About Ellie Duley

My journey to becoming an independent college counselor was a long and winding road. Back in my day applications were typed out individually and mailed directly to colleges (pictures were optional). My mom did the typing because I goofed it up too often and became frustrated! My grandmother was a school counselor (in her day she was considered a guidance counselor) in the Boston area and she took me on tours at her end of the state. My dad took me out to Colorado and up to Maine for additional tours. I happened upon my eventual alma mater on a beautiful fall day in October. The day before Homecoming. It was a picture perfect, chamber of commerce, day and my tour guide was fantastic. I was hooked!

I totally thought that I would end up in Colorado, but my gut told me otherwise. Since that fall day back in 1979 I have seen this gut reaction in my students (I became a school counselor later) and in my own son. The people who said, “You’ll know it when you see it,” were certainly right in my case. By the way, my mom was pretty sure that I would go to an all womens’ college in Virginia. I was not interested in that plan at all and for many reasons! This is just part of the fascinating process of college tours, applications, acceptance and eventual matriculation.

After college and working for a few years in retail, I raised two sons. The oldest graduated from the University of Connecticut (after I made him visit about a dozen other schools and after he told me that UConn was the only school he was interested in attending). The younger of my two children is non-verbal and has had autism since he was a baby. He is very happy living an independent-from-me life in his group home and is the subject of a memoir that I’m editing in my spare time. I also sit on the board and chair a committee of LEAP.

When the boys were in high school I ventured back to grad school to become a school counselor. I won’t say that I was following in my grandmother’s footsteps, but there is certainly something to be said for genetics. Sadly, I did not inherit her blue eyes!

After obtaining my degree in school counseling, I worked in different public schools in Maine. I worked in a city school, a rural school and a school in between. All my students taught me something. And I fell in love all over again with college tours. I became known as the college expert in those schools and mentored at least three younger school counselors who still call occasionally for advice.

In 2013 I decided to open Duley College Counseling and I haven’t looked back. I am still certified as a school counselor in the state of Maine as well as a professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) and a member of the New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC). I am very much looking forward to attending college tours and conferences with these two organizations in a post pandemic world.

In 2017, I wrote and published College Admissions Success: A Counselors Sure-Fire Guide for High School Students. I imagine that I will spend part of 2022 revising that book to be more in line with admissions as everyone in higher education learns how admissions will work after COVID.

Through years of working with high school students, I have come to treasure the meaningful relationships that we’ve developed. I don’t only see students at work, but also on the playing fields, stage, or wherever they may be exhibiting their special talent. My personal college counseling philosophy is to meet students where they are in the college process-ideally sometime in the sophomore/junior years of high school.

In my spare time you can find me out in my very small garden or on the slopes, hiking, reading, or biking.