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Apply through the form at the bottom of this page. We're looking for impact-driven students who want to showcase their authentic work, rather than limit themselves to what they think colleges want to hear.
What we need:
- Basic info (name, school, grade, GPA, etc)
- Brief descriptions of how you heard about us and what you hope to gain from this opportunity (50-100 words)
- Six reflection questions exploring how you think about your authentic experiences and growth (150-250 words each)
- Optional college-pleasing reflection (no word limit)
Applications open at midnight on August 1st and close at 11:59 PM on August 13th. Here's what happens next:
Aug 14-17: We'll carefully review all applications and provide written feedback to every single applicant (this is our promise to you just for applying!). Top ~25% of applicants will be notified as finalists and receive additional resources including a consultation call opportunity and essay review
Week of Aug 18: Individual 30-minute consultation calls for finalists to discuss your goals and get personalized guidance on essays or college admissions-related questions you have
Aug 23-24: Final scholarship recipients will be notified and receive their welcome materials
September 2: Our Epic Scholarship program officially begins!
No! We're more interested in your curiosity, willingness to collaborate, and readiness to grow than having polished work ready.
If you are named a finalist, you may bring any essay drafts to your optional consultation - whether for college applications, scholarships, or other opportunities - and we'll review them together.
The program helps you develop strong storytelling skills throughout your high school journey, regardless of where you're starting from.
No catch - this comes from my personal experience. As a first-generation college student who navigated the process alone in 2012, I know how overwhelming and expensive admissions support can be. I wrote a generic Asian-American college essay because I lacked guidance, and it likely cost me admission to my top-choice school.
My goal is to democratize access to quality college admissions support, regardless of family financial circumstances. I want to help students avoid my mistakes and showcase their authentic stories instead of college-pleasing.
This scholarship also helps me identify incredible students I might eventually work with, while allowing me to be the mentor I wish I had when applying.
Absolutely! As long as you can attend our weekly Zoom sessions, you're welcome to apply. We'll work with different time zones to make it accessible.
Why this program works for international students:
- We help you explain your unique opportunities and challenges so US admissions officers understand your background
- The "anti-college-pleasing" approach works regardless of where you're from - authenticity translates across cultures
- We've supported students from various countries while highlighting unique cultural perspectives without falling into stereotypes
The authentic storytelling skills you develop will serve you whether you're applying to US schools, universities in your home country, or international programs. Your global perspective is an asset - we'll help you showcase it effectively.
Our Epic Scholarship is an 4-month collaborative cohort program for 6-10 students (mix of sophomores, juniors, and seniors) who work together to discover and articulate their authentic stories. Instead of traditional one-on-one tutoring that creates competition and anxiety, our cohort model builds peer support while you receive expert guidance from a former UC Berkeley admissions officer.
Through weekly collaborative sessions, students explore their genuine experiences and learn to showcase their authentic voice and impact to admissions officers - moving beyond what they think colleges want to hear.
"I felt like this was a 3 in one package. I originally thought it would be just a few looks here and there on essays as mentor to student, but honestly this program included aspects I didn't even know it would include: like activities description and vibes... It wasn't a stiff zoom call with awkward conversations, but more like a friend to friend interaction." - Julia
Most college counseling isolates students in expensive individual sessions, while we create a supportive peer community with collaborative brainstorming and revision cycles. Our "anti-college-pleasing" approach helps you showcase authentic experiences rather than what you think admissions officers want to hear.
What makes us unique:Cross-grade collaborative learning where sophomores learn college research from juniors, juniors observe seniors' application processes, and seniors mentor younger students. Everyone both teaches and learns.
"Many parents spend thousands on their kids’ college essay programs and I really don't see the need in doing that. This cohort program was free this year, but the quality was probably better than any of the other programs. As I said earlier, the coaches put in extreme effort to polish the essays and get to know you as a person and not just another student." - Julia
I knew I had the stories and writing ability, but something was constantly holding me back when I tried to put it on paper for my application. Through Your Epic Consulting's unique approach of anti-college-pleasing, I finally believe my application was able to reach its untapped potential." - Jeffrey, Columbia University Class of 2029
Absolutely not! We love working with students who have compelling experiences but aren't sure how to articulate them yet. The goal is discovering your authentic voice, not starting with perfect prose.
Many of our strongest cohort members started with great ideas but needed help turning them into compelling narratives. Your passion for your work matters more than your current writing ability.
"Initially, I was a little bit nervous of navigating the whole college application process because I didn't know if my writing was good enough to receive the support needed to make my applications as competitive as possible, but being part of this group quickly calmed those nerves."
- Emily, UCLA Class of 2029
We're looking for student who demonstrate authentic engagement, self-reflection readiness, and collaborative spirit throughout our application process.
What we evaluate in individual applicants:
- Authentic Engagement: Evidence of genuine passion for your work - whether it's research activism, community projects, or taking care of siblings. We want to see your real voice shine through, not just strategic positioning.
- Vulnerability & Growth: Willingness to share meaningful challenges and show how feedback has changed your self-understanding. We look for students who can reflect honestly on the difficult moments in life.
- Collaborative Curiosity: Excitement about learning from peers with different backgrounds and helping others discover their stories, rather than seeing them as competition
- Anti-College-Pleasing Awareness: Recognition of times you've made strategic choices over authentic ones, and desire to break free from those external validation patterns.
What we look for in building a cohort:
- Complementary Perspectives: Students from diverse backgrounds who can help each other see their everyday experiences through fresh lenses
- Story Diversity: A mix of academic achievers, creative thinkers, family leaders, activists, and community builders whose different experiences will spark insights for everyone
- Cross-Grade Learning: Sophomores learn college research from juniors, juniors observe seniors' essay processes, seniors learn from our team while mentoring younger students by sharing their lessons learned
Bottom line: We're selecting students with the most potential to discover and articulate their authentic impact through collaborative exploration AND help their peers do the same. Perfect applications aren't required - authentic engagement and growth mindset are essential.
