When Gretchen Uhlinger speaks, people listen.

At least, students hoping to find the right college do.

Uhlinger is a longtime educational professional. And now she’s putting to work her experience at such institutions as Interlochen Center for the Arts; the Montessori Children’s House, where she was the founding Head of School; and most recently, at the Pendleton School-IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida, where she worked as the college placement advisor to the junior and senior classes.

She’s founded Pinpoint Advising (pinpointadvising.com) in Traverse City. Her company’s mission? Helping students sort through the often overwhelming decisions regarding college – everything from admissions policies to testing to college prep courses. At the top of the list is the most important question of all: Where should I go to school?

These days, she says, answering that is a bigger challenge than ever for students. As colleges have become more savvy about marketing their wares, students typically have boxes of material they’ve collected from in-state schools, as well as e-mail inboxes crowded with come-ons from colleges across the country.

“It’s a big, life-changing decision,” she said. “And an expensive one. It’s an opportunity to try a new path and requires reflection and action.”

How does Pinpoint work? Uhlinger said a typical relationship begins with an hour-long complimentary session with the student and parents. They talk about everyone’s hopes and desires, budget, geographical parameters, and everyone’s expectations.

If the family decides to employ Uhlinger, she then begins to work directly with the student.

“I’ll help the students identify opportunities. Then we do test analysis, personality tests, explore majors and interests, look at transcripts and test scores, and extracurriculars,” she said.

Uhlinger then creates a profile of the student and matches that profile with schools that will best match the student’s wants and needs. She said she’s usually able to winnow the list of schools to a workable 20 or so. Then she’ll focus on those schools and working with the student and family to narrow it down to eight or 10 solid opportunities.

Her services also encompass directing her clients toward the right forms and school officials for financial aid and scholarships, as well as working with student-athletes looking for athletic scholarships and the like.

The service isn’t inexpensive; Uhlinger charges $1,500 per client. But that one-time fee pays for all her services for that student, regardless of when they come to her – from freshman year to the many late-bloomers who begin panicking during their senior year. Uhlinger also works with one student on a pro-bono basis for every five clients she has.

While the service is relatively new, its fame is spreading. Uhlinger said she has just been hired by a Chinese family from Shanghai who want their daughter to receive an education in the U.S. just as her parents did.