Top of the Class: Asia

10. Be A Genuine Student & Applicant w/ Rafael Angouw (UPENN WHARTON '28)

University applicants tend to think there is a specific formula they must follow to be competitive for their dream university, but this couldn't be further from the truth!
Raf, a recent Wharton admit, shares the importance of being genuine and true to yourself, and how to translate that genuineness to your academics, extracurriculars, and essays.
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Crimson Education offers personalised services to help make your college ambitions a reality, from overall strategy, essay-writing support, college selection, building your extracurriculars, and many more. Crimson strategists, mentors, and tutors are former Ivy League, Stanford, and other top school graduates. They have helped students from around the world get into top universities in the US, UK, EU, and Australia.
Start pursuing your dreams and talk to one of Crimson’s expert advisors by going to bit.ly/helpmecrimson.
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Host: Spencer LestiadiGuest: Rafael AngouwEditor & Producer: Spencer LestiadiMusic: Beat Jumper by Humans Win

9. Creating History w/ Aurel Leowinata (STANFORD '28)

Stanford is one of the most prestigious and competitive universities in the world. With an acceptance rate of 4%, how should you approach your application? What kind of profiles will get you there?
Aurel, a student from Surabaya, shares her story about building her impressive extracurriculars, unearthing her identities in her essays, and creating history as the first student from her school's 30-year history to get into Stanford.
Check out Aurel's Trash2Treasure venture: https://www.instagram.com/trash2treasure.sby/
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Crimson Education offers personalised services to help make your college ambitions a reality, from overall strategy, essay-writing support, college selection, building your extracurriculars, and many more. Crimson strategists, mentors, and tutors are former Ivy League, Stanford, and other top school graduates. They have helped students from around the world get into top universities in the US, UK, EU, and Australia.
Start pursuing your dreams and talk to one of Crimson’s expert advisors by going to bit.ly/helpmecrimson.
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Host: Spencer LestiadiGuest: Clarissa Aurelia LeowinataEditor & Producer: Spencer LestiadiMusic: Beat Jumper by Humans Win

8. Mastering the Digital SAT w/ Abi Rajendran (SAT Expert & CGA Teacher)

Universities like Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth have brought back the SAT requirements! How can you prepare yourselves for the Digital SAT and get a 1500+ to become a competitive applicant?
Learn the strategies and tips on SAT preparation with Abi Rajendran, a CGA teacher and SAT expert who has helped many students score 1500+ and get into the best universities in the world!
Get personalised admissions advice from Crimson's expert advisors: bit.ly/helpmecrimson
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Crimson Launchpad SAT Masterclass (starting on July 27, 2024)
Critical Reader's 15 Grammar & Punctuation Rules
Test Innovators Digital SAT Practices
Vibrant Publishers books
Test Ninjas
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Crimson Education offers personalised services to help make your college ambitions a reality, from overall strategy, essay-writing support, college selection, building your extracurriculars, and many more. Crimson strategists, mentors, and tutors are former Ivy League, Stanford, and other top school graduates. They have helped students from around the world get into top universities in the US, UK, EU, and Australia.
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Host: Spencer LestiadiGuest: Chloe TjakraEditor & Producer: Spencer LestiadiMusic: Beat Jumper by Humans Win

7. Starting a Non-Profit in High School w/ Kharisa Tamphanuwat (Class of 2025)

A huge part of your US college application is what impact you have created in your communities and surroundings. One great way to show this is to start a non-profit organization to show initiative and leadership.
But you're in high school! So where do you begin?
In this episode, Kharisa, a high school student herself, shares how she was able to build Soap for Indonesia, a non-profit organization that has spanned across 3 cities in Indonesia.
If you'd like to get involved with Soap for Indonesia, go to https://www.instagram.com/soapforindonesia/
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Crimson Education offers personalised services to help make your college ambitions a reality, from overall strategy, essay-writing support, college selection, building your extracurriculars, and many more. Crimson strategists, mentors, and tutors are former Ivy League, Stanford, and other top school graduates. They have helped students from around the world get into top universities in the US, UK, EU, and Australia.
Start pursuing your dreams and talk to one of Crimson’s expert advisors by going to bit.ly/helpmecrimson.
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Host: Spencer LestiadiGuest: Kharisa TamphanuwatEditor & Producer: Spencer LestiadiMusic: Beat Jumper by Humans Win

6. How to Find Your Niche in Computer Science w/ Chloe Tjakra (UMichigan '28)

Computer Science has become a very competitive major at top US universities, so how do you stand out and increase your chances of getting accepted? What kind of extracurriculars should you pursue?
Chloe Tjakra, a recent high school graduate from Indonesia who will be attending the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, shares her story of finding her niche in Computer Science, building her impressive extracurriculars, acing the SAT, and many more!
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Crimson Education offers personalised services to help make your college ambitions a reality, from overall strategy, essay-writing support, college selection, building your extracurriculars, and many more. Crimson strategists, mentors, and tutors are former Ivy League, Stanford, and other top school graduates. They have helped students from around the world get into top universities in the US, UK, EU, and Australia.
Start pursuing your dreams and talk to one of Crimson’s expert advisors by going to bit.ly/helpmecrimson.
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Host: Spencer LestiadiGuest: Chloe TjakraEditor & Producer: Spencer LestiadiMusic: Beat Jumper by Humans Win

