Catherine Gaston
Catherine Gaston has been working with high school and college students for over 20 years. After graduating from the University of California, San Diego, she received her M.A. in higher education administration from Boston College. She worked in college admissions in California, was an academic adviser at the University of Washington, and has been an independent college consultant since 2011. Catherine thoroughly enjoys working with high school students and their families on what can too often be an overwhelming process. Helping students create their college list, stay organized and on track, and ultimately enter college excited and ready for the “next step” is what she loves to do. She has also volunteered with the CAN (College Access Now) program, Summer Search, and is a member of Pacific Northwest Association of College Admission Counseling (PNACAC) and Higher Education College Consultants Association (HECA). In her free time she loves to spend time with her own three children, work in the yard, and travel, stopping to see the local college wherever she goes.
Lauren Gaylord
Lauren Gaylord is a founding partner of G2 COLLEGE where she works with students to find great-fit colleges where they can grow, be challenged, and find and pursue their interests. She is experienced working with and supporting neurodiverse students on their college path. Prior to starting G2 COLLEGE, Lauren worked with other independent consultants at Collegeology. Lauren received a B.S. from UC Berkeley and an M.A. from UCLA. She has a Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA. Lauren is a Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) where she previously served as a Board Member and Vice President of Education & Training. She also previously served as the Chair of the IECA Learning Disabilities/Neurodiversity Committee. Lauren is also a member of the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC), the Pacific Northwest Association of College Admission Counseling (PNACAC), and the Learning Disability Association (LDA). She also served on the NACAC Seattle College Fair Committee. She has given many presentations on the college application and testing process at area high schools and has presented at several IECA conferences on topics related to supporting neurodiverse students. As a parent, Lauren has gone through the process with both her son and daughter – so she knows how hard this student-centered process is on the parents! When not visiting colleges (15-20 annually), or reading about them, Lauren enjoys running, cooking, traveling, and ice cream!
“I can’t recommend Catherine Gaston enough. She did an outstanding job coaching and counseling both of our very different children on college admissions. She brought out the best in them and let them shine and I am proud to report that both kids not only got into their top choice schools, they both received generous merit scholarships.”
“Lauren’s inside knowledge of the colleges, combined with her understanding of our daughter, means that she will attend a top school that she would never have applied to had it not been for Lauren’s suggestion and encouragement. Informed, responsive, personal, practical, calming, organized, a perceptive listener-Lauren was everything we could have asked for in a college advisor, and we could not be more thrilled with the result. ”