Working with unCommon Apps ensures that teens have the skills and perspective necessary to succeed in high school, college, and beyond. We create products and curriculum geared toward enhancing academic mastery and make sure teenagers are clearly directed in the process of finding the right school, college, and career. We’re there to help them research, apply, and interview.
While many books and articles provide college applicants with guidance on the personal statement, there are not many resources about the college supplement, which admissions officers use to determine fit and measure interest. In addition, some colleges are assessing candidates through popular social media channels and student-focused platforms. Supplementing the College Supplement contains active links and examples to help students conquer supplemental essays, use social media proactively, and create a ZeeMee profile. It also addresses the use of college-specific video supplements for the 2019-20 application year.
It’s available on Apple Books and through pdf! ($3.99)
This book will help students become proficient in preparing for the all-important college interview. They will learn about the types of interviews, including on-campus, alumni and virtual. They will become familiar with the many questions that might arise during their interviews. Finally, they will find out how to follow up with colleges after the interview has concluded.
Nina Berler has devoted much of her career to guiding the audience she loves most: teenagers. She focuses on how applicants can differentiate themselves in the college admissions process. Nina particularly enjoys working one-on-one with applicants to help them improve their persuasive writing and interviewing skills. She also creates products to foster mastery of academic skills, especially critical reading, writing and interviewing.
Over the past five years, Nina has also worked as college counselor at The Hudson School, an independent school in Hoboken, New Jersey. Previously, she advised with three edtech companies. At Learningpod, a startup backed by Graham Holdings, Nina served as academic content specialist. Working alongside an Agile team, she provided input to platform and product development initiatives, managed CCSS curation and content development, published innovative lesson plans, generated media awareness through blogging and social media, and built a community of AP® teachers. At Benesse America, the U.S. subsidiary of Benesse Japan, she worked as content development manager, spearheading digital product development for middle school English language arts (ELA), leading focus groups, and sharing her knowledge of educational issues with the sales team. For eduPad, a pioneer in tablet app development, she created and edited original content for ELA and math apps. Prior to that, Nina frequently participated in holistic essay scoring for ETS, working on TOEFL and state assessments.
During her corporate career, Nina was a director with KPMG, where she led the firm’s Executive Education business and developed curriculum for its partner and manager business school.
Nina has an AB with Honors from Brown University, an MBA from the Stern School of Business, New York University, and a Certificate with Distinction in College Counseling from UCLA Extension. She is a Professional Member, IECA.
Nina’s blog posts, lesson plans, and articles have been featured by college prep organizations and appeared in forbes.com, ReadWriteThink and the Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition Teacher’s Guide. She serves on the board of A Step Up to Achieve, a foundation to help high school students gain college access. During the winter, she enjoys volunteering for the Gates Scholarship, for which she has reviewed essays and interviewed finalists.
