Stanford University
100%
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A brighter tomorrow begins with you
The world is yours. Tell us your story.
College is only part of the journey. Becoming extraordinary is the destination.The Ivy Centre is a founder-led college admissions consulting and mentorship company helping students build stronger profiles, applications, and futures beyond admission.
Book a consultationCHAPTER 01 / 06
Our admissions record sets us apart
We care about each and every student, not simply the application you will submit.
We take the time to understand what moves you, what has shaped you, and the possibilities you may not yet see in yourself. Together, we help you discover what actually matters, envision the future you want to shape, provide the tools to bring that vision to life, and build a detailed action plan.
You are at the heart of everything we do.
Speak directly with our founders
... And that commitment is reflected in our results.
Over the past 5 years, The Ivy Centre has achieved a 100% restrictive early admission rate to Stanford and the highest early admission rates across the Top 20 US universities among other consultancies assessed.
Harvard University
94%
MIT
81%
Yale University
78%
University of Pennsylvania
89%
Princeton University
80%
Columbia University
69%
University of Chicago
73%
Caltech
94%
1. These results reflect all The Ivy Centre students who applied to each respective university through the Early Decision or Restrictive Early Action plans, as applicable, during the past five admissions cycles. No applicants were excluded. The number of applicants represented for each university ranges from 1 to 6 per admissions cycle. 50 competing college consulting businesses were benchmarked against The Ivy Centre’s results.
2. The Ivy Centre intentionally works with a limited number of students each year. Given our small cohort sizes, detailed data can make individual information identifiable and reveal commercially sensitive information about the structure of our private practice. For this reason, certain underlying figures are not publicly disclosed. All reported statistics are based on our internal records and calculated consistently across the relevant student population.
But what we build together goes beyond admissions
As we always say, college is only part of the journey!
Graduates of the highest paying Ivy League universities earn 31% less in early career compensation than Ivy Centre students.
Early Career Median Pay
The Ivy Centre alumni compared with Ivy League universities
The Ivy Centre Alumni $128K +44% above the highest Ivy League early-career median pay shown below
Highest Ivy League pay
Princeton University $89K Harvard University $89K University of Pennsylvania $86K Yale University $86K Columbia University $86K Dartmouth College $86K Cornell University $84K Brown University $82K1. The Ivy Centre figure represents median early career pay among former students who voluntarily shared their annual compensation information. Early career pay was defined as annual compensation within six months of completing an undergraduate degree, based on graduates from the past three years. Ivy League figures are based on 2026 U.S. News / PayScale data.
2. The Ivy Centre intentionally works with a limited number of students each year. Given our small cohort sizes, detailed data can make individual information identifiable and reveal commercially sensitive information about the structure of our private practice. For this reason, certain underlying figures are not publicly disclosed. All reported statistics are based on our internal records and calculated consistently across the relevant student population.
“As a sophomore I was doing so many clubs and things that exhausted me... I’d stay back at school until 7, 7:30pm, and I was going nowhere.”
Subah Mahbub, Princeton University’s class of 2026
A pioneering mentorship structure where every student is guided by all three Ivy Centre founders.
The Ivy Centre was built on the belief that students benefit from multiple perspectives. College admissions itself evaluates each student as a whole, and we believe mentorship should do the same.
Because of that, we reimagined what youth mentorship should look like at its highest standard and brought that vision to life through the first Triple Consultant Model in the college admissions business. Every student is personally mentored by all three founders of the business through a rigorously structured program we designed together, know inside out, and continuously shape around the students in front of us.
The strongest mentorship sees more than one version of the student and of what is possible
This means students are not receiving advice from one counselor with one perspective. They are exposed to three distinct ways of thinking, three academic and professional trajectories, and three mentors who understand success from different vantage points.
More importantly, our students are not mentored by people who have simply studied elite admissions from the outside. Every student works with 3 Ivy League graduates who have attended the institutions they aspire to reach and gone on to succeed across management consulting, psychology, medicine, research, entrepreneurship, music, and writing.
