A Historic Breakthrough
In 2012, we won development funding from the University of Southern California to develop results-oriented college counseling methodology. After innovating methods that ethically lifted students with lower grades and SAT/ACT scores into highly selective colleges—and gave all students a measurable advantage—we became the only independent college consultants USC has ever invited to present a series of workshops alongside its admissions office.
How We Decoded College Admissions
We studied “Miracle students.” They have lower grades, test scores, no outwardly special hooks, and still get into their dream colleges over peers with better academic qualifications. While classmates describe them as “only average,” one admissions officer described their applications as "too good of a fit to turn away."
Expert Opinions Provided For:
How We Influence Outcomes
We've spoken with admissions deans, directors, officers and still conduct proprietary research to develop smarter strategies, including our proprietary version of the most demanding evaluation rubrics used by admissions offices. Four years before Harvard's Turning the Tide study on the future of college admissions, we'd already predicted and were applying its recommendations. In 2019, we successfully lobbied the University of California application to enable bullet point formatting in its activities summary. We're ahead of trends; at times we set them.
Our Team
16 Years of Magic
In 2009, my business plan for College Zoom envisioned a team of former admissions officers driving our success. I quickly learned that admissions office pedigree isn't equivalent to impressive teaching or persuasive writing ability. As it turns out, a former admissions officer has yet to pass our first-round, skills test interview.
Guided by admissions directors, I studied their decisions after being awed by students who didn't satisfy their expressed standards yet still got accepted. After exhaustive research and statistical analysis, I identified the lowest competitive thresholds for key admission criteria, past which students truly became non-viable—but, above which they could still be accepted with below-average credentials. By reinterpreting the evaluation rubrics used by admissions offices with this data, I constructed a model that explained—and then accurately predicted—miracle acceptances, top student rejections, and all outcomes in between.
This unprecedented insight made our personalized admissions strategies highly actionable for any student. By using the answer key, we made the process of bridging their gaps clear and unambiguous. Our precise, targeted goals avoided burnout while leading families past unclear and inconsistent advice they'd gotten from official sources. We also perfected an entire college application writing methodology and system—covering essays and all application materials—for holistically maximizing evaluation scores. Our students surpassed those guided by more expensive competitors; we even achieved breakthroughs with students others deemed hopeless.
Nevertheless, our expertise is only as effective as a student's commitment to follow through. That's why our 96.5% success rate is powered equally by both our insight and our ability to mentor teenagers beyond the instincts of youth that lead to mediocrity. Our 16-year history of mentoring success is your success, and vice versa. We help students adopt the mindsets necessary to unlock their inner heroes and achieve standout successes in their own ways.
Beyond admissions coaching: we activate greater success in life.
Our entire service experience is designed for this higher purpose.
— David Reynaldo, Founder

A’Lira Underwood

David Reynaldo


Aisa Castro

Jackson Burgess

Adam Kronenberger

Wendy Liu

Ezra Li

Riley Darrough

Julia Haffie

Luryn John-Miller

Preston Walker

Griffin Damron

Adya Mohanty
The Perfect Bridge Between Generations
Rapport ⬩ Role-modeling ⬩ Trust ⬩ Skill

To uphold our highest standards, we're all in-house, W2 employees of College Zoom. We never outsource any part of your counseling to contractors. We have prioritized slow growth and promotion from within, valuing the perfection of our client experience and each employee's legacy over fast profits or rapid expansion.