TKG

About The koppelman group

At The Koppelman Group, we believe all of our students have the potential to do something amazing. Students we work with have invented medical devices, created successful businesses, published research in top journals, and so much more – all before stepping into their first class of college. We know that helping these students gain admission to top-tier universities is only the first step in helping them solve world problems, create jobs and further industry, and become some of the greatest minds in the country.

As a top college admissions consulting company, we have an approach unlike any other. Other firms focus on the typical, the ordinary, and the ‘standard’ way. We focus on what makes each student unique. No two students are the same, so why would we use a cookie-cutter approach? We craft strategies that get students into the right school for them, schools suited to their goals, their interests, and their personalities.

The Highest Acceptance Rate of Any College Admissions Consulting Firm

It’s a bold claim, but we stand by it. 100% of students who join us as sophomores and juniors get into at least one of their top three schools. That’s because our personal, one-on-one coaching isn’t just about adding fluff to a resume or having students join every club at school. We help students build out their niche, which means not only looking impressive to top-tier schools, but helping students find out what they’re truly passionate about. Some of the schools our students have gained admission to include:

• Harvard

• Princeton

• Yale

• Dartmouth

• Stanford

• Columbia

• Penn

• Cornell

• Brown

• UC Berkeley

• Georgetown

• Duke

• Michigan

• USC

• UT Austin

• UNC

• UVA

• And many, many more

We help students stand out above the others. We know it’s not enough anymore to have great grades, scores, and school extracurriculars. That’s why we help each student craft not just their niche, but their story, to create a compelling and unique applicant profile.

By drawing out each student’s individual strengths and learning about their personality, we are able to help students reach their potential. With over a decade of experience, we know the ins and outs of college admissions and can guide you and your family through the ever-changing process. Our counselors have all attended top-tier institutions and are passionate about higher education, supporting students, and they thrive on seeing students achieve great things.

About caroline koppelman, founder of tkg

Case Study: Elite STEM Student Seeks Elite STEM Programs

Situation: Amie was a student who had big goals for herself. She came to us during her Junior Year. She intended to apply to many of the most competitive schools in the nation and knew that she would need help. We assisted her in applying to 10 elite schools to help her pursue her love of biomedical engineering at a high level.

Background on Amie: Amie was an exceptional student. She came from a STEM-focused high school in the equally STEM-focused Silicon Valley area. Like many other students from the Silicon Valley, she excelled in her math and, especially, science classes and pushed herself in school. She had a fantastic resume. She was deeply involved in research and worked at a college lab assisting a team that studied contagious diseases. She was also passionate about music and community service. She started her own NGO in high school and was committed to everything she did. In many ways, Amie was a perfect student. However, that came with it’s own challenges. She had more activities and awards that would fit on most apps. She also sometimes came off as too formal and detached in her writing. In all, she had a great resume, but she needed help packaging herself.

College Goals: Ivy League School, Cal Tech, or Stanford

How TKG Helped: We first helped her craft a school list that included safety schools. With a student like Amie, even her safety schools, such as UCs and Carnegie Mellon, were competitive. Before applying, we also looked at her complete package and identified her most important extracurriculars and awards. This was essential with Amie as she had done so much in high school that she needed a strategy for what to highlight.

Amie also needed help when it came to writing. At first, she had a stiffness in her writing. Coming from a research background, her writing was highly formal and often hard to parse. She loved her research but had issues explaining in a way that non-STEM researchers would understand. We worked with her to allow herself to write a good story and show her warm and good-humored side.

College Results: Amie was accepted to several schools on her list but found herself choosing between Columbia and Cal Tech. She was very much on the fence but decided Cal Tech was the best option for her.

Case Study: International Student With Lower Grades and Scores Aims For Business School

Situation: We started working with Theo during his junior year. Originally from Kenya, he was attending a private school in Britain. He knew he wanted to go to business school in America but didn’t have a plan to make that dream a reality. He needed help navigating the US college system and how to best tell his narrative.

Background on Theo: Theo’s grades and ACT were not ideal. He wanted to apply to the Kelley School of Business at the University of Indiana Bloomington; however, with a sub 3.5 GPA, his grades were on the low side for their business program. He had a 26 on the ACT. Outside of class, he had a good resume with several business-centric activities and internships.

College Goals: The Kelley School of Business or another business school

How TKG Helped: First, we referred him to an ACT tutor we trusted. He brought his score up from 26 to 29. We also encouraged him to work on his resume, including adding another internship in the business sector. We then started to work on his college list. He was unfamiliar with the American college application process and needed help finding other business programs in America that were within reach. When it came to applying, he needed help selling himself. He had interests but didn’t always know how to talk about them. His writing often didn’t fit with his bright and sweet personality, but we were able to help him write an essay that captured who he was outside of academics.

College Results: While he was excited about Kelley, we encouraged Theo to apply early decision to a program that offered that admission strategy. He decided to apply early to either Babson or Boston College. We encouraged him to apply to BC, and he was accepted early. He pulled his other applications and is now attending BC’s Carroll School of Management.

Case Study: Ivy League Denial Turns Into Ivy League Acceptance for This Late-Comer

Situation: Molly came to us late December, less than two weeks shy of the RD application due dates after being denied from Brown Early Decision. She had not submitted many other applications, so we had to craft a list of 10 colleges to complete in 10 days, as well as refresh her Common App essay.

Background on Molly: Molly was a stellar student with a perfect GPA and 1580 SAT score. She was in every way an ideal Ivy League candidate, but had applied to the wrong one for her. She wanted to study chemistry, had completed high-level research through a local college, and had even invented a device to detect date-rape drugs in drinks using light technology. Her invention made her a finalist of the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. Beyond STEM, she had many extracurriculars, was captain of her debate team, and participated in local government youth initiatives.

College Goals: She was interested in any top-level STEM program, and her top choices for RD were Amherst and Yale.

How TKG Helped: Molly’s family opted for our "It's Going To Be OK" package. First on our to-do list for the next 10 days was creating a college list of schools she would be excited to attend. After that, we had to focus on her Common App essay. The essay she used for Brown was lacking and did not properly communicate her personality, her thoughtfulness, or her sense of humor. Molly was a strong writer, and we were able to craft a new essay that let her personality shine. We helped her refocus her supplemental essays for each school and the themes we wanted to come across in each application. While each essay had previously been about her work in STEM, we wanted to make sure each essay showcased something new about herself.

College Results: Molly is currently attending Yale, but she was accepted to many elite schools, including Duke, Amherst, Michigan, and Boston University.