It all started with a dream of studying in the US. Turning the dream into reality was, nevertheless, an extremely demanding process. Only those who have walked this path know how difficult it can get to harmonize the preparation for the SAT exams and the writing of your essays (lots of essays!) with the studying for high school classes and exams, the extracurricular activities, and the social life (the lowest priority most of the time, indeed!). The key ingredient throughout this process is, in my opinion, perseverance – the intrinsic motivation to keep going, especially when things don’t seem to work out as well as they should. To the ones who don’t feel this strong desire or embark on this journey following any source of external motivation, I would suggest they take a step back and ask themselves what they truly want. Besides the fact that an enormous amount of effort is involved, the essays you create will eventually reveal if your motivation is authentic or not. As I started to work on my essays, I was striving to sound more academic in my writing, to achieve a more grandiose and interesting expression – but I could feel something was not going right. I began to work with my mentor and understood that I needed to learn how to write so that every story I tell, every single word I put down on paper represents me, reveals to the reader who I truly am. It might sound easy, but trust me, it’s not! I wrote and rewrote thousands of words, I walked the memory lane and relived things I’d previously believed to be unimportant, I thought about people with whom I hadn’t spoken in years or who are no longer with us. It was a very intense search. However, the purpose was not to find the perfect, Ivy League approved essay theme, but to find my true self, the things that define me. Throughout the entire process my mentor was both the catalyst for my introspection, asking questions that determined me to dive deep into my consciousness, and the one who answered my questions with other questions, making me re-analyze the situation and rewrite it all. And I want to thank him for all these things.

During most of the time I have been at high school, I never aspired to study in a different country. Late in the 11th grade, however, something pushed me towards considering the opportunity to enroll at the most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom.

Acknowledging that the time until the deadlines and exams was short, I knew that I had to seek help in order to make sure that the whole admission process would go smoothly. Searching on the Internet for companies that aid students follow their academic dreams, I came across Upgrade Education, and I thought I could not get any better help than from people who took the same road that I am going to pursue.

At first, in the strategy meeting, the mentor told me that the UK universities were fitting perfectly with my way of thinking and my academic goals and encouraged me to regard myself as a powerful candidate, guaranteeing that, in my case, hard work and determination would undoubtedly lead to success. He then referred me to my strategist, with whom I have been in contact ever since. She has helped me not only with the preparation for the exams but also with writing my personal statement by highlighting the capabilities that stood out and distinguished me from my peers.

My mentor prepared me for my interviews, asking me to solve problems whose reasoning and original solutions seemed eye-catching for these universities, and the fact that she herself finished a course in engineering at Cambridge offered me a whole new insight into their requirements. She encouraged me to be honest and to tell her whether a mathematics or physics problem we discussed was fully understood because it is no shame in admitting we are not perfect, as not even these top universities expect that we are so.

Due to my efforts and Upgrade Education’s help, I was offered the opportunity to study at the Imperial College of London. I am very thankful of my mentor’s expertise and to the whole enterprise that allows students like me to follow their desired career paths.

My mentor prepared me for my interviews, asking me to solve problems whose reasoning and original solutions seemed eye-catching for these universities. She encouraged me to be honest and to tell her whether a mathematics or physics problem we discussed was fully understood because it is no shame in admitting we are not perfect, as not even these top universities expect that we are so. I am very thankful of my mentor’s expertise and to the whole enterprise that allows students like me to follow their desired career paths. During most of the time I have been at high school, I never aspired to study in a different country. Late in the 11th grade, however, something pushed me towards considering the opportunity to enroll at the most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. Acknowledging that the time until the deadlines and exams was short, I knew that I had to seek help in order to make sure that the whole admission process would go smoothly. Searching on the Internet for companies that aid students follow their academic dreams, I came across Upgrade Education and I thought I could not get any better help than from people who took the same road that I am going to pursue. At first, in the strategy meeting, the mentor told me that the UK universities were fitting perfectly with my way of thinking and my academic goals and encouraged me to regard myself as a powerful candidate, guaranteeing that, in my case, hard work and determination would undoubtedly lead to success. He then referred me to my strategist, with whom I have been in contact ever since. She has helped me not only with the preparation for the exams but also with writing my personal statement by highlighting the capabilities that stood out and distinguished me from my peers. My mentor prepared me for my interviews, asking me to solve problems whose reasoning and original solutions seemed eye-catching for these universities, and the fact that she herself finished a course in engineering at Cambridge offered me a whole new insight into their requirements. Due to my efforts and Upgrade Education’ s help, I was offered the opportunity to study at the Imperial College of London. I am very thankful of my mentor’s expertise and to the whole enterprise that allows students like me to follow their desired career paths.

