*Students are kept confidential. Family introductions happily available for interested parties.
Student S.1
GPA: 3.64 unweighted, 4.13 weighted; competitive public high school. Rank 262/622
Extracurriculars: Strong internship, community involvement (relevant to majors)
Essays: Elite, sharp answers backed with unwavering consistency and research
SAT: 1460
Accepted: UCLA (committed), Boston University, IU-Kelley, UC-Davis, Purdue
Testimonial:
This guy is a complete nutjob. Weird in the best way. Where do I even begin with him?
You see, Amit is the type of person who is stubborn in his ways. He’s so incredibly confident and self-assured that it’s difficult to convince him he’s wrong. You’re probably thinking, “S.1, why are you telling us all this stuff about him? Isn’t this a recommendation?” Yes. Amit is so incredibly confident that your character will be tested in a way where you have no choice but to become just as firm in your own beliefs. He’ll irritate you so much that, while working with him, you’ll feel a strong desire to prove him wrong. And in a way, at a point where I lost so much motivation to continue, I found a new goal in doing everything I could to prove this guy wrong. Even at my worst, even when I didn’t have faith in myself, working with Amit gave me the strength to follow through with my plans and achieve my goals. And in doing so, I began living for myself.
In that same way, Amit’s confidence works for you just as much mentally as it does academically. Amit will dedicate almost every waking second to ensure he gives you the best outcome you could possibly get. Even if he believes something has less than a 0.1% chance of success, he still gives it his all no matter what, because he believes doing things halfway is not acceptable. I still remember a night before UNC Chapel Hill applications were due when Amit stayed on call with me and two of his other students until 4 AM, ensuring our supplementals were at the highest quality. His commitment to doing his best is, to put it simply, unbelievable. No matter how seemingly hopeless something is, he always puts his best foot forward. He keeps pushing and pushing and pushing. He’s the type of person who is never satisfied with “good enough,” and you too will soon realize you aren’t satisfied with “good enough” either.
On top of that, Amit has never failed to make a lesson or editing session enjoyable. His taste in music, movies, anime, and books is incredible. If his academic intellect doesn’t impress you enough, his taste in media will. His exploration of different genres will have you hooked on his recommendations, and he doesn’t shy away from engaging with your interests as well. As much as he’s your demanding mentor who pushes you far past your limits, Amit also fills an older brother role. You can talk to him about anything. You could spend an entire lesson debating ideas and discussing the future, and he’d be just as engaged as he would be in a purely academic session.
His ability to communicate and set goals for you is outstanding. Amit does everything he can to stay connected. He wants a clear understanding of where your head is at because he envisions a strong future for all of his students. He genuinely wants to help. Not only does it make him happy to use his skills to support students, it truly makes him proud to see you succeed. No matter how intense he may come across, I can say with complete confidence that he wants nothing more than to see you succeed. He has a big heart. I promise.
As for getting into UCLA, I can honestly say that Amit is 75% of the reason I got in. After working with him on essay editing for so long, I learned how to organize my thoughts and explain them in a way that clearly conveyed my message and resonated with the admissions committee. But the greatest lesson I learned was how to push back just as much on his advice as he did on mine. When working with Amit, don’t be afraid to tell him he’s wrong. As confident as he can seem, he is open to hearing your perspective. He isn’t afraid to admit that you may have ideas with real potential. The best outcomes come from collaboration and workshopping. Amit is a tool, not a director. Remember that he’s someone you work with, not someone you rely on completely. True growth comes from collaboration and compromise, not from blindly following everything he says. Not only will this lead to the best results, but it will also help you develop your own independence. The more you do that, the stronger and more confident your writing becomes, and the smoother the process gets. You’ll be able to write essays that say what you want to say in a way that is both authentic and compelling. With Amit, you never have to choose between the two.
And to Amit, when you eventually read this and start laughing at my writing, I hope you know that, no matter how corny this sounds, I’ll always be grateful. Because of you, I get to look forward to the future again. You’ve given me the motivation to keep pushing, no matter how difficult things may seem. I’m truly thankful.
Yes, he really does put the GOAT in Goat Academics.
Sincerely,
S