Together, we examine the person behind the grades and help each student understand not only how they can become a stronger applicant, but what kind of person they want to become.
Book a Consultation CallLet's explore what's possible!
Meet yourmentors
Lara David
Lara David
Mentor & Founder of The Ivy Centre
Columbia University Alumna
Some of the most important people in my life were the ones who saw something in me before I knew how to see it myself. Mentoring gives me the chance to be that person for someone else.
Where it started
Lara is a Civil & Environmental Engineer by training and a former Boston Consulting Group consultant. She has more than a decade of experience in college admissions and mentorship, specializing in strategies for universities with acceptance rates of 5% or below.
Growing up in Brazil, she attended private school with scholarships awarded on the basis of both financial need and academic merit, while competing in Mathematics Olympiads at the national level. Education changed the possibilities available to her, and she became determined to help students from underprivileged backgrounds use it to change the possibilities available to them.
She has mentored more than 400 domestic and international students, 92% of whom have been admitted to the most selective, Top Tier universities in the United States.
Why admissions
Lara began mentoring students applying to the Ivy League, MIT, Stanford, and other highly selective universities whose generous financial aid programs could make a fully funded education possible for international students with demonstrated need.
For these students, writing a strong application was never the real challenge. They had the potential, but often lacked the resources, information, exposure, and confidence required to imagine themselves at the world’s most competitive universities, much less build the years of academic and extracurricular preparation necessary to become compelling candidates.
- COLUMBIA ENGINEERING
- Civil, Earth & Environmental Engineering by training
- MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT
- Former Boston Consulting Group (BCG) consultant
- $17M
- Scholarships earned by students supported through ProDuca
That reality is what led Lara to study the admissions process at the most selective universities in extraordinary depth. During the first years of her work, institutions with acceptance rates below 5% were not simply aspirational choices. For many of the students she supported, they were among the only universities capable of offering enough financial aid to make studying in the United States possible.
When Lara says that she specializes in the most selective universities in the world, she means it: this is where her work began, and where the stakes taught her that exceptional mentorship must extend far beyond the application itself.
After mentoring through nonprofit organizations, Lara founded ProDuca in 2017 to expand that work. She managed more than 30 mentors concurrently and helped support the educational journeys of thousands of students who have collectively earned more than $17 million in scholarships.
What Lara brings as a mentor
Today, Lara brings her background in management consulting, engineering, and published scientific research to every student she mentors. She applies structured frameworks, quantitative thinking, and strategic storytelling to help students transform their interests and strengths into thoughtful academic, extracurricular, and professional action plans.
Yet the rigor of her approach has never made the work impersonal. As Lara often says, “Every application feels like my own child’s application.” She understands what education can change because it changed her own life first.
Outside of mentorship, Lara is a cat mom, ballroom dancer, passionate backgammon player, and perpetually curious about neuroscience books and podcasts.
Marah Selim
Marah Selim
Mentor & Founding Partner of The Ivy Centre, Psychology & Student Development
Cornell University Alumna
There’s a moment when a student stops describing who they think they should be and starts discovering who they actually are. Helping them explore, question, and make sense of that process is one of the most meaningful parts of my job!
Where psychology meets mentorship
Marah is a founding partner at The Ivy Centre. She is completing her PhD in Counseling Psychology and has been trained in psychotherapy techniques for over five years, as she also teaches a Human Development course at the University of Miami.
She brings this perspective into her work with students by helping them better understand their interests, responses to pressure, and larger decisions about college and their future careers within a developmental framework. Marah guides students in utilizing this reflection to pave a more sustainable way forward in managing both the emotional and organizational demands of the admissions process.
The goal is not simply to manage the admissions process, but to help students understand themselves well enough to move through it with greater clarity.
