highly personalized guidance

Hi, I'm Kiara, an MIT '21. I advise students grades 9-12 with a unique style. I cover all-things-college (test preparation, high-touch activity advising, essay coaching, etc.) (full list below).

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Following a formula of what has gotten others admitted in the past doesn't work. Successful applications copy no one else—they are unique because a student has successfully encapsulated their unique self.

When a student meets with this tutor here and goes to that test prep agency there and these extracurriculars over here, they end up with a network of many people who know them somewhat well, but no singular person who is overseeing the whole picture and who can actually help them capture their unique self. The big college advising companies use formulas for what gets students into college; you end up with a child whose uniqueness gets washed away by someone's generic framework. That's a pity.

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Previous students I've worked with have been admitted to MIT, Harvard, Georgia Tech, BU, Olin, Georgetown, Tufts, and others. I guide students in the following ways:

  1. ACT/SAT tutoring that is significantly more effective than typical tutoring methods. I don't teach a "correct" method of solving; I notice subtle patterns in the way a student is currently solving, and I refine from there
  2. build-out of a strategic plan with passion projects, entrepreneurial pursuits, summer research opportunities, etc., always rooted in a student's unique interests — this can start at any point from 9th-11th grade.
  3. guidance on making the most of a student's activities: if a student runs a company, why not apply for an incubator and start manufacturing a product? If a student leads a CS club, why not run a hackathon for college students?
  4. coaching for essay writing that is highly personalized based on how the student's mind thrives — this leads to niche stories that make admissions officers pause
  5. support obtaining non-generic recommendation letters by strategically building relationships
  6. intensive interview preparation so that students come across humble, passionate, and well-informed about the school at hand
  7. answering questions about anything by text 24/7

Interested students should apply to join my cohort here and I will reach out for a consult!

The Way in Which I Work with Students

I take on a group of students each year, mentoring and teaching them closely. I build very strong relationships with every student in the small cohort I’m leading, which I've found to be a unique approach to college advising. I am available always for students' questions about what new leadership position to aim for, what summer research role to shoot for, how to market their T-shirt company. I’m young myself, funky and bold in the way I coach and most of all outrageously personalized in my approach - none of the cookie cutter stuff that the uber-expensive college advising companies use.
ESSAY MASTERY

so you have great grades and extracurriculars. that's great!

but do you know why you're good at what you do? what about the way your mind works makes you an unparalleled coder?

could you describe the force at your back driving you to wake up every morning and succeed? many people are ambitious. but few can articulate why they are the way they are.

the process of writing unique essays takes time and commitment. it is both an investment in your college applications and in understanding who you are at a younger age than most. this latter effect will enable you to start college actually knowing how you want to use that time (tuition is too expensive and college too short to let it slip by without deliberate intentionality.)
HIGHLY TAILORED STANDARDIZED TEST EXCELLENCE

perhaps you have taken part in a few group sat classes or have self-studied some sat books. perhaps you have been given a methodology for how to ideally solve each type of problem but you still are not seeing your score improve.

I have found it much more effective in raising scores to take a much more subtle approach. rather than trying to just displace your current approach with some one-size-fits-all "ideal" approach, I pay close attention to your current approach and only make minor adjustments where needed. this eliminates wasted energy.

(e.g. are you solving reading/writing problems in a reductive mathematical way (which doesn't work) because you are good at STEM? are you driven by fear rather than rationality when you avoid selecting a vocabulary word you don't know as the answer?).
BOLD AND CREATIVE EXTRACURRICULAR GUIDANCE

how do you know where to spend your finite amount of time? Where you spend your time should be rooted in where your strengths lie, not reverse-engineered based on what you think a college wants to see.

how do you know how to make the most out of your activities? I mentor on making something incredibly bold and outrageously unique of each of those activities. If a student runs a company, why not apply for an incubator and start manufacturing product? If a student leads a CS club, why not run a hackathon for college students?

There are so many resources at my fingertips that students can take advantage of. It is a joy to see them do things many professionals in their 50s haven't done.