TESTIMONIALS FROM PARENTS, STUDENTS, & COACHES
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In addition to Diana’s expertise and effectiveness, she is a pleasure to work with and a kind and interesting person to know! We have hired Diana to work with all 3 of our children (2 in college currently and 1 in process) and she has been instrumental in not only the application process, but also helping identify colleges that are an appropriate fit for our children. We have found the greatest benefit is Diana’s ability to understand our children and guide them in their essay writing in a way that culminates in an application that fully represents who they are, and highlights them and their accomplishments in the best light. I have felt that no matter the outcome, the applications that my children submitted truly showed the accomplished, interesting and kind people that they are as well as their future potential. Both of my college students are at exceptional institutions and had many, many top-rated options from which to choose. I highly recommend Diana!

Amy Ghisletta. Parent of students at UCLA 2029 and University of San Diego. 2027

“Diana has been instrumental in helping our son get into Georgetown University as a Division 1 swimming recruit. Her guidance throughout the recruitment process has been invaluable and we cannot recommend her highly enough. Her enthusiasm and positivity are truly infectious and inspiring and made what was a long and arduous process so much more bearable. Her expertise in swimming in particular is second to none and she helped our son immensely in overcoming various challenges and ultimately achieving his goals. What we love most about

Diana is her genuine passion and honest advice and the fact she always has the kids’ best interest at heart. We really count ourselves lucky to have found her.”

Arnold & Charmaine Wong. Hong Kong & London. Parents, Georgetown 2029

Diana is absolutely amazing! It was almost a year ago that our son got his acceptance letter from his top choice college, St. Mary’s College of California! Diana went the extra mile as she had never worked with a child who was Neurodiverse before our son. She did her research and was able to help our son figure out what colleges would be the best choice for our son given his chosen area of study, but also which schools had the most resources to support him while he goes after his college dreams. Diana’s organized and well made process diminished stress and help our son grow as he learned more of his voice and what he was looking for and what he could bring to the college of his choice.

Our son applied to 15 schools under Diana‘s tutelage and was accepted to 13th of those 15 including eight state schools two UCs and two private colleges. Our son is also a competitive swimmer in the Paralympic division and while that was not one of our son’s deciding factors Diana did the research in case he wanted to make it part of the process in narrowing his choices. With Diana’s guidance not only did our son successfully navigate college applications, but scholarships and financial aid as well. Diana is a brilliant guiding light and we cannot recommend her enough!

Ann Michelle Ongerth. 2025

Diana played a pivotal role in my son’s growth during his college application journey. She helped him develop maturity, discipline, and confidence, and guided him to present his authentic strengths in a compelling way. Her insight and structure were invaluable, and we truly believe his success—now thriving at the U.S. Naval Academy—was shaped in large part by Diana’s guidance. We highly recommend Diana to any family looking for thoughtful, experienced, and deeply committed college guidance.

Leon Lee, Los Angelas Parent US Naval Academy Class of 2028

Diana's consulting service had a huge, positive impact on our family's goal of gaining admission to a top US college for our son. Her dedicated mentoring and constant guidance during his sophomore and junior years of high school enabled our family to focus our efforts, and helped our son achieve the academic and athletic credentials that led to his acceptance as a recruited athlete at Stanford. Looking back, as parents, a dozen years later, easily the best investment we could have possibly made on behalf of our child's future success.

Arlo & Yuko Brown

Tokyo, Japan and Portland, Oregon

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Diana advised our daughter with her college admissions process. Diana first met our daughter when she was an elementary school swimmer, and we stayed in touch over the years. From my daughter’s sophomore year Diana started working with us on to explore college recruiting and best fit colleges. Diana played an important part in this process, opening up our eyes to small highly-selective liberal arts colleges, including women’s colleges that we wouldn’t otherwise have considered. When COVID threw a wrench in our plans for college visits etc, Diana was quick to suggest a recovery plan, having gone through a similar experience with SARS. We were able to get in a visit just before the world went into lockdown, then she made the best use of the time with online projects that helped lay the foundation for essays, she coached my daughter for Zoom interviews and helped with emails to coaches and admissions officers. Thanks to her support and advice, my daughter was admitted to Wellesley and is excited to commit

Jonathan Kushner

Tokyo, Japan

"Without Diana Daymond's help I would have never been able to make my dream of attending an Ivy League school come true. I did not realize the potential I had with swimming and what benefits I could gain by using my ability. I was completely lost on how the college recruiting process worked, but with Diana's help and guidance, I managed to successfully be recruited by Harvard University. I absolutely love it here and I owe so much to her. Her own son having gone through the process, Diana is extremely experienced in college recruiting and knows the "inside stuff" that you would never find from a book. I highly recommend that people take advantage of her expertise in order to greatly increase their chances of being accepted by the school of their choice. It personally was an extremely gratifying feeling to know that I had a secure spot in a university long before other students in my year did."