During high school, I was more concerned with Olympiad results than multidisciplinary development, so when I started thinking about applying to college I realized I was not at all prepared for this challenge. The application process to a top university requires a detailed presentation of your passion and motivation and I lacked the skills necessary to present myself beyond a list of qualifications and awards.

I discovered at Upgrade Education a team dedicated to my dream and eager to prepare me not only for admission but also for college life. My mentors have always emphasized the value of introspection and sincerity, forcing me to reveal in my essays everything that is most captivating about me, to present myself as a capable, passionate and motivated candidate.

They were by my side all the way, constantly reminding me of the importance of perseverance, conscientiousness, and punctuality.

My interview tutoring and the discussions about studying in the UK helped me get rid of my nervousness and transformed applying to university into a pleasant experience.

Even when I did not meet the requirements for the conditional offer by scoring below expectations in my final exams, the Upgrade Education team was by my side. Together we composed a letter in which I expressed my commitment to the program, and, as a result, I was finally accepted.

To me, Upgrade Education represents the people who helped me complete the demanding process of applications in a short time and I owe it to them that today I can follow my dream of studying at the University of Cambridge.

My first interaction with Upgrade Education came shortly after I had finished 10th grade when I signed up for the SAT Summer Intensive Study program. Although I was used neither to writing argumentative essays nor to participating in debates, thanks to my mentor’s observations I rapidly figured out that a well-written essay doesn’t consist of bombastic phrases, but of a strong introduction, a set of well-structured arguments, and clearly expressed straightforward ideas. My mentor went beyond what you would expect from an ordinary teacher and became a true mentor, at its very best: ranging from the Wish You Were Here album cover to the importance of introspection, through our discussions he encouraged us to think deeply and, more importantly, to always make sure our opinions are grounded on strong arguments. Those two weeks of the program played a very important role in achieving my target SAT score, as well as in my growth as a person unafraid to express her opinions. During the training sessions we had in the first months of 12th grade, as we were focusing on the essays needed for the US application, my mentor had always been receptive and kept encouraging me to get out of my comfort zone with every essay. At first, I used to feel somewhat reluctant and shy away from writing sincerely about my experiences. However, the fact that I never felt judged helped me loosen up and allow myself to write thoroughly about my parents, about my deepest fears, and the difficult moments I encountered throughout my teenage years. I always trusted that my mentor offers honest feedback, making sure that I get the most out of every single essay. I am convinced my US application would not have been so comprehensive and would not have reflected my personality this profoundly without my Upgrade Education mentor’s support and guidance. I also worked with Masha on my UK application: on the personal statement, as well as on the preparation for the interview. Throughout our discussions, he helped me refine my ideas and figure out which literary works, experiences, and activities determined me to wish to study Literature. Under her guidance, I approached an original perspective on the books I wrote about in the Personal Statement – a perspective that reflected my passion and interest in this subject. The mock interviews with Masha were very similar to the real ones, helping me to get familiar with the interview structure and with the specific question types. I warmly recommend Upgrade Education to any student who wants to discover himself or to apply to university in a foreign country, regardless of the field of study.

Working with Upgrade Education has been a pleasant and unique experience, especially due to the people I have worked with. My mentor was very involved in the application process, and because he was in the same position as me a short time ago, he knew the questions I had about applying to the UK. His advice was effective and helped me develop my skills very strongly. The people with whom I prepared for the exam and interviews were also very important, as they helped me cope with the stress I had because of these two tests, and taught me to use certain working methods that I had never encountered before.