Building systems that support the student
Marah has helped students develop personalized executive functioning systems that allow them to focus on what matters most while building confidence in their ability to follow through on their goals, including students with executive functioning challenges, including Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
- CORNELL
- Psychology
- PHD CANDIDATE
- Counseling Psychology
- 5+ YEARS
- Psychotherapy Training
- EDUCATOR
- Human Development
From reflection to action
She integrates these reflective and organizational skills into the admissions advisory process, and returns to them during the three additional Landing Sessions once a student has begun their first semester of college.
Marah’s aim is to match students with their dream school and to develop the skills and sense of direction that will allow them to thrive on campus, and well beyond college.
Getting into college is one milestone. Knowing how to navigate what comes next is part of the work too.
Beyond The Ivy Centre
Outside of her work at the Ivy Centre, which she already enjoys a fair amount, Marah plays tennis and backgammon and loves a good film.
Jorge Dorantes, MD
Jorge Dorantes, MD
Mentor & Founding Partner of The Ivy Centre, Humanities, Medicine & STEM Nexus Strategy
Cornell University Alumnus
There will always be people ready to hand you a mold for what a successful life is supposed to look like. But some of the most important growing up happens when you become brave enough to question it and curious enough to discover what a fulfilling life looks like for you.
A unique perspective
Dr. Dorantes is a resident surgeon and an award-winning musician, writer, and researcher. His essays and research have been published in prestigious journals such as The American Journal of Surgery and the Journal of Surgical Case Reports (JSCR), published by Oxford University Press. He has won multiple piano composition awards, including recognition as a national semi-finalist through the Michigan Federation of Music at the age of eight. More recently, he placed as a national semi-finalist in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom short story competition. He continues to play jazz piano and is currently at work on a screenplay.
Jorge’s path reflects the power of pursuing multiple interests with intention, and the possibility of a life that brings them together.
Helping students explore what matters
With a background in philosophy, with a focus on Ancient Greek Philosophy, and an English literature major from Cornell University, Dr. Dorantes brings a humanities lens to the admissions process. He helps students think critically, ask deeper questions, and articulate their ideas with clarity, whether in their essays, interviews, or broader academic exploration.
- RESIDENT SURGEON
- Medicine
- AWARD-WINNING MUSICIAN
- Piano & Composition
From ideas to impact
Jorge works with students through the Medicine Workshop, the STEM program, and the Ivy Lab Essay Workshops, where he helps them develop a personal voice, connect seemingly different interests, and build a compelling narrative for their future.
He also brings a clinical perspective to discussions about how to navigate high-pressure environments, make thoughtful decisions, and stay grounded during demanding periods like college applications and the transition to college itself.
His goal is to help students discover a love for lifelong learning and expression, and to give them the tools to turn curiosity into meaningful opportunities.
Beyond The Ivy Centre
Outside of his work at The Ivy Centre, Jorge continues to play jazz piano, explore new creative projects, and enjoy a good film. He remains deeply committed to the belief that the humanities and the sciences together can shape a richer, more thoughtful, and more human future.
- WRITER & RESEARCHER
- Published Author
- CORNELL
- Philosophy & English Literature
THE IVY CENTRE JOURNAL
Thoughtful guidance for ambitious journeys
In The Ivy Journal, we examine the latest admissions news, published research, and evolving application strategies, translating what is happening in the admissions world into thoughtful, practical guidance for students and families.
Parent guidanceCan You Use AI For Your College Essays?
Has AI made college essays sound better? Well... polished writing is NOT what makes you memorable. Here’s what does.
Read article Sep 24, 2026
Applications & essaysLower Test Scores Can Still Strengthen Your College Application.
Not sending your SAT or ACT scores may even hurt your chances. The full guide on when you should submit your scores.
Read article Sep 23, 2026
All about collegesThe Research University Trap: Why a Famous Lab Is Not College Strategy
And how to (properly) answer your “Why This University” essay. (Part 1 of 2)
Read article Sep 23, 2026Our Story
We’re an admissions company, but that’s not really what we’re selling.
