For many college students and individuals already in the workforce, higher education is increasingly necessary to advance careers. Applying successfully to programs to earn an advanced degree requires careful planning, including taking the right coursework in college and earning strong scores on the required standardized tests. In addition to academic achievement, many programs want to see a record of service to the community, research, and relevant work experience in the specific areas related to the degree path.

Doing College and Beyond adjusts the level and type of services offered to individuals based on where they are in the admissions process, including students who are currently studying at the undergraduate level or persons who have started their work career.

Elizabeth LaScala has successfully cultivated a network of expert consultants who are available to support specific content needs in engineering, health care, mathematics, business, humanities and the sciences. This enables her to bring you the highest qualified service in specific content areas as she personally guides you through the entire admissions process.

Elizabeth LaScala specializes in medical, dental and veterinarian school admissions, as well as physician assistant, physical therapy and nursing degree paths. Elizabeth only accepts five applicants each cycle, so she can continue to offer support that meets the needs of each applicant.

MA, MS, PhD

MD, DOM, DDS

JD, MBA

The Graduate and Professional School Admissions Process

Step 1 – Admissions Analysis: Elizabeth works with potential applicants to review an individual’s credentials and experience to evaluate if their current profile is strong enough to be successful. Elizabeth provides a written objective and subjective review, paired with a specific set of recommendations.

Step 2 – Ongoing Graduate Counseling: Assuming the applicant’s profile is strong enough to be successful, Doing College offers the following services as needed:

  • Identify a range of higher education opportunities that relate to academic areas of interest, aptitudes, majors, prior degrees and career paths
  • Provide a general overview of the graduate or professional school admissions process, an associated timeline and standardized testing requirements
  • Work with the applicant to define parameters for a program search and/or evaluate and offer input on an existing list of programs
  • Develop an application list that is balanced by probability of admission
  • Provide specific recommendations for writing a strong, cohesive application
  • Assist with the development and editing of personal statements, secondaries, supplemental essays, short responses and any communications with program staff
  • Provide advice for resume development, regional program visits,  interview preparation and portfolio review
  • Expert consultation regarding wait lists, weighing the acceptances, financial aid awards, and helping the applicant to make the final decision

All sessions are currently held online.

Contact Doing College to set up a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation with Elizabeth LaScala to discuss our services.

Doing College offers educational consulting services to students and their parents in Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda and greater California, as well as nationally and internationally.

"Working with Elizabeth was the key to my success in the MBA application process. I was referred to her by my sister, who was accepted to all her top master’s programs in an entirely different field, and we both had fantastic experiences. Elizabeth was straight-forward, thoughtful, and timely with her feedback on my writing. As someone who had been separated from the professional writing space for several years, she gave me the guidance to write meaningful and effective application essays. All our work together culminated in acceptance to my number one choice of MBA program!"

Chris
MBA candidate at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management
Class of 2024

"Elizabeth was an amazing help to me during my medical application process. She took time to personally get to know my profile, interests, and experiences; this helped me craft the best possible medical school application. Elizabeth truly cares about every person she works with. She was extremely compassionate throughout my medical application process and was always willing to offer her advice, even after we were done with revisions and my account was closed. Elizabeth genuinely wants everyone to succeed, and I really appreciated her professional and personal guidance throughout a complex and stressful process!"

Phanisri Tummala
UC Irvine School of Nursing
Class of 2023

"The medical school application process is long and difficult. But, with Elizabeth I was able to get ahead on the primary and secondary applications for medical school. Elizabeth was integral to my application process. She helped me craft a personal statement that turned my experiences into cohesive stories that showcased my strengths and my desire to become a physician. She also helped me address some "red flags" in my application in a way that I could show my academic and personal growth. Additionally, she helped guide me on how to respond to secondary prompts and how to make them the most effective with limited word counts. Elizabeth’s help minimized my stress during this process and need to endlessly search the internet for best medical school application tips. I highly recommend her services for anyone applying to graduate school!"

Kendall Gardner
Touro University of California

"Elizabeth made the application process a million times smoother and more manageable for me. I have unique life experiences and she helped me to show them off as strengths. She offered incredible emotional support and I felt valued and supported the entire time.

Elizabeth was always available and helped me to hone my experiences into strong personal statements. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Elizabeth and recommend her 100%!"

Kelsey Welch
UCLA Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.) Program

"I chose to work with Doing College and Beyond specifically because Elizabeth takes very few clients each cycle to ensure she has ample time to devote to each individual applicant. But the main reason I decided to work with Elizabeth is because of her candor in speaking to the positive and negative aspects of my application. Elizabeth’s comments helped me to shape a meaningful personal statement and concise, poignant answers to secondary prompts which made my application stand out in the large, highly competitive applicant pool.

Finally, Elizabeth provided emotional support and perspective through the ups and downs of the application process, providing timely answers to questions which just can’t be found roaming through internet blogs. For those applicants looking for an honest opinion on their medical school application and the help needed to turn a good application into one that truly projects your best self, I highly recommend looking no further than Elizabeth LaScala and Doing College and Beyond."

