INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT

Dr. Shawn Marie Garrett has always felt passionately about education and educational equity. 

In the belief that teaching and learning are the most rewarding of pursuits — and that opportunities to learn should be extended equally to all — Dr. Garrett has taught and counseled teens and young adults throughout her career, both in and out of the classroom, independently and through her service to educational institutions including Yale University, Barnard College, Columbia University, Stony Brook University, and private secondary schools. She was honored to receive the Gladys Brooks Award for Excellence in Teaching and a nomination for the Emily Gregory Teaching Award at Barnard College, among other recognitions of her writing and teaching.

Since 2019, Dr. Garrett has served as an independent educational consultant, guiding high school students and their families towards successful transitions from high school to the colleges (or transfer colleges) of their choice. She works primarily with people aged 14 - 22 in:

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• achieving college readiness, access, and success;

• finding, creating, and developing meaningful extracurricular activities, internships, jobs, and passion projects; 

• acquiring college-level research, writing, and speaking skills (as a TED-Ed Club facilitator, Dr. Garrett supports students in developing TED Talks on topics of their choosing);

• sucessfully completing application processes (for summer programs, STEM and humanities competitions, publication opportunities, undergraduate study, transfer, and scholarships).

Dr. Garrett serves as Director of Educational Consulting for GPS Academy Great Neck, the Long Island office of a private global firm (Linghang International Education Group, Inc.).

She also runs Long Island Scholars a 501(c)(3) which supports under-resourced public high school students in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and in Brooklyn and Queens in college and career readiness and access. Students receive individualized coaching in:

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• researching, developing, preparing and applying for pre-college activities, programs, competitions;

• developing and writing their resumes;

• approaching college admissions (applications, essays, and financial aid) strategically;

• planning and preparing for standardized tests; 

• planning and preparing for International Baccalaureate exams;

• writing effectively in multiple genres for high school, college, career.

2021-22 Admissions Outcomes

Admissions outcomes for seniors and transfer students Dr. Garrett supported through the 2021-22 admissions cycle through programs run by Long Island Scholars (nonprofit), GPS ACADEMY Great Neck (private), College Essay Guy's Matchlighters Scholars Program (nonprofit) and Questbridge National College Match (nonprofit) -- approximately 75% of students are low-income and/or first-generation, 100% are students of color:

Baruch College, CUNY

Brandeis University

Brown University

Case Western Reserve University

City College, CUNY

Columbia University

Cornell University

Fordham University

Georgetown University

Georgia Institute of Technology

Hunter College, CUNY

New York University

Northeastern University

Penn State University

Princeton University

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

St. John's University

Stony Brook University

SUNY Albany

SUNY Binghamton

SUNY Buffalo

Stanford University

Syracuse University

University of Notre Dame

University of Rochester

University of Southern California

Villanova University

Wharton School (undergraduate), University of Pennsylvania

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