The world of college admissions looks vastly different today than it did even five years ago, and seismic shifts in the admissions landscape have led to greater transparency regarding what top schools look for in applicants. It is now public knowledge, for instance, that Harvard admissions officers rate students on categories including their academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, and athletic prowess, as well as the strengths of their recommendations and their interview on a scale of 1 to 6 (with 1 being the most desirable score). We also know that Dartmouth admissions officers generally regard test scores as an asset to an application — even when students assume their scores are not impressive.
Most importantly, it is clear that a perfect GPA and a 1600 score on the SAT are not enough to earn a student a place at a coveted Ivy League university anymore.
If grades and test scores were the entire focus of admissions, top schools and Ivy League colleges could fill incoming classes multiple times over with students with perfect academic stats. As a result, it’s critical for applicants to stand out from their peers. Top-tier colleges want to admit students who have made an impact in their community, followed their passions, and gained real-life experiences through internships and jobs.
Rather than only selecting high-achieving students, colleges seek to build well-rounded classes composed of students with distinct passions, dynamic interests, and singular focus. The biggest challenge students face is becoming those kinds of applicants.
If a student intends to become such an applicant, they must start exploring and tailoring their passions early in their high school career so that they can engage in meaningful experiences that convey their depth of engagement with their defining interest.
Seeking to share his admissions discoveries and story with other aspiring students and help families navigate the changing landscape of elite college admissions, Christopher Rim founded Command Education to empower students to identify their passions and articulate their accomplishments, interests and experiences to top schools.
Why trust Rim? He was accepted into Yale University with a 3.7 unweighted GPA — almost unheard of when discussing Ivy League admissions — thanks to his extracurricular activities, which allowed him to stand out.
Rim’s theory rings true, as he was the only student out of 18 other applicants at his high school accepted into Yale. To top it off, Rim had the lowest grades out of all of them.
What Is Command Education?
“I recognized that admissions officers could never truly understand what it’s like to be on the other side of the process, so I envisioned a different approach to college admissions consulting,” says Christopher Rim, Founder and CEO of Command Education, a boutique college consulting firm.
Rim developed what he refers to as the “near-peer mentorship model” somewhat unintentionally — friends and family reached out to Chris after he was accepted at Yale, seeking college application help for their children. ‘They won’t listen to me,’ they’d tell him, ‘but everyone knows you got into Yale, so maybe they’ll listen to you.’ He worked individually with Ivy League hopefuls to explore their defining passions in sophisticated, authentic, and demonstrable ways that would enable them to stand out to admissions officers.
Since founding Command Education in 2015, Rim has worked with dozens of students from Horace Mann, Trinity, Collegiate, Brearley, and Riverdale — and parents pay him upwards of $1,500 per hour to help their teenagers get into sought-after Ivy League schools.
“I saw firsthand that the difference between a good application and a great one was authentic passion — it’s the one thing in the admissions process that can’t be bought or manufactured,” says Rim. “When students are inspired by someone their age to harness their passions and rise to new challenges, they do things that they didn’t even realize they were capable of. They become better students, better people — and better applicants.”
Rim further explained that curating genuine interests aims to help students stand out. After all, almost all students applying to Ivy League schools have near-perfect grades and test scores. This makes extracurricular activities, research and projects vital to landing a spot on an admissions roster.
To enhance each student’s opportunities, many Command Education clients start the process in grade nine; however, some begin as early as grade seven. This is because “you can’t go back in time,” and “everything counts towards the college application process,” he says.
Best of all, when students join Command Education, they are matched with one mentor throughout their college admissions process to aid in tutoring and guidance. The firm’s expert team is composed of recent graduates of Ivy League and other top schools. Having successfully navigated the admissions process at the most elite and selective colleges in the country in recent years, mentors play the role of a supportive, relatable figure in students’ lives, bringing an emotionally intelligent and highly personalized approach to the consulting process. Clients receive 24/7 access to them through email, phone calls, texts, and meetings.
“We know that admissions committees are looking for intellectually curious, ambitious leaders—but more importantly, we know how to help students tap into their passions, develop and demonstrate these coveted characteristics, and do so in a way that is completely original and unique to help them stand out to admissions officers,” says Gabe Cramer, Director of Mentoring at Command Education.
This interpersonal, passionate and academic-led program juxtaposes many other college admissions services, as others serve as “more of a checklist,” according to Rim.
Does Command Education Work?
Aside from Rim and Command Education’s success, one may still wonder: “Does Command Education really work?”
Considering that a staggering 100% of students who applied to Harvard in 2021 with the help of Command Education were accepted, over nine out of 10 students who applied got into at least one of their top three schools and that the company has guided nearly 1,000 teens with a 90% direct referral rate, we say yes.
Pleased parents of happy students are also proof that Command Education is worth it — even with the high price point of $85,000 to $120,000 per academic year.
“We’ve hired virtually every tutor and counselor for [Command Education student] Brooke prior to working with Chris, but no one was able to get through to her like Chris and his team,” said a mother of a former Riverdale Country School student. “Command Education put her in a position to succeed like no one else she’s ever worked with.”
Senior Mentors have helped students harness their passions and skills to present on pressing public health issues before Congress, spearhead sprawling volunteer initiatives to address food insecurity in their areas, present original research on gender disparities at STEM conferences, and develop new technologies to help differently-abled students navigate their schools and communities. These standout initiatives can transform a good but forgettable application into one that admissions officers can’t ignore.
While these projects may seem highly ambitious for high school students, Rim emphasizes that they are student-driven from start to finish — a core value of the firm’s approach that distinguishes them from other consultancies. This is particularly important, he says, because admissions officers can spot inauthentic and contrived endeavors from a mile away — and they see right through them.
“Students’ projects are born out of their genuine interests, passions, and attunement to the unique needs of their communities,” Rim notes. “Our mentors just take students’ ideas and push them to go further, dream bigger, and talk louder. They are there every step of the way to ensure that students have the resources and support to turn their weirdest, wildest, and most ambitious dreams into reality.”
Because of Command Education’s unmatched mentorship, passion-driven approach, and academic foundation, Rim told The Post that the company “doesn’t have competitors” and is confident that “no one works with students the way that [Command Education] does.”