Your Expert, Guide, Cheerleader, Friend

Aaron is a PhD candidate at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine, pursuing research projects in cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology. He graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and has worked as a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. Aaron discovered his passion for mentorship at SBU when he ran and supervised a college admissions mentorship program for high school students in New York City.

While at Stony Brook, Aaron served as a writing mentor and was elected President of the university’s undergraduate research journal. In this position, he supervised and trained incoming editors and writers. Aaron’s writing has led to publications in high-impact journals and a research grant from the American Heart Association as a principal investigator. As a coach, Aaron excels at helping QRI students develop strong writing, interviewing, research planning, and management skills to help them successfully execute their research projects. Aaron encourages his mentees to pave their paths, creating their own opportunities through research.

Adam has a Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University, graduating cum laude of his class. Before receiving his Bachelor’s degree, Adam participated in NYU’s Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Public Service (FELPS) Program. 

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Adam understands that the college application process can be daunting. Through working with college applicants, he has seen how much support, structure, and guidance can alleviate that stress. Adam is passionate about sharing his experiences to enable applicants to overcome the overwhelming feelings that can come with the application process. He is committed to giving Quad students the space to get excited about their postsecondary prospects and channel that energy into personal reflection, exploration, and developing strong, well-rounded applications. He finds it rewarding to be able to assist others in achieving their goals and putting themselves on a path toward future success.

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Adam has formally coached countless students through the college application process, helping students with personal statements, supplementary essays, scholarship applications, and school selection. Having worked closely with students from underprivileged neighborhoods and first-generation college students, he is well-versed in supporting students and their family members in navigating and demystifying the college application process. With almost ten years of experience, Adam has helped students gain acceptance into Cornell University, Brown University, George Washington University, and New York University. 

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As a coach, Adam excels at active listening and asking questions that help students get a deeper understanding of their challenges throughout the application process. He loves helping students brainstorm and organize their thoughts for personal statements, break down large goals into smaller milestones, and develop application timelines with clear expectations. Adam understands different stakeholder perspectives (parents, family members, students, school counselors, etc.) and helps collaboratively foster alignment to identify the necessary steps for a student’s success.

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Adam aims to support the individual needs of each student he has the opportunity to work with. He ensures that Quad students feel confident, excited, and proud about the applications they submit and the programs they target. He is excited to provide this support in collaboration and aligned partnership with parents and family members throughout the process.

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When Adam isn’t coaching, he enjoys running, hiking, and reading fiction.

Aimee joins the Quad Education team with almost a decade of experience in highly-selective college admissions and college counseling. She began her career in admissions at her alma mater, Colby College, where she read thousands of applications and advocated for students throughout the reading and committee process. In addition to application reading, her work in admissions ranged from coordinating fly-in programs and events for inclusion and equity weekends, managing tour guides and Diversity Associates, and serving as a member of the athletic recruitment committee. As an admissions officer, she prioritized evaluating each student as an individual and seeing the value in each applicant's accomplishments and experiences.

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Aimee's time in admissions sparked her passion for working more closely with students and families and serving as a mentor through the college application process. She has spent the last six years working for the Schuler Scholar Program, a non-profit organization that provides students the necessary preparation to gain access to and succeed at highly-selective colleges and universities. She spent her first four years in the program as a college counselor, creating academic and course selection plans for students, leading them through their college research process, and working closely with them on each aspect of their college applications. Through her strong understanding of and performance in this work, she was promoted to Assistant Director of College Counseling, where she currently manages and mentors a region of college counselors and serves as a regional consultant and expert on the college application process. 

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Aimee has a deep understanding of the criteria and nuances of private, highly-selective admissions, including small liberal arts schools and larger research institutions across the country. She has also served on athletic recruitment committees and gone through DIII recruitment herself as a college athlete, so she is well-versed in the recruitment process for prospective athletes. Her career has been dedicated to helping students and families from various backgrounds find the best-fit college for them and preparing them each step of the way. While Aimee's New England roots provide her with a straightforward approach to work and communication, she has also adopted the Midwest kindness from her time in Chicago and Illinois. She genuinely enjoys building relationships and better understanding the needs of those she works with and helping them achieve the goals they set for themselves.

