College Advisor

Philip Sweeney

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PS College Counseling offers a free 30-minute phone consultation to discuss services and confirm that we have compatible ideas about the college search and application process. 

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About Us

Philip Sweeney launched PS College Counseling in early 2018 to enhance his ability to help students find great colleges through a thoughtful college search process and to guide families toward affordable college choices.

Mr. Sweeney has been helping students and families in New Jersey with college search, the admission process, and financial aid strategies on a volunteer basis for more than ten years.  He has worked with students in the Westfield and Scotch Plains school systems, has advised Elizabeth, NJ students through a volunteer program at the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, and has worked with Plainfield, NJ students during a practicum appointment in 2016 in the Plainfield School District.  More recently, he has expanded his work to include students in a number of New York and New Jersey communities. In addition, he has served as a volunteer counselor with the College Essay Guy’s Matchlighters Scholarship program.

Mr. Sweeney earned his Certificate in College Counseling with distinction from UCLA Extension in 2016.  The UCLA program involves specialized training in college search, college admissions, and financial aid, and includes a practicum requirement, which Mr. Sweeney completed at the Plainfield Academy for the Arts & Advanced Studies.  He maintains contact with a large group of UCLA College Counseling Certificate holders who serve as important resources for each other.  Mr. Sweeney has traveled extensively in New England and the Middle Atlantic states and has visited many regional colleges and universities.  Mr. Sweeney has conducted more limited travel and college visitations in the Midwest and West.

Mr. Sweeney retired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in early 2016, following a 31-year career in which he worked as a supervisory engineer focusing on water quality protection programs.  He is married to Heidi Sweeney, a retired public school teacher, and is the father of Martin and Jamie, who both attended SPF schools and graduated from highly selective colleges in the Northeast.