Work with Robert
About
Let me help you with your admissions interview, your transfer application, your grad school apps, and more. With 8 years living in Tokyo, I'm also an expert at helping international APAC applicants.
Robert’s College Qualifications
Do you want a mentor who's been around the block, will go the extra mile for you, and yet is somehow still so chill? I've lived in Japan for 8 years, been one of MIT's undergraduate interviewers (an "Educational Counselor") for 10, transferred to an Ivy League for undergrad (and was admitted to a lot of other top schools before that), and got into all my grad schools of choice, including my dream one, MIT. I turned down multiple top PhD programs to go do my 2-year Master's there. I've gotten people into Harvard undergrad and into the UCLA MBA. I've interviewed dozens of students for MIT, both international and domestic, from across the US and across Asia. Not only do I know what you need to be doing with your time (the most important thing) leading up to your application, as well as how to write your essays and how to get those letters of rec, but I know how to prep you for the hardest part: the interview. I even taught in MIT's Oral Communication for Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists class during my time there, where I coached dozens of undergrads multiple times each week in giving presentations, pitches, and down-to-earth technical speaking. To top it all off, at my first job in Japan as a researcher, I also frequently coached my non-native-English-speaking coworkers on giving conference talks, and revised their research submissions (another competitive process). Whether you're domestic or international, an English or Japanese speaker, doing test prep, college admissions, want to transfer, or are applying to grad school, if you want someone who knows what's up, I got you.
Robert can help with:
Application Strategy
Editing
Essays
Interviews
Recommendations
Resume
School Selection
Secondary Review
Supplementary Materials
Testing & Assessments
Why do I coach?
The interview is the only part of your application that you only get one shot at. You can revise your essays countless times. You get multiple letters of rec to round each other out. You can retake standardized tests. You can often even send in resume or grade updates after already submitting. My interviews were always the parts I regretted the most, and that I felt didn't do myself justice. When I first applied to college, I had all the wrong expectations about what interviewers were looking for, but afterwards I always felt that if I had just known what mattered beforehand and hadn't psyched myself out, then, even if my interviewer sucked, I could have knocked it out of the park, and at least lived with no regrets. After going through the application process all over again to transfer colleges to a school I finally wanted to be at, and now after 10 years as an interviewer myself, I'm in the exact opposite position as I was back then. Rehearsal and feedback are the only things you need in order to give yourself your best shot in your college interviews. When I taught Oral Communication at MIT, the students of mine who did the best were the ones who took my advice to repeatedly record themselves rehearsing and then watch themselves back with an informed critic's eye. That's my free advice to you. The informed part is what you still need. There's no need for months of meetings with me to understand how to present yourself for your interviews. Just 2 or 3 intensive 1.5-2 hour sessions, and you'll be set for life - for all your undergrad applications, for grad school, and for helping others. Need help with the other aspects of your college or grad school goals instead? Whatever it is, I've got you covered. We're not leaving anything on the table. When you work with me, you won't have to worry about college application regrets anymore.
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Master's Degree, Technology and Policy (Cybersecurity)
2015 - 2017
The Technology and Policy Program (TPP) is the oldest program of its kind in the US. It was a 2-year interdisciplinary research degree. About half my time every week, I was doing security research, with the other half devoted toward a combination of a custom curriculum for me with specialized classes in cybersecurity or Internet policy, and general policy classes with other students in TPP who had their own research assistant jobs in separate engineering fields. I have also been an interviewer (Educational Counselor aka EC) for MIT for about 10 years now, writing lengthy reports on applicants and working indirectly with the admissions office, but I am not a "decision maker" proper.
Columbia University
Bachelor's Degree, Computer Science
2013 - 2015
I transferred in as a Junior from Washington University in St. Louis, which is no small feat: applying as a Junior to an Ivy League pitted me up against a roughly 1% admission rate at the time. President Obama was a Junior transfer to Columbia too - a rarity, since only ~20% of Columbia transfers are Juniors. I also changed my major when I transferred, which meant I had to hustle to fit all my coursework in and graduate on time, but I pulled it off because I know the grind. I have been an interviewer for freshman admissions to Columbia as well, but I primarily interview for MIT, out of choice.
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