Alana has a Bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a Master’s from Yale, where she is pursuing her PhD. She has served as a Scholarship Application Advisor at Yale as well as a Writing Tutor for three years. As a tutor, Alana helped dozens of students prepare application essays for graduate school, prestigious fellowships, and competitive internships. She also assisted students through planning their application process by making schedules and deadlines for them, editing their essays, and helping them brainstorm about big topics and future plans.

Alana is passionate about helping applicants discover and express their authentic selves to admissions committees. She believes that applying to college is a process of self-discovery and professional decision-making that can be exciting and enjoyable. Alana’s favorite part of the admission process is helping students choose which schools to apply to and helping them write their personal statements. She believes this essay is a challenging but incredibly rewarding document that allows students to dive deep into the aspect of their personality and skill set they care about most. This process should be exciting and even enjoyable, and Alana is excited to help students get it done and get it done well.  

As a coach, Alana specializes in planning and managing the application process by creating schedules and deadlines tailored to each student's unique needs, aspirations, and plans. Alana is flexible and works with students’ schedules to ensure they receive personalized attention and guidance throughout the application process. She enjoys guiding students and helping them showcase their personalities, skills, and aspirations.

Her greatest strengths as a coach are her enthusiasm, genuine care for students’ futures, and her detail-oriented nature. She conducts thorough research and planning to ensure that her students and their families feel supported throughout the application process. Alana genuinely enjoys helping applicants edit and brainstorm writing assignments, research schools and programs, and make schedules.

When she's not coaching, Alana loves to run with her dog, go antique shopping, embroider, read, take barre and spinning classes, hike, and garden.

Alexander has a Bachelor's in Business Administration from George Washington University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is passionate about helping students reach their goals while prompting them to learn more about what makes them unique candidates for any school or program. Most recently, Alexander's coached students have gotten into Harvard, Princeton, Georgetown, Yale, UC Berkeley, and other top schools.

Having been a college athlete, Alexander is intimately familiar with the recruitment process for athletes at selective colleges. Alexander also has extensive mentorship and coaching experience in a higher education setting. He held a leadership position as a counselor in the university writing center at GWU, where he was responsible for coaching dozens of students on how to write compelling essays. Additionally, at Columbia, Alexander has been an interview counselor, which has helped him understand how students can best position their academic and extra-curricular experiences.

Alexander also specializes in helping middle school and high school candidates build strong profiles for college applications. In the past, Alexander has worked with Lemonaid, an organization in Washington, DC, that helped middle school and high school students start businesses, which turned into passion projects that they could write about when applying to college.

In his free time, Alexander is an avid cyclist, swimmer, skier, surfer, and Bay Area sports fan. He is a former collegiate water polo player. He also enjoys reading - especially the New Yorker - and doing the NYT crossword (and now Wordle!).

Amethyst has earned a Bachelor's degree from Columbia University and a Master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She served as an Alumni Representative Committee Member at Columbia, conducting interviews and writing reports for Columbia University applicants. She has also taught and advised at high schools and coached many college applicants applying to top-tier schools. Additionally, Amethyst has extensive experience reading college application essays as an academic writing teacher.

For Amethyst, college was a landscape of great opportunity. She was a small-town girl from Kansas who could live in the beauty of New York City for four years. She feels lucky to have experienced so many beautiful moments through her undergraduate years. Amethyst wouldn't have been exposed to the opportunities that have followed without the support of knowledgeable and caring coaches who guided her through a complicated process. She is excited to help students on this journey and be one of the many keys that can help unlock doors to a bright future.

Amethyst's greatest strengths as a coach are her dedication to learning about students holistically and helping them find their passions, not just for an application or even four years, but for life. She listens deeply and cares about the impact students hope to have on the world. As a coach, she is excited to guide students as they discover their unique strengths and interests. 

Amethyst has learned that when it comes to college admissions, universities are looking for intellectually curious students who will contribute to the community, have clear values and interests, and are a good fit for the school. Amethyst understands the importance of identifying these unknown institutional priorities and helping students showcase their best selves.

