CASE STUDY

Brian T.

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Brian is about to enter 11th grade. He has ADHD and dyslexia, and although he's been in special education his whole life, he has the potential to be mainstreamed into a regular classroom with the right support. Brian is quiet and struggles with communication, but his passion lies in sports statistics, particularly baseball, basketball, and football statistics.

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His mom, a highly successful media executive, works long hours and isn't home until 7 pm each night. Dad isn't involved in Brian's life.

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• Brian's upcoming grade level and learning challenges.
• His potential for mainstreaming with support.
• His quiet personality and communication struggles.
• His passion for sports statistics.
• His family situation (single mom with long working hours and absent dad).

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The Mom and Brian were a referral from a very strong academic family that we worked with and had great

success getting her daughter into the school of her choice Early Decision to Duke.

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His Mother was hunting for the long lost treasure for Brian - Could He go to a Four Year College? Could Brian be successful academically, socially and personally despite being in Special Education courses most of his life? She had been told by umpteen teachers and administrators the best Brian could do was attending a Community College or Vocational school?

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We met at their home and sat at the kitchen table with Brian's transcript. We started the meeting with a

discussion focused solely on answering my questions about his passion - Sports Statistics. Because I worked with 100's of kids like Brian in the past, I knew the goal was to get Brian speaking and get him hyped about his passion. I took his passion and started giving him ideas on how he could use his passion to have fun, make MONEY (START A BUSINESS) and use his incredible knowledge to set his Path for a career in Sports at the College and or Professional level.

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He was a young man that talked directly with me for 30 minutes non stop, Brian's mom was flabbergasted at

her son's passion and desire to share it with me. Once we were done conversing about his passion, I pulled the

conversation over into what Mom wanted to speak about–Could Brian attend a 4 year traditional College and be Successful?


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My immediate response was Yes! Brian could attend a 4 year college where he can be successful academically,

socially and personally, but we had a lot of work ahead of us, and everything is depended on Brian's desire to go

away to a 4 year college. Brian was in charge of his journey… not his mom. Mom would provide the resources but Brian and I would create the game plan, then implementing the plan, worked through the ups and downs including a battle with his High School to get their heads turned around, so that they would work with our game plan to succeed but we need them to give us a chance to prove that Brian could make it through High School and attend a college of his choice.

Brian's Journey to College

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Brian and his mom were referred by a family who had successfully placed their daughter in their dream school, Duke University. Brian's mom desperately wanted to know: could Brian attend a four-year college and be successful academically, socially, and personally despite being in special education most of his life? After years of being told by teachers and administrators that a community college or vocational school was Brian's best option, hope seemed lost.

Meeting Brian and Sparking Passion

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We met at their home and began by focusing solely on Brian, discussing his passion for sports statistics. My goal, having worked with many students like Brian, was to get him talking excitedly about what mattered to him. I took his passion and showed him ways to use it for fun, potentially make money (by starting a business), and build a career path in sports at the college or professional level.

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For the next 30 minutes, a young man who usually struggled to communicate spoke non-stop. His mom was astounded by his passion and desire to share it. Once his passion was unleashed, we shifted the conversation to her concerns: could Brian attend a four-year college and be successful?

Building a Roadmap to

Success

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My answer was a resounding yes! However, there was significant work ahead, and it all depended on Brian's desire. While Mom would provide the resources, Brian and I would create and implement the plan, navigate challenges, and fight with his high school to get them onboard. We needed them to give Brian a chance to succeed in high school and get into his chosen college.

Designing a College Fit

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Next, I painted a picture for Brian and his mom. The ideal college would be small or medium-sized, have a strong learning differences program supporting Brian's style, accommodate his extracurricular needs, and provide opportunities for him to utilize his passion for sports statistics throughout his college years. Brian and his mom were ecstatic. Mom, with tears in her eyes, expressed gratitude for the hope and actionable plan, emphasizing that Brian needed to take initiative with my coaching.

