Katelyn Gleason Klapper

Certified Educational Planner & Founder

Katelyn Gleason Klapper is a Certified Educational Planner, and has more than 25 years of experience working in higher education and college consulting, bringing families a perspective from both sides of the college admissions desk. Katelyn began consulting in 2004 and founded College Options in 2007. For 6 years, Katelyn provided college counseling services to students at Dynamy Internship Year, a gap program in Worcester, MA, where she also developed curriculum and provided program support for Dynamy’s Youth Academy, an access-to-college program for Worcester-area students. Prior to beginning her consulting work, she spent a total of 12 years working on the campuses of Bentley College, WPI, and Boston University (where she managed the university’s West Coast admissions office).

Katelyn has volunteered her time with Peer Forward, Boston’s METCO program, FAFSA Day Massachusetts, and her town’s education foundation. She is also a Distinguished  Instructor for UC Irvine, Division of Continuing Education’s program in educational consulting. Katelyn is Immediate Past Chair of the American Institute of Certified Educational Planners (AICEP), a past board member of the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA), and is an active professional member of the Independent Educational Consultant’s Association (IECA),HECA, and College Consultants of Colorado. 

In her never-ending quest for building college knowledge, she has visited more than 340 campuses in 40 states and abroad. In addition to being a Certified Educational Planner, Katelyn has a certificate in college counseling from UCLA Extension. She completed graduate work at Boston University’s College of Communication and has a BA from Scripps College.

Catie Costello, M.Ed., M.A.T

Founding College Options Affiliate

Catie is a College Options Affiliate Consultant. Prior to becoming an affiliate, Catie was a principal consultant with College Options for eight years. She has 40 years of experience in a breadth of educational settings that include elementary, corporate, and higher education. Catie began her career representing Vanderbilt University, and then Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University, as an Admissions Officer. Catie taught in the Sudbury Public Schools for 16 years,  and joined the College Options team in 2014.

Catie values her panoramic perspective of the educational experience as she counsels her clients’ transition into young adulthood, and as a lover of travel, has visited more than 150 college campuses. Catie earned her M.Ed. in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from Harvard University, a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Cambridge College, and a BA from Vanderbilt University. Catie is also a member of the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA).

Michelle Kaelin, M.Ed.

Founding College Options Affiliate & College Options Writing Specialist

Michelle began working at College Options in 2010 as a Writing Specialist. Since then, she has expanded her role in her work with students by conducting mock college interviews, assisting with Common Application preparation and resume development,  providing career exploration sessions, and delivering  the College Options workshop series.

Always passionate about working with teens, Michelle has taught high school English, served as an advisor with Dynamy Internship Year (Worcester, MA), and as an advisor and manager at MY TURN, Inc. (Brockton, MA). She also taught English Composition as an adjunct faculty member at Becker College and worked as a youth consultant at the Worcester Center for Crafts. She is a self-employed freelancer and self-identified grammar geek. Michelle has worked on a variety of projects, including copyediting clients’ self-published novels, ghostwriting blogposts, and serving as copyeditor and contributing writer for a local online magazine. Michelle graduated from Holy Cross College with a BA in English and earned her M.Ed. from Tufts University.