We work with high powered parents who are driven, hard-working, and busy. Many of our parents consist of highly technical professionals who have a teenager that may not listen to their every word. Many didn’t go to college in the US, where test scores and marks were all that mattered… so the US college system and admissions is confusing. Some of the parents that we work with come from top schools in the US, AND they also know that getting an outside expert can create a BETTER relationship with their child and value the power of coaching. While most of parent’s guidance has lots of golden nuggets, for most teens it is in one ear and out the other. These parents know the power of getting mentorship, coaching, guidance, and hiring outside of themselves to help gain exposure for their children to ensure their success. If this is you..keep reading.
At College Shortcuts, founded by the esteemed Neha Gupta, we are dedicated to unlocking the full potential of each student we work with. While we absolutely could run our entire business on just 11th-12th graders and applications, we found that MANY if not ALL of the students who would come to us at that time in their high school career LACKED the resume and unique brand to get into a top school. Due to this, we wanted to positively impact our admissions acceptance rates, and build this program. Our exclusive VIP Mentorship Program is tailored to provide a personalized, one-on-one coaching experience that helps students stand out in the competitive college admissions landscape. With a commitment to only 30 families per year, we ensure that each student receives the individualized attention and guidance they need to succeed from both Neha and her team. Every family must go through a rigorous interview process with our enrollment director to ensure we have aligned goals, shared values, and students who are ready to unlock their potential.
Most students believe that passion hits you. One day, you wake up, and BOOM you all of a sudden KNOW you want to be a doctor, computer scientist, or entrepreneur.
Finding your passion…. Never happens that way. Ever. Students are misled to think that passion is born out of thin air. See below. Here is the random light bulb that apparently turns on at one point in their life.
We all know…that passion is born out of exposure, experiences, and most of all OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. It also gets created by having someone by your side creating those moments and experiences for you to help navigate your journey and path. It doesn’t happen at the dinner table when asked every few months to check in… with a response of “I don’t know.”
Our mission is profound yet straightforward: to empower students to reach their fullest potential. Through a unique blend of UPENN-influenced academic strategies and essential life skills, we prepare our students not just for college but for their future careers and personal growth. We help students to unlock their potential, find their passion and interest in life, and make an impact in the world within our one year program. We also developed this program because we know that hundreds of thousands of students go to college each year spending an average of $60,000-80,000 per year attempting to figure out what they want to do. At College Shortcuts, we find that to be a very expensive price tag to take a bunch of classes and still not figuring it out. Less than 50% of students graduate in 4 years, and that shows how the education system does NOT help students fully to find their passion because it requires a lot of personalized work and curated experiences and attention…that is why this program is a priceless investment to your child’s future and significantly cheaper than 1 year at a top 25 school.
Month 1-2: Digging To Find Gold - Student Passion and Potential
Deep Dive into Personality & Career Guidance: We begin with an intensive exploration of each student's strengths, weaknesses, passions, and interests. By employing advanced psychometric assessments and personalized career guidance, we help students uncover their true potential and set a clear direction for their academic and extracurricular journey. This foundational understanding allows us to craft a high-growth strategy tailored specifically to their unique profile, positioning them for maximum impact and success. We believe heavily in this process as we know that 99% of schools do not do this work, even though it is the most important work for job and life satisfaction.
Month 3: Ideation & Innovation
Brainstorming Capstone Projects and Research Paper Concepts: In this critical phase, we facilitate a creative ideation process where students brainstorm and conceptualize capstone projects and research initiatives. Our expert mentors guide students to identify projects that not only align with their passions but also highlight their unique skills and interests. This process helps students unlock innovative ideas and develop strategies that position them as thought leaders and changemakers. Every project is different. Many parents ask us, can you tell us projects you have done in the past? Review below in our case studies with examples of student projects.
Month 4: Laying the Groundwork
Building the Foundation: With their ideas in place, students begin to develop actionable plans that bring their projects and research paper to life. This phase involves detailed planning and strategy development, ensuring that each project has a solid foundation. Our mentors provide continuous support, helping students navigate challenges and refine their plans to maximize impact and success.
Months 5-9: Bringing Ideas to Life
Execution Phase: During these months, students transition from planning to execution. This phase is all about bringing their capstone projects and paper to fruition. Students develop academic and summer activities, enhance their extracurricular strategies, and implement their project plans with meticulous guidance from our mentors. This hands-on experience helps them build critical skills and gain real-world experience, setting the stage for impressive college applications. We also hold our student’s hands during their insecurities, concerns, doubts, and imposter syndrome that comes out when putting themselves outside of their comfort zone. This is the true power of coaching while executing on their plans.
Month 10: Refinement & Strategy
Capstone Enhancements: As students make progress, we focus on refining their capstone project and research paper and reviewing their academic course strategies. Our goal is to ensure that students are on the right track and that their projects are evolving to meet high standards. This phase includes detailed feedback and strategic adjustments to enhance the overall quality and impact of their work.
Month 11-12: Professional Preparation and Impact Generation
Capstone Project and Research Paper Completion: In the final months, we ensure that all projects and papers are polished and ready for submission. This includes detailed reviews, edits, and final presentations that showcase students' hard work and dedication. Our goal is to help students present their projects in the most compelling and professional manner, demonstrating their passion, commitment, and potential to college admissions committees.
Throughout the Program: Soft Skills Mastery
Communication, Leadership, and Teamwork: Focused training on essential soft skills that are crucial for success in college and beyond. We provide targeted exercises and real-world scenarios to help students develop strong communication, leadership, and teamwork abilities. These skills not only enhance their college applications but also prepare them for future academic and professional success.
