Heather Chagnon Gruenbaum

Heather Chagnon Gruenbaum is the co-owner of Ahead of the Class, a private education and test preparation company based in both Orange County and Sonoma County, California.  For more than twelve years, Chagnon Gruenbaum has worked in the field of college admissions, helping over a thousand students with college application essays and personal statements. A nationally recognized college admissions essay expert, Chagnon Gruenbaum is regularly quoted in national news publications.

Chagnon Gruenbaum’s students have gained admission to all of the top colleges in the nation, including all of the University of California and Ivy League schools.

During her own college admission experiences, Chagnon Gruenbaum was awarded thousands of dollars in academic scholarships, fellowships and grants.  This personal experience and knowledge allows her to help her students understand how to access some of these similar opportunities.  
Chagnon Gruenbaum was never denied admission to any college she applied to, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, a remarkable feat in today’s college admissions world.

Chagnon Gruenbaum’s constant interaction with students and ever-changing college admission situations, as well as a wealth of contacts at major universities throughout the nation, enable Chagnon Gruenbaum to keep abreast of the most recent college admission and college essay trends. Chagnon Gruenbaum is also a professional historian and published researcher.  Her writing expertise provides her students with a unique approach to college admission essay writing. Chagnon Gruenbaum’s non-fiction and research writings are featured in the first book that introduced the New SAT to students and parents, New SAT 2005: Inside Out! (Research and Education Association, 2004).  Chagnon Gruenbaum continually strives to help her students understand how colleges make decisions and what her students can do to affect their chances of admission.