5. Starting College Prep As Early As 9 YEARS OLD w/ Emily Tan

Many know that the most competitive US colleges will assess a student's profile from Grade 9 onwards. But as it turns out, you should start preparing earlier than that!
We are joined by Emily Tan, a Rise Mentor, to explore how Crimson Education's Rise Program can help students aged 9-14 build habits and character that will help them prepare for the most prestigious universities in the world.
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Crimson Education offers personalised services to help make your college ambitions a reality, from overall strategy, essay-writing support, college selection, building your extracurriculars, and many more. Crimson strategists, mentors, and tutors are former Ivy League, Stanford, and other top school graduates. They have helped students from around the world get into top universities in the US, UK, EU, and Australia.
Start pursuing your dreams and talk to one of Crimson’s expert advisors by going to bit.ly/helpmecrimson.
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Host: Spencer LestiadiGuest: Emily TanEditor & Producer: Spencer LestiadiMusic: Beat Jumper by Humans Win

4. Building Extracurriculars for Top US Colleges w/ Anderson Tan

A huge part of your college application is your extracurricular activities. But how do you make sure that your extracurricular activities are competitive enough for your dream college? How do you begin crafting an extracurricular list? Do colleges prefer one type of activity over another?
Learn from our veteran Extracurricular Mentor, Anderson Tan, about how you can build your extracurriculars.
Anderson is an Indonesian who graduated from London School of Economics, after which he spent 4 years guiding students from Asia to build strong extracurricular profiles for top US colleges.
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Crimson Education offers personalised services to help make your college ambitions a reality, from overall strategy, essay-writing support, college selection, building your extracurriculars, and many more. Crimson strategists, mentors, and tutors are former Ivy League, Stanford, and other top school graduates. They have helped students from around the world get into top universities in the US, UK, EU, and Australia.
Start pursuing your dreams and talk to one of Crimson’s expert advisors by going to bit.ly/helpmecrimson.
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Host: Spencer LestiadiGuest: Anderson TanEditor & Producer: Spencer LestiadiMusic: Beat Jumper by Humans Win

3. From Jakarta to UCLA & Navigating US College Admissions w/ Rachel Darmawangsa

What does it take a student to become a competitive applicant to their dream colleges? Are grades the only thing that will get reviewed? How early should I start?
We are joined by Rachel Darmawangsa, a UCLA alumni from Jakarta, who answered these questions and shared her journey from Jakarta to becoming a Bruin.
Rachel is also a College Consultant who has helped students get into Top 10 universities and different UC campuses.
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Crimson Education offers personalised services to help make your college ambitions a reality, from overall strategy, essay-writing support, college selection, building your extracurriculars, and many more. Crimson strategists, mentors, and tutors are former Ivy League, Stanford, and other top school graduates. They have helped students from around the world get into top universities in the US, UK, EU, and Australia.
Start pursuing your dreams and talk to one of Crimson’s expert advisors by going to bit.ly/helpmecrimson.
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Host: Spencer LestiadiGuest: Rachel DarmawangsaEditor & Producer: Spencer LestiadiMusic: Beat Jumper by Humans Win

2. Writing Great Supplemental Essays w/ Xiaochen Su (Application Mentor)

Now that you've got your personal statement done, you should be able to take a breather, right? Not quite! You may still need to write your college supplemental essays.
What are they? What should I write about? What should I NOT say?
Get the answer to these questions, and many more, with Xiaochen Su, a Yale and LSE graduate who has helped students get into universities like MIT, Stanford, NYU, and more!
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Crimson Education offers personalised services to help make your college ambitions a reality, from overall strategy, essay-writing support, college selection, building your extracurriculars, and many more. Crimson strategists, mentors, and tutors are former Ivy League, Stanford, and other top school graduates. They have helped students from around the world get into top universities in the US, UK, EU, and Australia.
Start pursuing your dreams and talk to one of Crimson’s expert advisors by going to bit.ly/helpmecrimson.
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Host: Spencer LestiadiGuest: Xiaochen SuEditor & Producer: Spencer LestiadiMusic: Beat Jumper by Humans Win

1. What Makes A "Good" Personal Essay? w/ Xiaochen Su (Application Mentor)

The personal essay, or personal statement, is often where a student gets stuck.
Where do I begin? What is a good topic? What should I avoid?
Get the answer to these questions, and many more, with Xiaochen Su, a Yale and LSE graduate who has helped students get into universities like MIT, Stanford, NYU, and many more!
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Crimson Education offers personalised services to help make your college ambitions a reality, from overall strategy, essay-writing support, college selection, building your extracurriculars, and many more. Crimson strategists, mentors, and tutors are former Ivy League, Stanford, and other top school graduates. They have helped students from around the world get into top universities in the US, UK, EU, and Australia.
Start pursuing your dreams and talk to one of Crimson’s expert advisors by going to bit.ly/helpmecrimson.
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Host: Spencer LestiadiGuest: Xiaochen SuEditor & Producer: Spencer LestiadiMusic: Beat Jumper by Humans Win