A Successful Collaborative Approach
OUR ADMISSIONS EXPERTS
Pierre decided to create H&C Education after years of extensive experience in both education and entrepreneurship. He’s a leading college and graduate admissions expert whose advice has been featured on Forbes.com, U.S.News, CNN Business, the Washington Post, ABC News, Business Insider, and elsewhere. He has launched several successful for-profit and non-profit companies. In 2015, he started and managed his own real estate investment company. He is also the founding president of the Yale Student Business Society, now the largest non-profit organization focusing on entrepreneurship and management at Yale. He has served on the board of several business organizations in the Yale community. Pierre has taught literature to undergraduate students at Yale and has published articles in some of the most prestigious reviews in his field, such as Europe, and has received numerous grants, fellowships, and distinctions throughout his education.
He studied Comparative Literature, Philosophy and Political Science at the University of Montreal and earned his B.A. summa cum laude in Comparative Literature and Philosophy. He holds a master’s in Literature from McGill University, and M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University in French literature and cultural history.
Pierre is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
Suzanne Gracan
Program and Partnership Director
Suzanne is the first point of contact for all clients and plays a central role in managing the H&C team and overseeing partnership initiatives. Known for her ability to make clients feel at ease from the very first conversation, she brings warmth and structure to every part of the H&C experience. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the University of Guelph. In addition to her work at H&C, she leads body-positive yoga retreats and continues to champion movement and mindfulness as tools for personal transformation.
John Klich, Ph.D.
Senior Admissions Consultant
With over nine years of experience in mentorship and education consulting, John has helped students craft powerful personal narratives, launch capstone projects, and gain admission to top-tier universities. His students have built nonprofits, published research, and earned spots in elite programs such as BU RISE, BWSI, and the Senate Page Program. Under his guidance, students have been accepted to:
Yale, Stanford, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania (VIPER), Dartmouth, Cornell, Barnard, Duke, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UNC Chapel Hill, Purdue, Georgia Tech, Washington University in St. Louis, Colby, Tulane, RPI’s BS/MD Physician Scientist Program, and more.
John is passionate about helping students navigate the complexity of their academic journeys with clarity, creativity, and strategic insight, empowering them to grow as scholars and leaders.
Melissa Lucia Sarmiento
Senior Admissions Consultant
Melissa Lucía Sarmiento graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor of arts in history and minors in German and Latin American studies. She then relocated to Tokyo, Japan, where she began her career as a teacher and consultant. Upon returning to the US, she received her Master of Arts in Teaching from Brown University.
Melissa has extensive experience as a writing tutor and applications essay counselor. As an undergrad she worked for Cornell’s Knight Writing Center, where she discovered how much she enjoyed helping others find their voice through prose. Since then, she has continued to work with students as they craft application essays that are authentic and nuanced. Melissa’s previous students have earned admission to competitive undergraduate and graduate programs including Cornell, Columbia, Harvard, UC Berkeley, the University of Chicago, Wesleyan and Mount Holyoke, among others.
A published researcher, Melissa is familiar with every step of the investigative process. Be it engineering or literature, Melissa empowers her students to pursue their passions and guides them as these become an exciting, cohesive capstone. Her multilingual, international background gives her unique perspectives on any issue her students may encounter. A former alumni interviewer for Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences, Melissa is familiar with every step of the application process.
A teacher at heart, Melissa has tutored multiple AP subjects ranging from World History to English Literature and composition, and has helped students increase their scores in SAT and ACT reading and writing, and SSAT reading.
Adrianne graduated from Yale University in 2020 with a B.A. in Theater & Performance Studies. Originally hailing from Little Rock, Arkansas, her own college applications earned her admission to four Ivy League schools in her senior year of high school. She began her career in educational consulting at CollegeVine as an Essay & Applications Specialist in her first year at Yale. She has since worked with GPS Education and College Planning Source as an Essay Specialist where she helped high school students around the world create their own successful college application essays. She has also worked with the Yale Undergraduate Admissions Office as a Tour Guide, Yale Ambassador, and Alumni Interviewer.
Although her academic studies have largely focused on acting over the past four years, Adrianne has also honed her writing skills until the tutelage of Yale professors such as Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies and journalist Margaret Spillane. Outside of the classroom, she was the Opinion Editor and a staff writer at The Yale Politic, an undergraduate cultural and political journal, and has been published in The Yale Daily News. She also served as the Business Manager and International Tour Manager of her a cappella group, Redhot & Blue, and as the Director of the Leading Ladies Gala, a 200-person event held annually by the Women’s Leadership Initiative at Yale. She has also been heavily involved in the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up campaign for several years.
She uses her experience in multiple disciplines to help students achieve their personal and academic goals, and she believes there is nothing as rewarding as watching a student gain confidence in their skills and succeeding in the college admissions process.
