Dedicated to Helping Families Navigate College Admissions

An Experienced College Counselor in North Georgia

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Meet Tom

Founder, Optima U College Consulting, LLC

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Tom Neighbour has been in the counseling field and advising college applicants since 2004 when he began working as a high school counselor. Throughout Tom’s experience, he has spent time working in six different high schools in both the Northeast and Southeast, which has enabled him to gain valuable knowledge of colleges in both distinct regions. Tom presently serves as the Director of Counseling at The Alliance Academy for Innovation in Forsyth County, Georgia. In January 2013, Tom was honored as Forsyth County’s High School Counselor of the Year.



Although a professional high school counselor’s time is divided among various tasks, Tom’s main passion lives in the area of college advising and “Optimizing” higher educational opportunities. Tom holds a Master’s Degree in School Counseling from Long Island University and maintains memberships with The Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA), The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACAC), and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).



Tom resides in Cumming, Georgia with his wife, two children, and two rescue dogs. Beyond his commitments to the counseling field, Tom dedicates the remainder of his time towards his family and enjoying his time as a father of two very active girls.

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Testimonials

  • "I met Mr. Neighbour near the end of my freshman year, clueless as to how I wanted to maximize the remaining three years of my high school career. He not only guided me through scheduling conundrums and numerous applications like GHP but also offered crucial assistance during my college admissions process. I had always been a practical and down-to-earth writer, which was great for academic writing but hurt my college essays, so we worked extensively to inject my personality and a bit of playfulness into my writing, eventually culminating in my acceptance into some great schools. His years of experience were particularly valuable during the pandemic as I had little access to my overwhelmed school counselor, and I highly recommend working with Mr. Neighbour to break down and maximize an otherwise overwhelming process."

    — Jason

  • "Coming from a relatively rural town, our daughter did not have satisfying assistance from her high school to apply to extremely selective colleges and their reputable programs. Through a friend whose child had been through the college process with Mr. Neighbour, we decided to also utilize his guidance. Throughout her junior year and senior year, Mr. Neighbour worked to understand our daughter and her goals and then supported her through the admissions process. Because she was applying to rigorous BS/MD programs, the application process was lengthy and included interviews; however, Mr. Neighbour provided exceptional insight and direction with everything. With his help, our daughter was accepted into both Mercer University’s 8-year medical program and Augusta University’s 7-year medical program along with several other great colleges. I would highly recommend Mr. Neighbours’ services to other parents and students!"

    — Nirav

  • "First of all, Tom is wonderful, amazing and patient! He has helped my daughter with her college application process. He worked closely with my daughter to ensure she was on track. Tom was always available for my daughter to discuss ideas with and receive feedback. Having someone knowledgeable working with her was a big relief for me. Tom was always available to talk to me and was always responsive to text messages if I had any questions. My daughter was accepted to all the colleges she applied to. We loved having Tom as her counselor and I can’t wait for the wonderful guidance my second child will receive from him. My son will be in great hands! highly recommend Tom to anyone looking for help with the college application process for their children."

    — Amisa

  • “Tom was instrumental in guiding my daughter throughout the college application process. He helped to focus her attention where it needed to be and to keep her on track to meet the various deadlines along the way. As a result of his guidance, she was able to get accepted into her dream school, as well as several other “safety” schools. My daughter felt comfortable talking to Tom as he was very encouraging, supportive and honest regarding her college admissions expectations. As this was our first time going through the application process with our kids, my husband and I were not exactly sure what to expect. However, we will not hesitate to utilize Tom’s services again next year when our younger daughter starts the college search process herself.”

    — Amy

  • "Mr. Tom and Mrs. Karen have helped me tremendously with the college application process! Well after I had submitted my applications, it hit me how crucial their help, resources, and advice was to ensuring I was submitting the best application I could! I truly believe the help I had gotten on my essays was the determining factor for a handful of my college acceptances! Thank you Mrs. Karen and Mr. Tom again for all your help and time!"

    — Krisha

  • "The college counseling provided by Mr. Thomas Neighbour helped me get into my dream school! His individualized advisement helped me overcome my biggest challenge - writing college essays. I am so grateful for Mr. Neighbour because he made my college planning process less stressful and trouble-free."

    — Shriya

TOM HAS WORKED WITH STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY ADMITTED TO THE COLLEGES BELOW

Adelphi University
American University
Appalachian State University
Armstrong Atlantic University
Auburn University
Augusta University
Belmont University
Berry College
Boston College
Boston University
Brenau University
Brown University
BYU
Cincinnati Music Conservatory
Clemson University
College of Charleston
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado State
Columbia University
Dartmouth College
Drexel University
Duke
Elon University
Emory University
Florida State University
Furman University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia State College and University
Harvard University
High Point University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Johns Hopkins University

Johnson & Whales Charlotte
Johnson & Whales Providence
Kennesaw State University
Louisiana State University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola University
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology
Mercer University
Middle Georgia
Mississippi State
New York University
Northeastern University
Oglethorpe University
Ohio State University
Ole Miss
Oxford at Emory
Princeton University
Purdue University
Rice University
Rollins College
Samford University
Sewanee University of the South
Shorter College
Texas A & M
Tulane University
UC Berkeley
UC San Diego
UC Santa Cruz
UCLA
UIUC
UNC Chapel Hill
UNC Charlotte

University of Alabama
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Alabama in Huntsville
University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Delaware
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Kentucky
University of Maryland
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of North Georgia
University of Notre Dame
University of Richmond
University of South Alabama
University of South California
University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina Bluffton
University of South Florida
University of Tennessee
University of Virginia
University of Washington Seattle
Valdosta State University
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Wake Forrest
Washington University in St Louis
Webster University
Wofford College
Yale

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