* Do you have a GPA cut-off when selecting students to work with?

No. I have students who have come to me because other counselors turned them down due to their low GPA/low test scores.

My coaching philosophy is that my work with students should add value and improve their admission chances. This explains why I do not have 90% of my students all getting admitted to the Ivy-league and single-digit acceptance rate colleges. Students who come to me with a GPA of 3.2 will not stand a chance at those colleges regardless of which counselor they work with in the application process.

* Do you have affiliations with any programs or organizations to connect your students with?

No. I customize each of my students' activities based on their interests, strengths and weaknesses. No two students get the same path for their extracurriculars. I help students with their applications to programs as well as submissions for writing competitions.

* What types of extracurriculars do you recommend to your students?

Other than involvement at school clubs or sports, many of my students do self-initiated projects that align with their academic and personal interests. Many of them also attend competitive programs.

Examples of self-initiated projects include:

- engineering projects such as conversion of an old car to an EV car

- business projects such as on-campus laundry/shoe-cleaning shop at a boarding school, online bake shop and instagram accounts with specific themes

- TEDx talks

Some summer programs/competitions my students have been admitted to/attended include:

- Yale Young Global Scholars https://globalscholars.yale.edu/

- COSMOS https://cosmos-ucop.ucdavis.edu/app/main

- UCSC Science Internship Programhttps://sip.ucsc.edu/

- UCSB Research Mentorship Program https://www.summer.ucsb.edu/programs/research-mentorship-program/overview

- John Locke Institute Global Essay Competition https://www.johnlockeinstitute.com/essay-competition

- Stanford Cardiothoracic Surgical Skills and Education Summer Intern https://med.stanford.edu/cssec/about-our-internship.html

* What types of students work well with you?

I apply a flexible, customized style of working so I have students of different personalities and work styles.

In general, students who are self-motivated and always reach out to work closely with me tend to see the best outcomes.

* How often do you meet with your students?

I do state the frequency of meetings in the contract when I start working with students. It depends on which grade-level they start working with me.

What is more important in my work is not the frequency of meetings. It’s how efficient and informative a meeting is. Students who can follow the organizational materials I lay out for them, and get their assigned tasks completed will see the most positive outcomes.

Students who need nanny-like, hand-holding will not appreciate my expertise, and due to their inability to take ownership of their college applications, tend to not do well not only in college applications but in all other aspects of their lives too. (I would not be a good fit with this type of students.)