College Admissions Consulting in Los Angeles, CA

Noel earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MEd from NC State University, an MA from UCLA, and is currently pursuing a PhD from UCLA. Noel worked for the international student office at UNC as an essay reader and liaison for newly admitted students and coached students through the admissions process at UCLA, providing feedback on prospective graduate students’ essays. Students Noel has coached have been accepted to Duke, Emory, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UNC at Chapel Hill, among others. 

Through his experience, Noel learned that admission truly is a holistic process—every part of an essay can make a difference. His experience as an essay reader helped him gain much insight into how important these items can be, especially when serving as "tie-breakers" for students with similar GPAs and test scores. Successful students, from his experience, presented themselves confidently and authentically, grounded in their own unique, specific experiences. Noel has been a writing instructor and coach at UCLA in recent years and excels at helping students develop and present themselves and their accomplishments in a memorable way they can be proud of.

Noel’s passion for coaching stems from his love of celebrating the moments when students achieve the goals they have worked so hard for! He loves to see how students grow during the process, learn new things about themselves, and be able to embrace their strengths along the way, even if the process is stressful. He believes we learn from stress as long as it is managed well; Noel hopes to be a stress mitigator and support system for students. 

Noel takes an assets-based approach to student counseling, which focuses on each individual's strengths and accomplishments rather than what they haven't done. He knows it can be easy for students to compare themselves to others and lose sight during competitive processes like admissions. Noel sees his job, first and foremost, as identifying, developing, and helping students present the strengths they already have in the most effective way possible.

Noel’s greatest strength is his positive and pragmatic outlook. His approach helps students build confidence, leading to tangible results on their final application materials and setting them up for success beyond college. While positive, he understands the many complicated steps required for acceptance in the current highly competitive admissions landscape; Noel breaks down these large tasks into more manageable items for students. He delivers honest and direct feedback to push students to develop themselves and their materials in a healthy way, but one that requires work on both ends of the counseling partnership. 

When he’s not coaching, Noel enjoys cooking, running, and hiking, traveling to new places, practicing language skills (French, Spanish, Italian, and a little Arabic), and watching a wide variety of movies.

Zaid graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from UCLA. He knows firsthand how difficult and stressful the college application process can seem. Zaid is passionate about creating a positive experience for students who want to pursue higher education, allowing them to enjoy the process rather than dread it.

When it comes to coaching, Zaid understands that everyone’s needs are completely different. He tailors his coaching to create a customized experience for Quad applicants and their families. Zaid’s greatest strengths as a coach are teaching parents and students how to manage their time during the application process and helping candidates write their stories through a unique lens. Additionally, Zaid prides himself on his ability to make the application process as worry-free as possible while helping candidates identify the most suitable colleges and programs.

Applicants Zaid has recently coached have gone on to attend several top-tier schools, including Yale University, Harvard University, UCLA, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and Johns Hopkins.

In his free time, Zaid enjoys building cars, gaming, golfing, and going to the gym.

Zaid’s Pro Tip?

The way candidates utilize their experiences to craft a unique story and profile for themselves is of the utmost importance in the application. Candidates who can do this effectively and remain coachable throughout the entire process will have great success in their college careers.

Sarah has a Bachelor’s degree from UCLA. Additionally, she has also served as an admissions reader for UCLA. Through her time reading application documents, she learned that every student is unique and has a story to tell. This experience also gave her insight into what admissions committees look for in prospective applicants.

Sarah has several years of experience helping college aspirants navigate the complex and challenging admissions process. Students that Sarah has coached recently have gotten into UCLA, USC, Berkeley, Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown, Duke, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and Carnegie Mellon, among other top schools.

As a coach, Sarah specializes in helping students find their narratives and voice in their personal statements. She is extremely passionate about guiding students to grow and excel in their academic and career goals, which is her primary motivation as a coach.

In her free time, Sarah enjoys going on scenic hikes with her dog, enjoying a nice warm cup of coffee while completing puzzles, and watching UCLA football, basketball, and gymnastics (Go Bruins!).