We Are Committed to High-Quality, Personalized College Admissions Counseling for our High School Students And Success For Our College Students
Lantern College Counseling was founded for families seeking a college home for their child to thrive. At Lantern, we guide students to apply to college through our proprietary Deep-Fit™ approach. With Deep-Fit, it isn’t all about getting into college—it is about what happens during college. At a Deep-Fit college, your child will have the opportunity to achieve their personal and academic goals, have impactful experiences, thrive, and lay the foundation for a successful life. A student’s college search is a first step in shaping their future.
We do college admissions counseling this way because it is the only way we know! Fifteen years ago, when Jennifer was a dean at Wellesley College, and her daughter was applying to college, she saw that her decades of experience advising college students gave her a powerful perspective missing in college admissions counseling. Namely, she deeply understood what her daughter should be looking for in a college because she deeply understood what students experience while in college. After all, she was an academic advisor on a college campus every day, supporting students through their successes and challenges.
Over the years, Eliza joined the team, as did Karen. Eliza’s college admissions work is enhanced by her extensive experience working with college students after admission and while they are in college — including Jennifer’s own daughter when she was an undecided first-year student considering engineering at Tufts University!
Karen brings 30 years of experience guiding Harvard University students to Lantern as a college success coach and academic crisis management counselor, serving enrolled college students.
Collectively, we have supported and educated students on college campuses in teaching, mentoring, and advising roles for a combined 75 years. At Lantern College Counseling, we know what makes students thrive and are acutely aware that getting into college is just the beginning of a student’s college experience. We support students throughout their journey to a successful life: to and through college.
Learn more about our services and how we can help your child apply to college and have a thriving college experience by clicking the link below.
Lantern’s Team
College Admissions Counselor Eliza Yuen
“Meredith LOVED working with Eliza! ‘Mom, not just a thumbs up, but three thumbs up. I love her!’ We would highly recommend her to anyone."
“We could not be happier with Eliza! Her responsive and insightful communication, her understanding of our daughter’s character and how to help her best on the applications is above and beyond. We’ve been so impressed. And Eliza has helped me off of the edge many times. ; ) Our daughter is always uplifted and happy after talking with Eliza.“
Eliza’s Background and Experience
Eliza Yuen’s hands-on experience working with students in both public and private institutions across the United States and Canada informs her caring and research-based approach as a college counselor. Eliza is equipped to counsel high school students with a diverse set of academic goals, helping them achieve successful college admissions results.
Eliza was a key member of Jennifer’s advising team in the School of Engineering at Tufts University for six years before moving back to Canada to be closer to family, where she now has an advising role at Carleton University. At Tufts, Eliza advised all undergraduate engineering students during their first year, half of whom were still deciding on their engineering major, and all students interested in internally transferring from the School of Arts and Sciences into the School of Engineering. Eliza developed a deep knowledge of engineering majors and disciplines through this work. As a college consultant, she is a talented expert in guiding directed and undecided students in all disciplines, especially STEM.
Fun fact: Eliza was Jennifer’s daughter’s academic advisor when she was an undecided first-year student considering engineering at Tufts (while Jennifer was still working at Wellesley College), encouragingly guiding her through the internal transfer process and welcoming her into the School of Engineering! As a mother, Jennifer was so grateful to hear her daughter excitedly chatter about her caring advisor, Eliza, during her first year at Tufts.
Beyond her deep advising expertise, Eliza brings ten years of experience supporting students to apply to and transition to college to Lantern College Counseling. Before joining Lantern in 2023, Eliza was a higher education counselor who supported students to apply and transition to college through Pathways to Education Canada. In 2015, Eliza was selected from a nationwide search to serve as a scholarship application reader for the Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholarship, where she assessed thousands of competitive applications from students nationwide.
Eliza has completed an Independent Educational Consultant Certificate program at the University of California, Irvine, holds a BA degree in Psychology from York University, a Master of Science in Education from Medaille College, and a post-graduate diploma in Child & Youth Counseling from Humber College.
She is a member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA.) Eliza’s position at Carleton does not and will not involve admissions decisions at Carleton University.