In her free time, Amethyst loves to stay active with yoga, dancing, cycling, and hiking in Colorado. She also enjoys reading, painting, blasting music, and spending time with her little cousins.

Amre has a BA from the University of Michigan (where he was a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey) and a JD from Harvard Law School. He is a practicing lawyer, researcher, and writer interested in international human rights law, law and technology, and online privacy and censorship issues. Previously, he was Head of Policy at Clubhouse and worked in content policy for violent extremism and graphic violence at YouTube. 

Amre discovered his passion for academic coaching through his experience teaching and tutoring students. He came to appreciate how fun and rewarding it was to play a part in helping students to achieve their dreams. He enjoys seeing students, often for the first time, actually voice what drives them, excites them, and even scares them. Amre believes the best part of his job as a coach is to not only help students express themselves but translate those feelings into stellar application materials. 

One of Amre's notable strengths is his ability to help students shape the narratives they wish to convey in their applications. He excels at guiding individuals in telling their unique stories, crafting compelling essays, providing unwavering encouragement, and simplifying the application process into manageable steps with clear objectives to ensure accountability.

For students aspiring to Ivy League institutions, Amre offers valuable insights based on his own journey at Harvard and his profound understanding of the requirements for top colleges. 

When he’s not coaching, Amre loves traveling and working on his own creative writing.

Andy has a Master’s degree from UC Irvine and has over a decade of experience in SAT, ACT, and GRE tutoring. Andy loves to see learners push themselves out of their comfort zones and gain the confidence to reach their goals. In working with students of all backgrounds and abilities, from first-generation students to children of Ivy League alumni, their favorite tutoring moments are when candidates spot patterns in tests and therefore realize they have the skills to ace the ACT or SAT. This is why Andy focuses on strategy first, personalizing each learning plan to the candidate's unique strengths and goals.

Andy is passionate about helping students understand different ways to approach a problem or understand a concept - there's never one right way because everyone learns differently. They are  skilled at helping students spot the differences between what they learned in classes at school and what to pay attention to on a standardized test. Andy also likes creating graphic organizers and other tools to help applicants stay organized and break the work down visually. Nothing makes them happier than congratulating a graduating senior – especially one who was nervous at the beginning of the school year – and seeing the excitement in their eyes when they talk about what's ahead of them.

Andy's greatest strengths as a tutor include empathizing with students, respecting their learning styles, and developing customized tools and strategies to help applicants stay organized and focused. Andy has helped students gain acceptance to several prestigious schools, including UC Berkeley, UCLA, NYU, and Northwestern University.

Outside of their work, Andy enjoys walking around Los Angeles, learning about local history, reading, and watching horror movies.

Angela has a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Arizona College of Public Health. She is also a Licensed Education Specialist from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. She has five years of experience working as a special education teacher in a self-contained classroom, catering to students with various learning differences in Los Angeles. Angela also has experience teaching English to students in grades six to eight, skillfully bridging literacy gaps using data-driven curricular decision-making.

Angela's passion for tutoring stems from the critical post-COVID era we find ourselves in. She believes this is a unique opportunity to build better strategies for education, and tutoring allows her to assess and develop those strategies individually, one student at a time. Her enthusiasm to engage with each student and embark on this ground-breaking journey together is truly infectious.

One of Angela's greatest joys lies in working closely with students in small groups and one-on-one settings. She firmly believes that tailoring education to the individual needs of each student leads to endless educational advancements. Building strong relationships with her students and their families is paramount. Her tutoring style revolves around developing personalized strategies that provide academic and social-emotional support to ensure her students' success. Angela firmly believes that education should be enjoyable and engaging, driven by students' interests and passions. She encourages her students to take ownership of their learning journey and fosters a culture of independent, life-long learners.

As a special education teacher, Angela's greatest strengths lie in her creative and multi-modal methods. She is well-versed in universal design principles, providing multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression to meet the diverse needs of her students. Her exceptional track record speaks volumes about her effectiveness as an educator. In her last class of the '22-'23 school year, 80% of her students increased their reading levels, while 75% showed remarkable progress in their writing skills on a 1-4 scale. Angela's individualized approaches, from phonics to grade-level reading comprehension and basic sentence structure to multi-paragraph essays, instill confidence that she has the right approach to help students thrive.

When she's not educating or tutoring, Angela shares her passion for fitness as a CrossFit coach and contributes to fostering rescue dogs. She is an avid novel enthusiast and has recently become a New York City transplant, embracing new experiences and challenges.

With her wealth of experience, dedication to individualized learning, and passion for empowering students, Angela is an ideal tutor to support and inspire students in their educational journey.

Ankita holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Economy from UC Berkeley. Professionally, Ankita has years of experience working at Meta (formerly Facebook) as a Project Manager.

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Ankita feels that one of her greatest strengths as a coach comes from her being an empathetic person. This allows her to form deep bonds and make strong connections with the students she coaches. She understands that the process of applying to college is complicated, so she aims to view the process through the lens of a student, enabling her to be extremely intuned to Quad applicants’ strengths, weaknesses, and goals.

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Ankita’s own experience as a college applicant 10+ years ago motivated her to start coaching candidates. She moved to the Bay Area in the middle of 9th grade and attended one of the top 50 public high schools in the country, an incredibly competitive one. She navigated the challenging college application process herself throughout high school and succeeded. She was admitted to several top schools, including Carnegie Mellon, UCLA, USC (full merit scholarship), and UC Berkeley (which she ended up attending).

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Ankita uses her talents as a Project Manager to manage timelines and break down various parts of the application process into manageable steps. Ankita enjoys helping students craft their stories and narrative for their essays and narrow down which schools they should apply to, given their background.

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In her spare time, Ankita can be found browsing Reddit, investing in the stock market, working out at the gym, and watching Indian movies.

With over twelve years of experience in higher education, Anthony is au fait with the admissions process. Anthony has served as an admissions reader for UC Berkeley. Additionally, he was also an Admissions Counselor at Syracuse University, Assistant Direct of Admissions at University of Richmond, and Assistant Director of Admissions at Earlham College. He has interviewed prospective students, overseen diversity recruitment, and rendered both scholarship and admissions decisions. These experiences have allowed Anthony to gain a strong understanding of what admissions officers are looking for and in turn, what candidates can do to make themselves stand out. 

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As a coach, Anthony strives to empower his students, ensuring they make an informed decision on which college to attend. Anthony is aware of challenges and hurdles in the admissions process and works diligently with students to overcome them. Anthony feels that every student has a unique story to tell and helps students identify their unique strengths and weaknesses, allowing their individual voices to shine through. He loves helping students navigate the entire application process: from building college lists to crafting personal statements to preparing for the interview, Anthony’s goal is to be with Quad applicants every step of the way.

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Outside of Quad, Anthony enjoys singing, playing piano, and traveling. 

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Anthony’s Pro Tip? 

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You must constantly learn and unpack the things that prevent you from succeeding.

April has a Bachelor's degree in Film and Media Studies from Yale University and a Master's degree in Film Directing from Brooklyn College. Professionally, April has experience as a playwright, phylogenetic researcher, video artist, documentary filmmaker, and teacher.

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April believes that a great coach is both a role model for and an ardent supporter of their students, a north star of both focus and big-picture thinking during a demanding period in students' lives. April is passionate about using her narrative insight as a filmmaker to help college applicants find and communicate their sense of purpose in the world to specific audiences: in this case, the college of their dreams. April has coached hundreds of students over the past five years, and her passion is to guide them toward educational experiences that will be challenging, formative, and a good fit for their life purposes. College is no exception!

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April's greatest strength as a coach is helping students identify and compellingly represent their strengths through essay writing and the interview process. She begins with the big picture of the whole student - their strengths and what they have to give to the college community and the world - and structure the application prep process from there, bringing focus and clarity to the small, important details that go into a successful application.

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When April isn't coaching, she loves to cook, discover new and old music, play and write songs on the guitar, go hiking, and research how movies are made.

Arielle has earned a Master's and PhD from Brown University. She has firsthand knowledge of the admissions process as she served on the admissions committees for the Neuroscience Graduate Program and the National Institutes of Health Graduate Partnership Program at Brown. In these roles, she recruited applicants, read applications, organized recruitment weekends, interviewed applicants, and helped make admissions decisions. Arielle has also worked as an Assistant Professor at Rhode Island College and as Assistant Director of Research Integrity at Brown University.

