The U CAN Philosophy

U CAN counselors are committed to providing authentic, honest, and personally tailored college counseling services that are based on a best fit approach philosophy, in order to help high school students find the right environments for them to build their personal and academic futures.

U CAN was founded through the collective efforts of highly experienced High School Counselors to help provide genuine college counseling services to young people so that they can find the right environments to achieve their fullest potential.

U CAN counselors have decades of collective experience helping over 2,000 international and domestic students successfully navigate the college admissions process in a realistic, personally-tailored manner. Our counselors are current high school counselors who are fully integrated into the global counseling and university admissions communities and who have expertise you can trust with every major application and admissions system in the world. 

U CAN counselors will never make promises to get you into a specific university, but we do promise to help you make a sometimes complicated process easier and to find the best fit for you. Yes U CAN! 

 

 

U CAN Counselors

Our highly experienced High School Counselors have over fifty years
of collective experience in global university admissions and have helped over 2,000 students from all
corners of the world achieve their post-secondary dreams. Meet the U CAN team...

Featured
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Ray Marx has been the Director of College Guidance at the American School of Quito, Ecuador for the past thirteen years. During this time he has helped hundreds of students and families realize their potential and their dreams. He received his unde

Ray Marx has been the Director of College Guidance at the American School of Quito, Ecuador for the past thirteen years. During this time he has helped hundreds of students and families realize their potential and their dreams.

He received his undergraduate degree from Fairfield University and then went on to earn his Masters degree at the University of Illinois and eventually earned a certificate in college counseling from UCLA.

Ray has also been a highly involved member of the International Association for College Admissions Counseling, serving for eight years on their Executive Board, including being the President of the organization several years ago.

In addition, he is a proud member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and he has presented at conferences all over the world as an expert on international student issues.

Having lived in Ecuador for almost twenty years, Ray also ran an outdoor adventure company for many years in the Andes, specializing in high-altitude mountaineering.

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Stephen Darby's roots are in Kansas City, Missouri, and he has spent the last 11 years working with students from all over the world in a variety of educational settings.  From working as a high school counselor in a US, public high school, an

Stephen Darby's roots are in Kansas City, Missouri, and he has spent the last 11 years working with students from all over the world in a variety of educational settings.  From working as a high school counselor in a US, public high school, an international school in South Korea, to a boarding school in the Swiss Alps, and a major international school in Dubai, the experience he's accrued has been used to help students confidently pursue and achieve their post-secondary dreams.

He received his BA in Psychology, as well as his MEd in Educational Counseling and Psychology from the University of Missouri - Columbia. As an active member of both IACAC and NACAC, Stephen attends conferences focused around university admissions as well as visits a number of university campuses each year.  Outside of work, you'll find Stephen on his bicycle or traveling to snow covered mountains to hit the slopes.

Sam has been involved with International Education professional work since 2005 when he began teaching social studies at an international school in Singapore. He has supported students, parents, consultants, governments, service providers and instit

Sam has been involved with International Education professional work since 2005 when he began teaching social studies at an international school in Singapore. He has supported students, parents, consultants, governments, service providers and institutes of higher education around the world ever since. He has worked for 2 schools (Singapore and Hong Kong), 2 education tech companies (USA and Canada), and served on the Executive Board and a Standing Committee for 2 non-profit educational organizations (International and National). Sam embraces the perspective of making global educational opportunities available to everyone. Sam has held the position of teacher, counselor, school administrator, test coordinator, university advisor, engagement manager, account executive, director and vice president for 4 different companies and 2 non profit organizations. Sam grew up in the State of Washington, attended undergraduate studies in Idaho, obtained his Masters in Education Counseling from SUNY Buffalo while based in Singapore, was a co-director of school counseling in Hong Kong before moving to Pittsburgh, PA where he took over International Engagement work for the Duolingo English Test. Sam has a vast network in the international education/higher education and government space and seeks to meet the needs of all stakeholders involved in making the life of students better. He contributes through personalized approaches, systemic processes, and technology in efficient and compassionate ways.