Overview: CollegeAdvisor.com Client Success Stories
Welcome back to another chapter of our CollegeAdvisor.com Client Success Stories. In this series, we feature CollegeAdvisor students who used our expert college application help to achieve their college dreams.
In our CollegeAdvisor.com Client Success Stories, we interview past clients to learn about the support and college tips that helped them during the college application process. We will talk about the college application help they received from our university advisors as they built their college lists and prepared their college essays. We will also share their personal college tips for other students seeking university advice and college application help.
Our CollegeAdvisor Client Success Stories and the positive feedback we receive from our CollegeAdvisor.com reviews remind us of the importance of our work. Our mission is to empower students of all backgrounds to achieve their college dreams. We hope that our CollegeAdvisor Client Success Stories motivate you to get the college application help and college tips you need to start your college lists, write your essays, and more.
Introducing Kadin Khalloufi
For this chapter of our CollegeAdvisor Client Success Stories, we spoke to an exceptional CollegeAdvisor.com student: Kadin Khalloufi. Kadin participated in the CollegeAdvisor Scholars Program to get one-on-one university advice and college application help as he completed the college application process.
This article focuses on Kadin’s experiences in the CollegeAdvisor Scholars Program as he navigated the college application journey with support from our expert university advisors. It highlights his background and the college tips he used that helped him stand out in his college applications.
This article also details how Kadin applied to the Scholars Program and how he worked with his university advisor to craft his college essay and search for scholarships. This article also focuses on Kadin’s admission results, future college plans, and personal college tips for other students.
It’s clear that Kadin appreciated the college application help he received from his university advisors in the Scholars Program. Next, let’s get to know Kadin!
Get to know Kadin Khalloufi
Kadin was born and raised in San Bernadino, California. Like many students, Kadin closely managed his academics and extracurricular involvements throughout high school.
“I was valedictorian from my middle school,” Kadin told us, “And varsity captain for football and wrestling my senior year for high school.” Kadin also explained he, “had a 4.7 GPA, taking 10 AP classes and volunteering.”
“I ended up initiating a math tutoring club,” Kadin shared, “and just included myself in as many activities as possible when it came to volunteering and helping other people.”
Kadin’s extracurricular activities all shared a common goal: helping others. It’s important to identify any common themes or goals as you showcase extracurricular activities in your college applications.
How did Kadin hear about CollegeAdvisor?
Even with such an impressive résumé, Kadin needed some college tips and college application help as he entered his senior year. After doing some research, Kadin came across CollegeAdvisor.com.
“My mom and I were looking through different college resources,” Kadin recalled, “And your guys’s website ended up being one of the first to pop up on Google when it came to college advising.”
With a network of over 300 university advisors, CollegeAdvisor.com offers targeted application help to students from all backgrounds. Curious to learn more, Kadin and his mom scheduled a meeting to talk about how CollegeAdvisor.com could help him succeed.
Even in their initial meeting, Kadin received useful college tips. “I scheduled a meeting, and I did end up talking to a lady for a good hour and a half, two hours,” Kadin shared.
Discovering the CollegeAdvisor Scholars Program
However, while Kadin was excited about CollegeAdvisor, our services were a bit above their price point. “At that point, my mom and I decided this investment was a little bit too much for us. But then, we ended up looking through the emails and notifications, and we saw that there was an opportunity to get it through a lower income bracket,” Kadin said.
Kadin is referring to CollegeAdvisor’s Scholars Program, which provides free, comprehensive admissions support and college application help to 100 high school students with demonstrated financial need.
We’ll explain how to apply to the Scholars Program and how the program matches you to a university advisor later in this article.
Why did Kadin want college application help?
Kadin needed an experienced guide to help him through the college admissions process. While his mother had gone to college and was eager to support him, her college application experience was vastly different from that of current students. This left Kadin searching for college tips on how to navigate his own college application journey.
“My mother ended up being the only person going to college in my life,” Kadin recounted. “And from her experience, everything nowadays is a lot newer and different than how it was for her. What colleges [look] for now is totally different than before,” Kadin said.
So, Kadin turned to his university advisors for college tips and college application help. “Having that assistance when we came to the Scholars program was incredible,” Kadin shared.
Applying to the CollegeAdvisor Scholars Program
We asked Kadin to describe what the process was like to apply to the CollegeAdvisor Scholars Program.
“It was very simple,” Kadin mentioned. “I just had to fill out 30 minutes’ worth of information…who I am, what my activities are, what my interests are, and if I am a good candidate for the application.”
After the Scholars program informed Kadin of his acceptance, he was matched with the perfect university advisor to help him through the college application process. Next, we’ll learn more about the college tips and college application help Kadin received from his university advisor.
