Sara Bretthauer

Sara enjoys helping students find the "best fit" university academically, socially, emotionally, and financially. She is a member of the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC), the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC), the International Association for College Admission Counseling (International ACAC), and the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA).

When working with students, Sara’s goal is to simplify the college application process for both students and families and proactively guide them along the journey. She loves researching and visiting universities, and she’s toured over 190 so far.

Sara completed the UC Berkeley Extension College Advising and Career Planning certification program, so she is a UC Certified Counselor. In addition, she is a British Council Certified UK Counselor, and she’s completed NACAC and WACAC international and domestic certification programs. She’s been a seasonal application reader for UC Santa Barbara, reviewing domestic and international first-year applications, and for two years, she read international first-year engineering and computer science applications for Purdue University. Plus, she has worked part-time at local high schools. She feels privileged to have insider experience on both the high school and university sides, which enables her to understand the university admissions process very well. Lastly, she serves as a Matchlighter’s Scholars Program Counselor for high-achieving students from low-income households.

Sara graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management from Purdue University and worked in hotel sales and marketing positions nationwide. She and her husband, along with their three children, lived in the San Francisco Bay Area before her husband’s job took their family overseas for twelve years. They lived in London, England; Chengdu, China; and finally Jakarta, Indonesia, before returning to the Bay Area in 2019. When she is not advising students, Sara loves spending time with her family, traveling, photography, visiting college campuses, and walking their family dog. She looks forward to helping your student find the "best fit" university for them.