Meet the Team
Kathy Ratajczak,
Founder
Kathy’s passion for helping students plan their future led her to start her college admission consulting business in 2014. Since then, Kathy has been providing college counseling services to students and their families to help them navigate the ever-changing and challenging world of college admissions. With a proven track record of success, Kathy helps her clients gain admission to great fit schools, ones in which they will thrive. Kathy prides herself on connecting with students to understand their interests, talents, academic, social and environmental needs; she customizes an individualized plan to empower her students to reach their goals and alleviate the considerable stress that is commonly associated with this process.
The college admissions process can feel overwhelming. Kathy helps to significantly reduce the stress students feel when applying to colleges. Her supportive, encouraging yet deliberate approach helps her students take ownership and feel empowered in this process. Working together, Kathy helps them create compelling essays which reflect the students’ unique strengths and talents to give them the competitive edge to gain admittance to a college of their choice.
Kathy’s credentials and experience are invaluable to her clients. Since, 2015, Kathy has served as an Associate Director of College Counseling for three elite private high schools in the Greater Los Angeles area. She has also spent significant time working as a reader in admissions for highly selective universities. Prior to these roles, Kathy worked for over ten years as an educator in the Las Virgenes Unified School District. Kathy received her M.A. in Education from Pepperdine University and her B.A. in Communications from CSUN. Additionally, she holds the Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA. Kathy is a long-term member of the National Association of College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), the Western Association of College Admissions Counseling (WACAC), and the Association of College Counselors for Independent Schools. She has attended countless conferences, including the University of California and California State University, the Los Angeles Independent School College Counselors, and Share Learn Connect. Kathy actively participates in numerous professional development opportunities and continues touring college campuses nationwide.
KRA Admissions is excited to announce the addition of a team of experts ready to assist with the college admissions process in the areas of financial aid, learning differences, college transfer and post-high school transition life coaching.
KRA Admissions is committed to providing the highest quality of college consulting services to clients to maximize their admissions potential. This talented group of professionals includes one of the country’s top financial aid advisors; a college consultant specializing in students with learning differences; a renowned national transfer specialist; and an experienced educator and life coach who created a social/emotional learning curriculum to guide students to succeed in college and beyond. I am pleased to partner with this remarkable team of professionals!
These services are optional and are available at an additional cost. Contact Kathy for more information.
David Levy, Financial Aid Specialist
David Levy is the former Editor of Edvisors.com, a website devoted to planning and paying for college. David has been involved in student financial aid for more than 35 years as the Director of Financial aid at some of the nation’s premier colleges and universities including Scripps College, Occidental College, and Caltech.
He has written extensively about scholarships and financial aid, having written more than 100 articles, co-authored 4 editions of the best-selling book, Filing the FAFSA, and served as a technical resource for the recently published book, How to Appeal for More Financial Aid.
David is respected by students, parents, and financial aid professionals nationwide because of his extensive outreach and volunteer activities, his vast knowledge of college financial aid, and his leadership in helping to simplify the financial aid application process.
He has received more than 30 awards for his community service and outreach efforts on student financial aid.
Jamie Sitzer, MS Learning Difference College Counselor
Jamie served as the Director of College Counseling at a private high school just outside of Beverly Hills for ten years. In this role, she assisted students in grades nine through twelve with all matters related to College Admissions. She guided students with learning differences in their quest to find programs and colleges that would set them up for success. Her gifted and talented students have been admitted to the top colleges in the country. As the SSD (students for services with disabilities) Coordinator, Jamie ensured that the needs of students with IEPs were being met. She worked closely with these students and their families in applying for and receiving testing accommodations (including SAT and ACT) and often administered these tests. Jamie collaborated with school resource specialists as part of a team approach to support every student with an IEP in recognizing and meeting their fullest potential. She advised and encouraged them in relation to their academics and college planning and admissions. Jamie is very knowledgeable about the various options and resources available to students with disabilities. She genuinely enjoys working with these students.
Steve Burleigh, Transfer Specialist
Transfer specialist Steve Burleigh assists community college students overwhelmed by the transfer process, and students at four-year universities who still need to find the right college fit. He has helped U.S. and international families navigate the daunting challenges presented by the transfer process, and assisted students in all majors including STEM, humanities, social sciences, business, and visual and performing arts. He holds a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley and the Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA Extension where he taught for eight years in the College Counseling Certificate Program. He is a member of the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC), the Western Association of College Admission Counselors (WACAC), and the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA). He has been a participant in the WACAC California Legislative Conference and has volunteered at programs such as StepUp Women’s Network, Los Angeles Unified School District’s Summer College Boot Camp, and volunteered for several summers with College Summit (now called Peer Forward) Summer Workshops. He created Admission Zen: The Stress-Free Path to Getting Into College, one of the first full-length videos on college admissions.
Fran Kenton M.A., Educational Psychology, Pupil Personnel Credential, Teaching Credential (General Education and Special Education), Certified Health and Wellness Coach
Fran Kenton (aka “Coach Fran”) created the Transition Curriculum for LVUSD, and through its implementation in the District’s Transition Partnership Project with the California Department of Rehabilitation, she successfully guided special needs high school students through their post-high school transitions. She has been a presenter to educational professionals on the topic of post-high school transition to adult life, and her Transition Curriculum has been promoted by the Ventura County SELPA, Ventura, CA. Fran provides life coaching services to private clients and has been retained by The Robert and Susan Koslowski L.I.F.T. Foundation, a non-profit organization which provides scholarships and mentoring to underprivileged college scholars. Using the principles and practices of coaching, Fran is skillful in creating an environment which facilitates the process by which her clients can move toward desired goals and the embodiment of a desired state of being for optimal wellness and well-being.