Hurdle by Hurdle

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Here were the key hurdles to overcome:

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• Mainstreaming Brian: He needed to be placed in regular classes where he could succeed.

• Learning Style Diagnosis: Brian was an auditory-tactile learner. He thrived on hands-on projects but struggled with traditional lecture-based learning and memorization.
• Standardized Testing: We needed to get Brian prepared for the SAT and ACT, utilizing his Individualized Education Program (IEP) to get extended time and potential accommodations like having the test read to him. Finding the right tutor who understood Brian's needs was crucial.
• College Selection and Communication: We targeted a few schools that would be a good fit for Brian and arranged discussions with admissions officers, learning disabilities services directors, sports information directors, and head coaches of the basketball, football, and baseball teams (Division 1). The goal was to determine if Brian could be an asset to their programs and arrange potential interviews during his spring break college visits.
• Tutoring: Subject-matter tutors were needed to help Brian compete in regular classes and potentially serve as test readers for quizzes.

11th Grade and Beyond

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Brian's 11th grade went remarkably well. He successfully transitioned to regular classes in English, Algebra, US History, and Environmental Science. He also received approval to take Sign Language at a local community college, achieving A's in both semesters. With extended time and the test being read to him, Brian achieved a significant improvement on the SAT, jumping from a 480 to a 930 score.

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Spring break was dedicated to college visits. Brian and his mom visited the University of Denver, Regis University, DePaul University, and North Park College. We arranged tours, information sessions, and meetings with admissions, learning disability services, and coaches at each school.

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Brian also participated in a three-week athletic program for international and domestic students, working as a statistician. This immersive experience gave him a taste of college life and working with coaches.

The Application Process and Decision Time

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Now came the crucial stage: leveraging our relationships and expertise in the college application process.

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Brian's top choices were the University of Denver and DePaul University. We secured meetings with key decision-makers at both schools, bringing Brian's transcript, test scores, and resume. These meetings provided valuable insights into what Brian needed to do with his essays, applications, and senior year grades to secure admission. Simultaneously, we established connections with the sports information directors and basketball coaches to explore volunteer opportunities at each school.

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Brian graduated in Communications with a 2.5 GPA from U Denver. We hired tutors outside

the normal ones offered at U Denver for kids with learning issues for all four years. The success Brian achieved was based on his passion to stay a member of the Basketball staff, which ignited his desire to achieve in the classroom.

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Brian is now a graduate and looking at getting a Master's in Sports Management. What a GREAT Story of Success!

Maggie's Journey to Brown University

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Maggie was a 10th grader at a Palo Alto, California

high school. Her parents are incredibly successful business people.

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Maggie was a strong student taking the most rigorous curriculum her school had to offer - Honors and AP classes throughout high school. Her high school is one of the most demanding schools in the country. Maggie has traveled the world many times over and is very sophisticated in her vision and approach to life. Because of her introduction to the Climate Crisis at an early age through her mom and dad, Maggie was enthralled with wanting to learn more. Maggie and her classmates were conscious of the Carbon emission problem but did not know how to engage in making a difference.

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We were referred to this family from a very formidable President of a university we worked with many times over the years and also helped this President help his own kids into college. The first meeting with the mom, dad and Maggie at their home went very well. Initially it was tense, because Maggie did not understand why she needed extra help getting into a college of her choice because of who her family was and since she had solid grades and she is a good test taker. Maggie had a 3.7 GPA unweighted and a 4.1 weighted GPA after 10th grade. She achieved a 1240 on her PSAT. In 11th grade Maggie was set up to take AP English Comp, AP US History, Pre Calculus Honors, AP Spanish Comp, AP Biology and Leadership. At our first meeting it became obvious why I was at the table. The friction between the student and mom and dad about the subject of College was huge. Mom and Dad both graduated from the best graduate schools in the US, were leaders nationally but as it is in most homes we work in the student disregards mom and dad's success and knowledge.

