Testimonials

A Few Testimonials from

- MS, New York

“When I first met Philip, he seemed as though he had an aura of assurance, determination, and intensity around him. He talked efficiently yet with passion. In only short few months, my assumptions were proven to be correct as Philip indeed turned out to be a special individual, one that stands out and demands your attention. There is no doubt about Philip’s intelligence, coupled with his unique approaches to details. However, it would be gross injustice to simply mark Philip as smart. In my opinion, Philip’s biggest asset is his pride in what he does.

Philip embraces each challenge, not because it is his job, but because he wants to. He desires to be challenged constantly, for he finds satisfaction in doing what others dismiss as unachievable. I do not pretend to be aware of what motivates Philip, I just joyously reap the benefits of his hard work. Many regard him as the best at his job, but only few notice or try to see why. Due to these reasons I can truly say that Philip has been a blessing in my life, a genuine mentor.

I sincerely hope that my rather haphazard and inexperienced writing has helped you, the reader, to see behind the calculating, intellectual, and awe-striking efficiency of Philip, where I believe his heart, whose unrivaled passion, motivation that accepts nothing but impeccability, and vision that does not dream the impossible but achieves it, drives him forward, towards the betterment of all his students.”

- NJ, New Hampshire

“The college admission process asks for a great deal of qualities: diligence, patience, and

perseverance. These qualities enable each applicant to express his or her lives on a few pages - the smallest things in these few pages determine whether the applicant gets accepted or rejected. Frankly, luck has to follow in the process to achieve what one wants; thus, by no means is one’s rejection or acceptance to a college, a reflection of one’s abilities. Nonetheless, the application process can engender a better understanding of one’s future, of life, and of the bigger world outside. And this is why it is essential to endeavor in one’s years in high school.

I first met Philip three years ago as I prepared for X, a big contest among students who had written history research papers. This encounter led on to the Project Y, designed for Z. It was the first time I had participated in a financial project that had an international context; it served as a great opportunity which greatly boosted my experience and perspective. Philip had introduced me to this project and along the whole way, he provided me with advice, his own experience, and novel ideas to incorporate. Thus, I could maximize my potential in various contexts – the opportunity introduced by Philip and the inspiration I felt with his stories of experience and proposal of novel ideas enabled me to get closer to the maximum line of my potential.

As I stepped over the threshold of my last year in high school, I began writing college essays, filling out the common application, and doing college research. College essays may seem like an arduous job – to explain your own life in merely one page is certainly challenging. Hours and hours of essay writing may never really engender the essay that one wants. Nonetheless, to never lose that attitude of patience and perseverance in this arduous process is essential. Philip provided me with several windows through which I could see my life. In other words, discussions with Philip aided me in realizing what kind of person I was. A profound understanding of myself was what I could gain with my discussions with Philip, and this was imperative in completing my common application. If I derailed from the right track, Philip waited and guided me to the path in which I could maximize my potential.

As I end my college admission process, I realize how much I have gained. Personally, I feel that a student who has only gained a college name has not really gained anything. The true successes in the process are not college brand names but the successes regarding life, understanding, realization, and future dreams. And within this process, Philip is like an inspirational fountain which bursts out with creative ideas and experience and when you look at the fountain, you see yourself clearer. Writing a college application without a proper understanding of yourself is a failure. Philip is a mentor who will always be a mirror by which one can reflect, understand, and be inspired.”

- JL, Korea

“Philip has guided me through the times when I needed help the most. Help not only of academics, finances or social networking but one that answered a fundamental question: “How do I need to think and act critically and strategically to achieve my dream?”

During my high school years, I was lost. I had a mere hope of becoming a specialist in international relations. I dreamed of studying IR in college but didn’t know how to prepare for it. I didn’t even know how to specify what I wanted out of IR. Instead of thinking thoroughly about myself, I was busy dealing with school work and standardized tests that never seemed to end.

On a hot summer day before my junior year, I met Philip. He asked me so many different questions. He asked me why I was doing the activities I was globally recognized for my leadership. Why I wanted to be an IR major, and why I believed in the path I had been walking to achieve my dream. I knew then that I couldn’t answer these questions. He offered me help.

Philip never supported me with easy answers; his support came from questions and proofs. I learned from Philip how to pioneer my world beyond college towards new dreams I discovered. Philip has inspired me through my high school years and continues to do so even today.”

