College Admissions

Hi! My name is Kate. With 14+ years of experience as a College Essay Coach, I have guided 100+ students through the college admissions process, specializing in the BYU application. My approach is personalized and strategic, focusing on each student's unique background to highlight their strengths in ways that resonate with admissions committees. I help students craft compelling essays, from initial brainstorming to final edits, so their applications stand out. Whether you're navigating the Common App or specific college programs, I'm here to help you shine. Let's work together to make your college dreams a reality!

I’m Becky Song, Founder & Executive Director of The Ivy Journey and a premium college admissions strategist with 15+ years of experience helping students build standout applications for Ivy League, Top 30, UC, and other highly selective universities. My students have earned admission to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, Penn/Wharton, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Duke, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, Michigan, Cornell, and more. I specialize in helping ambitious students move beyond a generic “high-achieving applicant” profile and develop a clear admissions strategy, memorable personal narrative, polished essays, and a school list that fits both their goals and competitive positioning. My approach combines admissions insight, strategic consulting, and deep narrative coaching. I help students identify what makes them distinctive, translate their academic and extracurricular experiences into a cohesive story, and present themselves with clarity, maturity, and authenticity across all elements of their application. I’m especially strong with students targeting Ivy+/Top 30 schools, business or entrepreneurship programs, STEM/business crossover profiles, undecided high-achievers, international students, students who need stronger differentiation, and families who want a structured, high-touch process. If you want a coach who can help you think strategically, write powerfully, and build an application that feels both authentic and competitive, I’d love to work with you.

With nearly two decades of experience in writing and editing, I specialize in guiding high school seniors through the college application process. As an Admissions Coach at College Essay Builder, I worked closely with students to develop compelling essay ideas and refine drafts into standout final products. My freelance work has helped students gain admission to prestigious institutions such as the BYU, University of Oxford, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and San Diego State University. I lived in in the multicultural and multiethnic country of Qatar for eight years where language and communication were at the forefront of life. Having coached many students to success, I'm here to help you craft a unique and powerful application. Let's connect and make your college dreams a reality!

I've been on both sides of this process, from getting into BYU on a scholarship to working with Admissions Directors here at Leland. I navigated BYU admissions without a consultant, completed a competitive business school application, and nailed internship-to-offer pipeline firsthand. During my time at BYU I also read essays and applications for business school as a mentor in the HR program, so I'm really familiar with what makes a great narrative. I've helped multiple students dive deep into their experience and present their best holistic application. You deserve to showcase who you are in a compelling way, and I can make that happen. Since I graduated from BYU, I work in Expert Success at Leland, where personal branding is my day job! I spend every day helping Leland coaches sharpen how they present themselves and connect with the right people. I'm your expert's expert for branding. :) If my background sounds like the right fit for you, reach out and let's get started!

I'm a Columbia University graduate in English Literature and former U.S. Naval Academy midshipman, with experience coaching students through competitive undergraduate, transfer, and professional-school admissions. My work includes helping an applicant gain admission to Cornell as a transfer student, supporting a successful Cooper Union application, and guiding applicants through medical and physician assistant school essays. My greatest strength is helping applicants discover and articulate what makes them distinctive. Highly accomplished students often struggle not because they lack compelling experiences, but because they haven't identified the narrative that connects those experiences or communicates their individual strengths. My approach combines thoughtful one-on-one conversations, strategic narrative development, and rigorous developmental editing. I help students understand what their experiences reveal about their character, motivations, and aspirations, then translate those insights into compelling essays that remain authentically their own. I'd welcome the opportunity to bring this individualized, high-touch approach to Leland's students, particularly those navigating selective undergraduate admissions, competitive transfers, and professional-school applications.

Pitchman and award-winning writer: I have successfully coached 300+ students in the college admissions process, so I understand the nuances of crafting standout applications for admissions committees. Among other things, I help with essay writing (my specialty), school selection, resume and interview preparation, and overall application strategy. I have an MBA, with a marketing concentration. I also have undergrad and grad degrees in writing, including from Northwestern, and I wrote and edited essays and human-interest stories for news outlets for more than 20 years. In addition, I've taught resume writing and interview prep at two junior colleges and helped students there apply to 4-year universities.

With a decade of experience in university enrollment and visitor experience, I understand what makes a college application stand out. At The University of Texas at Austin, I worked in undergraduate admissions, recruiting students, reading applications, and supporting admissions decisions. My experience at Stanford University and New York University further shaped my understanding of the college experience and the questions students face throughout the process. I also hold a graduate degree in Executive Coaching and Organizational Consulting from NYU and an International Coaching Federation certification. I combine firsthand admissions experience with a supportive, strategic coaching approach to help students articulate their strengths, tell their stories, and build applications that reflect who they are and what they bring to a campus.

Welcome to my profile! As a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business and a current MBA candidate at The Wharton School, I bring a strong academic foundation to my coaching. My professional journey at Boston Consulting Group helped me hone my analytical and strategic skills. At BCG, I actively supported recruiting efforts through mock interviews and coffee chats, giving me firsthand experience in what top firms look for in candidates. I am passionate about helping students navigate the college admissions process, leveraging my background to provide tailored guidance. Whether you need help with application strategy, essay writing, or interview preparation, I'm here to support you every step of the way. Let's connect and make your college dreams a reality!

With over two decades of experience as a Senior Admissions Consultant and Director, I have happily guided students to gain admission to their dream colleges. My background as a professional journalist and award-winning creative writer allows me to help clients craft compelling narratives that captivate admissions committees. I specialize in identifying and highlighting the unique stories that set applicants apart, ensuring their applications stand out. As a parent, you want someone who will guide and encourage your child to deliver the best possible work they can, and who understands the level of stress they are dealing with at this stage in their life. Let's start with a conversation, to see what you and your young applicant are looking for, and how I can be of service. Schedule a free intro session today!

For over two decades, I've worked at the intersection of admissions and leadership development — including a decade as an admissions director at Stanford Business School, and five years as Executive Director of the school's Center for Leadership Development, where I studied and taught leadership to Stanford MBAs. The two roles showed me the same lesson from different angles: students who thrive, in the application process and afterward, are the ones who've done real self-reflection, not just résumé-building. That's the perspective I bring to undergraduate coaching. With 20+ years in leadership development alongside my admissions background, I help students figure out what they really need before we worry about how to get it. I believe how you approach this process matters — it's often the first time a young person has had to articulate their own story under institutional scrutiny, and learning to do that effectively and with integrity sets the tone for how they'll approach everything that comes next, including college itself. None of that means I lose sight of the goal. I know why you're here: to get into your dream school, ideally with options and leverage when decisions come in. My job is to make sure the structured and serious work we do together serves both — a process that builds real self-understanding, and an application that reflects it in a way admissions committees respond to. If you're looking for a coach who's not only read applications at a top school, but developed admissions criteria and evaluation processes, and who takes an applicant's growth as seriously as their outcomes, I'd be glad to talk. Let's start with a conversation about where you are and what you're hoping for.