Dear Students and Families,

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    I look forward to getting to know you and your family!

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    As for me, my mother was born in Taiwan and my father was born in New York, of Irish and German descent. My father was a social worker and my mother a hospice nurse so they instilled a commitment to helping others from an early age. They also convinced my two brothers and I that studying hard would give us all the opportunities in the world and I still firmly believe in that. We were all blessed to receive scholarships to top high schools in Manhattan and then admissions to Harvard College. From there, we have all had successful careers that have taken us around the world. Today, I work in the field of Admissions Consulting because I want to provide other students all the support we were lucky enough to cobble together when we were applying to college.

    

     In high school, I started figuring out my passions and know that would not have happened without the great guidance I received from several teachers. From an early age, I had enjoyed writing stories and poetry, community service activities, and cooking for my family but it was my high school mentors who helped me figure out how to channel these passions into writing for school publications, organizing Christmas parties for underprivileged children and volunteering at soup kitchens. Perhaps my most formative activity, though, was being a peer support leader, where I helped younger students manage the transition from middle school to high school and figure out how to grapple with the intense pressure of getting into top colleges. Looking back, the younger students gave me unique insights into how complicated colleges admissions was. I had always been told by my parents that if I studied hard everything would work out but my schoolmates taught me that I had to think more strategically. Since then, I have always been drawn to somewhat obsessively follow how admissions decisions are made.

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    While at Harvard, I majored in Government and considered a career in international relations. My most meaningful volunteering and work experiences, though, involved teaching international students academic english and helping local underprivileged students apply to colleges. Thus, over time I decided to pursue a career in which I could work more directly helping people. My first jobs out of college were in healthcare, including as a community manager for a health startup co-founded by one of the Facebook founders. When it came time to pursue a new challenge, I decided to move to Shanghai. It was there that I started working full-time as an Admissions Consultant and soon realized it was the perfect career for me- strategizing based on information I obsessively consume to help students achieve their dreams. I cherish the opportunity to really get to know my client families. I not only want to learn about your school goals, but your career and life goals. I am passionate about developing school lists that are a unique fit for each of my students. By following my proven methods, we can reduce the stress and anxiety that often comes with applying to colleges and set you up for a successful future. 

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                                                                                                                                                                      All the best,         

                                                                                                                                                                      Christina Traugott