OF COURSE, WE CARE DEEPLY ABOUT WHERE
OUR STUDENTS ARE ADMITTED... BUT
ADMISSION ITSELF HAS NEVER
BEEN THE DESTINATION.
WARNING: THIS IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL
ABOUT US PAGE - WE ACTUALLY HAVE
SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO SAY
Our Methodology
A connected journey in five stages.
Every student at The Ivy Centre follows the same structured, evidence-informed methodology, whether they join us years before applying or during application season. Each stage builds on the last, combining deep personal insight, real world exploration, strategic planning, and our three mentors individualized guidance to help the student make meaningful choices, present their story with clarity, and thrive beyond admission.
Same methodology but different starting points, priorities, and pace.
Stage 1
Discover what sets the student apart.
Understand before you build.
A deeper understanding for a stronger start.
We use a multi dimensional, evidence-informed assessment to understand the student’s strengths, values, interests, personality, and potential. This insight forms the foundation for every decision that follows and ensures the program is designed around who the student truly is, not a formula or a template.
Clifton Strengths Finder®
Psychologist-administered and interpreted by our founder Marah Selim to identify the student’s top strengths and how to use them.
Values Exploration (ACT) Assessment
Based on the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to clarify what matters most and guide and prioritize choices that will ultimately represent the highest value to the student's application profile.
Intellectual Vitality Assessment
Explores interests, patterns of thinking, and what genuinely excites the student.
Student Insight Report
An integrated view of the student, bringing together their strengths, values, interests, thinking patterns, and areas for growth to inform the strategy and mentorship that follow.
Action Plan & Accountability System
Personalized strategies, clear next steps, and an accountability system designed around how the student works best, stays motivated, and navigates pressure.
Success Skills Plan (as needed)
Targeted support for recurring challenges involving organization, motivation, follow through, communication, self advocacy, and managing stress or pressure, including those associated with Executive Functioning (EF) difficulties, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Stage 2
Develop depth
Turn curiosity into contribution.
Explore > Experience > Build > Reflect > Refine.
Through our signature Ivy Lab Program and Focused Workshops, we help students explore their curiosities, deepen their interests, and pursue opportunities with purpose. The approach is tailored to where the student is in their journey.
The Ivy Lab
This is our signature exploration program. Students discover new fields that might interest them, identify real world problems they would benefit from getting involved in, and pursue meaningful opportunities aligned with their strengths and broader profile.
Focused Workshops
Targeted workshops designed around the student’s goals, combining focused learning with hands on practice to deepen technical knowledge and build skills in areas such as research, writing, communication, critical thinking, leadership, and their evolving academic interests.
Stage 3
Bring it all together
A cohesive strategy that leads to a distinctive application.
From experience to a compelling, cohesive application.
We help the student shape everything they have done into an authentic, cohesive, and compelling application. Our Application Architecture and Studio programs ensure every component reinforces the student’s profile storyline and showcases their strengths, values, and impact.
Application Architecture
Before writing begins, all three mentors come together to architect each student’s application, drawing on three perspectives and everything we have learned about them to determine which experiences, qualities, and topics are best suited to each component. The strategy is tailored by university, giving the student a clear direction for what each written assignment should reveal and how every piece contributes to one cohesive storyline. Students and parents are part of the process, so everyone is aligned on the strategy before the first draft begins.
Application Studio
With the architecture in place, we work alongside the student through structured brainstorming, drafting, feedback, and revision across every written component, including personal statements, supplemental essays, activities, descriptions, and additional information. Each piece is developed in the context of the full application, helping the student communicate their experiences in their own voice while ensuring every component adds something purposeful, avoids unnecessary repetition, and strengthens the larger storyline.
Triple Quality Control, Submission & Readiness
Every application goes through our Triple Quality Control process before submission, with all three mentors reviewing the complete application from their distinct perspectives. Together, we check accuracy and completeness, test the coherence of the overall storyline, identify inconsistencies or missed opportunities, and ensure every component supports the strategy developed for that university. We then prepare the student for interviews, submission, and what comes next.
