2026 cohort
The twelve students below are everyone Leo and Tristan took through the 2026 cycle, including the ones whose GPA alone would have counted them out. Eleven of the twelve were admitted to a top-25 university or a top-ranked program.
Featured · 2026 cohort
2026 cohort | Counselor: Leo Cao
3.6 GPA · Bottom 3% of UCLA's typical admit range · 1.5 years
UCLAUC San DiegoUC IrvineNortheastern
“I came in without a strong GPA or a list of achievements. What Leo helped me see is that I had a story. I just didn’t know how to tell it.”
Josh Tran, 2026
2026 cohort | Counselor: Tristan Cao
Research-heavy profile. The essays connected the lab work to one line of thought, so the file read as a single person asking a single question.
Stanford (Physics)
2026 cohort | Counselor: Tristan Cao
Strategy first. The activity list was rebuilt around what the student had actually built, and the essays kept that voice to the last supplemental.
MIT (Computer Science)
2026 cohort | Counselor: Tristan Cao
The writing was brought level with the profile. The research and volunteering were already there; the essays made them one cohesive story.
UPenn (Biology)
2026 cohort | Counselor: Leo Cao
3.8 GPA · Bottom 25% of UC Berkeley Haas admit range · 2 years
Strategic positioning and a differentiated narrative opened the door to one of the most selective business programs in the country.
UC BerkeleyUSCUC Davis
2026 cohort | Counselor: Tristan Cao
3.7 GPA
The essays did the arguing. The file was arranged so every page said the same thing about the same student, and the transcript stopped being the headline.
UC Berkeley
2026 cohort | Counselor: Tristan Cao
3.7 GPA
The story came first. The essays were rebuilt around what the student actually cared about, and the rest of the file was tuned to agree with them.
UCLA
2026 cohort | Counselor: Leo Cao
3.9 GPA · Essay coaching only
Strong academics, essays that matched. Admitted to all three top target schools in the same cycle.
UCLAUC BerkeleyUSC
2026 cohort | Counselor: Tristan Cao
3.9 GPA
Two very different programs, one story. Each essay was tuned to its school while the file stayed recognisably the same student.
NYU (Stern)Carnegie Mellon (APPM)
2026 cohort | Counselor: Leo Cao
3.7 GPA · Bottom 15% of NYU admit range · 2 years
Pre-law track. The application led with intellectual depth and professional purpose rather than GPA alone.
NYU (Top 10, Law)
2026 cohort | Counselor: Leo Cao
3.6 GPA · Bottom 10% of Virginia Tech CS admit range · 1 year
CS and startup track. Application led with intellectual initiative in a highly competitive pool.
Virginia Tech (Top 25, CS)
2026 cohort | Counselor: Leo Cao
3.2 GPA · Bottom 1% of UC Santa Cruz admit range · 1 year
Built entirely around identity and voice. The right narrative can open doors that grades alone cannot.
UC Santa Cruz (Top 50)
The whole cohort
Top-ranked or top-25, eleven of twelve
92%
T25 admission offers in hand
20
Students taken through the cycle
12
By school
A student admitted to four schools appears under all four, which is why these add to twenty and not to twelve.
Next cycle
Book a call and tell me where your student is applying. I will tell you what I think of the list and where I would start.