About Us

Aristotle Circle is an innovative advisory service that specializes in admissions to US, UK, European, and Canadian schools and universities, and acts as a marketplace for families to obtain support through all phases of their child’s education and later, their career.

The admissions processes – from Kindergarten through graduate school – are confusing, tedious, and constantly evolving. From one year to the next, schools change not only their requirements for admission, but also what they are looking for when building a class. This means that even though a parent might have gone through the process with an older child, it may not be the same for their younger one.

Aristotle Circle makes it our business to know the ins and outs of admissions, keeping track of historical trends and innovations in the industry. When so many elements of the traditional admissions process are in flux – such as legacy status and test requirements – it is difficult for busy families to do the research necessary to even submit complete applications, let alone create an optimal student profile.

Donna Zilkha

Partner & Director of College & International Services

Donna has spent many years as a trustee of a prestigious US university, where she remains a trustee emerita, and of several private schools in New York City, where she remains a Head’s Council member. Donna has been a lawyer for over 40 years.For 15 years, she was involved in education policy in France, as a member of the board of education of the town of Neuilly and as head of a national public interest group for parents of students in public education. Donna has counseled families in the US and abroad applying to schools and colleges for more than two decades. She graduated from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and Columbia Law School. Donna is a certified college counselor and member of NACAC, who has been invited to speak about education and college admissions before government panels and large student and family groups in many countries around the world. She is currently Executive Director of College and International Services at Aristotle Circle. Donna has three children who have attended competitive schools at the undergraduate and the graduate level.

Monique Saphin Bloom

Partner, Chief Administrative Officer & Director of Program Development

Monique has spent the past 18 years as a parent leader, community organizer and advocate. She is a founder and was a facilitator of various parent mentoring and support groups in New York, is a past President of the Great Neck United Parent Teachers Council, and served as a trustee on the Great Neck Public School District's Board of Education, a top 10 public school district in the US. Monique is a partner at Aristotle Circle and Chief Administrative Officer; before taking on this role, she spent 12 years as the Chief Administrative Officer and Senior Vice President at a global Wall Street firm. She holds a BA in Economics and is a certified college admissions counselor whose students have been admitted to every Ivy League University and the most competitive universities across the US and abroad. She regularly leads workshops and presentations on the college admissions process and is a Member of NACAC, the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Monique is a mother of four adult children who all attended highly competitive universities at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Our Strategy

Aristotle Circle capitalizes on the collective experience of our experts, but also looks forward, noting how new developments such as AI are affecting not only the student-side but also the school-side of the admissions process for all the top colleges and universities. Our blog acts as a resource for anyone looking to gain knowledge and insight on the educational news and updates that are most relevant for today’s students and their families. Our students are our priority; we are constantly working to surround them with the tools and support they need to succeed.

Our Team

Our network of educational professionals is expansive and international. Our team includes former Ivy League admissions professionals and the most successful and respected experts on admissions to top private schools, boarding schools, and universities. Aristotle Circle carefully screens our tutors to ensure that we’re only providing the best of the best, whether your student needs Executive Functioning and homework help, subject tutoring, or preparation for exams like the SAT, ACT, GRE, ISEE, or SSAT.

Our Materials

For those that prefer to prepare for exams at home, Aristotle Circle is constantly updating our arsenal of proprietary workbooks and practice tests. While our material is geared mostly toward test prep for exams such as Common Core ELA & Math, ISEE, SSAT, and gifted and talented assessments, we also have materials to supplement a student’s regular curriculum. Some examples of these offerings include our series of Analogies workbooks and our LOGIC & the Art of Reasoning workbook.

Our Results

In addition to student success, the most valuable by-product of all of the aforementioned services is stress reduction for both students and parents! We believe the admissions process should be an exciting, hopeful time – not one steeped in stress and conflict. Our students have achieved admission to: