A letter to you, my future students & their families.
My name is Zain Alam. For the past decade, I've helped students find their truest voice to best tell their most resonant story.
I've always been a good storyteller and understood every student's potential to connect with others far beyond what they might imagine. My own journey through American academia is a testament: from public school in Kennesaw, Georgia to Wesleyan University (where I worked in admissions) all the way to graduate studies at Harvard University.
Perhaps an even stronger testament is my track record the past five years: every single one of my students has been admitted to one or more of their top three choices for college. And many have worked with me again for transfer admissions, MFA programs, and other graduate schools including law and business. See below for where they've been admitted.
Very early on, I learnt that what is more important in determining our future than our circumstances alone is the way we narrate these contexts, guiding the story's arc towards our hopes and dreams. With the right words and details, even the least "creative" or "impressive" of students can leave an indelible mark in the minds of admissions readers.
Where have my students been admitted?
- Amherst College
- Barnard College
- Boston College
- Brown University
- Colby College
- Columbia University
- Cornell University
- Duke University
- Emory University
- Georgetown University
- Hamilton College
- Harvard University
- Haverford College
- Johns Hopkins University
- University of Michigan
- Middlebury College
- Northeastern University
- Northwestern University
- NYU
- Occidental College
- Rice University
- RISD
- Tulane University
- UC Berkeley
- UCLA
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Southern California
- Wake Forest University
- Washington University of St. Louis
- Wesleyan University
- And many others, including Bard College, Boston University, Brandeis University, Bucknell University, George Washington University, Lehigh University, The New School, Skidmore College, Syracuse, University of Colorado – Boulder, University of Texas – Austin, Loyola Marymount University, University of Virginia, Wellesley College.
- Select testimonials from students and families are available here. Further references are also available upon request.
I can make that happen with you.
Crucial to my process is establishing trust, listening closely, and working with students as partners rather than dictating what they can or cannot do. I've worked in admissions offices and know that deans can tell by instinct when applications aren't authentic. ✨
It's simple: we each have a story to tell, and I'm here to help you find the strongest way of sharing that with the world.
We're often too focused on just test scores, GPA, and identity markers, stressing needlessly over comparisons to the thousands of others in the applicant pool. College admissions is made of so many moving (and rapidly changing) parts - it's easy to waste time and energy on aspects of the application we have little to no control over.
The resume, activities list, interview, personal statement, and supplementary essays are all just pieces of a bigger jigsaw puzzle.
I'll guide you towards making these puzzle pieces the chapters of your most genuinely felt story.
If you’re here, you probably want to:
- Strategize your child's upcoming course selection and summer experience
- Curate a well-rounded list of 10-15 colleges
- Assemble a resume and activities list that narrates experience and momentum (even if indirect!)
- Brainstorm the memories, ideas, and visions for the future that will make for the most compelling essays
- Have fun with the college application process as a process of finding yourself and your story (it's possible - promise!)
🤝 I tailor my work to what's best for us.
I begin working with students as early as middle school and as late as the summer before senior year (though it's not my preference!). I also work with students for ad-hoc, one-on-one counseling on everything from application strategy to essay editing.
Some of my students speak with me weekly over the summer to review which ideas should be shuffled around for which college's supplementary essays. Others check in with me once a month for higher-level brainstorming or to review a round of revisions to the personal statement.
I maintain a waitlist to balance my clientele between class years and where they are in the process. Your student will receive all of the diligence and care they deserve for finding their way to the next stage of their lives.
To set up a complimentary 15-30 minute call,
👉 e-mail Zain here
Talk soon,
Zain