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The student often states "you do not know the college process now- you went to school 30 years ago" Blank, blank and blank from down the street just had their child go through the process and I have been listening to their conversations. All I am hearing now is how Difficult it is to get into the schools I might want to get into. 4 girls from my school with perfect grades and 1500+ SAT scores got denied by not only their first choice school but several more. Frankly, when I reflect on our neighborhood, I am afraid I might not get into where I want to go." I get why we need HELP.

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After we got through the scene - we got down into the weeds as I explained the process behind close doors to getting into the school of her choice. Finding the Right ‘Fit’ is not an Art but a Science and the process of

standing out over All others is the Art. As I explained NOONE in the country can do it as well as ID Future Stars and our results stand for themselves. As I stated to Maggie if you let us Team up with you the chances of you getting into your First Choice school becomes a reality. Yes you have prominent parents but that can only take you so far. This is a game and we get to play it with more resources than anyone else. Are you in? She said - Yes!

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Next was convincing Maggie we are in a game and there are certain factors we need to consider about the

process of selecting colleges to apply to and then the unknown strategy of Getting IN.

I told Maggie she is a great student but only 23rd out 86 in her class despite taking such difficult classes and

doing so well. The problem we have is everyone in your class wants to go to Stanford or one of the IVY's.

HOW DO WE FIND THE RIGHT COLLEGE AND HOW DO WE GET YOU IN?

Our Approach

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We emphasized that finding the right fit was a data-driven process, while standing out from the crowd was more of an art form. We assured Maggie that our proven track record could significantly improve her chances of getting into her top choice school. We highlighted that while her prominent family background was an advantage, it wasn't the sole factor in admissions. "This is a game," I explained, "and we have more resources than anyone else to help you play it." Maggie finally agreed to work with us.

The Importance of Standing Out: Building a Personal Brand

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The next step was convincing Maggie that the college selection process was strategic and involved a well-defined approach to finding the right schools and crafting a winning application.

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Despite taking a challenging course load and performing well, Maggie ranked only 23rd out of 86 in her class. The problem? Many of her classmates also aspired to attend Stanford or Ivy League schools. The challenge was twofold: finding the right college and ensuring her application stood out.

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We introduced our "pluses and minuses" theory to help Maggie understand how seemingly small grade differences could significantly impact her ranking. With three B+'s on her transcript, we explained how a little more effort and communication with teachers could have potentially converted those grades to A- (worth the same as an A or A+ in our system). This slight improvement could have placed her in the top 11 of her class. Maggie acknowledged, "I wish someone would have told me this!" This was precisely why families sought our guidance.

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Building a strong personal brand was crucial to differentiate Maggie from the competition. Capitalizing on her passion for the environment and her desire to educate others about the climate crisis, we brainstormed a youth movement called "Inconvenient Youth," inspired by Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth." Our goal was to partner with the Climate Project educators and establish Inconvenient Youth as a branch of their movement. Leveraging Maggie's parents' connections, we secured a meeting and approval to launch the initiative.

The Inconvenient Youth Movement

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Next, we contacted the Climate Project to see if they could conduct a training session at Stanford University during Maggie's summer before 12th grade. Leveraging my connections at Stanford, I secured the use of campus facilities for a week. I then invited 200 ID Future Stars students from grades 9-12 to fly to Palo Alto for training and certification. This program would equip them with the skills and knowledge to develop Inconvenient Youth chapters at their own schools. Following the training, a select group of 20 students would travel across the country to deliver presentations about the climate crisis to elementary, middle, and high schools. Utilizing materials from the Climate Project, they would engage each school in creating their own ICY club.

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The initiative proved immensely successful. Maggie's ICY team presented at over 400 schools within a year. This experience provided Maggie with the perfect opportunity to showcase her passion and leadership qualities in her college application personal statement. Maggie's work with Inconvenient Youth propelled her to national recognition as a youth organizer.