Stage 4
Choose, don’t be chosen
Find the environment where the student will thrive.
Make an informed decision.
Once the student has their final acceptances, we help them evaluate each offer with clarity, comparing academic, personal, and long-term fit. Our goal is not just admission, but the environment where the student will thrive.
Compare Offers
Assess academics, culture, resources, and long term fit using a structured framework.
Make an Informed Decision
We guide the student and family through trade offs and considerations to choose with confidence and purpose.
Plan for What’s Next
Once a decision is made, we help the student prepare for a successful transition, academically, socially, and personally.
Stage 5
Thrive once you’re there
A strong start and a lasting network.
Support for what comes next.
Our support doesn’t end with admission. Every student undergoes our signature College Landing Sessions to help the student transition smoothly, adjust to campus life, and make the most of their opportunities. Upon graduation from The Ivy Centre program, students become lifelong members of The Ivy Centre network, a community of ambitious, like minded individuals worldwide.
College Landing Sessions
Practical guidance on academics, social life, independence, and navigating new opportunities, including support with early decisions around course selection, extracurricular involvement, campus resources, relationships, routines, and how to make the most of the first year.
Graduation from The Ivy Centre Program
Each year, we bring our graduating cohort together for an Ivy Centre graduation celebration, typically in Miami, New York, or Boston, depending on what works best for the group. Students meet in person, attend talks designed for what comes next, celebrate their journeys, and build connections with one another over dinner.
Lifelong Network Access
Graduates remain part of our global network, with continued access to opportunities, resources, and a community of like-minded individuals.
Throughout the Journey
Insight becomes action through continuous guidance.
The plan evolves with the student. We revisit progress, respond to new insights and opportunities, and adjust the action plan along the way, keeping wellbeing and execution moving together.
Strategy and Synthesis Sessions
These ongoing one-to-one conversations connect group learning, personal reflection, new experiences, and next decisions, keeping the student’s strategy clear, personal, and actionable throughout the program.
Wellbeing and Performance Reviews
Every two weeks, Marah reviews stressors, wellbeing, habits, and productivity, helping the student apply practical tools for sustainable progress while staying motivated and able to deliver on the goals of the program.
Built from experience, not theory
We have lived this journey from more than one side.
We have been the students. We have delivered the guidance. And we continuously ask ourselves what exceptional mentorship should look like if the student were our own.
We know what it feels like to pursue admission to institutions that can seem distant or difficult to reach.
We have since graduated from Ivy League universities, built careers across management consulting, psychology, medicine, research, entrepreneurship, music, and writing, and created lives that feel meaningful and fulfilling to us.
Many of our students aspire to attend the same kinds of institutions we once hoped to reach.
Some are drawn to careers similar to the ones we ultimately pursued.
That shared experience matters because we can speak not only to what it takes to reach those opportunities, but to what it takes to build a life once you have them.
But our goal is not to turn students into versions of us. It is to give them the judgment, confidence, self knowledge, and practical tools to recognize opportunities, pursue them with intention, and build successful paths of their own, whatever those paths eventually look like.
A higher standard
Families should never have to wonder whether their child is receiving thoughtful strategy or simply a polished version of the same process offered to everyone else.
The Ivy Centre was built to do the opposite: understand the student first, then build the strategy around them.
Ivy League graduates, yes. But more importantly, we have built the lives we hoped for
That perspective allows us to help students think about more than where they want to go. We support them in identifying what kind of life they want to build, which opportunities are worth pursuing, and how their decisions today can create possibilities for years to come.
Our goal is to give them the judgement, confidence, and initiative to build fulfilling paths of their own, whatever that looks like.
Founder-led, by design
The people you meet are the people who do the work.
Unlike many advising companies, we are not a large organization with layers of advisors. We are a small, founder-led team, and the people you meet are the people who mentor your child.
Direct Access
Students work directly with Lara, Marah, and Jorge.
There is no rotating layer of junior advisors and no handoff between the people shaping the strategy and the people responsible for carrying it out.
