Who we are

How did we begin?

For this, we’ll have to go back to the summer of 2011…

After graduating from Harvard with a degree in maths, our founder, Tinu Bosînceanu, was working in Chicago as a data analyst in finance. But whilst the job was going smoothly, he secretly wanted to spend more time on his real passion: education.

So he started mentoring high school students in the area where he grew up. Small things, at first - discussing news articles, going over essays, giving people books to read. And gradually, as he spent more time with them, they began working harder, growing in confidence, and believing in themselves for the first time.

The result? Many of these original students started to apply and get accepted into top universities all over the world. And from this, Upgrade was born.

Where are we now?

Currently, Upgrade takes students from high school to their university application, to their first year of undergraduate studies.

But as you might have guessed, we’re more than a simple academic consultancy. We build long-term relationships with our students and, in the process, create tight-knit communities of like-minded, passionate people who all help each other out.

And you know what? Our approach is working. Currently, 100% of our students get into one of their top 3 choices, 84% get accepted into universities in the top 100, and we increase the chance of you getting into Oxbridge or an Ivy League University by x3.

Where are we going?

In the next few years we’re focusing on 3 main areas:
- Expanding our version of mentorship into all areas of education
- Building out our technology platforms to ensure we’re as accessible as possible
- Growing our community of inspiring mentors and Upgrade alumni.
All of us at Upgrade are dedicated to making sure these 3 things happen. Why? So that everyone gets the education they deserve.