Nineteen-year-old Zach Mariani has started Equitable College Admissions, a business that aims to “level the college admissions playing field.”

Mariani grew up in Durham and RSD 13 up until 9th grade at which time he had the privilege to attend The Taft School which is a private, college-preparatory school located in Watertown, CT. Like all other students, Mariani went through the long and confusing process of applying and getting into college. After applying to more than 20 colleges with help from his ample resources at The Taft School, he decided to attend the University of Chicago.

Currently, Mariani is working with underprivileged middle/high school students in New Orleans to prepare them for their academic futures with hope that they graduate from high school and attend college.

Although Mariani didn’t attend Coginchaug, his brother did, and he feels that while “[Coginchaug] counseling staff means well, [they] remain under-resourced.” Mariani looks to use his knowledge and resources to help high school students throughout any steps of getting into college whether that be SAT prep, writing and editing essays, or finding colleges of interest.

Mariani believes “quality post-secondary education is often closely correlated to better socioeconomic opportunities,” which is why he runs this pay-as-you-can college consulting business.

In the future, he looks to continue to run his business with a focus in Chicago to serve students in and around Hyde Park. He hopes to partner with other undergraduates at the University of Chicago so he can offer an array of services.

Zach can be contacted through his website https://equitablecollegeadmissions.weebly.com/ or via email at [email protected].