* 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.