About Bonnie

Bonnie Stewart is a Smart College Selection Consultant.

After 25 years as an educator, Bonnie joined Smart College Selection to build on her experiences inspiring students to discover their voices. Bonnie loves helping teenagers authentically articulate who they are and clearly express their thoughts through the college application process.

There’s something about the energy and opportunity buzzing on college campuses that has long drawn Bonnie to visit campuses (more than 120 so far) and informally support young people and their parents as they discover the possibilities of the college search process. After being trained as an Alumni Recruiter and Interviewer for Vanderbilt University and completing UCLA’s Certificate in College Counseling, Bonnie realized that she wanted to work full-time with families to demystify the college selection process and help teenagers find a college where they will be challenged enough to grow but comfortable enough to be happy.

Bonnie received her undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and her Ed. M. in Language and Literacy from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She is a member of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), and the Indiana Association of College Admission Counseling (IACAC). Prior to joining Smart College Selection, Bonnie taught Humanities at Park Tudor School in Indianapolis.

Bonnie lives in the Meridian-Kessler area of Indianapolis and spends her downtime enjoying her dog, reading, listening to music, training for marathons, and traveling with her husband, often to visit and enjoy their three young adult sons. Yes, she has been through the college selection process with her three boys which definitely brings perspective, empathy, and humor to her work with teenagers and their parents. 

“Bonnie is fantastic - she brings the Smart College Selection highly structured approach that really brought out the best with our son. She knew how to push our son while also being supportive. Finally, the finished product in terms of essays and short answers were fantastic, and we believe helped our son stand out against other applicants. Bonnie knows the college application process very well and brought insights and value on where our son should apply and how he should apply to have the highest chance of being accepted to the schools to which he applied.”