PrepNow Tutor - Kevin P.
Kevin has worked in college admissions counseling since 2009 at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He holds a BA in French and political science from the University of North Carolina and a JD/LLM in international and comparative law from Duke University School of Law; he also received a certificate from the College Advising Program at Teachers College, Columbia. After earning his degrees, Kevin practiced law briefly before realizing that he liked studying law more than the actual practice. “Because of my interest in academia, I took a role as an admissions counselor and haven't looked back,” Kevin shares. “I was drawn to admissions, firstly because of my love of learning, but also because I get the most out of jobs where I am actually helping people.” Kevin’s experience includes serving as Assistant Director of Recruitment and Admissions for the University of Chicago Booth Executive MBA program, advising for US and Hong Kong-based education firms, and independent counseling.
As an admissions consultant, Kevin especially loves demystifying the admission process for nervous parents and students. “I really enjoy breaking the admissions process down into manageable steps for families and students,” Kevin says. He enjoys college selection because he strongly believes that rankings are irrelevant if the student isn't going to thrive at the college, and he loves brainstorming essays with students. “To me, it's a creative process and should be fun,” Kevin says. “Especially when the student has that aha moment and discovers a topic that they weren't even thinking about before.” As a consultant, Kevin has extensive experience with international students and first-generation US families, and has guided many students through pre-law and pre-business tracks. Kevin’s students have earned admission to highly selective institutions, including Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Cornell, Duke, Stanford, Georgetown, the University of Michigan, and more.
When asked about a memorable consulting experience, Kevin recalls working with a student who had strong grades and extracurriculars, but was having a hard time putting it all into one narrative. “She was so hung up on highlighting her academics and leadership that she tried to cram too much into every section of the application, and forgot about the personal narrative.” This student ultimately wrote two essays: one that highlighted her achievements, and one about how a conversation with her grandfather impacted her worldview. “She really wanted to go with the academic one, but I finally convinced her the grandfather story was the right one to share,” Kevin says. “I think students forget that your application only gets a few minutes from an admissions officer, and a lot of the battle is in how you present yourself in one cohesive narrative to the university. She had great success getting into Yale, Berkeley, Penn (Wharton), Harvard, Brown, and other top schools.”
Outside of work, Kevin enjoys traveling, reading, mastering the New York Times games section, and spending time with his partner and two dogs.
