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.
Angela Dunnham
Master Admissions Consultant
Former Assistant Director of Admission, Dartmouth College
Angela Dunnham is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where she majored in English Language and Literature. She is earning her master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy at Beijing Normal University in China. As an Assistant Director of Admissions at Dartmouth College, she traveled to schools around the country and read over 1000 applications.
Angela has considerable experience advising students and families throughout all stages of the college admissions process. She has worked with students living in the United States and China. She has hosted workshops for US high school guidance counselors and youth development organizations to deepen their understanding of the college admissions process.
Angela is passionate about using her skills to bring out the best in her students. She has helped students gain admission to Top 30 colleges and universities, including Yale University, Brown University, John Hopkins University, University of Michigan, and more. Angela is also specially prepared to help less competitive applicants improve their college admissions chances.
Angela helps students develop their narrative, fine-tune their leadership skills, and define their extracurricular profiles. In addition to a thorough understanding of the holistic college application review process used to evaluate students at highly-selective colleges and universities, Angela’s track record as a leader, community organizer, and educator allows her to connect and prepare students to be competitive in the college application process.
John Klich
Senior Admissions Consultant
John graduated cum laude from Yale University with a B.S in chemical engineering. Prior to joining H&C Education Consulting, John worked for two years as a college applications consultant at CollegeVine, helping clients to perfect powerful personal narratives and gain admissions to top 30 universities. His clients have also earned acceptance to top 10 programs in disciplines ranging from mechanical engineering to fine art. With an additional six years of independent tutoring experience, John has demonstrated a long-term commitment to teaching and mentorship.
John’s other work experiences have shaped his approach to working with students as a college admissions consultant. In 2020, he was recognized by the Yale College Dean’s Office for his dedication to his undergraduate research and his positive impact on the Yale community. He has also interned at Purdue’s Birck Nanotechnology Center and at Novartis, and he is now pursuing a Ph.D. at Stanford University in the Schools of Engineering and Medicine. As an engineer by degree and a scientist in training, John’s experience enables him to find creative solutions to unique problems. He is ecstatic about the opportunity to impart this approach to clients, empowering them to discover their voices and pursue their passions.
Melissa Lucia Sarmiento
Master 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
For over 10 years, Meeraj has worked as a full-time tutor specializing in test prep. With a dual background in English and Engineering, Meeraj is uniquely equipped to assist students with all sections of the test. He graduated from the Rutgers School of Engineering Honors Program in 2010 with a Bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering and from the University of Denver in 2015 with a Master’s Degree, concentrating 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.
As an instructor and educational consultant, Meeraj worked for multiple high-end test prep companies. He wrote curriculum, developed strategies, trained teachers, led full SAT/ACT classes and workshops, and tutored privately for the SAT, ACT, and GRE. He also tutored students for AP exams and SAT Subject tests in English Literature, Writing/Language Composition, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Algebra I & II, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus and provided help with Essay writing for both high school English and College Admissions.
Many of his students have gone on to receive acceptances at such colleges and universities as Princeton, Columbia, UPenn, Cornell, NYU, John Hopkins, William & Mary, University of Michigan, Wesleyan, University of California-Berkeley, MIT, and more. His students typically improve 5-9 points on the ACT, 100-300 points on the SAT, and 6-20 points on the GRE.