Take A Step Toward Your Future With Expert UC Berkeley Admissions Counseling

Trinh earned a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, where she was a recipient of the prestigious Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholarships, awarded to the top 2% of entering undergraduates. Then, she pursued an MA from San José University. Trinh has over seven years of mentoring and admissions experience, including serving as an undergraduate advisor and application reader on the admissions committee at UC Berkeley.

As part of the UC Berkeley admissions team, Trinh reviews applications to ensure they meet all the minimum requirements and assesses whether applicants have the potential to succeed at UC Berkeley. As an undergraduate advisor in the Department of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, Trinh provides academic advising to students, including guidance on degree requirements, graduation eligibility, and academic progression. Additionally, Trinh has experience reviewing and making scholarship decisions. She has a strong understanding of what makes a scholarship application compelling—both in structure and in content.

Growing up in a first-generation household, Trinh did not have any guidance at home to help her apply to colleges. Fortunately, she connected with counselors who helped her navigate the admissions process, and with their support, she got accepted to her dream school—UC Berkeley. This experience showed her how life-changing the right support and resources can be in the college application process. 

Trinh’s personal experiences sparked a deep passion for higher education, particularly in college admissions. After earning her MA, she went on to help many students get accepted into top schools like UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, and UC Irvine. Trinh finds being part of a student’s journey—from the uncertainty at the beginning to the excitement of receiving acceptance letters at the end—incredibly rewarding. She loves knowing that she’s helping students lay the foundation for future success.

One of Trinh's greatest strengths as a coach is helping students recognize their true potential. She’s able to guide them in seeing the strength and resilience they already have, qualities that can make their college applications stand out. She is adept at building strong, genuine relationships with students and their families, which helps create a comfortable space for them to open up and share their stories. Trinh is deeply passionate about helping students succeed and is always willing to go the extra mile, whether that means finding additional resources, gathering information, or anything else to ensure each student builds a competitive application. 

In her spare time, Trinh loves getting outdoors, exploring new hiking trails, and strength training in the gym. She is also a huge foodie and loves checking out new restaurants and trying different types of cuisine from all over the world.

Trinh’s Pro Tip?

There is so much more that goes into a strong application than test scores. It’s important for applicants to show genuine passion, resilience, and a clear sense of purpose. Applications are reviewed holistically; a student’s background, experiences, and growth are all taken into account, not just their numbers. 

Amy earned her BS from the California Institute of Technology before pursuing a PhD at the University of Colorado, Boulder. With over 20 years of experience in academia, she served on the Board of Trustees of Summer Science Program (SSP) International for 13 years and has been the Chief Academic Officer for over seven years. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor at Brown University for three years, where she also served on the graduate admissions committee. Additionally, she spent four years on Caltech’s undergraduate admissions committee.

Passionate about helping students navigate college applications, Amy finds immense fulfillment in guiding them toward schools where they’ll thrive. Her greatest joy comes from hearing a student say, “I got into my dream school!” She understands how stressful the process can be and is committed to providing support at every step. Students she’s coached have gained admission to Caltech, MIT, Rice, Northwestern, and other top universities.

As a coach, Amy has a highly organized and proactive approach. She believes in getting things done well in advance, allowing ample time for thoughtful revisions and adjustments. This structured method provides flexibility and reduces last-minute stress, ensuring each application is polished to perfection.

In her free time, Amy likes to bake cookies and play classic video games—she also considers herself to be a big Pokémon nerd!

Amy’s Pro Tip?

It is important for every student to let their personality shine through in their application. Many applications end up sounding the same, but if a student puts in the effort, they can create something unique and personal that will catch the eye of an application reviewer.

Brennen graduated from the University of Southern California and has earned two Master’s degrees from the University of Denver and University of Washington. He has over three years of experience helping students apply to college, seven years of experience in higher education, and 15 years of tutoring experience. Brennen has helped 500+ students gain acceptance to their dream schools, including prestigious private schools, the Ivies, and the UCs. Of the multiple students Brennan has coached, two went on to become Olympic gold medalists, and three have been drafted to the NFL–he has tutored 10% of USC's NFL draft picks since 2016! Additionally, he is also a member of the invite-only Harvard Business Review's Advisory Council. 

Brennen is passionate about coaching college applicants because he loves helping students reach the next level, meeting students where they are, and helping them achieve their academic goals, no matter what! Brennen enjoys having the opportunity to work with students of all types. Seeing one student apply to Harvard, Pomona, and Yale one day and seeing another student apply to Georgia Tech, USC, and UCLA the next is the joy of being able to help diverse populations. This is one of the main reasons he enjoys working with students worldwide to apply to excellent schools and get great degrees that match them to successful careers.

As a coach, Brennen’s greatest strengths are that he’s kind, encouraging, fun, knowledgeable, and a journeyed consultant. He is currently pursuing his third Master's degree, so he understands the higher education scene extensively and is a West Coast University savant. He has personally taken the GRE, LSAT, and GMAT and has an extensive track record of helping students strengthen skills, applications, profiles, resumes, interview performance, and more.

Outside of coaching, Brennen is an avid music fan and has all the good jams! He also loves reading and writing and has written nine books (mostly academic) since 2012. You can also find Brennen watching and attending sports games and watching funny and informative reels/videos online from content creators who are queer, of color, or have disabilities.

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