University of Southern California Admissions Counseling From Former Admissions Officers

Brennen graduated from the University of Southern California and has earned two Master’s degrees from the University of Denver and University of Washington. He has over three years of experience helping students apply to college, seven years of experience in higher education, and 15 years of tutoring experience. Brennen has helped 500+ students gain acceptance to their dream schools, including prestigious private schools, the Ivies, and the UCs. Of the multiple students Brennan has coached, two went on to become Olympic gold medalists, and three have been drafted to the NFL–he has tutored 10% of USC's NFL draft picks since 2016! Additionally, he is also a member of the invite-only Harvard Business Review's Advisory Council. 

Brennen is passionate about coaching college applicants because he loves helping students reach the next level, meeting students where they are, and helping them achieve their academic goals, no matter what! Brennen enjoys having the opportunity to work with students of all types. Seeing one student apply to Harvard, Pomona, and Yale one day and seeing another student apply to Georgia Tech, USC, and UCLA the next is the joy of being able to help diverse populations. This is one of the main reasons he enjoys working with students worldwide to apply to excellent schools and get great degrees that match them to successful careers.

As a coach, Brennen’s greatest strengths are that he’s kind, encouraging, fun, knowledgeable, and a journeyed consultant. He is currently pursuing his third Master's degree, so he understands the higher education scene extensively and is a West Coast University savant. He has personally taken the GRE, LSAT, and GMAT and has an extensive track record of helping students strengthen skills, applications, profiles, resumes, interview performance, and more.

Outside of coaching, Brennen is an avid music fan and has all the good jams! He also loves reading and writing and has written nine books (mostly academic) since 2012. You can also find Brennen watching and attending sports games and watching funny and informative reels/videos online from content creators who are queer, of color, or have disabilities.

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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.

Cole is a graduate of Stanford University, where he obtained both his Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree. He also obtained a second Master’s at the Yenching Academy of Peking University. 

Cole believes the college application process is an opportunity for students to crystallize what matters to them, what makes them unique, and what they hope to gain from the college experience. While Cole himself was applying to undergrad and grad school, he experienced this self-affirming impact of college applications. Cole understands that applying to college can be stressful. Still, it is also an incredibly exciting time and an amazing opportunity for students to think about what makes them who they are today. Professionally, Cole has worked at some of the most prestigious research institutions in the world, including the Center for Strategic and International Relations in Washington, DC. Currently, he works in tech policy with a focus on AI and other critical and emerging technologies, which allows him to further hone the analytical skills needed to help students identify and accomplish their goals.  

As a coach, Cole enjoys working with applicants to determine the most important 'watershed' moments that have shaped them. His strengths include: helping students incorporate past experiences and demonstrated interests to show, not tell; outlining a clear schedule with deliverables; creating a manageable application process; and creating a warm, welcoming environment in which applicants feel comfortable sharing their worries and concerns. Additionally, Cole prides himself on his ability to empathize and connect with applicants to create a stress-free and open working relationship. Cole looks forward to applying his expertise and advice to help support Quad applicants in this journey!

Students Cole has recently coached have gotten into NYU, Stanford University, McGill University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Emory University.

Cole grew up in the Bay Area in California, the DC area, and Moscow, Russia. English is his native language, but he also speaks and reads Chinese at the intermediate-high level. Cole enjoys cooking, playing basketball, hiking, and listening to podcasts in his free time.

Cole’s Pro Tip?

It’s essential to craft an intentional, revealing, and unique narrative throughout your application that remains absolutely true to who you are and what you have done.