In comparison to some of the other US university admissions consulting companies, paraphrasing Seth Godin, ivyO stands out like a “Purple Cow” because of ivyO's remarkably innovative service offerings spearheaded by the ivyO Universities & Colleges Admissions Consultation (UCAC), ivyO's remarkably transparent and equitable pricing structure, and The ivyO Difference which is encapsulated by the 4 C's:

Competence

ivyO students and parents only work with qualified US university admissions counselors who are NACAC members. Undergraduate students on ivyO staff are not involved in counseling families.

Cost

Parents Beware: Don't fall victim to unscrupulous operators who try to lock you into draconian contracts costing tens of thousands of dollars, with poor prospects of getting a refund if things don’t work out. At ivyO, you pay as you go only for services your student actually needs — better value, fairer terms, much easier for families.

Confidentiality

ivyO does not use students and parents' personal information for marketing or promotional purposes.

Clarity

ivyO helps students and parents cut through the maze, the mess, and the myths of the US college admissions process; showing families new perspectives, with crystalline clarity, of the trails that lead the students to their best-fit university.

The ivyO UCAC is a personalized Strategic Action Plan individually tailored for Grade 7-12 students who aspire to stand out from the crowded applicant pool and gain admission to a highly selective university in the US.

If that sounds like you, the UCAC could well be all you need for your college admissions journey. It's your personalized and comprehensive Strategic Action Plan of no fewer than 50 pages of customized analysis, strategies and recommendations. It will:

• Empower you, step-by-step, on how to find, develop and showcase your college admissions X-Factor; be strategically positioned head and shoulders above other applicants, and present your compelling and captivating story to admissions officers at elite institutions like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Yale, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, USC and UCLA.
• Show you how to skillfully navigate around all the pitfalls hidden in the college applications process.
• Match you to your tailored list of 12 colleges for application, evaluation, or research purposes subject to your current school year.
• Come with two Zoom consultations of 90 minutes each with an ivyO college admissions counselor who is a member of NACAC.

As a parent (or guardian), simply complete “My ivyO Registration” in order to become a registered user of the website. You can then invite your student to join ivyO.org. The parent and student are then provided with individual logins which promotes independence for the student throughout the ivyO journey.

As the parent, you have full access to the ivyO Solutions page, on which you can select and acquire the ivyO Solution(s) of your choice. Students can view the costs of all ivyO service offerings under ivyO Bundled Solutions.

None, it's perfectly fine for you to sign up for the ivyO UCAC and take the UCAP without doing any research or reading beforehand.

Based upon your responses, our analysis of your input and material uploaded, as well as the Universities and Colleges Admissions Consultation One (UCAC1) and other communication with you, we'll prepare your uniquely tailored ivyO Strategic Plan for you.

Both. The parent and the student each have their own separate UCAP. The reason for this is that while it is the student who is the one going to college, their parents are invariably the greatest supporters of the student's endeavors. As such, it's imperative that we attain a clear understanding of the parent's perspective of their student's college admissions journey.

No, the ivyO UCAP is not an exam or test at all. It is a diagnostic tool designed to give us a good picture of the student’s academic capabilities, the level of extracurricular accomplishments where applicable, their personal preferences, college aspirations and goals.

There is also a questionnaire specifically designed for a parent or guardian of the student. It serves to give us the parental view of the student both as a college candidate and as an individual, as well as the parent's perspective of their student's college applications process.

The best advice we can give you is to relax, be yourself, and take the UCAP as you are.

Don’t worry about that at all; in fact, there is no right or wrong answer as such. The best answer you can give is your honest and concise response.

It varies. Some families take 2 to 3 hours, others might take longer. The process will be smoother if all the relevant documentations such as transcripts, test scores if applicable, and awards are readily available for upload via your ivyO Portal.

There is no time limit; feel free to take as long as you like.

Not at all, you're welcome to take the UCAP in several short sessions if you prefer, simply save your responses on the ivyO UCAP platform as you go.