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College Admissions Counselor, College Success Coach, and Academic Crisis Management Counselor Jennifer Stephan
“Jennifer is one of the most knowledgeable professionals I have ever dealt with. Her knowledge of the college admissions process is outstanding and her work with my son led to his acceptance to a university beyond his dreams. She was extremely hands on in every aspect of the admissions process and knew exactly how to get the very best from my son. In addition she was constantly in touch with me including emails of his progress and articles covering every aspect of the admissions process. I highly recommend Jennifer to any parent who is considering engaging a college admissions counselor.”
Jennifer’s Background and Experience
Jennifer Stephan has spent her entire career in higher education helping young adults achieve their academic and personal goals.
Jennifer holds a unique vantage point as a college consultant, having held a variety of leadership roles across top colleges and universities, including professor, academic dean, and on a board of admissions, in addition to serving as a private college counselor, alumni interviewer for Johns Hopkins University, and parent of three. Her holistic understanding of how a student can thrive at college helps her guide students down the path of fulfillment, success, and joy.
Jennifer currently serves as the Dean of Academic Advising and Undergraduate Studies for the School of Engineering at Tufts University. Prior to joining Tufts, she spent over two decades serving as a dean and a professor of Computer Science at Wellesley College, where she collaborated with colleagues at MIT, Olin College of Engineering, and Babson College to support students pursuing engineering. With experience in dual-degree STEM programs, and having pioneered multiple such programs between Wellesley, MIT, and Olin, Jennifer specializes in mentoring young students preparing for careers in STEM program admissions, including those interested in computer science and engineering. Her robust college counseling experience equips her to assist students from all backgrounds and academic interests, including transfer students and high schoolers with interruptions on their transcript.
While at Wellesley, Jennifer served on the College’s Board of Admissions, reading and evaluating approximately one hundred transfer student applications each year. Jennifer’s leadership roles in higher education give her unique appreciation for the way institutional priorities are reflected in admissions decisions. As a higher education consultant, she regularly employs insights from these experiences to help students develop their college lists and shape competitive, authentic applications.
Jennifer holds a BS degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, as well as an MS and a PhD in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
She is a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) and a professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA.) Jennifer’s position at Tufts does not and will not involve admission decisions at Tufts University.
Read more about Jennifer’s Academic Journey
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College Success Coach and Academic Crisis Management Counselor Karen Flood
Karen’s Background and Experience
Karen has thirty years of experience at Harvard University, serving as Associate Dean of the Harvard Summer School, a Resident Dean in Harvard College, the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Women, Gender, and Sexuality program, the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies for the History and Literature program at Harvard, and lecturer.
Throughout her career Karen has counseled undergraduates on their academic and personal journeys, helping students navigate difficult decision points as well as manage the regular stressors and challenges of college. Karen has extensive knowledge of what it takes to be successful in undergraduate courses, having overseen the curriculum of the Harvard Summer School for a decade, reviewed hundreds of syllabi in all disciplines, and worked closely with faculty on developing their courses, in addition to teaching numerous courses herself. Because of this knowledge, Karen has been able to coach students on how to balance the demands of their course load and how to set priorities and meet deadlines.
Karen also has a deep understanding of the college landscape and can help students navigate the resources they have on campus, from advising and student support offices, health services, career services, the registrar’s office, and accessibility services. As a Resident Dean Karen supported students making decisions about dropping or withdrawing from courses, declaring a major, applying for fellowships, studying abroad, or taking leaves of absence. She also worked closely with students experiencing academic or personal difficulty, connecting them to the various resources on campus and mentoring them through this stressful period. Having served on academic review and disciplinary boards for 17 years, Karen is also able to effectively counsel students who have been put on probation or required to withdraw, or who have received disciplinary sanctions. Karen was on the Board of Freshman Advisers for 9 years, so has a special understanding of the difficulty of transitioning to college. She has served as a Title IX Resource Coordinator, and she was on the Executive Committees for the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response and the Office of BGLTQ Student Life.
Karen has taught undergraduate courses and advised senior theses in American history and literature, history of science, and women and gender studies. She received numerous certificates of distinction in teaching, and she received the Jan Thaddeus Teaching Prize in History and Literature.
Her Ph.D. is in American Studies from Harvard, and she received her BA degree from Yale College, where she graduated summa cum laude. Prior to graduate school, Karen was a high school English and History teacher in Seattle, Washington.
She has completed the Coach Practitioner training program offered by the UCF Higher Education Coaching Academy. Karen’s position at Harvard does not and will not involve admissions decisions at Harvard University.
Contact Karen