A Few Development Cases On

- JM, Stanford and Harvard admit

Ranked under top 40% of his class at this premier high-caliber private boarding school hailed by The New York Times, JM had no major honors or awards to put on his application yet applied REA to Stanford. His parents laughed at him before everyone else. Philip did not; he listened to JM carefully and learned much about his passion for math. Philip suggested exploring what JM can do to show what his mediocre grades and scores could not about him. JM learned that failures were among the best sources to convey his interests.

Garnering little pieces of JM’s life, probing into each piece, and defining each meaning under his perspective on day-to-day life, they discovered a few things that JM truly enjoyed doing in and outside of school. As we amplified the joy that drove him through this journey, so many components of the Stanford application waved and inspired him. Following edits of his application that seemed to never end, JM prepared an extra set of materials to show his teachers before writing evaluation. We also approached the idea of securing an outside evaluator who could speak constructively about JM’s abstract qualities.

A lot of hours went into JM’s Stanford application. Most people dismissed JM for lacking super academic qualities, so when his REA letter of acceptance arrived, their jaws dropped. He reminded them, never to judge a book by its cover. JM continues to puzzle many top college aspirants at his high school. He is now one of the most creative scholars at Stanford exploring math and extended interests.

- JS, Harvard admit

A long list of laurels bespoke JS’s remarkable talents in math and science. Philip felt that they hardly reflected her real personality, however; they merely represented JS’s multiple capabilities that had yet to grow and flourish. JS and her parents learned from Philip that academic excellence alone cannot guarantee admission to top colleges, and that one must be truly unique and inspirational to stand a chance.

He suggested that JS invest time and energy in new areas of fusing her talents, knowledge and skills. What once seemed an impasse positively signaled a journey of discovery for JS, her parents and people around her. Months of this discovery process led JS and Philip to reach JS’s new vision of applying multidisciplinary knowledge to technological innovations.

Throughout the school year, they worked on a few technological innovations encompassing medicine and telecommunications, mirroring much of what Apple Watch is today. Breaking so many designed components into smallest units, JS assigned each unit development to cohorts of friends sharing her vision. Major university professors criticized the innovations for lacking market demand to begin with. Prototypes were even condemned for lacking marketability. Still, JS did not cease her venture as disappointments and failures were all part of the journey.

Entering MIT’s business plan contest, where academicians, corporations and everyone participated, JS was commended for ideas but did not pass the first round. A few weeks later, she received calls from Google and Apple engineers, offering technical mentorship for product development. She accepted the offers and has since developed products with these giants.

JS chose Harvard not just for the name, but for so much fun she had when visiting people in Cambridge. She continues the second journey of discovery at Harvard, giving every chance to every idea, every person she thinks deserves.

- CC, Columbia and Penn admit

CC’s parents’ global fame eclipsed her individuality; their reputation always mandated highest standards of decorum. Wherever she went, her premature personal desires were overwhelmed by their expectations – but without directions. She did not give up on the hopes of discovering pathways to happiness. These were among the findings Philip made when her parents initially matched him with CC.

As people often experience, voice over the phone allows you to mentally focus on what is being exchanged with great intensity. Philip and CC were not an exception; they uncovered so much about what they wished happened to them unconditionally and timelessly. Through months of this process, CC discovered her genuine interest in human rights. They designed, while conflicts of voice frequented their Skype sessions, experiences that exposed her to a spectrum of human rights issues in different extremes. The more she learned from reading, analyzing, and discussing specifics of the issues, the more she mastered logical and communication skills.

Creating her nest in outside organizations and even building new initiatives with them, CC specialized in advocating war victims’ and LGBTQs’ rights. Her activities’ depth highlighted these intellectual interests, which she carried over to her college applications under the goal of becoming a management specialist for global human rights organizations. Submitting her ED application to Wharton, CC shivered in the fear of her best-performing-in-school classmates submitting their Wharton applications; her grades and scores lagged far behind theirs. When deferred in December, she still did not want to halt. Philip, CC, and her teachers put their heads together for a new strategy and courses of action, which beautifully worked.

CC screamed and cried for hours confirming many letters of acceptance in late March. College visitations in April yielded something totally unexpected – CC chose New York over Philadelphia. Once considered “you-will-never-get-into-an-Ivy-League-college” in school, CC is now making the most out of her time at Columbia, working with international human rights organizations and shooting for her dream job at the United Nations.