Byrnn Sargent
UC Irvine School of Medicine
Class of 2023

"Elizabeth was an incredible mentor in helping to guide me through the entire medical school application process. She not only took the time to really familiarize herself with my application, but she also put in the effort to get to know me on a more personal basis.

Through our conversations, I came to realize my many strengths, which ultimately allowed me to succeed. I am very thankful for her help and the relationship we have built."

Michelle Liu Shu
UCLA School of Medicine

"I came to Elizabeth overwhelmed by the graduate school application process. I was deciding between an MPH, MSW, or both and felt I couldn’t manage the various applications on my own. Elizabeth encouraged me to think about why I wanted each degree and provided me with resources to help me make my decision. Once I decided on the MPH, she was instrumental in each component of the application, particularly my Statement of Purpose. She has a keen understanding of what schools are looking for, especially in public health, and has developed a process that facilitates strong essay writing. She challenged me to reflect on my experiences and be critical of my own writing. She worked diligently to provide advice and feedback despite a short timeline, her other students, and the holidays.

Good grades, test scores, and letters of recommendation will only get you so far if you don’t know how to showcase your experiences and construct a coherent application package; that’s what Elizabeth helped me achieve. In the end, I was thrilled to be accepted to 6 out of 7 schools. My only advice is to reach out to Elizabeth as soon as possible!"

Amanda Aubel
MPH in Health and Social Behavior
Harvard
Class of 2020

"Elizabeth and I worked closely to develop a well-researched and balanced list of schools. She informed me that when it came to choosing a medical school, it wasn’t about the name but instead whether it was the right fit for me.

In college I majored in chemical engineering and I knew I wanted to take a gap year after graduation. During that gap year, I thought I should take an engineering job, but Elizabeth encouraged me to see that this would be a misstep. Instead she guided me to work in a health care setting before applying to dental schools—volunteering as well as shadowing in a dental office. Ultimately, I was hired to work full-time in a dental office and I believe this made all the difference in the strength of my applications. I would highly recommend her to anyone who is interested in attending a graduate or professional degree school."

Jennifer Xu
Columbia College of Dental Medicine

"Elizabeth truly went above and beyond to support me throughout the long and stressful medical school application process. She spent time reviewing all the supplemental material and essays I sent her in great depth to help craft a personal statement that best captures my strengths and unique attributes as an applicant. Although we were never physically together to work on my application, she was always very responsive and reliable with her communication through phone calls and emails."

Julie Hwang
University of North Carolina

"I’m so happy to say that I will be attending Case Western Reserve University’s PA program. Your feedback and guidance throughout this year’s particularly competitive and hectic application cycle has been extremely valuable. You worked with me closely to perfect my personal statement, streamline my supplements, and arrange mock interviews. Each component was fundamental to reaching my goal, and I would most definitely recommend you to anyone hoping to apply successfully to PA school."

Michelle Tran
Case Western Reserve University
Physician Assistant Program
Class of 2024

I did not know that I wanted to be a doctor until after graduating from college. My undergraduate institution did not provide much pre-medical advising and, so I searched for someone to help me navigate the application process, both with general guidance and more specific advising related to personal statements and written components. I was incredibly happy with my overall advising experience. Elizabeth was always responsive to whatever questions I had, answering them with her own knowledge and expertise or guiding me to the resources that answered my questions. She provided me with structured opportunities and exercises to reflect personally and academically, which was tremendously helpful in formulating a personal statement I was very proud to submit. I would definitely recommend Elizabeth to anyone that is looking for personalized advising for their graduate school applications.

Karen Bryan
UCLA School of Medicine
Class of 2023

"Elizabeth’s advice and support strengthened my graduate school applications considerably. I thought my background as a Native American from a non-traditional background (military veteran) was a weakness, but she helped me realize that it was really one of big my strengths. Her advice was key to being admitted to and making the final decision about several fine universities, including Tufts and University of Massachusetts Amherst. I ultimately decided to attend University of California Santa Cruz with a $24,000 fellowship, which allows me to focus exclusively on my studies."

Shawn Tsosie
PhD, Department of Mathematics
University of California, Santa Cruz

"When it came time for me to think about applying to graduate study, I had the good fortune to work with one of the best resources, mentors, and professionals in the field of educational consulting, Elizabeth LaScala. Overall, the application process to Master's programs in Genetic Counseling took me three years to fully complete, because I had several post baccalaureate courses to complete in order to be eligible for many selective programs.

Elizabeth assisted from initial brainstorming to receipt of my final acceptance notifications. She helped make the application process manageable through her near-daily insightful suggestions. Ultimately I was admitted to the majority of the programs I applied to and had many excellent options to consider."

Alena Faulkner
M.S. in Genetic Counseling
University of South Carolina

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