Jay Wong
Senior Admissions Consultant
Jay is a premier admissions consultant with over a decade of combined experience coaching students into the nation’s most selective undergraduate and medical school programs. As the valedictorian of his high school, a 99+% top scorer in the nation on his SATs and SAT IIs, and a Gates Millennium Scholar, Jay was accepted to several Ivy League universities for college (e.g. Yale, Princeton, UPenn) and received a full merit scholarship to Yale where he earned his B.A. with distinction in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, received Mandarin language certification at Harvard University’s Chinese Language Program in Beijing and Japanese language certification at Stanford University’s International Program in Yokohama, and later became an editorial staff reader at America’s oldest quarterly literary magazine, The Yale Review. He was subsequently interviewed by numerous Top 10 medical schools, including Stanford, Dartmouth, Duke, and the University of Michigan, where he was awarded their most prestigious full merit scholarship: the Dean’s Scholarship. At the University of Michigan Medical School, he pursued a fully-funded dual MD-MBA with a concentration in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, leading the development of a painless needle device that would make injections pain-free.
Jay collaborated closely with the admissions committee throughout medical school, guiding high school and college students nationwide in securing admission to top-tier medical programs. From personal statement advising to MCAT test-taking to interview prep, Jay offers premium support for every aspect of the medical school application process. Many of his clients have gained admissions to at least one Top 10 medical school. His clients include undergraduates from Yale and Harvard and other collegiate institutions as well as nontraditional applicants.
After getting accepted into several top MFA programs in creative writing in the country, Jay is currently an MFA candidate at Columbia University, where he was awarded the program’s top merit scholarship and where he now serves as President of the student organization Our Word, an editor of Columbia Journal, and a creative writing instructor. A magician, published writer, researcher, and storyteller, Jay was the 1st place winner of NPR National Public Radio’s The Moth StorySLAM competition and is a frequent contributor of medical op-eds as well. He is currently hard at work on his first novel.
Jay’s rare combination of scientific rigor, literary sophistication, and deep institutional insight allows him to help clients articulate not just polished narratives but radically authentic ones. He is not just an advisor but also an expert strategist and brings to each partnership a profound understanding of what selective institutions truly seek: originality, clarity of purpose, and voice.
Colm Dubhrosa
Master Admissions Consultant
Colm earned his undergraduate degree in Art, FIlm, & Visual Studies from Harvard University, where he combined his passion for creative storytelling and emerging technologies to explore how design can inspire development of innovative education platforms like edX. As part of the production team for the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony directed by Danny Boyle, he helped bring one of the world’s most ambitious cultural showcases to life. Shortly after graduation, he worked with Google in London as a member of its Squared Online team, building expertise at the intersection of education, technology, digital communication, and business development.
Over the past 12 years, in addition to working on various education technology initiatives, Colm has helped students across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East gain admission to the world’s most competitive universities (including all eight Ivy League schools, MIT, Stanford, UChicago, and Oxbridge). He specializes in mentoring students through the development of ambitious capstone projects, ranging from small businesses and healthcare-related charity initiatives to educational programs and cutting-edge design prototypes. Colm has a proven track record of helping students not only strengthen their academic profiles but also design and execute innovative projects that showcase leadership, creativity, and global impact.
Fluent in English, Spanish, and French, Colm brings a global and culturally attuned perspective to his work. Colm holds multiple certifications in AI, machine learning, and business intelligence, equipping him with a forward-looking perspective on how technology shapes education, careers, and the future of work.
His rare mix of elite academic experience, creative production, global perspective, and technological fluency has enabled him to successfully guide students to achieve their highest ambitions with rigor, empathy, and vision.
Sam Kinsman
Master Admissions Consultant
Over the past ten years, Sam has worked with numerous renowned international education companies. In addition to guiding students through the university admissions process from start to finish, Sam also helps his clients prepare for standardized tests. He has led dozens of students to 99th percentile scores on tests such as the SAT, ACT, and GRE; he has also written test prep curriculums, developed test-taking strategies, trained teachers, and led a team of 10 SAT math tutors.
As an admissions consultant, Sam works with applicants to both undergraduate and graduate programs in a wide range of fields. Over the years, he has become an expert at guiding students through the introspective journey of developing a story and narrative for their application essays, and at helping students find their voice by leading them through an iterative essay drafting process. Sam has experience working with students from all over the world and has an excellent track record of success: his clients have been admitted to top undergraduate and graduate programs such as MIT, Cornell, the University of Chicago, USC, UCLA, the London School of Economics, and more.
Rachel Kulchar
Principal Admissions Consultant
Rachel Kulchar was born and raised in sunny San Diego. She is a current DDS/PhD student at UCLA and predoctoral fellow with the NIH. Here, she researches how cancer therapies affect the salivary glands. She earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton University, majoring in Chemistry with minors in Global Health & Health Policy and Materials Science & Engineering. With over 20 peer-reviewed publications and experience as a journal reviewer, Rachel brings a deep understanding of academic research and the higher education landscape. She has also served on several national boards focused on research and student recruitment in health-related fields. At UCLA, she has taught undergraduate science courses as a teaching assistant and enjoys mentoring students in both academic and pre-professional pathways.