Hong Kong Swimmer: Harvard University

Working with Diana has honestly been one of the biggest blessings in my son’s college application process. She really knows what she’s doing — you can tell immediately. Every call, every resource, every bit of advice she gave felt spot-on and actually useful, not just generic guidance. I do not doubt it is her recommendation for a specific major that helped make such a difference with my son’s application.

What stood out the most were her monthly check-ins. They weren’t just “updates” — she had everything mapped out in a way that kept us ahead by months. Essays, applications, picking schools… nothing ever snuck up on us because she’d already prepared my son for it. She breaks everything into clear steps without losing sight of the bigger picture, which made such a difference.

But honestly, beyond the expertise, it’s her personality that sets her apart. She’s warm, encouraging, and genuinely cares about the kids she works with. She doesn’t just help them apply to college; she helps them figure out who they are and how to tell their own story in a real, meaningful way. I’m truly grateful for everything she’s done for my son, and I would recommend her to anyone without hesitation.

Mira Surjanto. Parent USC 2029 Pharmacology major

When we began the college application process, we were overwhelmed. It felt high-stakes, emotional, and at times confusing. You met us exactly where we were — with calm, clarity, and so much heart. What impressed us most was how deeply you saw our child. You recognized strengths we overlooked, encouraged self-reflection, and created a space where they felt safe to express themselves honestly.

Through your work together, we watched a real transformation happen.

You helped them find their voice.

You helped them articulate their story with confidence and authenticity.

You helped them grow — not just as an applicant, but as a young adult stepping toward their future.

Your process took an enormous weight off our entire family. You organized the path forward, brought structure to chaos, and made each step feel intentional rather than stressful. Most importantly, you treated our child with respect, warmth, and unwavering belief — something we will always cherish.

For any family considering Diana:

She is exceptional.

She blends expertise with intuition, strategy with compassion, and professionalism with genuine human care. She doesn’t just guide students through applications — she helps them understand themselves in a deeper way.

Working with her was one of the best decisions we made. We are endlessly grateful for the impact she had on our family’s journey, and we recommend her wholeheartedly to anyone seeking a counselor who will bring out the best in their student with wisdom, grace, and sincerity.

With heartfelt appreciation and gratitude, Jenny & Jared. Parents of Georgetown Class of 2029

Diana has been advising TERA swimmers for the past 15 years on their college admissions goals and has reached an incredible amount of success with all levels of TERA swimmers. Diana was an National level swimmer here locally and I have relied on Diana’s expertise to help guide TERA parents and swimmers through a very complex recruiting and admissions process. Her approach is comprehensive and covers all facets of recruiting, admissions, test prep and even essay guidance. She has helped many TERA swimmers gain admissions to some of the most prestigious Colleges and Universities in the US, including Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Chicago, UCLA, Johns Hopkins among many others. If you are a serious college bound swimmer, working with Diana can help you reach your college admissions goals with less stress and in an organized, targeted and methodical fashion.”

Ray Mitchell, Director

Terrapins Swim Team

Concord, CA

Diana Daymond was instrumental in our fully understanding the college recruiting process and how important it was to have a clearing thought out academic, swimming and SAT test strategy at the end of one’s freshman year. She provided us with her own family’s first hand experiences in getting her children into Princeton and Wellesley and emphasized the importance of an overseas swimmer (in our case based in Hong Kong) developing a strong relationship with a USA based swim coach and competing in USA Swimming competitions during the summer months. Without Diana’s continual guidance over several years and timely follow up emails, we may have missed the tremendous opportunity that our daughter achieved in being first granted a coveted Likely Letter and then Admission to Harvard.”

James and Yuni Robinson: Hong Kong

TESTIMONIALS FROM PARENTS, STUDENTS, & COACHES Click for LinkedIn Recommendations

TESTIMONIALS FROM PARENTS, STUDENTS, & COACHES
Click for LinkedIn Recommendations