Arielle's passion for coaching college applicants stems from the belief that the college a student attends can change the trajectory of their life. She finds it a privilege to help students discover and get accepted to their dream schools to maximize their future success and happiness.

Arielle enjoys working with undergraduate and graduate school applicants to finalize their college lists, edit essays and resumes, prepare for interviews, and explore college majors. She has extensive experience writing college recommendation letters and knows how to approach potential referrals best. 

Through her experience in admissions, Arielle has learned the importance of being unique and authentic in the application process. She advises students to indicate why a specific school is a good match for them, displaying their interest and intent to attend if accepted.

Students Arielle has recently coached have gotten accepted into several prestigious colleges, including Brown University, Harvard University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University.

When she isn't working, Arielle enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and children.

Arthur is a graduate of Brown University, where he studied Biomedical Engineering. A life-long tutor, he is extremely passionate about coaching college applicants. Arthur believes that every applicant has a purpose and that everyone is the best at something. Arthur's passion for coaching stems from his belief that everyone can find their path if given enough and the right information to make an educated decision about what's right for them. He is excited to commit himself to doing just that for potential college applicants.

Professionally, Arthur has a background as a management consultant. In this capacity, he has advised and coached C-suite executives at some of the world's most prestigious companies on how to make critical decisions. He has also worked as a coach for the Talented Student Program at The Wheeler School, where he worked with students to figure out their passions, which would become the foundations of their college applications.

Arthur's greatest strengths as a coach are organization, communication, and marketing. As an empathetic and knowledgeable person, he finds it rewarding and enjoyable to chat with people to get them to open up and find their passion. Arthur emphasizes open communication and dialogue when working with candidates. From what schools to pick as reaches, matches, and safeties to identifying the core strengths of an applicant, Arthur believes that open communication and trust are the first steps to getting them where they need to be. On top of his communication skills, Arthur loves helping candidates stay extremely organized through detailed and specific project plans. Lastly, as a consultant, Arthur has honed his marketing skills, which are critical in framing the applicant in the right way to the right college.

Candidates that Arthur has recently coached have gotten accepted to Brown University, Stanford University, Northeastern University, and Boston University, among other top schools.

In his free time, Arthur enjoys long walks and going to the theater. As a transplant New Yorker, he loves the proximity to Broadway, where he enjoys getting exposed to new musicals. As a musician and actor in college, Arthur also enjoys making music and jamming out with friends.

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Ashley attended Washington University in St. Louis, where she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, Mathematics, and Economics. Ashley strongly believes in making education more accessible to all, which sparked her desire to coach college applicants.

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Professionally, Ashley has worked at Google. In this capacity, she has consulted with C-suite executives, agencies, and marketing directors to assess marketing goals, analyze campaign performance, and pitch new brand, targeting, and campaign initiatives.

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Ashley understands how daunting the college admission process can be. Still, she feels the benefits of having a world-class higher education, from networking and personal self-actualization to post-college earning potential, are immense. For this reason, Ashley strives to help relieve stress and make the application process as smooth as possible.

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Ashley’s greatest strengths as a coach are delivering a customized approach to uncovering candidates’ strengths, helping to compile a balanced list of universities, and making meaningful contributions to the essay-writing process.

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Candidates that Ashley has recently coached have gotten accepted at several top-tier colleges, including UPenn, Washington University in St. Louis, Rice University, and Duke University.

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Ashley is a huge Formula 1 fan, so you can always find her watching live races or highlights when she’s not coaching. She also loves traveling and painting!

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Ashley’s Pro Tip?

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Be sure to share your authentic self beyond your GPA and test scores and ask insightful questions to express genuine interest in the respective school/program.

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Chad has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a minor in Cognitive Science from UCLA. Chad has worked in UCLA’s transfer admissions,  reviewing transfer requirements, applications, and personal statements. Professional, Chad has worked as a Market Research Manager at a large marketing firm and as a Senior Consulting Analyst at Mercer.