Most students get feedback from parents, teachers, or friends who are too close to them to identify potential blind spots - they know your full story and context, which can actually work against you. Admissions officers won't have that background knowledge or personal bias. They'll read your application with fresh eyes, just like our cohort members will.
Our scholarship program is intentionally designed to account for this challenge. When peers from different backgrounds and experiences review your essays and application materials, they can spot unclear explanations, missing context, or assumptions you're making that don't translate to an outside reader.
"My favorite part about going through the college application process in a cohort rather than on my own was the constant support. Knowing that I always had people to rely on, helped me feel a lot more confident when submitting my college applications/essays since I had received feedback from multiple people." - Emily
"I remember when I filled out the application for this cohort scholarship, I was really worried that the advice given would be sugar-coated and very broad like how all my other friends would say 'you need to fix this part'. To my surprise, Fei commented on specific parts of each essay with a paragraph of how to fix it and his questions for deeper thinking."
- Julia
When you're a sophomore or junior, you have the luxury of exploration and discovery. You can try new activities, dive deeper into existing interests, take on leadership roles, and genuinely form who you are as a person. This authentic development creates much stronger application stories than last-minute resume padding.
The closer you get to application season, the more it becomes about storytelling and improvement at the margins - polishing what you already have rather than building new experiences. But with time on your side, you can actually shape your high school journey with intention, making choices that align with your genuine interests while also strengthening your future applications.
"What surprised me the most about learning from other students in the cohort was how our different personal experiences shaped the way we answered the same prompt. Going into this cohort program, I knew I would receive great feedback, but I didn't expect how much feedback from someone else my age, going through the same process, would change my own perspectives and open up my own ways of thinking."
- Emily
Our admissions track record speaks for itself. Recent scholarship recipients have gained acceptance to Columbia University, Johns Hopkins, UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Michigan, USC, and more incredible schools - with one receiving a $120,000 merit scholarship. But our impact extends far beyond individual admissions outcomes.
"Seeing the differences in my admissions process versus the experiences of my friends' admissions processes, made me realize just how much this cohort program helped me. They often found themselves questioning their writing and lacking confidence in the applications they were submitting, but I felt completely different." - Emily
"Many parents spend thousands on their kids’ college essay programs and I really don't see the need in doing that. This cohort program was free this year, but the quality was probably better than any of the other programs. As I said earlier, the coaches put in extreme effort to polish the essays and get to know you as a person and not just another student."
- Julia
Absolutely! The video below shows how our group feedback sessions work in practice. You'll see how we combine admissions expertise with authentic student perspectives to help each participant strengthen their story.
Please note this video shows the end result after countless hours of individual brainstorming and revision work. There's no secret sauce but the transformation happens most effectively through equal partnership - when we combine our admissions expertise in tandem the student's individual expertise in their own lived experiences. That's when we are able to identify the distinct and most interesting parts of the student story!
"Everyone has a different experience with the medical industry, and in Emily’s case she has experienced something I never have: a rare joint condition. She wrote how that condition tampered with her daily life and mental health, and how she feared she would never become “normal” again.
I admire Emily’s ability to not only adapt in hard situations that many struggle with, but also go back without hesitation to make a difference in the medical industry despite her struggles of feeling dismissed and unseen. Her bravery and persistence has helped me decide the kind of doctor I want to be (if I survive medical school) as well as view medicine from a more realistic and balanced perspective." - Julia
Students choose what to share and when, with our focus on learning feedback techniques together rather than exposing private details. Since authentic stories come from individual experiences, no two students can write the same essay anyway, making collaboration helpful rather than competitive.
"My essays gained a lot more emotion, description, and impact for the readers by sharing those personal stories with other my cohort. I knew that in order receive true feedback and improve my essays, I would need to be somewhat vulnerable, but I always felt comfortable to do so." - Emily
"I think something that's not emphasized enough in these types of programs is trust: how will a student trust a stranger they just met with information and stories that can be really personal for them. At the start of the cohort I was struggling a lot with my essays because it sounded cringy but building trust with Fei established a safe place for me to write even the cringiest sounding pieces without feeling embarrassed." - Julia
"Feiyang really took the time to listen to our daughter. Instead of dictating to her what he thought she should do, he carefully and meticulously took time to understand her as not just a student/candidate but as a person and individual which made her feel more comfortable and in control of a very important process.
If you’re the type of parent that wants your kid to end up at the perfect school for them with some help to “stand up straighter" and bring out more of what they already have (rather than changing who they are), then go with Feiyang! Through her work with Feiyang, our kid became wiser and more confident and more comfortable (with herself)." - Parents of student accepted to Johns Hopkins, UCLA & Berkeley
"We heard about Feiyang's service almost 2-3 days prior to the ED deadline. But his great comments and powerful essay editing really helped us understand what should be the right strategy for essays. My son's essays are much better than the version already approved from our contracted college counselor." - Parent of student accepted to Emory University (Early Decision)
"Though Alliance MIT serves students from historically underserved communities, Feiyang didn’t approach his support of our amazing scholars from a deficits mindset. Instead, he really worked to unlock and highlight the incredible potential, intelligence, and talents of our scholars. By taking an assets-minded approach to supporting our college-bound seniors, he really supported them to share their stories in a truly beautiful and compelling way.
Aside from being accepted to some of the most competitive universities in America, it was really powerful for me to see how much pride, confidence, and voice was shown through the application process that will help guide them in their college and career aspirations." - Jonathan Tiongco, Founding Principal & Executive Director at Alliance Marine - Innovation & Technology 6-12 Complex