The founders remain involved.
Accountability
The people who set The Ivy Centre’s standard are the same people responsible for delivering it.
We know the student, the decisions already made, the reasoning behind them, and how the larger strategy is evolving.
The standard and the execution stay connected.
Collective Judgment
Important decisions are considered through three distinct perspectives.
Strategy, human development, and lived professional experience are brought into the same conversation so that decisions reflect the student’s ambitions, how they actually operate, and the person they are becoming.
Founder-led mentorship only means something if the founders actually have the time to mentor.
That is why we intentionally work with a limited number of students each year.
Learn more about usTrust me, this is not your typical About Us page
The system behind the relationship
Boutique by design. But engineered to operate differently.
We chose to keep the number of students we mentor small. We did not choose to keep the systems behind them simple.
College intelligence
Better decisions require better information. But more information doesn’t necessarily mean better intelligence.
Internally, our three founders built a proprietary data infrastructure that programmatically ingests and integrates data from multiple federal, institutional, and structured public sources. Through an automated ETL pipeline, raw data is cleaned, normalized, validated, reconciled across sources, and transformed into a unified analytical layer. Our founders then query that layer across hundreds of variables to investigate the questions and tradeoffs most relevant to each student.
≈500U.S. institutions1,000+Mapped metrics per collegeThe value is not in showing a student 1,000 data points. It is in being able to select, combine, and interpret the variables relevant to the questions we are actually trying to answer for a student.
- 01
Federal + institutional sources
IPEDS · College Scorecard
Carnegie Classification
Common Data Set - 02
We retrieve the information
Python · JavaScript
Programmatic acquisition - 03
We clean + standardize it
Parsing · Normalization
Mapping - 04
We validate + transform it
Validation · Transformation
Alteryx - 05
We analyze it
Power BI · Excel
Comparative analysis - 06
Our founders interpret it for each student
Data tells us what is true about a college.
Knowing the student tells us which truths matter.
Strategy is knowing what to do with both.
The student operating system
The same architecture follows the student.
From the first assessment through college enrollment, the student’s work lives within a connected Ivy Centre environment. Meetings, assignments, projects, decisions, founder observations, family context, and evolving priorities remain connected rather than scattered across separate conversations and documents.
Every student works with all three founders, and what they share with one of us becomes context for all three. A detail that surfaces in one conversation may become important weeks later in another, without the student having to start from the beginning each time.
Technology preserves the context.
Our founders decide, together, what to do with it.
We plan
Personal Program Blueprint
Current Focus
MilestonesWe coordinate
Ongoing Projects
Meeting Calendar
Founder InvolvementWe document
Session Follow Ups
Decisions
Individual Feedback by FounderWe track
Homework
Action Items
Deadlines
ProgressWe report
Priorities
Progress
Family VisibilityWe adapt
Working Patterns
Changing Priorities
Success Skill Plans
The Ivy Centre, in their pocket
Students, parents, and mentors stay connected to the same picture.
Our mobile app gives students and parents easy access to what they need, without having to search through emails, documents, and multiple platforms.
Application status
See where each application stands and what still requires attention.
Homework + next actions
See assignments, deadlines, and priorities.
College Explorer
Access student-specific college list data and information relevant to the family's search.
Smart notifications
When a university reaches out to a student, our automated system notifies the student, parents, and mentors so nothing is missed.
New Message from Columbia
A new message is available in your application portal.
2 minutes agoRestrictive Early Action deadline
Stanford deadline approaching
Your application is due in 5 days. Two remaining items are still incomplete.
Mentorship reminder
Your next session is tomorrow
Saturday, September 26 at 11:00 AM with Lara.
Founder feedback
New feedback from Jorge
Jorge added comments to your activities section.
Milestone
Personal Statement complete
Your final draft has passed founder review and is ready for submission.
For students and parents, that means greater visibility and fewer things to keep track of manually. For our founders, it means less time on repetitive administration and more time strategizing with and for our student.