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After going through cancer and being homeschooled his senior year of high school, Chad started at community college before transferring to his dream school, UCLA. This experience made him realize how invaluable it was to have mentors help him navigate the application process and is what led him down the path of mentoring college applicants.

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What Chad loves most about coaching is helping students achieve their goals and become the best version of themselves. Chad believes that entering college is a pivotal moment for students, being a stepping stone into the adult world. It’s there that they’ll create lasting experiences, learn more about themselves, and discover their career path. Chad is keen to make an impact and help guide students along their journey.

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As a coach, Chad is skilled in creating timelines and breaking down the application process into manageable steps. He also understands that it can be challenging for students to describe their personality, strengths, or career goals in their applications. Chad’s strong interpersonal skills and extroverted personality allow him to easily connect with students, providing a friendly and comfortable setting to allow for introspection.

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Students that Chad has recently coached have gotten accepted at several top universities, including UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Cornell University.

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In his free time, Chad can be found lifting weights at the gym or, as an avid traveler, visiting a new place. He loves to listen to music, particularly EDM and Hip-Hop, and frequently goes to festivals such as Coachella and EDC. He enjoys watching basketball, football, and movies, particularly film franchises and thrillers.

Chad’s Pro Tip?

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Having the grades shows that you are studious, but having strong extracurriculars demonstrates your interests and passions outside the classroom. Admissions officers love well-rounded individuals.

Charles has a Bachelor of Science from Mercer University and received his MS and PhD from Texas A&M University. He has over 12 years of experience serving as a mentor and advisor for students in research and academia. 

Charles is presently a university professor, research consultant, and tech advisor. He has worked with students from various backgrounds, from high school to entry-level college students, graduate students, and working professionals. Students that Charles has worked with have gone on to attend various prestigious colleges and universities, with many pursuing careers within the tech sector.

Charles is passionate about helping others realize the beauty of learning and science. He looks forward to the opportunity to work with any young scholars seeking the guidance of another young, experienced researcher. 

Charles' coaching approach is rooted in his belief that an effective mentor understands the significance of building strong relationships with their mentees. He feels it is essential to take the time to get to know mentees by learning about their strengths and weaknesses and understanding their goals and aspirations. This approach allows him to tailor his coaching and advice to the unique needs of each mentee, providing the support and guidance they need to succeed. 

As a QRI mentor, Charles understands the importance of fostering growth and development in mentees. He helps students achieve growth by providing constructive feedback, encouraging self-reflection, offering guidance and support, creating a safe and supportive environment, and celebrating successes. Charles believes that offering specific feedback on strengths and areas for improvement can help students develop a deeper understanding of their abilities and areas where they can improve. By asking thoughtful questions, listening actively, and guiding students to reflect on their experiences, he helps them gain new insights into their strengths, weaknesses, and goals.

Charles hopes to instill in QRI students a lifelong love of learning and a constant desire to improve and grow. By doing so, they can succeed in anything they set their minds to.

Claudia holds a Bachelor’s from UCLA and a Master’s from Georgetown University. She has been a professional SAT/ACT tutor for almost 10 years. Students she has tutored have gone on to attend several top-tier universities, including UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Georgetown, Princeton, Columbia, and Yale. 

Professionally, Claudia is a Clinical Research Consultant for the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In this role, she embarks on various projects with her team so that up-and-coming medications and scientific devices can enter the market. Despite having a fulfilling career in research, Claudia dedicates time to education because she wants to nurture academic interests in young students.

In college, Claudia discovered her love for traveling. She studied abroad in England for two months and then backpacked through various European countries for a month. She also volunteered in Guatemala to provide medical care for the local community, where she discovered that she would like to pursue healthcare as a career.

As a tutor, Claudia is personable and friendly. She prioritizes establishing a relationship with her students and believes a good relationship between the tutor, student, and parent/guardian is necessary for trust and effective communication. She understands that each individual is unique, so she adjusts her teaching methods to accommodate each student.

Outside of her academic and professional pursuits, Claudia spends most of her time exploring the outdoors, discovering great restaurants, practicing yoga, playing the piano/guitar/saxophone, reading fiction novels, or watching anime. She is always looking for new anime to watch, so if you have recommendations, let her know!