After the ivyO team has received both the student's and parent's UCAPs, ivyO will contact you by email and schedule the Universities & Colleges Admissions Consultation 1 (UCAC1). Subject to your availability, the UCAC1 will take place approximately a week after your UCAPs have been submitted.

After UCAC1 has been completed, the preparation of the ivyO Strategic Plan will take 21 days.

The UCAC1 is a 90-minute Zoom meeting, its primary purpose is for the ivyO Counselor to gain further insight about your student, and to build on the information gathered from your UCAPs. Your ivyO Counselor will listen, ask questions, and listen some more. At UCAC1, our aim is to get to know the student and the family really well.

Universities& Colleges Admissions Consultation 2 (UCAC2), another 90-minute Zoom meeting. At UCAC2, your ivyO counselor will take you through your student's tailored college admissions strategies, clarify any queries you may have, and ensure that your student derives maximum benefit out of the UCAC.

Furthermore, your ivyO counselor will explain to you, face-to-face, critically important aspects and nuances of the US college admissions process, and how your student can avoid the pitfalls with confidence, as well as your student's all-important X-Factor and how your student should be strategically positioned in order to shine in college applications.

UCAC2 is held after your student's personalized Strategic Plan is ready. A member of the ivyO team will reach out to you then, and arrange a convenient time to hold the UCAC2.

Yes, it is. In fact, students cannot sign up for other ivyO Solutions such as ivyO BaseCamp or ivyO Summit until they have secured their own ivyO UCAC. Note that the UCAC and the BaseCamp can be acquired at the same time as one of the Bundled Solutions; it’s great value and highly recommended. Check out ivyO Bundled Solutions.

We have the perfect solution for you, check out ivyO Compass on our site.

Yes, take a look at ivyO Compass, that’s the ideal navigational companion for your student.

Yes, we’ll be happy to help. Sign up for ivyO Compass and we’ll take care of it. However, please note that there’s a brief UCAP for a parent to complete.

No, your Compass consultant will guide you through the UCAP; but your Compass consultant will not complete the UCAP for you.

While the ivyO BaseCamp is not mandatory, it’s highly recommended that students and their families who plan to acquire their personalized ivyO UCAC also sign up for a 2-hour BaseCamp consultation. The smartest way of getting to BaseCamp is to sign up for an ivyO Bundled Solution; it’s great value!

Sorry, you can’t. Please refer to "Introducing ivyO Summit".

Here at ivyO, we believe that the level of college counseling services should match the needs of students and their families. We don't want families to pay for services that they don't need, regardless of their financial capacity. It's not how we work.

With the strategic advice provided through their personalized ivyO UCAC and additional guidance available at ivyO BaseCamp, many students will do a good job in taking control and ownership of their college applications process. Parents or guardians can always book additional BaseCamp consultations to ensure that their student is progressing well and remains on track in regard to his/her college admissions goals.

Hence, in working with ivyO, students should always start with the ivyO UCAC instead of seeking full counseling services straightaway. As such, it is self-evident that one of ivyO's priorities is to drive college counseling costs down for families.

No. One of the main differences between ivyO Summit and other "Packaged" services in the marketplace is that the ivyO Summit service contract is uniquely reasonable, equitable, and client-friendly; pro-rata refunds are provided on unused services in the event of contract termination with due notice, and is subject to each family’s individual circumstances.

Yes, we provide pro bono services under the ivyO Outreach Scholarship program.

No. ivyO does not give any guarantee that a student will be admitted to any particular institution.

No. We help our students maximize their chances of gaining admission to their best-fit university through proper, legitimate and ethical means. In the context of college essays, we help our students brainstorm topics; provide guidance on how to structure and outline such essays, and we’ll edit the essays. However, writing essays for students is unethical, and we do not engage in such conduct.

No. Here at ivyO, we deploy great strategies in helping our students stand out from the crowded applicant pool and gain admission to their best-fit US university which could be an Ivy League school or other selective institutions.

But we don't sell any "secret sauce" or "magic potion". If you're still after "secret sauce", may we suggest that you try your local hot dog stand.