Anne Keogh

Anne Keogh is the Founder and Executive Editor of Varsity Vine. Appalled by what she viewed as excessive up-front fees and lack of strategy, follow-through, and success by other educational consultants in the college application space, Anne was motivated to start a low-cost, high-strategy college application and matriculation advising group focused on strategy, data and analysis, and authentic storytelling – helping her “Birdies” develop and share their achievements in a way that captures Admissions Officers’ hearts and secures as many admission “wins” as possible. Anne has developed proprietary methods for building successful applications that truly stand out, including her Birdie Boost “Building a Stronger Vine,” Activities & Honors “Nesting” approach, and her family-centered exercise “30 Questions” to tease out strong essay topics.

Today, Anne assists families and students in 15 states across the country. Her “Birdies,” as she calls them, have gained admission to some of the most selective colleges in the country and abroad, including: Boston College, Brown, Dartmouth, Davidson, Duke, Columbia, Cornell, Emory, Georgia Tech, Northeastern, Notre Dame, Penn, St. Andrews (Scotland), Tulane, all 9 UC colleges including UC Berkeley & UCLA, UF, UGA, U Miami, U Michigan, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Southern California, UT Austin, UVA, U Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Washington & Lee, and William & Mary, among others.

Anne has also helped her “Birdies” with Honors and Scholarship applications, helping students gain entrance into prestigious and competitive Honors Colleges and win full-ride fellowships. Some of the larger Fellowships “wins” Anne has assisted with include the The Morehead-Cain Scholarship (UNC), Posse Fellowship (Vanderbilt), Gabelli Presidential Scholars (BC), and Stamp (Wake Forest & UF). She’s also helped Birdies get to the final rounds in the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation, Jefferson Scholars Foundation (UVA), and Robertson Scholars Leadership Program (Duke/UNC), among others. Her growing list of student admissions’ wins and scholarship awards can be found under “Success Stories.”

Anne also assists transfer students and has helped her “Birdies” apply to and gain admission to many competitive flagship universities, including UGA, UNC, UVA, and Michigan, among others.

Prior to establishing Varsity Vine, Anne worked for Sara Harberson and Application Nation (a national private college counseling community) as a wordsmith focused on strategic storytelling. Earlier in her career, Anne worked in finance and strategy in entertainment and media, including the Walt Disney Company and Home Box Office, where she honed her abilities at the intersection of story and strategy. In addition, she served on the Boards of Charleston Stage and Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry. Anne holds an MBA from Harvard Business School (1998) and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania (1993) in Honors History and English. A mother of three grown children who attend(ed) University of Michigan/W&L Law, University of Pennsylvania, and Notre Dame, Anne lives with her husband, George, and their three dogs in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. She can’t wait to meet each of you!