For superintendents, principals, and counseling directors

Give every student a college plan that starts with who they are.

Ben Roberts comes to your campus and walks your students through how college works: the types of schools, what they really cost, and how to build a list around fit. Your counselors add nothing to their caseload.

1 class period Grades 9 to 12 Based in Texas
Ben Roberts presenting The Unbranded Student to a high school class
Live at a Texas high school, September 2026
The counselor gap

Your students are making one of the biggest decisions of their lives with very little help.

Your counselors care, and their caseloads are enormous. College planning is usually the first thing to slip when the week fills up with schedules, testing, and crises.

376:1
The national average

Students for every school counselor across the United States.

250:1
The recommended ratio

What the American School Counselor Association says the job requires.

22%
Time left for college

The share of a high school counselor's time that goes to college counseling.

Your partner

A guide who has worked inside higher education.

Ben Roberts has spent his career in higher education helping students, many of them first-generation and international, find colleges where they can finish. He co-wrote The Unbranded Student and now brings its method straight to high school students.

Students hear what admissions offices rarely say out loud: how college types differ, what school really costs, and why fit predicts graduation better than fame. Ben keeps the room engaged and leaves plenty of time for the questions students are afraid to ask.

MBA, Baylor University Career in higher education Co-author, The Unbranded Student
Ben Roberts writing on a whiteboard during a class session
How it works

Three steps, with almost nothing required of your staff.

Book a call

Tell Ben about your campus, your students, and your calendar. He will recommend the grade level and format that fits, and send a simple proposal.

Ben presents on campus

One class period, in an auditorium or a classroom. Students learn how college types differ, what school really costs, and how to build a list around fit.

Students leave with a plan

Students walk out knowing the questions to ask and where to start, so their next conversation with a counselor or a parent goes further.

A full lecture hall of students listening to Ben Roberts Ben Roberts answering students' questions after class Ben Roberts speaking to students
What students hear

The college conversation most students never get.

Start with who you are

Why the search should begin with a student's strengths and interests, and why picking a school first gets the order backward.

How college really works

The types of colleges, what each does well, and how schools recruit, admit, and price their freshman class.

Cost, time, and fit

Why the sticker price is rarely the real price, why only about 45 percent finish in four years, and how fit changes those odds.

Ben tailors each session to your grade level and your students, whether that is one classroom or a full auditorium.

Why it matters

Students who choose on fit are more likely to finish.

Every student who transfers, stops out, or borrows for a sixth year was once a senior who picked a school with too little information. One class period now can change that path.

When college planning slips

  • Students apply where their friends apply
  • Families discover the true cost after enrolling
  • Counselors meet seniors who have not started

After The Unbranded Student

  • Students can name what they want from college
  • Families talk about cost before the applications
  • Counselor meetings start further down the road
Questions school leaders ask

Frequently asked questions

What does it cost?

Pricing depends on the number of students and campuses. Most single-campus visits fit within a campus or college-readiness budget. Ben will send a proposal after your call.

Which grades is it for?

It works for any high school grade. Sophomores and juniors benefit most because they still have time to act on what they learn.

How long is the presentation?

One class period, usually 45 to 60 minutes. Ben can present to a single class or to a full grade level in an auditorium.

Does this replace our counselors?

It supports them. Students arrive at counseling meetings with a clearer sense of what they want, which makes those meetings more productive.

What do we need to provide?

A room and a screen. Ben brings everything else.

Do you serve schools outside Texas?

Yes. Ben is based in Fort Worth and travels to campuses across the region.

Bring it to your campus

Let's find a date that works for your students.

Share a few details and Ben will reach out personally to set up a 20-minute call, then send a proposal with dates and pricing.

Prefer email? Write to ben@unbrandedstudent.com.

Book a call with Ben