About Nola Healy Lynch and Northwest College Search
I (Nola) established Northwest College Search, my practice as an independent educational consultant, in 2009, soon after moving to Bellingham, Washington. After a move to Las Vegas in 2019, I have continued my practice virtually. For many years I had been interested in the college admissions field, but I became more focused when my sons, who are twins, were in eighth grade at separate schools. I became a prep school and public arts school parent, so I took what I learned at one school and offered it to parents at the other. By 2000 I was established as a parent volunteer at Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts, and from 2001 through 2004 I was on staff there as founder and director of a college resource center, supplementing the counseling office. In 2006, my husband was transferred to Chicago, where I worked at Encyclopaedia Britannica as the associate editor in charge of music and dance—overseeing, developing, and editing all of the articles in those fields and several others—until our move west. (I had previously edited college textbooks, scientific works, and literary translations.)
As a first-generation college student myself I went from a Miami-Dade County public high school to Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, benefiting from the school’s generous financial aid. I continued to New York University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, completing an MA in historical musicology and serving as a graduate assistant in music theory classes.
For professional development in the college advising field I regularly tour colleges; attend meetings of the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA), the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), and the Western Association for College Admissions Counseling (WACAC). I completed the Independent Educational Consultants Association Summer Training Intensive in 2009; I participate in webinars on topics in the field; I closely follow news about admissions and financial aid; and I participate in several professional listserves. In 2014 I became a Certified Educational Planner through a rigorous process that puts me among the most qualified practitioners in college counseling.
A good deal of my time is spent on efforts to help under-resourced students achieve their educational goals. I am active on the HECA Access & Equity Committee, and I belong to the ACCEPT group (Admissions Community Cultivating Equity and Peace Today) as well as relevant subgroups of NACAC. I have volunteered since 2011 at the counselor table of college fairs; also since 2011 I have participated in summer workshops of Peer Forward (formerly College Summit). Other ongoing work includes virtual mentoring through ScholarMatch and Strive for College.
Get in touch
The process of choosing and applying to colleges is very complex, and questions arise for everyone who is doing it for the first time. I can be as involved as you like, or I can be a resource for your occasional questions. Pay for what you need, when you need it.
The first 30 minutes are at no charge.