Who We Are
Collegiate Gateway is a boutique admissions consulting practice founded in 2004 upon the belief that there is no limit to the value of a great education. We pride ourselves on providing our clients with personalized, accessible, and expert guidance to help them achieve their educational and career potential.
Our approach to admissions relies on two pillars: identifying best-fit schools for each student, and then guiding them through every decision to maximize their likelihood of admission. What sets us apart is the enormous amount of care and attention we deliver to each of our students and families. In addition, we have visited hundreds of colleges and graduate schools around the world and have met directly with admissions officers, faculty, and students to provide our clients first-hand expertise.
Through years of successful outcomes, we’ve developed a comprehensive, holistic framework encompassing every aspect of the admissions process, and we derive immense satisfaction from delivering exceptional results for our clients.
Julie Raynor Gross
Founder and President
Since founding Collegiate Gateway nearly 20 years ago, Julie has helped hundreds of students achieve admissions success. She is recognized nationally as an expert in the field and is featured regularly on television, in print, and at industry conferences to provide insight into the current state of the admissions landscape.
Julie received her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She went on to earn a master’s in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Phi Delta Kappa, with an emphasis on counseling and university administration, and a master’s in business administration degree from Harvard Business School.
Understanding and empowering individuals is a special passion for Julie, and she applies her extensive training in psychology to her work with Collegiate Gateway. She is a Master Practitioner of the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator® (MBTI®), the leading assessment tool for innate personality, and a Certified Practitioner of the Strong Interest Inventory®, used to identify interests in academics, activities, and careers. Julie has participated in extensive volunteer and pro-bono work in the fields of secondary and higher education and beyond.
Caroline Ferrucci
Senior Admissions Consultant and Director of Research
Caroline cares deeply about supporting students in the complex process of college and graduate school admissions. She helps build school and program lists that encompass each individual’s unique best-fit features and develops extensive comparative information to assist in decisions. Caroline also has special expertise as a writing coach, helping students represent their best selves in applications and essays and guiding them through the intricacies of the process.
Caroline earned a bachelor’s degree in English as well as a master’s in education from Lehigh University. Previously, Caroline worked as an educator and curriculum leader at independent schools in New York City. Caroline is an Associate Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) and a Member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). As a lifelong learner, she attends the conferences for each organization and eagerly learns from her peers and admissions representatives. Caroline has worked for Collegiate Gateway since 2011. In 2020, she became an independent educational consult, bringing her professionalism, knowledge of different learning styles, and expertise in the admissions process to the Collegiate Gateway team.
Maureen Meyer
Director of Client Relations
Maureen assists students and parents in various aspects of the college admissions process and utilizes her extensive experience working with families in educational settings. As a kindergarten teacher at Marymount School of New York, Maureen engaged students through a multi-disciplinary, challenging curriculum and effectively responded to various learning styles through hands-on activities.
Maureen graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Notre Dame and earned a dual master’s of science in teaching early childhood and childhood education from Fordham University. She is passionate about life-long learning and helping others to find their path to a best-fit college and beyond. Maureen has worked for Collegiate Gateway since 2014. She assists all clients in reaching the benchmarks necessary to complete applications and manage the many moving pieces of the college and graduate admissions process.