College Zoom's Mission & Team
See The Rubric Behind the Admissions Desk
Contradictory opinions exist within the same admissions office.
Colleges use scoring rubrics to build consensus on your teen’s fate.
Every "Miracle" College Acceptance Had to Win a Consensus
Top Students Get Rejected—by Consensus Too
"Miracle students" have lower grades, test scores, no outwardly special hooks and still get into their dream colleges over peers with better academic qualifications. While their classmates describe them as "only average," one top-20 college admissions director described them as "too good of a fit to turn away." Miracle acceptances reveal a college’s true bar of admission.
A Data-backed, USC Funded Methodology
Powering 47 Overturned Rejections on Appeal Since 2020
Why Deserving Students Get Denied
Ambitious teens chase "more," but after the bar of capability is cleared, the goalposts move to reward "best fit"—that's the true bar of admission. Equally qualified applicants, wildly different outcomes? The 'better fit' won.
"Miracle" College Acceptances Are Predictable
Our repeated success with miracle admits led to University of Southern California funding in 2012 to design a program for school counselors. It helped students find and portray their own version of "best fit" using 100% of their college application.

Ahead of Trends
- •Anti-Asian Bias (2009-2023): Before the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, we helped Asians get Ivy+ acceptances by aligning with rubrics, not culture.
- •Harvard's Turning the Tide Reports on College Admissions (2016, '22, '26): We were already applying the recommendations of all reports four years before the first one.
- •Extracurricular Trends: Ignore them. Rubrics haven't changed in 30+ years. Even in crowded activities and common roles, how your teen "plays" differently scores high.
At Times, We've Set Trends
- •USC Counselors Conference (2017): We taught 300 school and independent counselors how to strategize 100% of your teen's college application, beyond the essays (40%).
- •UC Application (2019): We successfully petitioned the UC app to enable bullet-point formatting in its activity summary for enhanced readability.
- •True Early Advantage (2017 - Present): We determine if applying early vs regular delivers your teen's best odds by cleaning inflated early decision data.
Our Research-Forward Team

A’Lira Underwood
9 years of service

David Reynaldo
17 years of service
College Zoom is Los Angeles's #1 ranked college counseling service (Yelp). We're experts in elite college admissions throughout the U.S. and our success rate is the best nationwide. Smarter decisions, smarter outcomes.™ More.
Aisa Castro
9 years of service

Adam Kronenberger
6 years of service

Adya Mohanty
5 years of service

Riley Darrough
3 years of service

Wendy Liu
6 years of service

Griffin Damron
9 years of service

Julia Haffie
3 years of service

Preston Walker
3 years of service
The Perfect Bridge Between Generations
Magnetism ⬩ Honesty ⬩ Role-modeling ⬩ Skill
70 Years of Combined College Admissions Expertise
In 2009, I, like you, envisioned a team of former, elite college admissions officers managing your teen's success. It seemed like the obvious choice. I quickly learned, however, that admissions office experience doesn't equate to mentoring talent, persuasive writing ability, or a magnetic personality—the exact qualities necessary for guiding teens to the success rate we're known for. While we interview former admissions officers every hiring cycle, not one has passed our talent-based interview in seventeen years. How do we succeed instead? By fostering close relations with admissions officers, directors, and deans, through NACAC and WACAC for macro insights where it counts, and deploying proven talent for your teen's day-to-day journey where it's felt most.
Your teen's success is 10% inspiration, 90% execution. We nurture both.
— David Reynaldo, Founder

Ignore Conventional Wisdom That Flattens Your Teen
“My expectations were very low. I said, really, what are you going to do that the college counselor at my daughter's private high school could not? [Editor's note: Windward School is currently ranked #2 in Los Angeles by Niche]. But you presented a novel point of view, one that had not occurred to the other professionals. Then you accomplished two years worth of therapy in an hour, pulling everything out of her and getting it onto the page. I was impressed!”
— Gita Rosenwald, Daughter rescued from Vassar College's waitlist, Class of 2016
5% waitlist admit rate★★★★★
We guided a student to write about her ex-boyfriend—a topic her USC regional admissions officer ridiculed as the “absolute worst ever.” Despite the bias, our methodology identified that narrative's merit as her strongest case for "best fit." The student was accepted with a 27 ACT score, significantly below USC's competitive threshold. Two years later, at a NACAC conference, the same USC officer confirmed she not only remembered the essay but it made her cry.
“We did more in 2 hours than I did in 40 meetings with a college consultant who charges $200/hr.”
— Jessica G., USC Appellant
★★★★★
“I paid [a well known college consultancy in New York] $1,000 for a one hour session and nothing was produced from that meeting. It was clear to me that they were doing a formulaic job. What they were offering was search engine optimization for college admissions: taking well-known facts about me, spinning and positioning them throughout the application. When I approached College Zoom, I thought they’d help me come up with some essay topics, potentially edit and proof read them, and say, “Thank you very much, here’s your invoice.” Instead, the service I got demonstrated more attention to detail, care, and concern about me, and my application, than I ever could have imagined…”
— Steve, Claremont McKenna College, Class of 2014
9.4% acceptance rate★★★★★
“You strengthened the skills that all parents want to see in our 18 year olds, especially the maturity — and it appeared to be in a fun and enjoyable way. That’s something I didn’t expect at all when I placed the call to you. Even I was inspired.”
— Lauren White, Parent, Son attended USC, Class of 2017
★★★★★