Kadin’s Scholars Program Experience
After Kadin was matched with his university advisor, they began to talk through college tips and other college application help. Specifically, Kadin wanted support as he began his college essays.
He planned to tackle his personal statement first. Kadin already had an idea of what he wanted to write about, but he needed help shaping his essay. He turned to his university advisor for college tips on how to ace the Common App essay.
“I had the idea in mind when it came to wanting to write about just a random activity like that,” Kadin told us, “But it was more of an assistance when it came to creating the analogy, per se.”
Inside Kadin’s personal statement
With the help of his university advisor, Kadin’s personal statement began to take shape. He shared the finished topic of his personal statement with us. “My personal statement ended up being an analogy of me learning how to solve a Rubik’s cube,” Kadin said.
He continued, “When I was younger, just out of pure curiosity, and then slowly transitioning it to me being the Rubik’s cube and how I’m multifaceted, every aspect of my life, and how solving this Rubik’s cube is like going through college and succeeding in life.”
Kadin appreciated the college tips and personalized university advice he received in the Scholars program. He also enjoyed getting support from his fellow Scholars as they navigated the college application process together.
Aside from the college tips and university advice he received, we asked Kadin to tell us about the best part of his Scholars experience. “Being able to pick the brains of other people,” Kadin shared, “and having that resource on my side at all times.”
You can check out another Client Success Story from a former Scholars Program client here.
College Tips: Kadin’s experience with his university advisors
Kadin’s university advisors helped him structure his college essay as he began the college application process. “Having someone organizing ideas with me and assist[ing] me through the process…was incredible to me.”
Kadin and his university advisor met once a week to discuss his personal statement. As deadlines approached, they met more often. “And we would go, I would say once a week,” Kadin recounted, “and then once it started hitting the deadline, we would meet about twice a week.”
At each meeting, Kadin’s university advisor would review his personal statement and provide helpful college tips to make it stronger. “We just talked through the essays I would write,” Kadin shared, “And then he would just advise me when it came to it and just structured it a little bit better for me when it came to my ideas.”
For Kadin, personalized support made all the difference. His university advisor’s guidance was unmatched. “It was super helpful when it came to writing these papers and organizing my thoughts,” Kadin said.
Other CollegeAdvisor resources with great university advice!
Besides working with his university advisor, Kadin utilized other CollegeAdvisor resources for college tips and great university advice. One of the first resources he sought out was CollegeAdvisor’s extensive library of webinars.
“I did end up attending multiple webinars when it came to the college application process,” Kadin commented. “And I believe my mom attended one of the financial aid seminars.”
As Kadin continued his college application journey, he also used the college tips and university advice available on our website to compose scholarship essays.
“When I was writing my essays later on,” Kadin told us, “When it came to the scholarships especially, I would use those resources as well when it came to structuring my essays. I used any resource I could.”
Identifying and applying for scholarships
After Kadin submitted his college applications, he turned his attention to identifying and applying for scholarships. There are a lot of different scholarships available to students, including university-specific scholarships and other merit-based scholarships.
We asked Kadin to describe how he traversed the scholarship process. “I knew I wanted to do scholarships once my college application ended,” Kadin shared.
Applying for scholarships can feel daunting, especially for students who are already in the midst of the college application process. Kadin asked his advisor for scholarship-specific college tips. “My advisor did help me [by] finding some scholarships and organizing my essays,” Kadin said.
Kadin’s scholarship advice
Kadin has his own university advice to share when it comes to applying for scholarships. “The great thing is your college essays can just easily transition over to the scholarship essays as well,” Kadin advised.
Kadin’s hard work paid off! He won a few scholarships that will help him with the cost of attending college.
“My school ended up holding an online forum where you send out one application and it gets sent to a whole bunch of local scholarships,” Kadin told us, “And I ended up winning two or three of these, and it’s assisted me greatly when it comes to my financial aid for college.”
Kadin’s admission results
Now that Kadin is on the other side of the college application process, we asked him to share where he applied.
“I applied to the UC schools,” Kadin shared, “UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Riverside, and UC Irvine. I applied to Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame…Vanderbilt and Stanford.”
Kadin’s admissions results were exactly what he was hoping for as he received his college acceptance letters.
“I got into Johns Hopkins through this process,” Kadin said. “And I ended up getting into UC-Riverside, UC-Irvine…I’m waitlisted for UCLA. And I got into UC-San Diego, Vanderbilt, and Notre Dame. So, I got into a majority of the colleges I wanted to get into.”
Kadin was excited to announce where he will be headed in the fall. “I’m going to Johns Hopkins!” Kadin exclaimed.
Kadin’s future at Johns Hopkins
Kadin shared plans for his future at Johns Hopkins with us. He’s looking to major in Biology and follow the pre-med track to medical school.
