Empowering a wide range of school and college learners, including those who learn differently, to access the environments where they thrive through expert, personalized guidance.
Our educational consulting team works with students with learning differences by offering expert guidance to identify educational environments aligned with each student’s specific learning needs, whether it’s a diagnosed learning disorder, moderate challenges, or giftedness.
Educational consultants of McMillan Education have spent decades building relationships with and deep knowledge of the schools and colleges that genuinely support students with learning differences. We know their programs, their faculty, their track records and we use that knowledge to help you find places where the student will be understood, not just enrolled. That depth of experience and connection shows in our results.
McMillan Education uses the W.I.S.E. Method® to give families of students who learn differently a clear roadmap from initial assessment, through school or college selection, and transition. Each family works with a dedicated educational consultant with specific expertise in learning differences who provides guidance and resources at every step, so families understand their options and can move forward with clarity.
The process begins by gathering essential information so we can understand the student’s learning profile. Evaluations, school reports, and past experiences are reviewed to form a clear and thoughtful picture of how the student learns best.
Different school and college environments are explored based on the student’s learning style, level of structure required, and available supports. Even for high-achieving students who learn differently, understanding the educational settings where their learning needs are met, whether through specific support programs or built-in resources that students access independently, is critical and at the heart of our specialized guidance.
Based on this understanding, a focused list of schools or colleges is created. Students and families then shift into action to make their admissions dreams a reality, receiving guidance on every detail involved in preparing their most impactful and high-quality set of applications.
The planning concludes with completing applications, making final decisions, and preparing for the transition into a new environment. Families leave this stage knowing the student will enter their next setting with confidence and a clear sense of how to access what they need.
Every student’s profile is different, and finding the educational environment that best supports them requires understanding both their learning differences and their strengths. Our educational consultants work with families across a range of learning differences to first identify schools and colleges where students will thrive, and then to provide the specific expert guidance the learner needs to prepare successful applications that produce results.
Some students need more structure to promote time management, organizational, and focus skills. We guide families to schools where teachers understand, provide support, and help build compensatory skills for these students, and to colleges whose methods of instruction and assessment fit the student’s learning needs. Our students discover the learning environments where they can show what they are truly capable of.
Educational consultants of McMillan Education help families find schools where teachers understand how students with dyslexia or other specific learning disabilities, including challenges in math and written expression, process information, where assignments are not one-size-fits-all, and where students are seen for their thinking and ideas, not defined by a particular learning difference.
Students with Autism Spectrum features face a wide range of social, emotional, and learning challenges, from the need for significant support in highly specialized environments to high functioning students who simply require specific program and environmental features in their school or college to succeed. Our highly experienced team of experts knows the right schools and colleges for all levels of student need and guides students and families successfully through the search process with skill and compassion.
Gifted students with learning differences need schools and colleges that honor both sides of who they are. We help families find educational environments where students’ intellect and curiosity are celebrated and promoted and their need for specific academic and live skills support is met.
Hear directly from families who’ve worked with our educational consultants to identify schools or colleges where their children can learn and grow successfully.
A sampling of where our school-aged students with learning differences have pursued their studies in supportive day and boarding school environments.
A selection of the colleges and universities that have admitted our students with learning differences and offered settings where they can pursue their academic and personal goals.
Finding a parking spot in the Back Bay took forever, and we were already late due to an impromptu dash to CVS to grab the notorious #2 pencils. But my...
This past year our team has had the honor of guiding through the increasingly complex college process nearly 200 seniors, representing 25 countries and 22 states. We anticipate these vastly...
McMillan Education’s educational consultants are here to help you navigate school and college options for students with learning differences. Whether you’re just starting to explore or ready to make decisions, we’ll guide you through every step with clarity and care.
Our process is built around the W.I.S.E. Method®, a structured approach that helps students and families move through planning with clarity and purpose. The method provides a clear sequence of reflection, research, decision-making, and transition support, all guided by an experienced educational consultant.
Yes. Through our International Education Consulting services, we help students explore schools and universities in the U.S. and around the world. Families receive guidance grounded in a deep understanding of their country’s educational system, their child’s learning needs, and the types of support, programming, and intervention internationally that will best address their child’s needs.
Our educational training, experience, and expertise allow us to work with students across many learning profiles, including attentional challenges, executive functioning needs, dyslexia and other language-based learning differences, autism spectrum and social-communication profiles, twice-exceptional learners, and students managing emotional or behavioral challenges. Our students have an equally wide range of needs, from high achievers who can thrive in prestigious educational institutions that are right for their learning needs to students who require highly specialized educational settings.
Yes. We work with students who have ADHD or executive functioning needs. Families receive guidance toward schools and colleges that provide the level and type of structure and support the student needs to move forward in building their brightest future.
Our educational consultants begin by understanding the student’s strengths, challenges, interests, and learning style. From there, we explore environments that match their academic, social, and personal needs. The final list includes settings that offer appropriate support and opportunities for steady growth.
School planning often focuses on identifying options that offer learning support and community fit. College planning focuses on understanding the student’s specific learning needs and the level of independent skills that the student has acquired. We then focus on colleges that provide the best instructional and assessment methods, access to appropriate support resources, and a level of challenge appropriate for the student. Both processes are undertaken with the expertise and compassion that allow us to work effectively with the student and the family as we complete the search and the multiple requisite tasks associated with the placement.
Starting early gives families time to understand the student’s learning profile, explore options, and plan around admissions timelines. Some begin a year ahead for school planning, while college planning typically starts during the sophomore or junior year of high school.
Yes. When appropriate, we coordinate with evaluators, therapists, tutors, and other professionals to ensure we have a complete view of the student. This collaboration helps us recommend environments that reflect the student’s academic and create a placement process that emphasizes student and family support and care.