Finding the Perfect Fit:

Brown University

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While Maggie's ICY initiative flourished, we remained focused on finding the right-fit college for her. Due to our close collaboration, it became clear that Brown University was the ideal choice. However, maintaining her focus on academics remained crucial. Maggie needed to excel in her rigorous 12th-grade classes and achieve an SAT score above 1400. Our ID Future Stars approach proved effective. Through diligent work, our staff helped Maggie raise her scores to 1460, and she maintained a perfect GPA without any B's in either 11th or 12th grade. We were nearing the finish line.

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As expected, competition for Brown was fierce. Two other students from Maggie's school listed Brown as their first choice. To ensure Maggie stood out, I arranged a meeting with the President of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, for both Maggie and her father. Both delivered phenomenal presentations, making a strong impression. The President was particularly impressed and offered Maggie the opportunity to establish Inconvenient Youth chapters throughout the Northeast as a representative of Brown University.

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We submitted applications to 14 schools, including Brown Early Action with a decision deadline of December 15th. The wait was agonizing, but the answer arrived – a resounding YES! Maggie was admitted to Brown University. This marked another successful journey for our team, and the family referred us to countless others over the years.

Caroline Y.

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Caroline grew up in Manhattan Beach, California and attended Mira Costa, a public high school. The beach

community is made of super successful and competitive families that live in a bubble 30 minutes from downtown

Los Angeles. Both of Caroline's parents are educated in the Midwest - her dad went to Northwestern and mom to University of Illinois Champaign Urbana.

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Caroline is the life of every party and someone who takes soccer and volleyball very seriously. Caroline was

ranked at the top of her in middle school and continued her excellence at Mira Costa High School When I met

Caroline and her family, a referral from one of the most successful Wealth Management companies - UBS, she

was entering her sophomore year and her brother Jack was in 9th grade.

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Caroline took every Honors course available through 10th grade and prior to 11th grade completed 3 AP classes. Caroline started 9th grade in Honors Algebra 2, Honors Spanish 3, and Honors Chemistry. She took Algebra 1 and Geometry, Spanish 1,& 2 and Biology in Middle School and so did many of her peers. Frankly, in our first meeting as a family at their home, I walked away so impressed with Caroline because she did not act as though she knew she was super smart, an excellent athlete and the leader of her friend group. Because I have worked with 35+ students from Mira Costa before her, I knew the quality of the education and competitive nature of the families despite living in a laid back beach community.

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The start of 11th grade, Caroline and her family had already visited 12 colleges in the Midwest and East Coast. Each of those visits we set up for the family to provide Caroline a reasonable feel of the size of different schools the location, urban, residential, college town and rural. Caroline was ranked number 1 with 16 others in unweighted GPA - 4.0 and 4th in the class with a 4.4 weighted GPA. Why 4th? Because 3 others took 1 additional Honors course, instead of the Art requirement as a 9th grader. Caroline had All A's in every class both

weighted (Honors and AP ) and unweighted College Prep classes like Art and PE.

The Importance of

Personal Brand

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Caroline was not only the leader of her group of friends, many athletes, cheerleaders and smart people at her school but all students as she made sure that the way she wanted to be treated she treated others that way too. Additionally, since Caroline was 2-3 years ahead in her coursework she had many friends that were ahead of her in school. My focus with Caroline was her Personal Brand. I knew she had great grades and was a Varsity Athlete in two sports but we had to consider what was it that would make Caroline stand out versus her peers and others applying to the best colleges in America?

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Recognizing the disparity in resources between her community and inner-city Los Angeles schools, Caroline aimed to make a positive impact. Through brainstorming, she conceived of an organization at her school to collect sporting goods for these underprivileged schools. Her experience playing against these schools in soccer and volleyball solidified the need for this initiative, as she witnessed their talent despite lacking quality equipment. Caroline's initiative exemplifies a desire to bridge the equity gap in sports resources and empower underprivileged communities.