“Right now, it’s biology,” Kadin said when we asked him what he plans to study. For Kadin, his future alma mater is a perfect fit—U.S. News ranks Johns Hopkins #7 in the top ten best universities for biology. “I want to go through the pre-med track and become a doctor and go to medical school,” Kadin told us.
“But I heard that going into medical school…it’s a lot easier if you were to apply through a different interest like English or arts. So, I might transition to switch my major since I have the option,” Kadin said.
Beyond the classroom
In terms of extracurricular activities, Kadin hopes to continue wrestling. When it comes to academics and volunteer opportunities, Kadin hopes to find an internship and continue helping others.
“Johns Hopkins has great resources when it comes to internships and just getting yourself out there for extra work and volunteer opportunities,” Kadin mentioned. “I want to continue my tutoring track when it comes to helping other people and see if there’s elementary schools, or even fellow college students that need assistance when it comes to education. But I am interested in looking into the internships they have over there when it comes to medicine.”
No matter what he does, we know that Kadin will be successful at Johns Hopkins!
If you are wondering if the pre-med track is right for you, check out our article here. Need some additional college tips for applying as a pre-med student? Read our guide for more information about a pre-med student’s college application process.
University advice: Kadin’s suggestions for future college applicants
With such a successful college application journey behind him, we asked Kadin to share his college tips and university advice for future college applicants. Kadin’s college tips include focusing on one task at a time, breaking the big things up into more manageable pieces, and starting early.
Focus on one task at a time
Navigating the college application process can feel overwhelming. Kadin recommends focusing on one task at a time to avoid stress.
“You just have to manage one item at a time,” Kadin shared. “If you think of everything in a whole spectrum, then it’s going to be overwhelming and stress you out, and you’re not gonna accomplish anything.”
Break up tasks into manageable pieces
The second piece of university advice Kadin has for future college applicants is to break tasks up into more manageable pieces.
“If you were to break it down into one accomplishment or one goal at a time,” Kadin advised, “And slowly go through it as that, then you’re going to succeed.”
Kadin applied this university advice to the essay process. “If you were to spend an hour every day looking at your essays and looking through your resources, even if it’s just looking up and just brainstorming ideas for 30 minutes a day, if you slowly do it day by day and it becomes a habit, then it builds up,” Kadin said.
Start early
Kadin’s last piece of university advice is to start the college application process early. “Do not delay,” Kadin recommended.
In addition to starting the process early, Kadin also has specific college tips for fellow athletes that are struggling to make time for their college applications.
“Especially with sports,” Kadin said, “It was hard trying to manage my time, but I ended up finding it during the weekends, spending two to three hours brainstorming all my essays and writing, and just even making bullet points for what I wanted to write in my essay.”
Further, starting the college application process early will help you avoid unnecessary stress as deadlines approach.
“It will help you through that college process a lot more than cramming five to six hours every day for the last week, or the last 24 hours of the application process,” Kadin shared. “It’s totally achievable if you have the patience and perseverance for it.”
The value of university advisors for Kadin
For Kadin, personalized support made all the difference. As a high-achieving student, Kadin was poised for success—however, the college tips his advisors provided helped push his applications to the next level. Kadin told us more about his relationship with his university advisor and the importance of using the resources and college tips that advisors can provide.
“Just always know that you have that resource when it comes to your college advisor,” Kadin said. “My college advisor was extremely kind and passionate about his work when it came to helping other people. And he went out of his way when it came to helping me and getting me into college.”
As he reflected on the time spent with his university advisor, Kadin said, “It’s just unbelievable, like the kindness that these advisors have towards their advisees…they care for you and they truly love you, and it’s unbelievable the amount of care that these people have for their students.”
Asking for college help – Why CollegeAdvisor?
“It was great assistance when it came to my college application process,” Kadin said.
If you are wondering how to get into Johns Hopkins or any other top school, we’ve got you covered. When you register with CollegeAdvisor.com, you will receive personalized college tips and university advice on every aspect of the college application process. This includes access to our webinars, essay guides, and so much more.
Wondering if CollegeAdvisor.com is right for you? Our CollegeAdvisor.com reviews speak for themselves. As our CollegeAdvisor.com reviews show, our students benefit from our college tips and college application help and are regularly accepted to Ivy League and Top 50 colleges and universities. To read more CollegeAdvisor.com reviews from previous clients, please visit our website.
This Client Success Story was written by Claire Babbs, and based on an interview with Kadin Khalloufi. Kadin applied to our Scholars Program and received one-on-one access to college application help and university advice. If you are also looking for assistance with your college applications and are interested in working with a CollegeAdvisor.com Admissions Expert, register with CollegeAdvisor.com today.