Empowered Access
College Counseling at the intersection of adolescent development and selective admissions.
Empowered Access
College Counseling at the intersection of adolescent development and selective admissions.
Welcome to Empowered Access
College counseling at the intersection of adolescent development and selective admissions.
Empowered Access provides expert, personalized guidance for families who want more than résumé-building — they want a process that supports their teen’s growth and positions them strategically within a competitive admissions landscape.
Who I am:
I’m Lizette Paredes, a college counselor with nearly two decades of experience working directly with teenagers and inside the admissions world.
I understand how adolescents develop — how motivation works, how identity forms, how executive functioning evolves — and I understand how selective colleges evaluate applicants.
My work bridges the two.
What I do:
I guide high school students and their families through the college admissions process in a way that builds clarity, ownership, and strategic direction.
From helping students discover and build their identity as an engaged learner, to shaping a thoughtful college list, to crafting cohesive, authentic applications, I help students translate who they are into a compelling narrative that resonates with selective institutions.
Students I’ve supported have earned admission to institutions including Princeton, Yale, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, UC Berkeley, USC, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UT Austin, Notre Dame, and more.
How I do it:
Through my signature four-step framework, The Empowered Path:
Discover — Identify strengths, interests, values, and goals
Explore — Research academic and extracurricular opportunities, majors, careers, and campuses that align
Plan — Build a personalized roadmap for high school + college applications
Achieve — Execute with structured guidance, accountability, and support
Whether through ongoing Membership, focused Senior Year Support, or my full-access Comprehensive Support, every engagement is grounded in this student-centered, confidence-building approach.
Why Families Choose Empowered Access:
Families choose to work with me because they want both depth and strategy.
They want someone who understands teenagers — and understands admissions.
They want clarity without hype.
Structure without micromanagement.
Strategic positioning without résumé engineering.
They want their teen to grow through this process — not just get through it.
Ready to get started?
Schedule a consultation to determine the right pathway for your student.
Contact Me
How can I help?
I understand that each student's situation and needs are unique to them, especially when it comes to college counseling and college preparation. Tell me more about what you're looking for, and I will get back to you soon with some ideas for educational guidance.
