For young people, a significant challenge of maturing in a complex society involves gaining clarity about oneself, then summoning the courage to translate this self-knowledge into concrete paths that will offer practical gateways for the future.
- Who am I? Who am I becoming?
- As I grow into adulthood, which educational opportunities will advance and deepen my capacity to contribute uniquely to an ever-changing world?
“Vocation does not come from a voice ‘out there’ calling me to become something I am not. It comes from a voice ‘in here’ calling me to become the person I was born to be.
—Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak
Vocation comes from listening.”
SAGE Advising aspires to serve as a compass of authenticity for each student who, together with family, embarks on this rite of passage: the journey towards higher education. Our university counseling consistently steers young people towards the academic choices that most authentically align with who each student is at present, as well as who they aspire to become in these formative years.
Whether students are academically gifted, struggling, or somewhere in between, we aim to spark ambitions and insights, inspiring each individual to embrace the attitudes and study habits that will open fresh horizons of dynamic growth, greater personal challenge, and self-realization for the future.
The ideal candidates for university counseling with SAGE Advising are students and families who seek to engage actively in a collaborative partnership. Your educational success will result from attaining numerous goals that may be both realistic and aspirational, but are all time-sensitive.
The most fruitful counseling relationship is created through high levels of mutual trust, sincere communication, an unassailable work ethic, and a willingness to risk and think creatively when resolving unexpected challenges together.
SAGE Advising maintains a core commitment to the highest quality of service: nearly 25 years of successful educational advising and English language teaching, ethical practice, cultural sensitivity, accessible fees, and compassionate counsel.
We are devoted to helping students achieve their Smart Adventures in Global Education, without geographical preferences or institutional biases. As a guiding principle, we serve the highest educational aspirations of students of all backgrounds, academic preparation and abilities.
Experience Leads to Authentic Choices
Nearly 25 years of effective teaching and advising equips Senior University Counselor Jeannette Law to help you discern the best solutions to your educational dilemmas. Since the early 2000s, global educational authorities have placed their trust in Ms. Law as an expert and keynote speaker in international education.
As the Educational Adviser for Northern Italy with the US-Italy Fulbright Commission, in collaboration with the Consular Section (visas) at the US Consulate General of Milan, Jeannette reached over 19,000 students across 8 regions, on topics of US fellowships and educational opportunities. For her years of exemplary service , Ms. Law was awarded an honorary Certificate of Appreciation by the Office of Public Affairs, US Consulate General of Milan.
From 2006-2010, the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs nominated Ms. Law to represent US educational advising for international students at professional events in Washington DC and Europe. She was selected twice, in 2008 and 2009, for the US-Based Training Program with fellow EducationUSA Advisers from around the world.
A former teacher in the IB Diploma curriculum at the American School of Milan in the early 2000s, Jeannette’s students achieved final marks that were 1.5 points higher (+43%) than the worldwide average. She was nominated Assistant Examiner for the IB Organization after 9 months of teaching the SL Psychology curriculum.
Encouraging students of all levels, Ms. Law coached each graduating class of twenty-some students to receive an average of $800,000 in merit scholarships, with 4 out of 5 regularly admitted to the American Ivy League and competitive universities. In recognition of her professional excellence, Jeannette was named CEMA Scholar in 2007 by the Council of International Schools.
On the Italian side, Jeannette has collaborated with the Agenzia Nazionale per lo Sviluppo dell’ Autonomia Scolastica (ex-IRRE) to present free seminars to teachers and students. A mother-tongue English speaker, Ms Law filled the role of Lettrice di Inglese at the Istituto Maria Consolatrice in Milan from 2007-2011. Her interactive English lessons successfully prepared Italian students for the Cambridge First Certificate (B2 First) and the Esame di Stato (maturità).
Before relocating to Italy in 2003, as Assistant Professor of English composition at Berklee College of Music, Ms. Law designed a writing course that became a pillar of the first-year General Education curriculum. Her students, from the USA and a dozen international countries, consistently evaluated Ms. Law as a highly prepared instructor with engaging, creative lessons.
Jeannette also advised university students as a Career Counselor at Wellesley College’s Career Education office, where in 2002, she developed a groundbreaking online reference for resumes/CVs that still guides students today, even 20 years after its initial launch.
In 2010, SAGE Advising for Smart Adventures in Global Education was founded to provide individualized university counseling and Morrisby careers and abilities testing to students in Italy and beyond.
Ms. Law remains an independent counselor (libero professionista), whose rigorous personal and professional standards of ethics are the cornerstone of her daily practice.
Professional Credentials
An international educator based in Milan for 20 years, Ms. Law is a long-standing member of the International Association for College Admission Counseling, where university admissions staff and educational advisors interact regularly for the benefit of prospective undergraduates. She has also participated in professional conferences with NAFSA in Washington DC and UCAS in London.
As Founder and Senior University Counselor at SAGE Advising, Ms. Law achieved the credential of Certified Educational Planner (CEP) from the American Institute of Certified Educational Planners. The first and only CEP based in Italy since 2009, Ms. Law faithfully satisfies rigorous ethical and professional development standards, including active participation in professional development opportunities and visits to at least 75 global campuses every 5 years.
For over a decade, Ms. Law has offered self-assessment services as an Accredited Careers Adviser for Morrisby, the leading careers and abilities guidance service based in London, serving students and schools around the world.
In full compliance with the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), according to the Guide to Ethical Practice in College Admission, all university counseling provided by SAGE Advising embraces the highest standards of ethical practice in professional college admission counseling.
In providing impartial guidance to students and families, we receive no commissions or bonuses from any organizations or universities around the globe. Such professional status ensures the full availability of global options in the best interests of the student, without conflicts of interest.
Through established professional circles, Jeannette continues to consult a wide network of Admissions colleagues across the USA, UK, Europe and Canada, with ongoing updates from testing agencies such as the College Board, ETS, ACT, and Pearson Vue.
Academic Expertise in English
By way of academic preparation, Jeannette Law specialized in English language and literature during her own undergraduate and graduate studies in the USA and Great Britain.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts as a magna cum laude Durant Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa in English and psychology from Wellesley College. She earned a Master’s in English from Cambridge University, where she was a Choral Scholar and gained firsthand insights into the differences between the American and British approaches to higher education and writing.
For her outstanding achievements in the field of English, Ms. Law was awarded a graduate fellowship for doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley. An artist at heart, Ms. Law also won a merit scholarship to earn a Master of Music in Voice Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Ms. Law has taught both Anglophone students and non-native speakers of English. With her classroom teaching of English language and literature, her knowledge and experience span over a decade of instruction in diverse curricula, including the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma program, the Italian liceo linguistico, writing courses in General Education on the university level, as well as seminars in career guidance and counseling.
Ever fascinated by the power of words to strike hearts, Jeannette Tien-Wei Law is the recipient of numerous prizes in writing. For her prose, she won the Brown University Award for Excellence in English, followed by an Achievement Award from the US National Council of Teachers of English.
During her own university career, Ms. Law garnered four prizes in poetry: the Florence Annette Wing Memorial Prize for Lyric Poetry, the Amanda Sternberg Memorial Prize, the Girton College Rima Alamuddin Prize for Original Composition, and the acclaimed Quiller-Couch Prize from Cambridge University. She was also conferred an honorable mention from the Academy of American Poets, Nevin Prize.
Jeannette Tien-Wei Law is an internationally published poet and proud winner of the 2022 Newman Prize for English jueju, a hybrid form of classical Chinese poetry written in the English language. For further details, see the Poetry Blog.
How can our expertise help you towards global education? Contact Us