10TH GRADE THROUGH COLLEGE GRADUATION & BEYOND
Into the right college.
Through graduation.
Into what’s next.
High-touch admissions advising for 10th–12th graders — and a team that stays with your student through college graduation and into their first job or grad school.
We don’t make promises about schools. We make promises about students.
Work With the College Admissions Experts
The Barrier Breakers®, Inc. college counselling team is a diverse team made up of current and former admissions deans and professional counselors to ensure a stress-free college preparation journey for you and your family.
Results families can trust
100%
College acceptance for all our students.
$490M+
In scholarship aid awarded to our students.
95%
Of our students got into one of their top 3 choices.
90%
Of our students receive at least one merit scholarship.
Your enrollment opens a door
for another student.
Barrier Breakers® is a nonprofit. For every full college advising package purchased, we gift our Standard package — at no cost — to a student who qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch or who has been in foster care. When you invest in your student’s future, you open a door for another student, too.
We also offer 10% off full college advising packages for first-generation students and military families. Payment plans are available through Klarna and PayPal.
PLANS & PRICING
Our College Advising Packages
Comprehensive packages for families who want us alongside their teen through every step, from 10th grade to graduation. Need help with just a few key applications? See our Essentials packages below.
*8th–10th grade students typically meet 1x/month
*Additional essay support is available at $250/hour
*Passion project add-on to non-Ivy+ packages at $250/hour
**Schools we count as Ivy League / Highly Selective (they tend to have many supplemental essays and very low admission rates): Ivy League — Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, Brown, University of Pennsylvania. Highly Selective — MIT, Stanford, CalTech, Georgetown, Duke, University of Chicago, University of Southern California, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Washington University in St. Louis, Michigan, UC Berkeley, UNC Chapel Hill, Carnegie Mellon.
OUR CORE MODEL
We stay with your student from 10th grade to college graduation — and into their first job or grad school.
Most advisors stop at the acceptance letter. We don’t.
10th–12th grade: admissions strategy
Current and former admissions deans help your student build a smart college list, write standout essays, and submit their strongest applications.
Scholarships & financial aid
We help your family pursue the best merit and need-based aid to reduce the cost of college. 90% of our students earn a merit scholarship.
Through college: support to graduation
Check-ins, academic advising, and mentorship through college, so your student doesn’t just get in — they graduate.
Career launch: first job or grad school
Internships, career exposure, industry mentors, and grad school application support, so your student steps confidently into what’s next.
SUCCESS STORIES
Here are some of the many schools our students have been accepted to:
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS
Meet Matthew,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill '26
Fullride scholarship
FOUNDED BY
Sydney Montgomery, Esq
Founder & Executive Director
Sydney is the program architect of Barrier Breakers®. She is a first-generation student, lawyer and the daughter of military & immigrant parents.
Founded by a first-gen
Princeton & Harvard Law grad.
Sydney Montgomery was the first person from her high school to attend Princeton and the first lawyer in her family. Since 2012, she has built Barrier Breakers® to give students the expert, long-term guidance she had to find on her own — and she still provides strategic oversight of our advising.
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B.A., Princeton University
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J.D., Harvard Law School
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M.T.S., Princeton Theological Seminary
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Forbes 30 Under 30 — Social Impact
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Obama Foundation Leader — USA, 2025–2026
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TEDx speaker — “First-Generation Graduates Drive Business Success,” 234,000+ views
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Certificate in Independent Educational Consulting, UC Irvine
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Member, Forbes Nonprofit Council · featured in Inc., Forbes, US News and CNBC