Sarah Sled, PhD

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A California native, I grew up in San Luis Obispo, CA and received my BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley. I then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where I received my PhD in Political Science, with focus areas in Quantitative Research Methods and American Politics. While in Cambridge, I was a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, instructing undergraduate students in the Government department, and a Teaching Assistant at MIT, teaching graduate courses in statistics.

After graduate school I embarked on a 17 year career in User Research in tech, working at Netflix, Facebook, Amazon, and Google, as well as a few startups along the way. In May 2025 I left my role as a Director at Google to pursue my passion for college admissions.   

My love of college admissions began with my own undergraduate application process - I loved all aspects of exploring different schools, researching scholarships, writing essays, and yes, even taking standardized tests. In fact, my first ever Amazon purchase at age 17 was SAT II test prep books that weren’t available at my local bookstore! While at UC Berkeley, my favorite college job was the three years I spent as a teacher and tutor for The Princeton Review, where I taught SAT prep, and was voted Teacher of the Year for Northern California. In graduate school, I was active in graduate admissions, and in particular, helping improve the number of women who accepted their offers of admission to MIT. 

Throughout my time in tech, I simultaneously grew my knowledge and experience in the college counseling space. I am a 25 year volunteer for the prestigious Girls State and Girls Nation high school leadership camps. Each year through this work, I met young women who had high aspirations and high potential for success in college, but did not have the necessary guidance to pursue higher education. Through advising these students, I saw how gaining admission to a best fit school can change the course of someone’s life, and this inspired me to pursue college counseling as my second career. 

I have been an MIT alumni interviewer for the last 3 admission cycles, interviewing 30+ applicants for undergraduate admission. Over the last two years, I also completed the coursework for the UCLA Certificate in College Counseling, and this fall will be working in the college counseling department of a private high school in Seattle. I am affiliated with the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), and the Seattle Area College Counselors (SACC), and I adhere to the ethical standards of these organizations. 

I am excited to bring my knowledge and experience to serve your family - I look forward to meeting you and your student, and supporting you both in the exciting journey towards college!