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Spots for Bellagio Apps 2022 (for members of the high school Class of 2023) become available starting December 1, 2021. 

‘BELLAGIO APPS’ GET INTO TOP COLLEGES
The annual college application completion retreat, Bellagio Apps, returns to Italy to inspire rising high school seniors to complete beautiful acceptance-worthy college applications

The fourteenth annual exclusive college application completion retreat Bellagio Apps will triumphantly return to Italy in July 2021 after being held online in 2020 due to the global pandemic.

The annual retreat for students who want to craft and complete amazing college applications before the first day of senior year will again take place in one of the most beautiful, serene, and inspirational locations on Earth: Bellagio, Italy. Situated at the center of Lake Como, Bellagio has attracted writers, artists, royalty, and the jet-set for generations, and it has come to epitomize the beauty and ease of life for which the Italian pre-Alps and lakes region is known world-wide. Bellagio has become synonymous with beauty, and students enrolled in Bellagio Apps will create beautiful college applications worthy of acceptance to the world’s top colleges.

“Bellagio Apps’ amazing and inspirational location, unrivaled attention to each individual student, and uplifting and motivating ethos set a gold standard in the industry.” explains Craig Meister, who for the fourteenth year running will serve as students’ lead instructor and summer college application completion coach. “When we offered our first summer college application completion program, then known as ‘Get Into College!’ in 2008, it was the first college admissions prep camp in Maryland and nobody anywhere offered such a comprehensive college admissions prep experience for students with an eye on their future. While the past decade’s-worth of our students’ results are stunning and act as a testament to our winning formula for success, starting to hold this colloquium in Italy, as we did several years ago, took our summer program to the next level.”

Unlike application boot camps that help students start the process of completing college applications, Bellagio Apps ensures students start AND finish the process of completing amazing, differentiated, and overall beautiful college applications – all before the first day of a student’s final year in high school. The personalized week-long program is ideal for students wanting an edge in the college admissions process because it gives students the time and space they really need to develop overall college applications that are simply unrivaled in quality and attention to detail.

Each Bellagio Apps student will work exclusively with Craig Meister to define an application strategy, finalize his or her college list, write a compelling extracurricular resume, and complete the Common Application essay, supplemental college essays, and the overall Common Application. Additionally, students will take part in mock college interviews that will prepare them for all-important alumni and on-campus interviews that take place later in the fall. During breaks in Bellagio Apps’ formal brainstorming and writing sessions, students will be able to amble through the alleys of picturesque Bellagio, enjoy boat rides on stunning Lake Como, and dine in fine establishments renowned for their cuisine and gelato. This is the perfect recipe for college application success!

As an added bonus in 2021, its timing during the first week of August ensures that Bellagio Apps students have most of their summer to focus on other productive endeavors like summer jobs, internships, sports, extracurricular activists, or travel.

Bellagio Apps is ideal for serious students who have thought a great deal about college and want to finish the strongest possible college applications. Bellagio Apps will propel students – and their applications – to the next level.

It’s no longer enough to be a strong applicant; students have to present themselves as strong applicants. Bellagio Apps helps students do just that!

Availability for 2021 is again strictly limited.

We’re back!

Summary: The best summer college application completion retreat in the world

Ideal for: Rising High School Seniors + at least one Parent/Guardian

Time Commitment: 6 days

Cost: $9,000; please note that travel expenses, lodging, and meals are not included in the retreat cost.

How to Book:  Bellagio Apps 2021 is full. Select “Book Now ” below. You will then be prompted to provide contact information and initial registration data. Finally, you will be taken to our secure payment page. Payment must be received in full in order to reserve your space in this exclusive program.

Do you have questions prior to booking?

Spending thousands of dollars for anything, let alone six days of intensive college application completion coaching, is a big deal! Yet, for the right students and right families, Bellagio Apps is a very wise strategic investment.

Craig only wants right-fit students to take part in Bellagio Apps each summer; therefore, he is happy to answer your questions about Bellagio Apps in order to ensure that you make the right choice related to taking part. Please call +1 410-526-2558 in order to engage in a free twenty-minute question-and-answer session before deciding whether signing up for Bellagio Apps makes sense for you (or your student). Craig looks forward speaking with you soon.

Not the right service for you? Review Craig’s full service menu.

Your College Application Coach

A magna cum laude graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, Craig earned his Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA and worked in both Penn’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Office of International Programs before relocating to New York City to work as a communications consultant. In New York, Craig developed innovative business and communication strategies for some of the world’s most successful corporations.
Craig eventually served as an undergraduate admissions officer for a public university before building from scratch and rebuilding college counseling offices at high schools in Baltimore, West Palm Beach, and Rio de Janeiro. His myriad experiences allow him to be the strongest possible advocate for high school students and parents as they navigate the college admissions process.
Seeking to combine his communication and consulting skills with his passion for college admissions, Craig founded a one-man college consulting practice, Tactical College Consulting, LLC, in 2006. Over the next decade this small operation grew leaps and bounds. Tactical College Consulting, LLC, which started with just one Baltimore-based client in March of 2006, served its 1,000th client, located, in of all places, Alexandria, Egypt, in 2014.
When working with students and their families, Craig employs the extensive editing, interviewing, and writing know-how he gathered from his time as a speechwriter for the U.S. Department of State and a journalist for local and national news operations.
When not entrenched in the realm of finding the right fit and getting in, Craig enjoys travel, discussing international affairs and European history, and spending time with his family.

Q&A
When does Bellagio Apps take place?
Bellagio Apps 2021 takes place August 1 – August 6, 2021.

Where does Bellagio Apps take place?
The retreat takes place at and around a small boutique hotel in Bellagio, Italy. More information will be provided once attendance is confirmed.

Do I just show up and get started?
No. Within 48 hours of registration, Craig will send both the student and parent(s) in-depth questionnaires to complete. These questionnaires must be completed no fewer than five weeks before the retreat begins because one month before arrival, Craig will begin engaging with the student in a series of three pre-arrival college admissions counseling sessions. By the time students arrive in Bellagio, and in collaboration with Craig, they hit the ground running tactically implementing their preplanned college application completion strategy.

Will student participants work with Craig or some sort of assistant?
Unlike many college application boot camps in the U.S. that are headlined by well-known (and quite joyless and unimpressive) college admissions consultants but primarily worked by part-time college interns who are tasked with instruction of student participants and editing their essays, Bellagio Apps is led and operated entirely by Craig. In addition to having independent daily dedicated drafting time, students will have exclusive one-on-one college application coaching and engagement sessions with Craig for a minimum of six hours each day of the retreat. Craig does not outsource.

Where will my child sleep?
This is up to you, as the retreat does not include the cost of lodging or meals; yet, we hope you select accommodation close to the heart of Bellagio. Hotel Du Lac and Hotel Bellagio have amazing and reasonably priced hotel rooms with spectacular views.

How do I get there?
Students are responsible for their own transportation to Bellagio. The two closest airports are in Milan and Lugano, with more international flights landing in Milan. Milan is roughly two hours away from Bellagio by rail + boat in typical travel conditions.

What will my child accomplish?
By the end of the retreat participants will have finalized their extracurricular resume, Common App essay, Common App, at least six Common App supplements (or the equivalent), and developed – through strategy sessions and mock interviews – a college admissions interview game plan.

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