power to help students access quality education and unlock their full potential.

When it comes to coaching, Anthony’s greatest strength is his ability to holistically approach students as human beings, identifying their premier qualities derived from every facet of their lives that have contributed to their growth and development. 

When Anthony isn’t coaching students, he enjoys woodworking, especially the notion of creating sophisticated objects from raw materials.

Kerry holds a Master’s from Columbia University and a Master’s from Carnegie Mellon University. She has served as an international admissions consultant with multiple global companies, especially those that only hire Ivy League alumni. Kerry has worked on all aspects of admissions consulting, shepherding students through admissions season or working with special cases for over a decade. She has personally coached students accepted into prestigious institutions, such as the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan, Rice University, Cambridge University, the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, McGill University, and more!

After working as an adjunct professor throughout her PhD years, sometimes teaching three-hour lectures to 80 students, Kerry realized that her one-on-one work in private tutoring and admissions consulting was her greatest passion, with real-life results always visible. She loves getting to know each student as an individual, helping them figure out how to stand out and their brand, who they are, and who they want to be. Kerry loves leading students through the process, helping make it fun, alleviating anxiety, and watching their admission acceptances roll in.

Kerry excels as a coach due to her ability to navigate substantial work and pivotal life plans with a blend of humor, infusing the admissions process with genuine enjoyment and excitement. Her strengths lie in authenticity, characterized by honesty and diplomacy when offering advice and openly sharing her successes and setbacks in admissions consulting. Thanks to a rich tapestry of life experiences in academia, journalism, diverse careers, and extensive travel, Kerry possesses a unique perspective that enriches her coaching approach. She also excels in her ability to read students well for what makes them unique and how to make them stand out in the admissions process.

Furthermore, Kerry's expertise extends to a comprehensive knowledge of various schools, programs, admissions intricacies, and effective strategies. Over her years as a private admissions consultant, Kerry has learned the intricacies of the systems of the various schools. She has also learned how best to help students depending on their personalities, profiles, goals, and strengths and to let them take a lead role in their own admissions process so that they can grow into the best versions of themselves.

Moreover, as an international writer with over sixty publications in both scholarly and popular outlets, Kerry offers students an unusual opportunity to collaborate and edit with a working writer. 

As a journalist and digital nomad who has lived around the world, Kerry has an immense amount of knowledge to share about places, schools, degrees, and just about anything else, too. When she’s not working, Kerry enjoys studying languages and art. Kerry is extremely into fitness and training, and the gym is her happy place for stress relief. 

David is a former admissions officer at Brown University who is currently based in South Carolina. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University with a dual concentration in History and Biomedical Ethics. David has had a long and successful career both in and outside the admissions world. After working for a large law firm in Washington DC for a year, he attended Cornell Law School graduating with a Juris Doctor in Public Law. Following his graduation from law school, David served in the United States Navy as a Judge Advocate for three years on active duty while stationed in Great Lakes, Illinois, and Newport, Rhode Island. David worked as an attorney for the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service following his military service. After that, he practiced immigration law for over ten years.

After a long legal career, David transitioned into his true passion: higher education to help undergraduate students find engaging internships and post-graduation positions and assist them with applications to top colleges. He started at Northeastern University, heading the pre-law office, where he made decisions on which pre-law students to admit and helped them get accepted at top law schools. In addition, he taught hundreds of international students in a professionalism and career readiness course designed to prepare them for working in the United States.

Following his work at the illustrious Northeastern University admissions office, David ran a program for student veterans at the University of Massachusetts Boston, helping students prepare and gain admittance to highly selective colleges. Having found his niche in providing one-on-one advising to students, David returned to his Alma Mater to work as an Admission Specialist for the Brown University admission office. At Brown, David was responsible for evaluating thousands of applications and making admissions committee recommendations. In addition, he was also responsible for all merit scholarship reviews and has an in-depth understanding of what highly selective schools such as Brown are looking for when making scholarship decisions.

Outside of work, David tries to keep up with his three amazing children, the oldest in graduate school in Shark Biology and youngest attending college in Film Studies.  He often spends weekends exploring the Carolina Lowlands and nearby Islands for unique beaches and foods. Originally from the Boston area, David is a lifelong Red Sox fan and continues to follow the team closely. David is currently trying his hand at starting a small orchard with the hopes of someday making small-batch jams and wines.