College Admissions | Academic Advising
THE ELITE ADMISSIONS REALITY
Stanford rejects 69% of applicants with perfect SAT scores.
75% of valedictorians who apply to Harvard are rejected
80% of valedictorians are rejected from all Ivy League schools they applied to
Meanwhile, students with lower statistics earn admission to these same institutions
Why Perfect Isn't Enough
This isn't an anomaly—it reveals what elite universities actually evaluate. Admissions aren’t just assessing academic achievement, They're conducting a character audit.
“Having bad grades or scores will certainly hurt you, but I'm sorry to say that having great grades and scores doesn't really help you – it just means that you're competitive with most of the rest of our applicants.”
- MIT Admissions Officer
"Students often focus on getting in rather than representing themselves authentically. In the strongest applications we read, a student's genuine voice stands out."
- Stanford University Admissions
The "Perfect Student" Trap
Most applications focus on strategic presentation:
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Essay refinement - Making writing more compelling
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Activity positioning - Highlighting achievements strategically
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School selection - Optimizing application strategy
What Elite Universities Actually Evaluate:
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Intellectual Courage - Do students challenge ideas or just master them?
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Authentic Resilience - Have they grown through meaningful obstacles?
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Self-Authorship - Do they make genuine choices or execute predetermined paths?
Most competitive students follow a predictable path: external direction from parents and consultants, flawless execution of predetermined strategies, and optimization of every achievement for maximum impact.
This approach works well for many universities, but often prove insufficient for elite admissions.
Our Assessment-Based Approach
We don't optimize what your child has already accomplished. We assess them using the same methodology elite universities use to reveal authentic qualities that create genuine differentiation.
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1. OUR IVY-BASED STUDENT PROFILING
Apply the same method as Ivy League admissions for an accurate initial assessment
Approach:
We evaluate students using the identical three-dimensional methodology that elite admissions officers use: Academic, Extracurricular, and Personal. This isn't coaching - it's systematic assessment that reveals how admissions committees would actually score your child today.
What This Reveals:
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Gaps that standard strategies never identifies
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Authentic strengths your child doesn't recognize
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Specific areas where elite committees see potential vs. optimization
2. HARVARD-SUPERVISED PERSONAL ASSESSMENT
Uncover authentic motivational architecture through rigorous methodology
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Approach:
Our assessment process, supervised by Harvard psychologists, identifies your child's genuine motivational patterns and character architecture. This reveals authentic personal qualities that create real differentiation rather than strategic positioning.
Results:
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Why your child makes their choices (beyond external validation)
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Authentic interests that drive genuine intellectual curiosity
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Personal qualities that elite committees recognize as predictive of future impact
Approach:
Most students struggle to articulate who they are beyond their achievements. We help them discover and own authentic aspects of their character that elite universities specifically evaluate for.
Before Our Assessment:
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High achievements without clear authentic motivation
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Can't explain choices beyond "it looked good for college"
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Sounds similar to other high-achieving student
After Character Development Work:
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Clear authentic narrative about genuine interests
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Can articulate real motivations and independent thinking
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Demonstrates the self-authorship elite universities seek
3. CHARACTER REVELATION AND NARRATIVE PROCESS
Develop strategy that coherently integrates student's achievements, interest, and personal identity and story
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Our approach produces applications that are authentical and compelling because they reflect actual personal growth rather than strategic positioning.
Our Team
During my time at Harvard, I experienced an entirely different perspective on admissions. A culture that placed the person—not grades or numbers—at the center fundamentally changed how I viewed the admissions process and its value. That experience shaped my commitment to genuinely listening to students' stories and discovering their potential and direction together.
SL Consulting designs admissions strategies focused not simply on acceptance, but on growth through authentic self-understanding and expression.
— Suyeon Lee, Founder
Harvard Business School
Team
Our team, consisting of IVY and SKY backgrounds, brings together professionals with deep experience across education, strategy, and communications. At our center are people genuinely committed to recognizing each student's authentic potential
Founder
Daewon Foreign Language
High School
2006-2008
2009-2013
Yonsei University
Bachelor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
2022-
SL Consulting
Email: contact@slconsulting.co.kr
Call: 0507-1425-1081
Address: Nonhyeon-ro 160-gil 13,
Myungjin Building Unit 201,
Seoul, Korea