Dr. Shelley Enger is an experienced college and graduate school admissions consultant and research scientist dedicated to supporting the education, training, and careers of the next generation of adults. Shelley is a UC Berkeley Golden Bear (BA, Microbiology & Immunology), UCLA Bruin (MPH and PhD, Epidemiology), and USC Trojan (postdoctoral fellowship, Preventive Medicine). She built and led a cancer research program for many years and worked as a research consultant, developing a long track record of publications and grant funding. Shelley entered the field of college admissions counseling by working as a professional Freshman Application Reader for UC Berkeley’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Most recently, Shelley served as a professional application reader for the Caltech Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Shelley loves supporting students through their admissions applications, regardless of their interests and career plans, but she provides unique expertise in STEM and pre-health career planning and advising. She also developed and teaches courses for high school students to learn the process of research science and develop internships, for which Assemblyman Ed Chau selected her as the California Assembly’s “2014 Woman of the Year” for District 49. Shelley spent a lot of time on the UC Berkeley and UCLA campuses as a child with her mother, who was an archaeologist, and she enjoys touring colleges throughout the United States. She encourages families with children of all ages to spend time on college campuses near home or while traveling to give students a sense of the special and unique environments that colleges comprise.

Shelley also served as a member (six years) and Chair (three years) of her local school district’s Academics Advisory Committee, a Board of Education-appointed committee tasked with studying academic issues of interest to the district and making recommendations. For those efforts, she and her fellow past-Chairs were recognized in 2020 with a Continuing Service Award for their exemplary service to the district. Shelley has also experienced the college admissions process as a mother of three young adults, all of whom are now college graduates.