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Starting with her friend group in 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade she organized a campaign in Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Redondo Beach to market to the locals that a group of students will be visiting a six block section of your town on a particular day, mostly weekends, to pick up ANY new and old sporting goods equipment and that the organization, Opportunity Zone, would clean up and refurbish the gifts from each family and home and then provide Los Angeles inner city schools with better equipment than they had today.

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Caroline's group of 60 volunteers started on a Saturday in October and completed their mission in February. The massive amount of equipment provided was so significant that her parents had to lease a 10,000 foot warehouse to refurbish, store and prepare to deliver the equipment donated. Additionally, Caroline and her posse raised enough money from within their peer volunteer group to purchase from Dick's Sporting Goods and Sports Authority and 50 full sets of 15 practice uniforms for Soccer and Volleyball to provide to different schools in the LA City school system. The project did not stop in Caroline's 11th grade year but continued through 12th grade and throughout her college years.

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Caroline and her family brainstormed a college list that included her parents' alma maters and prestigious universities like Stanford and Harvard. Caroline also considered schools with soccer programs like Emory, Pomona, and Williams. To aid the decision of the "Right Fit" school, they considered Caroline's impressive academic record (4.6 GPA, 11 AP classes, perfect grades) and test scores (1530 SAT, 35 ACT) alongside their visits to each college. Caroline and her parents each created ranked lists based on their preferences.

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Caroline prioritized a fun, spirited college experience (think "rah rah school") with strong athletics (specifically mentioning football, basketball, volleyball, and her own sport, soccer) over academics. While she planned to pursue graduate studies later (Doctorate, Sports Psychology, or Entrepreneurship), her focus for undergrad was a well-rounded experience that balanced academics with a vibrant campus life.

The Decision Making Process

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Now that we had a list of schools and already began writing her Personal Statement used for each school, it was time to decide which schools do we apply Early Action, Early Decision and Regular Admission to take advantage of her amazing profile. Frankly, Caroline's number 1 school she wanted to attend was the University of Michigan. Why? She wanted the huge Rah Rah environment, a chance to apply to both the Ross School of Business and school of Engineering, while having an option of paying U Michigan Club Soccer and Volleyball. Caroline knew several kids from our practice that went to U Michigan and crushed it academically and had a fantastic social time with not much stress. Caroline wanted the same.

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Decisions were made to apply Early Action (non binding to U Michigan) Regular Admission to all other schools. With applications complete, Caroline applied Early Action to her top choice, University of Michigan, hoping for an acceptance by December 15th. All other schools received regular applications with a decision deadline of April 1st. Her strong profile (grades, scores, extracurriculars) made her confident about her chances at U Michigan.

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When December 15th came, Caroline opened her admission portal to U Michigan and all of us were

surprised–she was DEFERRED. To me, something was not right, so I called my contacts on campus. What I

found was a troubling trend across all colleges that the Admissions teams were making decisions on students not based on their credentials but were internally were weighting if the student would really come to their school if Admitted. In this case UM felt Caroline was most likely using the UM as a safety school and that she must have applied to so many other more competitive schools that she will take one of those admits over UM. Consequently, she was Deferred.

The turn of events

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I explained the decision to Caroline and her family before Christmas and asked if I could tell my folks at UM that Caroline's first choice is UM and if they admit her, will she come? The answer was ‘Absolutely’. I made the call by January 6th, then Caroline had her acceptance letter.

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Just for giggles, she kept her other schools alive after sending her Dorm deposit to UM. 

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Caroline on or around April 1 was admitted to Northwestern U Illinois, Harvard, Brown, UC Berkeley, UCLA, U Virginia, Emory, Pomona, Duke and Stanford. Waitlisted at Williams and Princeton.

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Sometimes… It takes an advocate to push the students' story across the university. This and many times

before and afterx–the same success occurred.