Avni and Amish had already navigated the US college admissions process with their eldest son, but it wasn’t easy. Without guidance, they were constantly second-guessing whether they were making the right moves.
So, when it came time for their younger boys (twins!) to apply, they were not doing it alone again.
They needed a trusted expert in their corner early on: someone with deep knowledge of the field who could be flexible and attentive to their sons’ needs, shedding light on the less obvious considerations that inform admissions decisions and keeping everything on track. Above all, they wanted to feel reassured that someone with their boys’ best interests in mind would have their back through the whole process.
In Menlo Coaching, they found a perfect fit.
When Avni and Amish spoke with Alice and Leslie, they immediately saw that Menlo Coaching could offer the support their sons needed. The focus was on what would work for the boys, not a 20-step program to college admission.
Alice and Leslie approached the engagement by trying to understand:
It’s only with a good understanding of these factors that a college admissions coach can really provide value to a client, by designing a bespoke process that really fulfills their specific needs.
A lack of this care and dedication was what had put Avni and Amish off other consultants they’d considered in their search. Where other firms leaned on celebrity founders, exorbitant pricing, and a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach, Alice and Leslie approached them as human beings, asking: What are you and your sons struggling with, and how can we support you to the best of our ability?
Aditya and Arjun began the coaching process early, as they were entering the second semester of the ninth grade. Starting so early made a big difference, allowing Alice and Leslie to think along with the boys about their goals well in advance of the actual application process.
Both Alice and Leslie have experience lecturing undergraduates at Stanford, and they’ve seen firsthand how even successful admits to highly competitive schools can sometimes struggle to make the best of their actual experience on campus.
The Menlo Coaching process is accordingly focused on the long term: not only getting in, but thinking hard about what the client actually wants and how to help them thrive in university and beyond. An extended engagement in which the boys could really open up and think through their preferences in depth was a boon to this process.
It also allowed them to brainstorm and work on projects they wanted to undertake. The goal was again twofold: personal development opportunities that would not only boost the twins’ profiles for their eventual applications but help them explore the different paths and opportunities open to them.
Every high schooler has different needs when it comes to their college application journey, from figuring out what they want from their college experience to strategizing how to optimize their application to a specific school.
Alice and Leslie are experts in adapting themselves to the needs of individual students: those who begin the process with a strong idea of what they want and just need the right advice on getting there, and those who start out more reticent or uncertain, in need of direction and exploration as much as practical guidance.
Arjun’s goal was well established from the start: He wanted to study business, and he had a strong idea of the schools he wanted to apply to. The coaching was about strategizing the best way to reach those goals, understanding which schools would be the best fit and how to put together the strongest possible application package for them.
Aditya had a less defined path, so the coaching work in his case was more about brainstorming, understanding his interests, likes and dislikes, and helping him find a place where he would thrive. Alice encouraged Aditya to reach out directly to students at different colleges to get a clear understanding of what the experience was really like, helping him find the path that was right for him.
For Avni and Amish, it was essential to have the right level of involvement in the process—having visibility on what was being discussed, worked on, and planned without needing to be involved in every conversation or feeling micromanaged. The Menlo Coaching process struck the right balance: “We knew where the boys were every step of the way.”
Menlo Coaching’s project management platform offers detailed insight into current progress and planning, which provided a way for Aditya and Arjun to communicate and plan out the process with Alice and Leslie, as well as for their parents to keep track of what was going on.
Without ever constraining the boys with overly rigid schedules, Alice and Leslie laid out a roadmap from the start of the process: how regularly they would check in with the boys and their parents, what they’d be focusing on at different times, periods when the work would be more or less intensive.
Both Aditya and Arjun earned admissions results their parents describe as “phenomenal.” But the process goes beyond just acceptance: “Alice and Leslie also helped them to gain confidence along the way and think about what they wanted out of their college experience. And I think this was very important, not only for us, but for the boys.”
You can learn more about our College Admissions Consulting service here.