My journey with Upgrade Education started at the beginning of the 10th grade, as I wanted to prepare myself for the admissions process to universities in the United States. My mentor was the first to introduce me to US summer programs and helped me research and find the best programs for my academic development and to achieve my goals.

The admissions process in the United States is very creative and requires you to be able to showcase what sets you apart. The creative writing classes and mentoring sessions at Upgrade Education helped me learn how to structure my essays so that they reflect not only information but also my personality. I was able to turn essays that I initially found difficult and impersonal into engaging stories that highlighted my true values and experiences.

Upgrade Education and the mentor I have worked with helped me grasp and value my potential to get into top universities. My mentor and the work we have done together have made me acquire self-confidence – an essential part of the application process as well as a powerful skill for the future. Collaborating with Upgrade Education was the best decision I could have made and I am deeply grateful for all of the professional and amazing people I have met. The communication has always been fantastic, and a kind of “family” has been created around the common purpose to fulfill the dreams of Upgrade Education students.

The Upgrade Education mentors were friendly, caring and professional. They helped me discover my strong suits and my weaknesses, and with their support, I finally found the courage to apply to my dream university programmes. The most important part for me was that, through conversations with my mentor, I learned to look deeper into my passions and ambitions, finding the words to express myself in a professional and authentic way.

I wanted to mix business (by trying to get admitted to a top-tier university) and pleasure (by choosing a country with a culture that I felt could help me grow gracefully) and this is how I came to the conclusion that the Netherlands will be the most suitable place for me. Upgrade Education provided me with most of the pieces of information I needed, while the meetings, discussion, and homework they had been assigning me worked really well with my style and schedule. Upgrade Education played an important role in my evolution throughout the admission process because it made me discover weaknesses I had encountered before but treated superficially. Through open discussions with the mentors, I began to look at the work I was doing not as a burden that I would eventually get rid of, but as a continuous process I had to enjoy along the way. After almost an entire year spent preparing with the Upgrade Education mentors, what I truly achieved was neither the fact that I managed to be admitted to all the universities I had applied to, nor the books and articles I had read, or the essays I had written, but a better version of myself. What I truly achieved were the transformation I went through and the new approach I gained towards the problems I face. I discovered my true, authentic self and have been sticking to that ever since.

I would say that a big percentage of my success in getting accepted into MIT is due to my mentor’s help and effort. The most valuable thing throughout my coaching is that he kept me motivated, encouraged me and made me realise I was moving towards a real goal. At the beginning of the process, it was extremely difficult to really open up in my essays. That’s why I spent a lot of time with my mentor discussing the pressure to impress what was inherent in all of my first attempts and to build a more natural voice together.