Our program, influenced by Neha Gupta's education at Rice and UPENN, is designed for maximum impact in college admissions. You will work with Neha and her team the entire 12 months. Our program includes academic strategies, extracurricular activities, and summer planning, ensuring all aspects of the college application process are covered. It’s like having a school counselor, but white-glove, high-level service. Think Four Seasons / Ritz Carlton level experience where you have a concierge to help you with your experience not a counselor who never responds and then emails you generic Google links.
Two calls per month for 12 months - a total of 24 calls. You can also do 24 calls in a shorter time, again it is completely customized based on your availability.
We believe this program is for the following:
Parents get to relax and focus on being a PARENT vs. a coach. We send detailed reports after every single session with our notes organized for you to review to see what we are doing and working on. Your student and College Shortcuts are now leading and guiding the process, not you. Sit back, and see the work completed! They can absolutely email and reach out to us for any questions they have, but they are no longer in the driver’s seat having to push every single item and thing forward for their child.
Due to the confidentiality and competitive nature of college admissions, we can give examples of what students have worked on. Case studies are at the bottom.
Our youngest student is in 6th grade, and our oldest is in college. We help students at all times in their academic career, and we help students year after year. We have a 99% rate of parents signing up for the next year and reserving their spot in advance to ensure their child has a guide by their side.
This is a one year commitment where students will have a total of 24 - 36 calls total depending on the program you choose. Homework - barely 1 - 3 hour per month outside of sessions. We keep everything within our calls as most of our students are top 10% and are busy with top classes and other items.
Yes, 100% of our students will get an online publication for their paper, and can share this on their resume for admissions.
100% of our students have solid summer plans with competitive programs across the country getting help with their applications and due dates. In addition, all of them have a strong sense of their extracurricular plans as well.
At College Shortcuts, we recognize the immense value of both research papers and hands-on projects in the college admissions process. While a well-crafted research paper demonstrates a student’s intellectual curiosity and ability to delve deeply into a subject, a capstone project offers something unique: the opportunity to apply that knowledge in a practical, real-world context.
A capstone project allows students to showcase their leadership, creativity, and problem-solving skills. It demonstrates their ability to take initiative, lead a team, or create something impactful, which are qualities that colleges highly value. While many programs focus solely on research papers, our VIP Mentorship Program allows you the option to integrate a research paper, capstone project or both. This ensures students not only have a strong academic narrative but also a practical, innovative edge that sets them apart in admissions.
The research paper and the capstone project complement each other, providing a well-rounded profile. The research paper shows depth in a specific area, while the project illustrates the ability to translate ideas into action. Together, they create a powerful combination that highlights a student’s full range of talents and prepares them for both college and beyond.
Meet Riya. In 9th grade, Riya’s constant response to her dad when asked what she wanted to study in college or do in life was the three dreaded words of every parent, “I don’t know.”
Riya wasn’t incorrect, she was being honest. While that answer is her truth, it won’t work in college admissions 3 years later when she will need to write about her impact, passion, and drive and how she has her own personal narrative to get into college.
I don’t know…. isn’t unique, and won’t get any student into a top 50 university in the US. Grades and scores alone also won’t get a student into a top 50 university either. Riya won’t be able to write 40 essays about this topic….Her dad knew this, and while Riya thought she would one day wake up with her passion, her dad knew that he would have to find outside of school solutions to assist in this process.
So, Riya’s dad, a very busy, hard-working dad, hired College Shortcuts. Since hiring us, Riya has developed a passion for marketing and entrepreneurship. While her dad works at one of the top entrepreneurial firms in the country, Riya enjoys her mentors and listening to their advice and expertise more. Through personality tests, discussion of strategic plans, and digging through what she may be interested in, she has not only written a research paper on the marketing strategies of two major food companies and how they moved past crises, she has also launched her own company. While she has suffered from doubt, insecurity, and a heavy dose of imposter syndrome, College Shortcuts has helped her to get out of her comfort zone, and start acquiring customers. Now, Riya has great summer plans, is making all A’s in high school, and involved in extracurricular activities at school. She also has a unique angle with a capstone project and paper, and is more confident, clear, and knows what she wants to do with her future. She received acceptances into UPENN Wharton, UT Austin Business Honors, and Babson her top choices.
Meet Neil. He’s an 8th grader who is super passionate about coding, computer science, engineering, and building things from scratch. Working with College Shortcuts, we helped him to create impact through a community service project helping his local community. In doing so, he’s learned soft skills, raised money, and has learned leadership and team skills. In addition, we worked with him on building a capstone project related to his passion through building a blog and website as well as a technical paper that he published online. He’s worked with College Shortcuts for a few years now, and has an acceptance to MIT.
Meet Maya. She is passionate about pre-med and knows she wants to go into medicine. While she at first did all the typical things at school that millions of students have done - HOSA, BIO AP, and volunteering at a local hospital, her parents knew she had to do something more unique. She worked with College Shortcuts and had incredible summer camps that are highly competitive to get into, she wrote a detailed research paper in her field of interest in medicine that was published, and she started her own non-profit project as well. She developed her outgoing personality over time and was proactive in her nature in getting out there and making an impact. Maya got accepted into the UPENN Vagelos and today is trying to choose between Harvard and Stanford medical school. She says that all her soft skills and training helped her so much in college. College Shortcuts is now working with her younger sibling.
If you would like to learn more from students we have worked with, go to https://collegeshortcuts.com/testimonials
If you are interested in this program, please schedule your interview here: www.collegeshortcuts.com/apply
