jiwon counselor
2:41 pm
Every reader has seen this opener. Your first sentence has one job: prove the next twenty are worth reading. Start where something is actually happening.
You're one application away from a different life. Don't wing it.
Four years of work comes down to a few thousand words. We help you get every one of them right. Hourly guidance for any grade, or a complete application package for seniors.
Our Acceptances at a Glance.
Our counselors were admitted to the best schools. We stood out in the ultra-competitive college landscape, and we want to help you do that, too.
Our counselors thrived in the most prestigious competitions and programs.
We can help you succeed as well.
- #3 All-Time World Rank, VEX Robotics
- Stanford University Mathematics Camp (SUMaC)
- MATHCOUNTS Nationals Qualifier
- National Merit Scholar
- Model UN, State-Level Governor/President Position
- Summer Science Program (SSP)
- Presentations at International Conferences
- IEEE Publications
- AwesomeMath Summer Camp
- High School Division Semi-Finalist, VEX Robotics World Championship
- Regeneron STS Scholar
- 36 ACT / 1550+ SAT
- Ross Mathematics Program
- National Junior Classical League (NJCL), Certamen Semifinalist
- COSMOS
- Publication, SIAM Journal
- YMCA Youth in Government (YIG), Best Delegate Award
- Simons Summer Research Program
- Division Champion, VEX Robotics U.S. Open
- Regeneron ISEF Finalist
- AIME Qualifier
- Governor's School
- US Presidential Scholar Semifinalist
- Yale Young Global Scholars
- DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC), Medalist
- Publication, UMAP Journal
- International Finalist, Conrad Challenge
- PROMYS (Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists), Boston University
- Varsity Sports Team Captain
- Boys Nation and Girls Nation
- Multiple First-Author Publications
- National Signature Event Champion and Finalist, VEX Robotics
- Gold Medalist and Finalist, International Genius Olympiad, Science Innovation
- Tournament of Champions Octofinalist, Policy Debate
Why recent admits
Former admissions officers know how decisions were made when they left the room. Admissions has changed since: new essay prompts, test policies in flux, AI detection, a record applicant pool. Your counselor should have been through the current process, not a previous one.
A transit style map of one applicant's four years, marked at every point where jiwon runs a session: a filled green square is a jiwon session. Three routes run through the preparation cycle, grades 9 to 11. The activities route, drawn heavy, runs trying four activities, narrowing to one or two, and summer programs and research projects. The competitions route, drawn at a middle weight, runs regional level, state level and international awards. The academics route, drawn light, runs planning courseload, first APs, and SAT, ACT and course rigor. Every one of those stops is a jiwon session except first APs. All three routes meet at an interchange called the portfolio, four years, one argument, and carry on from there as one gold line to the terminus, the application, senior fall. Hanging off that last stretch, the application cycle in grade 12, are five more marks: school list, essay review, rec letters, mock interviews, and scholarship support.
The application starts in ninth grade.
Where we can help.
Watch a draft become an essay.
Plenty of qualified applicants have impressive experiences but don't know how to present them to admissions officers. We help with both the substance and the storytelling.
Common App essay · draft 4
- C jiwon counselor
- C jiwon counselor
- S the student
Prompt 2
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
The Lift Arm
I have always been passionate about computer science. In ninth grade I joined my school's robotics team and learned many valuable skills and was still debugging our lift arm at one a.m. before regionals. By junior year I was lead builder, which meant the lift arm was my responsibility mine to break and mine to fix. At regionals the arm worked in practice, then dropped the cap in our first match nine seconds into our first qualifier. It was a very frustrating experience for the whole team. Six months of work, and the first thing our robot did in public was fail.
We had one hour before the next match. My co-captain pulled the code while I rebuilt the arm with zip ties borrowed from the team we had lost to, and neither of us said what we were both thinking. Somehow we fixed it in time. This experience taught me the importance of teamwork, and I will carry these lessons with me in college and beyond. Three seasons taught me what teamwork costs, and why it holds.
jiwon counselor
2:46 pm
Which skills? You told me about the 1 a.m. debugging session before regionals. That detail does more work than any adjective you could pick. Put the reader in the room.
Student
2:52 pm
Rewriting it to open at regionals. Draft 5 tonight.
jiwon counselor
2:49 pm
Nine seconds is your best number. Make the reader live inside it: what the cap sounded like when it hit the foam, where your eyes went, which team you could hear cheering. One concrete beat here earns the ending you want.
jiwon counselor
2:54 pm
What were you both thinking? You do not have to answer in dialogue. But the essay turns on this sentence, and right now it keeps its secret from the reader too.
jiwon counselor
2:58 pm
You end on a claim. End on what the work cost you and what it bought. If the last line ties back to the lift arm, the essay closes its own loop.
What we help with.
We help students from 8th grade to seniors applying to college this year. We can assist with any question: course plans, activities, school lists, essays, interviews.
Preparation cycle · Grades 8–11
- Summer program applications
- Specialized tutoringMathCounts, AMC, AIME, USAMO; SAT, ACT, AP
- Extracurricular planning
- High school course rigor planning
Application cycle · Grade 12
- Essay brainstorming, review and editing
- Crafting a school list
- Mock interview and debrief
- Letters of recommendation advice
- Scholarship and full-ride application support
Three steps. The first two are free.
-
Tell us where you are and what you need. We reply within 24 hours.
-
Step 2 · Intro call
FreeFifteen minutes. We tell you honestly whether we can improve your outcome, and turn you down if we cannot.
-
Step 3 · Start
The schedule is set that week and the work begins.
The season
- August Strategy session
- September Common App essay
- October Supplementals
- By December Essays finished
- January Deadlines
FAQ
Questions parents ask.
Do you guarantee admission?
No. Nobody can, and a service that says otherwise is selling you something it does not control. We control the quality of the writing and the discipline of the schedule, and that is what we sell.
Do you write the essays?
Never. The student writes every word; we ask questions, mark what is not working, and send the draft back. An essay we wrote would read like an adult wrote it, and readers notice.
How is the package priced?
Individually, and we quote it on the free intro call. The package is roughly forty hours of counselor time spread across five months. It covers the Common App essay and unlimited supplementals for three schools, four rounds each. If that does not work for your family, start hourly instead.
Do we have to buy the package?
No. The package is specialized for seniors applying to college. If you're an underclassman, you can go with our hourly rate.
Who is this not for?
Students who want someone else to do the work, or families looking for a guarantee. Applicants who need a counselor to fix a transcript, which no counselor can do. We turn down students we cannot help, and we do it on the free call rather than after the invoice.