PrepNow Tutor - Annie C.
An admissions consultant specializing in Ivy League and Top 25 schools, Annie is a lifelong educator, writer, and community member who loves working with students of all ages. Annie holds a BA in political science and ethnicity, race, and migration from Yale University and is currently pursuing an MA in labor studies from CUNY School of Labor and Union Studies. Annie has been working in college admissions continuously since 2019. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she spent a year on the executive team of an Inc. 500 college admissions company, completely overhauling their college admissions process and advising on their consultant education and onboarding program. “I oversaw one of their most successful admissions seasons with hundreds of seniors, and the training protocols and SOPs that I put in place remain today,” she says. Annie has a dynamic, curiosity-driven approach to helping students and families navigate the college admissions process.
As a private admissions consultant, Annie is committed to meeting each student's needs. She offers a full white glove service, which includes interview prep, passion identification, habit building, class selection, essay development, extracurricular planning, scholarship search, and more. “This entails gut checks on every question under the sun,” Annie says. “I've always loved working with students of all ages to help them cultivate a sense of confidence.” When consulting, Annie prioritizes cultivating the student's individuality, sense of curiosity and wonder, and ability to self-start. “I always say that they are ultimately driving the process, and I can only help them so much as we collaborate and communicate openly,” Annie explains. “More information is always better than less: if you hate a piece of advice or don't jive with a recommendation, let me know!” Annie’s mentorship style is direct, supportive, cheerful, and dynamic. She brings creative energy and motivation to her students and works well with families looking to establish long-term familiarity and trust.
Annie has worked extensively with international students across various schooling systems, including Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Within the United States, she has also worked with students from a variety of backgrounds from elite Connecticut academies to rural high schools in Utah. Annie was the first student in her county to attend an Ivy League school in many years and she felt unprepared for the learning environment. “When I first started consulting, it was all about helping students navigate the confusing and intimidating process of college admissions, which I had done mostly on my own as a student from an underserved public high school in Florida,” she explains.
When Annie was in school, it took her a long time to find her passions and identify her core values as a student. “What I love about college admissions is helping students accelerate that process of identifying the meaningful work in their lives,” Annie reflects. “What I hope to impart to students is that the profiles they cultivate don't have to just be about 'getting in'. Rather, what is strategically more meaningful is that their admissions pursuits are authentic to them.” Though her expertise is in college admissions, Annie is also experienced in working with secondary school students.
When asked to recount a recent success story, Annie recalls a junior from a rigorous California public school. “While he had great scores and maxed out the STEM curriculum, he was really missing the 'special sauce',” Annie explains. “I helped him cultivate a niche within computer science: applied agronomy.” In the year that Annie worked with him, she’d regularly send him related materials and helped him draft networking emails to contacts in the field. Ultimately, this student secured a paid internship at an agricultural robotics startup and a research assistantship with a local professor who was working on data visualization mapping related to climate change. “By helping him apply his love for the tools and skill set of computer science to concrete work, he was able to develop a more compelling profile,” Annie explains. “We also worked together on a personal statement that showcased his academic passions and skills; this combination is specifically necessary for computer science students who tend to lean more technical in their language and storytelling. He is now studying CS at his top choice school UC Berkeley, in the most competitive department, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences.”
As a student, Annie received numerous fellowships, grants, and awards. She was a member of Model UN and Yale International Relations Association, played varsity tennis, wrote for the Yale Globalist magazine and Yale Daily News magazine, and participated in various community service groups.
Annie is interested in traveling, language learning, cooking, music, food history, writing, journalism, and reading. In addition to doing college admissions work, Annie is a full-time butcher at a whole-animal butcher shop, does culinary popups and space activations in NYC, and enjoys labor journalism and freelance food writing. “Try everything, and don't let fear of doing the wrong thing keep you from moving forward,” Annie says. “Self-advocacy and audacity are the most important skills you can cultivate in any university or high school environment, competitive or otherwise, and they'll stay with you for life.”
