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The bigger the glasses, the better the college list.
Heather V McCowen, PhD
Heather McCowen, Ph.D., enjoys discovering innovative ways to assist individuals in understanding the college admissions process. Before she became an independent consultant, she served as the Director of Programs at The ChiArts Foundation, where she worked with alumni, developed external partnerships, and ran her own college consulting company. Before her role at the foundation, Heather was the college Counselor, AP coordinator, and testing coordinator at The Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts). As ChiArts's first college counselor, she created the college advising program in 2011 and has worked with over 1100 arts students in Creative Writing, Dance, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts. Before this position, Heather was the Assistant. Dean for Enrollment and Student Services for Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where she oversaw all auditions and arts scholarships. She also served as an Associate. Dean for Admissions at the Longy School of Music at Bard in Cambridge, MA. Heather has been an adjunct music professor at East Texas A&M Univ., a financial planner for Raymond James, and has admitted students in the arts (all the arts - Creative Writing, Dance, Music, Theatre -acting AND musical theatre- Art History and Visual Arts) at Southern Methodist University (SMU). While her official admissions career started at the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU, she began by calling admitted students to congratulate them while a student at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.
An Alum of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, she has performed with the Dallas, Fort Worth, Shreveport, and Indian Hill Symphonies (among others), including as a soloist with the Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest. Currently, Heather plays bassoon in the Northshore Concert Band. Heather lives with her husband, Paul, her 7th grader, Theo, and her Australian Cattle dog, Clybourn, in the South Loop neighborhood of Chicago. She is a dedicated Blackhawks fan and plays ice hockey for the Chicago Frozen Snappers. She spends her time sewing a handmade wardrobe, managing her son’s hockey team, crocheting various items, and reading great books.
She also likes sharing her thoughts and feelings about the bonkers college admission process. Follow her on Instagram @ heatherm_collegedoc and on TikTok @heatherm_collegedoc
Education
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
Ph.D. Higher Education Administration, Minor: Marketing
Harvard University
Coursework completed toward PhD and transferred to UNT
SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY
M.M. Bassoon Performance
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
B.M. Bassoon Performance
Activities & Affiliations
• IECA, Associate Member