As a college consultant with over a year of experience, Rachel is dedicated to helping students find and gain admission to their best-fit schools. She fosters a supportive and encouraging environment where students feel empowered to ask questions, grow with confidence, and aim high. Rachel has worked with students across diverse academic tracks, including pre-med, pre-law, pre-dental, humanities, and STEM, supporting them in gaining admissions to top universities such as the UCs, Rice University (on a full-ride scholarship), Johns Hopkins, and more. She also has experience in applying and gaining admissions to the service academies (e.g., West Point). In addition, she has also guided multiple students in identifying and applying for scholarships, with several securing full-ride awards. Rachel looks forward to working with you and supporting you on your journey to college success.
Mallory Ditchey
Mallory Ditchey is an essay coach and writing expert with 14 years of experience working across the college preparation industry. She was an admissions and financial aid reader for Loyola Marymount University from 2018 to 2021. She taught ACT test prep classes and ran a college application workshop at Areté Preparatory Academy in Los Angeles. She also founded Great Minds Education Consultants, LLC, an educational consulting company based in Los Angeles.
Mallory graduated from UCLA in 2008 with a B.A. in Archaeology. She received her M.A. in Assyriology from Yale University in 2012, and an M.A. in History from Columbia University in 2015, where she taught World History at the undergraduate level. Mallory has a proven track record of assisting students in crafting successful top-tier college application essays and improving their writing skills and reading comprehension.
Ahmed Alsheikh
Student Ambassador
Ahmed is a first-year student at Harvard University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Government and International Relations. On Harvard’s campus, he is active with the Harvard University Foreign Policy Initiative, working with prominent government agencies and public officials to research policy and draft proposals pertaining to the United States’ relations with other regions of the world, particularly the Middle East. He’s also involved in his community and led a program in his hometown to provide virtual lessons to students affected by COVID-19 school closures over the summer before his freshman year in college.
A former H&C Education student, Ahmed is now excited to be the company’s first Brand Ambassador. Combining his passion for international relations and business development, he has been promoting and introducing H&C Education to international students interested in attending top universities in the U.S.
Charly Kuecks
Tutor & Writing Specialist
Charly is passionate about demystifying the cutthroat college admissions process through rigorous, but fun, personalized tutoring. She got her start as a math tutor at the Waterford School, her alma mater, and Utah’s leading college preparatory K12 school. Since then, she’s expanded into running in-person and virtual courses and consulting for the SAT, ACT, and GRE. At Shmoop, she brought her editorial voice to the AP products, always with an eye to engaging high school students. She’s excited to help students increase their confidence, passion for learning, and knowledge of the standardized testing landscape through H&C Education.
Standardized tests:
SAT (all sections), ACT, ACT Writing, GRE.
AP:
English Language and English Literature, Calculus AB and B.C., Psychology, French, World History, European History, U.S. History, Biology, Chemistry, Psychology.
High school courses:
All levels of English literature, All levels of creative writing, Calculus, Statistics, Algebra, Trigonometry (all math), French, Honors/standard STEM (Chemistry, Bio, Physics), Test prep.
Special Needs Skills:
ADD/ADHD, Anxiety-specific needs, Behavioral disabilities, General learning disability, Gifted.
Meeraj Patel
Test Prep Instructor
Meeraj has been a tutor specializing in standardized test preparation for over 18 years, ever since teaching his first SAT class in 2007. During that time, he achieved a reputation as the “go-to” tutor in his region for the SAT, ACT, & GRE among students who were academically gifted, but very busy, thus needing a stream-lined and personalized approach to achieve the best results in the least time.
He grew up in New Jersey and attended Rutgers University, where he graduated from the School of Engineering Honors Program in 2010 with a Bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering. Later, he changed his interests from STEM to the Humanities, earning a Master’s Degree from the University of Denver in 2015 with a concentration in Literature & Creative Writing. He also attended the MFA Program at Brooklyn College on a full ride as the sole recipient in his year of the Kimberly Phillips Boehm Fellowship. While working on his degrees, he gained his first exposure to the test prep world by working for some of the top boutique test prep firms in New Jersey, where he wrote curriculum, developed strategies, trained teachers, led full classes and workshops, & tutored students one-on-one. Since 2017, he has been available to students all over the country via Zoom; in 2018, he embraced online tutoring full-time, 2 years before the pandemic would make it the new normal.
With 18+ years of test prep experience, 99th percentile scores on every exam he teaches, & a dual educational background in both English/Language Arts and STEM, Meeraj brings a wealth of experience to his students as he tutors them for all sections of the ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, & LSAT. His teaching style is informal and process-oriented; rather than opting for the traditional approach revolving around lectures, formal lesson plans, & textbook-like coverage of the material, he uses instead an approach that is heavily focused on “learning-by-doing”. A typical session sees a strong emphasis on either (a) targeted drills and feedback loops, (b) learning from mistakes made on homework assignments and practice tests, or (c) both. The results are apparent: His students typically improve 5-9 points on the ACT, 100-300 points on the SAT, and 9-20 points on the GRE.