Dahlila received her Bachelor of Arts from UCLA. Following her undergraduate degree, she pursued a Master’s in Higher Education Administration and Organizational Structure and Counseling at Boston College, where she held a position as a Admissions Counselor and an Admissions and Financial Aid Assistant.

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Dahlila has since acted as an admissions counselor for top universities in the United States, namely the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, and UCLA. In addition to coaching and counseling prospective students, Dahlila has played an integral part in creating rules, regulations, and best practices in undergraduate and graduate admissions across various departments and fields of study. With her experience, she has coached college applicants formally and informally, gaining her students admission into UCLA, Columbia University, and New York University, among others.

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Through her close participation in college admissions, she understands the value of excellent storytelling and views the college admissions process as a time of self-inquiry and exploration. Dahlila is passionate about helping students, parents, and families through this process. She believes this is a transformational period in a person’s life that allows them to truly evaluate what they want from higher education while simultaneously creating a vision for their futures.

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As a coach, Dahlila has a great ability to listen and give detailed, streamlined feedback based on desired outcomes, particularly as it relates to writing and personal statement essays. Knowing the value of having a message within the application process, she helps her Quad students skillfully develop and craft their stories. Dahlila’s greatest strength is helping her students see the greatness already within them, allowing them to build a narrative that genuinely and impactfully reflects who they are during the admissions process.

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In her spare time, Dahlila loves writing short stories and composing music. She is also deeply passionate about neuroscience, space, and metaphysics.

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Dahlila’s Pro Tip?

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The ability of a student to tell a story is one of the most captivating keys to the admissions process. Admission counselors read hundreds to thousands of applications during the season, many of which are the same. A reviewer can tell if an applicant is different from the rest within seconds, so being able to capture a reviewer’s attention authentically is a special skill not just in college but in life.

Dan is a graduate of Stanford University, where he obtained his MBA. He has several years of professional experience in the education sector as an admissions coach, technologist, and teacher. Dan spent 6 years on Google’s education team, where he built tools used by thousands of schools across the country.

Dan also has extensive experience helping college candidates get into their dream schools. Dan likes to use the power of coactive coaching to help Quad applicants uncover their top strengths so they can craft engaging stories that highlight those strengths in a compelling way. He is a big appreciator of the value of authenticity and helps students reflect, turning seemingly small moments into memorable anecdotes. Above all, Dan is focused on using the problem-action-impact framework to make every word of students’ application materials count.

Candidates that Dan has recently coached have been accepted to Stanford University, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, UC Berkeley, and UCLA, among other top schools.

With a passion for continuous learning, Dan finds himself glued to ‘The Great Courses’ when he isn't coaching students. He is also an outdoor enthusiast, regularly running, hiking, mountain biking, and camping.

Dan’s Pro Tip?

Sometimes it seems counterintuitive, but a humble awareness of your shortcomings can be one of your most endearing traits.

Danielle earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before completing a Master of Science in Education at the University of Pennsylvania. She has a wealth of experience guiding students through the college application and financial aid process. She has served as a college adviser at UNC, an Assistant Director of the North Mississippi Get2College Center, and as an Assistant Director at Furman University. Additionally, she has served as a program director at the University of Virginia, Director of College Placement at Ursuline Academy, and is currently a Director of College Counseling at Metairie Park Country Day School.

Throughout her career, Danielle has guided over 600 students through the admissions process, helping them gain acceptance to prestigious schools like UNC, Duke University, Princeton University, Vanderbilt University, and Stanford University. Her passion for coaching stems from the excitement students feel when they discover their perfect fit colleges or receive admission decisions. Danielle believes everyone deserves access to higher education and enjoys being a part of opening that door.

Taking a student-centered approach, Danielle learns everything she can about students’ interests and goals. With experience working with students from diverse backgrounds, she knows how to channel any interests and strengths into compelling application narratives. She aims to be a steadfast partner throughout the process, answering all questions and avoiding or mitigating any roadblocks along the way. She also celebrates every win, big or small, and reminds students of the "why" to keep them on track through challenges.

In her free time, Danielle enjoys watching reality TV, traveling, spending time with family and friends, exploring the food and music scene in New Orleans, and reading. She has set a goal to read a book a month!

