Our Achievements

Our team of seasoned educational consultants brings over a decade of experience in boarding school and college applications consulting to provide exceptional results for our students and families.

The List takes a highly individualized 1:1 approach to each student and family, ensuring that the student has the tools needed to succeed in every area, from schoolwork and tutoring to summer programs and extracurricular activity development. When application season comes around, The List helps the student identify unique strengths and interests, select schools that match their profile, and ace their applications and admissions interviews.

Boarding school Admissions Consulting

Grades 7-9

• Weekly 1:1 meetings with students

• Weekly progress reports for parents

• Counsel students for up to 10 U.S. boarding school applications

• Advise families on building a school list, risk evaluation, application strategy, and timeline for completion

• Evaluate students’ strengths and interests to showcase in their application essays and interviews with admissions officers

• Guide students in brainstorming, outlining, composing, and revising applications essays

• Assist with preparation of essential ancillary documents (student visa application, financial aid if applicable, etc.)

• Teach successful admissions interview techniques and offer ample mock interviews

Secondary school curriculum advising

Grade 9 - 12

• Bimonthly 1-on-1 meetings with the student

• Bimonthly feedback reports for parents

• Course selection

  Signature program selection (includes application advising)

• Extracurricular development

• Private academic tutoring

• Summer program application advising

University Admissions Consulting

Grade 12

• Weekly 1:1 meetings with students

• Weekly progress reports for parents

• Counsel students for up to 10 U.S. university applications

• Advise families on building a school list, risk evaluation, application strategy, and timeline for completion

• Match students with majors and university programs based on mutual strengths and interests

• Guide students in brainstorming, outlining, composing, and revising applications essays

• Assist with preparation of essential ancillary documents (student visa application, financial aid if applicable, etc.)

• Teach successful admissions interview techniques and offer ample mock interviews

Career Advising

College Freshman - Sophomore Years

• Monthly 1-on-1 meetings a career advisor

• Resume review

• Career assessments

• Networking seminars

• The List mentorship platform

• Career networking trips

• Internship opportunity research

• Company interview preparation

Summer Programs

Ellison Taylor

Founder & CEO

Ellison graduated from Claremont Mckenna College, majoring in International Relations with a concentration in East Asia. Outside of the classroom, he served on CMC’s multicultural advisory committee, led campus tours and info sessions for new students, and received Division III 1st Team All-American recognition as team captain of the CMC water polo team. Prior to university, Ellison attended Eaglebrook School and Choate Rosemary Hall, and his father Eric Taylor has sat on the Board of Trustees at Eaglebrook for over ten years, giving Ellison a breadth of knowledge about higher education. At Choate, he received the school-wide award for excellence in Chinese studies. After graduating from university, Ellison moved to China and worked as an educational consultant specializing in sending Chinese students to top 30 universities and liberal arts colleges. Several years later, he founded The List to combine his expertise in boarding schools and universities to provide executable, long-term U.S. education plans for high-caliber students.

Chris Woodard

Partner & COO

Chris graduated from Duke University with a double major in Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. Outside of the classroom, he served as a Teaching Assistant for the Intro to Electrical Engineering and Microelectronic Devices courses, tutor for student athletes, and general manager of his a cappella group. After graduation, Chris embarked on a career in educational consulting in China, and each of his students over the last 4 years has successfully earned acceptance to top 30 U.S. universities, including the Ivy League.  His sense of responsibility and exceptional service (as well as his ability to speak and write Mandarin fluently) have created great trust and strong relationships with his students and their families. He brings an analytical operations mindset to The List’s consulting practice, and in his spare time, he enjoys marathon training and constantly learning new skills from Chinese to computer programming.

Eskor Johnson

Chief Applications Consultant and Test Prep Lead

Eskor received his BA in English and American Literature from Harvard University and an MFA in Fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His teaching experience extends nearly ten years, including time spent as a tutor, a middle school English and Social Studies teacher, and a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Iowa. He has worked with students ranging from fifth graders to college seniors, in such subjects as English, history, essay writing, algebra, trigonometry, geometry, as well as ISEE, SSAT, ACT and SAT preparation. As an applications consultant with The List, Eskor seeks to create a friendly yet rigorous atmosphere based on communication, curiosity and a genuine love of learning.