Why Marrs?

Marrs College Admissions Advisors partners with you to develop and implement your customized admission success plan. Whether you are applying to college as a freshman, a transfer student―or considering graduate study, we provide an unparalleled, personalized process.

Our services position you to maximize your opportunities―and include one-on-one counseling sessions, help navigating the complex financial aid landscape, as well as access to high-value research resources and assessment tools. We offer much more than good advice. We deliver results.

Serving as your advisor, guide, advocate, partner and mentor every step of the way, we help you build a strategic plan for college―and your future.

Get in touch

We at Marrs know that finding the right college for your child is a choice not to be taken lightly. Schedule an appointment today and let us help you create your personal Strategic Plan™.

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Our Team

Founder, Principal, certified admissions advisor

Catherine Marrs, CEP

Recognized as one of the leading independent admissions counselors in the North Texas region, Catherine Marrs founded Marrs College Admission Advisors in 2004. Throughout her career, she has helped place hundreds of students in colleges and universities.

A member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, the Higher Educational Consultants Association, the National Association of College Admission Counselors and the Texas Association of Admission Counselors, Catherine is one of a handful of distinguished Dallas-area college admissions advisors who is credentialed by the American Institute of Certified Educational Planners (CEP). As a requirement of this rigorous certification process, Catherine personally visits at least 15 – 25 campuses annually to assure her ability to identify the very best “fit” for her students and families.

Catherine successfully coaches a wide range of students—from National Merit semifinalists to those who struggle through their regular classes. She understands the unique needs of families along the full spectrum of financial circumstances and requirements. Her proven, innovative strategies and techniques empower students to shine―with confidence, good humor, efficiency, and effectiveness―through each step of the college admissions journey. Catherine’s greatest satisfaction comes from helping her students realize just how special they are. Each student is a gift and finding the right schools that will appreciate their specific talents is critical. Her students always have at least two schools that want them and are willing to pay them to come! Her ability to help position her students to receive the maximum merit aid available is impressive. As a seasoned speaker, Catherine has also written extensively on subjects related to the college planning and transition process.

A member of Executive Women of Dallas, Catherine holds a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Arizona. She earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from Texas Woman’s University and a Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA. She also completed the Harvard Summer Institute on College Admissions and the IECA Principles and Practice Training―receiving her Certificate in Educational Planning in 2007.

Catherine served a six-year term as a trustee of the St. Alcuin Montessori School. She is a member of St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, as well as the Wednesday Women’s Bible Study Group at Highland Park United Methodist Church. Her daughter graduated from The Greenhill School, Cum Laude from Southwestern University and currently is a Tom Luce Scholar at the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University.

Study Skills Coach

Michael Lundie, M.S., M.A.

Michael has experience both as a researcher in cognitive neuroscience and wide-ranging experience as an educator, spanning from elementary- to college-level students. His academic career started at Southern Methodist University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. While earning his degree, Michael explored avenues toward a career in education. He began in the SMU campus tutoring center by assisting undergraduates with developing study skills, including strategies for balancing extracurricular activities with academic commitments. This foray into the education field fostered a passion for teaching and academic coaching.

Shortly after graduation, Michael joined Teach For America, a highly selective organization that prepares educators for teaching students in low socio-economic status school districts. During his two-year tenure with the organization, Michael taught in an Oak Cliff-based charter school system located in south Dallas. He observed that subject-based knowledge was only one small component in overall academic achievement. Michael recognized that his elementary and middle school students would benefit from practical skills of goal prioritization, motivational skills, foundations of interpersonal communication – all reliable predictors of college readiness. 

 Intent on developing an academic support program supplemented with rigorous research experience, Michael set out to learn more about the latest in evidence-based approaches to promoting academic success. This long-term goal started with earning a Master’s degree in Neurophilosophy at Georgia State University, where he engaged in cross-disciplinary cognitive science research. Along the way, he taught college-level courses, where he could continue advising students about skills foundational to college and professional success. After completing his degree, Michael was admitted to the Cognition and Neuroscience PhD program at University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), where he uses the latest in brain-imaging and brain-modulation based techniques in the study of reasoning, judgment, and decision making. His work has merited the Friends of BrainHealth Distinguished New Scientist award and the prestigious Dianne Cash Fellowship. You can learn more about Michael’s research in the Reasoning Lab at the Center for BrainHealth, an organization affiliated with UTD, by visiting the following link: https://labs.utdallas.edu/reasoninglab/ 

Not long before enrolling at UT Dallas, Michael joined the team at Marrs College Admissions Advisors as a cognitive skills coach. He is well versed in designing study skills programs for various learning styles and motivational levels. Extending beyond mere subject-based knowledge, his program aims toward the development of skills related to planning, organizing, sustained attention on tasks, forming motivational goals, and anxiety-reduction techniques. Each program is individually tailored to meet each student’s unique requirements and capacities. In partnership with the highly qualified team of experts at Marrs College Admission Advisors, he is dedicated to coaching students toward academic and professional success.