BonSkye College Advisory is a collaborative mother-daughter venture launched by Bonnie Lanette Graves and Sophie Lanette Skye Sexton in July 2025.

We aim to share our collective expertise and hard-won wisdom with families at any point in the college admission process. From younger students just beginning to map out high school classes and extracurricular activities to rising seniors who face what can feel like an insurmountable amount of stress and paperwork, we are here to make the journey easier for you.

Let us help you get to the other side and into an institution of higher learning that is the perfect fit - academically, geographically and financially - for students and for their families. And to complement our model, we are planning to add a pro bono program for families who may not be able to afford assistance in the college admissions process.

At BonSkye College Advisory, we believe the sky truly is the limit, for anyone and everyone.

Let’s take flight, together.

  • Bonnie Graves

    BonSkye Co-Founder
    (Senior Year photo - Middletown, NJ)

  • Bonnie & Skye

    Mother & Daughter
    Co-Founders

  • Skye Sexton

    BonSkye Co-Founder
    (Senior Year photo -
    Los Angeles, CA)

Bonnie Graves

Bonnie Graves’ favorite job by far is “Mom” although she’s held a variety of other titles. From high school teacher to sommelier to non-profit professional, Bonnie is comfortable and competent in many capacities.

As she approaches the college launchpad for kid #1, she is eager to share the knowledge she’s accrued as well as the cautionary tales. Bonnie graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in three years’ time with a degree in English Literature & Language while also pursuing her premed requirements, and completed graduate coursework at Harvard in Comparative Literature.

She later earned a Masters Degree in Secondary Education from Boston College and taught high school in Boston and in Dublin. (Fluent in Spanish, Bonnie can assist bilingual students as needed.)

Importantly, Bonnie has worked as an alumni interviewer for Harvard for 20+ years which has provided a unique peek into a diverse database of student applicants. She’s walked the road with nearly 200 students, and has seen firsthand where their journeys have taken them for college and beyond.

Avoiding the potholes and pitfalls on that road is important, and her goal is to lessen stress for students and parents alike. Bonnie was 12 for 12 with positive outcomes on her college application process back in the Dark Ages of Wite-Out and dot matrix paper.

Skye Sexton

Sophie “Skye” Sexton is a newly-minted graduate of Cleveland CORE Humanities Program in Reseda, CA, which recently won the Dr. Ronald P. Simpson Magnet School of Merit Award of Excellence, the most prestigious national award for magnet schools across the US.

“Cleveland Humanities Magnet is a masterclass in what happens when education is rooted in the study of human beings across time and space,” the MSA writes. “At the CORE, literally and figuratively, they emphasize history, literature, philosophy and art, all integrated into a rich, interdisciplinary curriculum.”

Skye graduated at the top of her class with Highest Honors, a GPA of 4.575 and earned 13+ AP 5s across a variety of classes including advanced calculus and sciences. She is a very smart cookie. Skye was 17 for 19 with positive outcomes on her application process, which included 5/5 acceptances at University of CA campuses and 5/5 acceptances in the United Kingdom.  

In the fall of 2025, Skye will be heading to Oxford University in the UK to study English Literature and Language at Christ Church College.

Outside the classroom, she has a wide range of interests in performing arts, social justice and environmental stewardship.                      

Our Services

BonSkye offers a full suite of college advisory services, depending on the age of the student.

Bonnie’s services are flexible and are available hourly, monthly and annually based on each individual student’s timeline and needs. Priority is given to rising seniors and pro bono families.

Skye’s services are hourly, with an emphasis on standardized testing prep and essay development. 

Book a no-cost, ‘meet & greet’ first call with pricing available upon request.

(Note that Advisory services can be via Google Meet, Zoom, WhatsApp, email or phone, and are aggregated. For the Los Angeles market, in-person is also available.

  • Younger students may request help with mapping out high school classwork and extracurricular activities as well as preparing for standardized testing. (Starting the process before junior year is wise!)

  • BonSkye specializes in developing the “list” - in helping a family understand where they sit in the college admissions ecosystem and refining a smart mix of colleges that fit a given student’s profile.

  • BonSkye is ready to assist on editing personal statements, Common App layout, deadline management and overall moral support. BonSkye can also advise on UCAS (UK admissions) and on UC (California).

  • Bonnie is ready to help you understand the maze of acronyms: NPC! COA! SAI! CSS! ED! ED2! (not what you may think it is, lol) REA! EA! RD! Understanding the difference between need-based aid and merit-based aid is essential to matching your kid’s dreams to financial reality. BonSkye can help.

“Unofficial” BonSkye bios

Skye’s Bio for Bonnie:

My mom’s my best friend. I know that may sound a little baby-ish, especially for someone on their way to college, but there’s no one I’d rather work with than her. Throughout high school, she’s been an unending source of support, of laughs, and of kindness. She’s the one who taught me always to ask “How can I help?” no matter the situation, to be a person who’s always looking for ways to be of service to others. From amazing birthday parties featuring ambitious themes like the TV show Cupcake Wars or the epic Harry Potter broomstick zipline to being my number one Uber driver (Five stars! Would recommend, and yes, I am still license-less because LA seems like a nightmare for new drivers), my mom’s been there for me. I am excited to partner with her to help families navigate the college process, just as she and I navigated it together. “How can we help?” Let us help you on your college journey and by the way, pinkies up as I head across the pond to Oxford!

Bonnie’s Bio for Skye:

You remember that old song? “You probably think that you’re cooler than me?” Skye is correct. She is definitely waaaaay cooler than me and is for sure way, way, way smarter too. From blasting vintage AC/DC and the Beastie Boys on National Parks road-trips to wearing rockstar skinny jeans in the baggy jeans era, Skye is unabashedly herself. She loves obscure musicals and movies like “Evil Dead” and “Nerdy Prudes Must Die” as much as she sings full-throated “Hamilton” and “Hadestown,” and she prefers our two rescue labs to most humans. (Good call there, they are very cute dogs.) I am proud of her academic accomplishments but I am far more proud of her kind, compassionate heart. Watching her work with unhoused Angelenos, seeing her chop veggies in her stylish hair net at Project Angel Food, seeing her tirelessly phone bank and register voters at the West Side Democratic Headquarters - I am humbled to be her Momma. Watch out world, here she comes.

Contact us

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