Hi, I'm Robert Kirschmann.

I discovered my life's calling to help high school students when I wrote my personal obituary as a high school senior.

During my senior year of high school at Choate Rosemary Hall, a boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, my English teacher assigned the class to write a personal obituary. Draft after draft, after imagining different paths and careers, I concluded that my most fulfilling life would be teaching high school students. There are moments throughout high school that can be pivotal for young people, and I wanted to be there to guide their personal development as a teacher. I went on to attend Fordham University, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degree in philosophy. Shortly after, I began to teach.

I taught students at high schools throughout the Tri-State area, including Choate, for over seven years, and along the way, I noticed many bright students of mine overwhelmed with stress while applying to colleges. I understood that the process itself appeared complex, intimidating, and complicated, but what surprised me was that some of the most intelligent students struggled to see and share what made them special. Knowing how valuable of an opportunity this was for them to personally develop, I dedicated my free time to help them through the college admissions process. While the goal was to help them get into the best colleges for them, it was equally important to help them find their confidence, learn about themselves, and find hope for happy and successful futures.

As the years went by, it became increasingly difficult to serve students as a teacher in high school. The national education curriculum grew more rigid and systematic, restricting me from freely using creative and personalized teaching methods that helped my students learn and develop. I made the difficult decision to stand by what I believed was right and retired my career as a high school teacher. However, that wouldn’t stop me from fulfilling my life’s calling of teaching high school students. 

High school students and their families continued reaching out to me from around the world for advice on the college admissions process, and I continued to guide them. It was clear to me that my next teaching adventure would take the form of college admissions consulting, called Columbia College Consulting. Ever since, I’ve devoted my expertise of college admissions and exceptional teaching to support their success and growth, continuing to help students get into the best college for them.