Darryl acquired nearly 20 years of experience working in college admissions before leading a successful college counseling office for an independent secondary school for the past 12 years. Previously Darryl was Senior Associate Director of Admissions at Tufts University, where he gained valuable insight into the world of highly selective college admissions. Darryl began his career at Union College (NY), his alma mater, in 1992, where he started as an admissions counselor and rose to the leadership role of Associate Dean.

Darryl has nationally recognized expertise and industry insights in every aspect of the college admission process. He has been featured in several admissions publications throughout his career, including the NY Times best-selling book, “Who Gets in and Why.” Darryl has an extensive network of college admissions professionals with whom he continually collaborates.

He has sat in on admissions selection for various highly selective institutions, including colleges in the Ivy League and NESCAC, like Dartmouth College and Middlebury College. Darryl has also served on selection committees for prestigious scholarships at Davidson College and Lafayette College. He regularly trains new admissions professionals and conducts presentations and workshops for organizations, including The College Board and the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

At Quad, Darryl is passionate about sharing his knowledge to make the college admission process more accessible and less mysterious. He has a special interest in how the admission process is perceived from the student and parent perspective and is known for putting families at ease.

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Dominique has served on the admissions team at Dartmouth College. She is also a graduate of Dartmouth, where she studied Anthropology and Hispanic Studies. In the past, Dominique has worked with the Dartmouth admissions office on initiatives to give insights to prospective students and families insight into the opportunities available at the school and what the campus culture was like. She has also served as an interviewer for the college, conducting interviews of undergraduate applicants and then rating students, submitting reports about their character, academic and extracurricular engagement, and overall professionalism, as part of the Admissions Committee's assessments.

Through her work in admissions, Dominique realized the importance of telling a compelling story in the personal statement and developed a solid understanding of all of the important notes that the essay should hit to score highly in all of the different buckets that admissions committees use to score it.

Dominique is deeply passionate about education and has four years of teaching experience. After completing her undergraduate studies at Dartmouth, she was selected for the prestigious Teach for America program.

During her time as a teacher, Dominique also has extensive mentorship experience. She had an advisory group of students that she coached through all four years of high school, helping them choose classes/extracurriculars that make sense for their goals, in addition to helping with SAT prep and editing essays and scholarship applications. She also mentored them on how to choose the best school to attend based on award letters, prestige, major-specific programming, and school culture fit. Dominique enjoys hiking, snowboarding, traveling, and attending concerts in her free time.

As a consultant at Quad and a former admissions committee member at Harvard, Donovan is passionate about helping students from all over the world realize their true potential. One of the most important things he learned through working in admissions is emphasizing depth over breadth. Many incorrectly assume that universities want a well-rounded student, whereas they're actually seeking a well-rounded student body. Informed by this understanding, Donovan helps students demonstrate expertise and develop a focused, cohesive narrative across their applications, which are incredibly important to top-tier schools.

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Donovan also has an in-depth understanding of the importance of school-specificity in each application, as every school values different things. Having produced more U.S. presidents and Nobel Prize winners than any other university, Harvard, for example, tends to place greater weight on leadership qualities among applicants. Adjacent to Palo Alto and in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford values an entrepreneurial spirit and calculated risk-taking more than many schools. Thus, it's imperative that supplemental essays are tailored to a school and its characteristics, something that Donovan is passionate about helping students with.

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As a former varsity collegiate rower recruited to Harvard's heavyweight crew team, Donovan has helped countless students excel in their sport and successfully navigate the athletic recruiting process. He likens his approach to that of a coach and thoroughly enjoys working with ambitious student-athletes. Having pursued cutting-edge STEM research and competitions throughout his career, Donovan likes building passion projects with students and is particularly interested in working with students who want to solve problems using STEM. At Quad, Donovan aims to be an approachable, accessible ally and is more than happy to work with students of all backgrounds.

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In his spare time, Donovan writes screenplays, teleplays, and sketch comedies. He enjoys reading nonfiction psychology books and loves board games like Catan and Monopoly. Apart from this, Donovan hangs out with his bearded dragon and is considering getting a giant breed dog soon.