You've invested a lifetime of effort and achievement in school...now it's time to plan your future.

About Denise Karp, M.Ed.

After graduating with Honors in psychology and Spanish from Union College, Denise earned her Masters Degree in Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In her early career in education as a school psychologist, she coordinated and counseled high school students in their college and transition plans. Denise has extensive experience working with students with ADHD, anxiety and executive functioning difficulties and understands the impact that it has not only on the student but the entire family. Denise has been a substitute teacher, volunteered in the schools, managed the tennis teams and taught religious school.

She launched Big Fish on Campus, LLC in order to help families navigate the current challenges of the college admissions process.

Denise approaches her job as a professional and also as an experienced parent of two college students, one a recent graduate of Lafayette College attending UF Law, and the other a finance student in his third year at Bentley University. Having been through the process, Denise understands the stress, timelines, decisions, and ever-changing requirements that affect the student and the family.

She supports a philosophy that the goal is not “getting in” but “succeeding” once there. The process is educational and is designed to prepare the student for college. Denise strives to understand the world of the student to facilitate environments to support student success. She carefully and actively researches colleges to help her students find the “best fit” academically, socially and financially. Students love working with Denise because of her ability to individually guide, prepare and create options for them to move through the process. Additionally, Denise keeps them on track with deadlines, maintains a very flexible schedule, and responds quickly to texts and emails.

In her approach, Denise works as a dedicated professional and is bound by the ethical standards of the IECA, where she received her professional training. Denise is skilled in assessment, observation, consultation, and editing and always uses creativity as a method while working with her students and their families. She consults with college admission counselors and frequently participates in college visits and conferences in order to continue her professional development. Denise is knowledgeable about many specific college campus offerings. Often, she is able to connect families with students who attend those colleges to arrange a guided tour to offer help to a student in the college search process. Denise follows social media profiles of colleges and links of interest in higher education. She attends webinars and consults websites regularly.

Denise lives in Avon, Connecticut with her husband, Jay, and their dog, Snickers. The family enjoys spending time in Florida, watching Netflix and solving escape room games.