Ivy League Insights: Admissions Advice from Alumni

My name is Manuel Stefano Castaño. I am an international student that graduated with honors from the B.A. Politics program in Princeton University, and with the LExS Award in the M.P.A. program in Leiden University in The Hague, Netherlands. I am currently a PhD Candidate at the same school. Throughout my academic career, I have been fortunate to have won multiple awards and honors.

I have been advising high school, university, and adult applicants for over 7 years, specializing in College Admissions Counseling, Applications, Essays, English/Verbal sections of standardized testing (ACT, GRE, etc.), Interviews, and related areas. I have helped applicants stand out and be accepted into schools like Harvard, Columbia, U Chicago, Berkeley, and UCLA, amongst others.

During my time at Princeton University, I founded the "College Crash Course," a service initiative in cooperation with an NGO called MIRA USA. This was a service initiative based on helping vulnerable student populations understand the application process and succeed in it. I worked as the coordinator of this program for four years, helped hundreds of students apply to their choice universities, and it is still running to this day.

Outside of College Advising, I am a self-motivated and results-oriented international consultant, political advisor, editor, writer, translator, and interpreter with knowledge and experience in national and international governance. I have professional experience with international organizations like the United Nations, as well as political parties in Colombia. I have founded and led public service projects, as well as cooperated with NGOs in various human-rights related programs.

Facilitating intergovernmental cooperation, sacrifice, and change through diplomacy to increase the normative and socio-political legitimacy of people's welfare are my prime motivators. I was born in Colombia in 93', where my mother and I escaped the Armed Conflict in 99'. Knowing the struggle of those who are most vulnerable, my passions are justice, peace, and honest governance.

Hello! My name is Mariko and I graduated from Yale University's five year BA/MPH program in 2022 with undergraduate degrees in the History of Public Health and Ethnicity, Race, and Migration and a Masters in Public Health in Social and Behavioral Sciences with a concentration in U.S. Racial Health Justice. I deeply valued my college experience and I hope to help others find the same transformative opportunities through helping you through your college process!

Outside of the classroom, I was an All-American nominated water polo player who conducted historical research on medicine and the slave trade and worked at both Yale's Afro-American and Asian American Cultural Centers. I was accepted regular decision with a "likely" letter and was a recruited two-sport athlete in high school.

Now, I'm back home in Southern California continuing my work in health equity, directing diversity initiatives for USA Water Polo and continuing research at Yale.

Hi, y'all! I grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College. At Harvard, I majored in Folklore and Mythology with a minor in Spanish and Global Health and Health Policy. I was president of Response Peer Counseling, vice president of Harvard College Debate Union, and treasurer of Advocating Success for Kids. I was also a supervisor at Harvard Square Summer Homeless Shelter. I have ten years of experience as a teacher and tutor, including serving as a peer tutor and library educator at Harvard. After graduation, I taught high school debate and was a college advisor with Impact America, an AmeriCorps program. I also taught debate for Smith College. I then went on to teach debate at Success Academy Harlem North Central Middle School, one of New York City's top charter schools. I am currently a rape crisis advocate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and am a member of the ACLU of Alabama's Smart Justice Organizing School. In my free time, I volunteer as a mentor with Trans Mentor Project, work on mutual aid projects across Alabama, and go hiking.