Cate Mclaughin

February 13, 2023 by

• 12+ years of education experience across university teaching and college counseling, including as a writing coach for the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business’s Communication Program

• Extensive college counseling track record in providing individualized strategy plans for 2,000+ students and help them gain acceptances into Ivy Leagues & Top 25 universities

• Received a MFA in Creative Writing from Syracuse University, a top 5 nationally ranked program

Rebecca Mendez

January 30, 2025 by

• Graduated Summa Cum Laude from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, with Honors for Senior Thesis Research

• Featured on DC Inno’s 25 Under 25 list and named Georgetown University’s Undergraduate Entrepreneur of the Year

• 8+ years of experience in education working with students of all ages, including helping students get into best fit and top 10/25/50 universities

Mitchell Murtagh

July 21, 2025 by

• Graduated from Duke University with a Ph.D. in Literature and certificates in College Teaching and Philosophy of Science

• 10+ years of experience in education, including teaching at the high school and college levels, as well as teaching in advanced summer programs (TASP), mentoring students in college admissions and academic research

• Previously served as a university professor at Emory and has coached high-achieving students—particularly those pursuing humanities, computer science, and pre-health pathways—toward successful admission to selective programs and top-tier universities, including Stanford, MIT, and Duke

• Holds active CompTIA Security+ certification and draws from his interdisciplinary background in cybersecurity, philosophy of science, and emergency medicine (former EMT) to guide students in building distinctive, mission-driven applicant profiles that stand out to elite colleges and BS/MD programs

Alana Newman

June 10, 2024 by

• 9+ years of college counseling experience, having worked with 1,400+ students of STEM and non-STEM backgrounds, including BSMD programs, with her students gaining acceptances into top 10/25/50 universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Brown, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, USC, and more

• Holds her Certificate of College Counseling from UCLA, completed her master’s in Strategic Communication from American University, and is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling

David Newman

March 6, 2025 by

• Graduated with honors from UC Berkeley

• 4+ years of experience working as a writing tutor and college application counselor with a proven track record of helping students with acceptance to Dartmouth, UC Berkeley, Emory, and other top 25-50 schools

• Served as a strategist on multiple California political campaigns and crafted local zoning reform legislation for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors

Jay Payne

December 22, 2025 by

• Graduated with a Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Marywood University and a second Master’s in Education from Framingham State University

• Brings 13+ years of international education experience in roles including academic advisor and consultant guiding students through boarding school and university admissions, team lead managing diverse groups of teachers, and secondary biology and chemistry teacher guiding students across multiple countries in those disciplines

• Has a strong track record of supporting students in earning scholarships, gaining recognition in academic competitions in medicine and engineering

• Intimately familiar with the differences between college applications to schools inside of and outside of the United States

• Proven track record of getting students into top international colleges, including the Chulalongkorn University (Chula)- International medical pathway program, Mahidol University- International Medical Pathway Program, London School of Economics and Political Science, HCMC University of Technology- Mechanical Engineering