Automation with a purpose
We automate what should not require our attention, so we can give more attention to what should.
Technology helps us
Better technology should create more room for human judgment, not less.
Triple quality control
Shared information. Three perspectives.
No single set of blind spots.
Beyond Admission
The relationship continues after enrollment.
The Ivy Centre is a relationship business built on connection, and our relationship with each student is one of our most important assets. Our commitment to their success continues well beyond an acceptance or enrollment. As students grow, their plans evolve with them, and our mentors remain a trusted source of guidance through the academic, professional, personal, and social opportunities and decisions that come next.
And sometimes, there is no decision to make at all. When our mentors find themselves in a city where one of our students lives, we make time for dinner, brunch, or simply a catch up. We care about staying part of their lives and watching where their journey takes them.
Academic Next Steps
Support for major and graduate school decisions, academic opportunities, and university transitions.
Professional Readiness
Guidance on internships, resumes, and career exploration, with relevant connections when possible.
Wellbeing Tools
Practical support for anxiety, stressors, productivity, and transitions during college and beyond.
Ongoing Connection
A relationship that includes guidance, celebration, and genuine friendship as each student’s life evolves.
The Relationships Behind the Journey
Once part of The Ivy Centre, always part of The Ivy Centre.
The Ivy Centre's pioneering Ivy League Retreat is redefining admissions preparation.
With the launch of The Ivy League Retreat at Lake Como, The Ivy Centre is pioneering a new approach, one that transforms admissions preparation into a journey of confidence, creativity, and self-discovery.
Applications for Summer 2027 opening soon
As seen on...
Student Testimonials
Real stories. Real impact. And guidance that lasts a lifetime.
Our students come from different backgrounds, with different goals, interests, and dreams.
Here's what some of them have to say about their journey with The Ivy Centre.
Subah Mahbub
Princeton University
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
Video testimony available.
As a sophomore I was doing so many clubs and things that exhausted me. I'd stay back at school until 7:30pm, and I was going nowhere. So Lara taught me to be strategic and only do things that I truly enjoy and value. When you do that, you'll be able to contribute more of your time and will be passionate about it. You'll make it yours, and that's what will shine through your application.
Felipe A.
Columbia University
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
Video testimony available.
Would you do The Ivy Centre's program again if you could?
Absolutely! I'd have done it sooner for sure!
Stela Rosa
University of Pennsylvania
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
Full testimony available.
With The Ivy Centre, I learned a lot! I learned how to stand out and not only meet the requirements (everyone who applies meets the requirements!). So make sure you have the right person to assist you. You can't do it alone.
Matheus Farias
Harvard University
PHD PROGRAM
Full testimony available.
My mentor would spend every night with me, editing my documents, criticizing what needed to be criticized, and giving me valuable feedback. Today, he is someone who can not only tell my story, but tell my story better than I can do it myself!
There is no doubt in my mind that mentorship program was essential for me to get accepted into Harvard.
Klethon G.
New York University Abu Dhabi
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
Video testimony available.
The first time I applied, I got rejected in 19/20 colleges that I applied for. But I didn't want to give up on my dream. I took a 3 gap years before college. I worked closely with Lara and focused on my weaknesses. She gave me the foundation to build my applications in a stronger way. I fixed all mistakes I made over the first round of applications and felt much more secure. I ultimately got accepted into NYU Abu Dhabi, a 2% acceptance rate university, with a full-ride!
Felipe Maia
University of Michigan
PHD PROGRAM
Full testimony available.
A few meetings with my mentor, Lara, were enough for me to learn how to express myself correctly. Achievements aren't enough. You have to apply many techniques. The Ivy Centre mentors indeed master those techniques and teach you! The Ivy Centre's mentoring service was an investment with huge returns. I recommend it to all those who wish to get admitted to the best undergraduate or graduate programs.
Nubia T.
Purdue University
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
Video testimony available.
The Ivy Centre is different from other programs because it's more personalized. You have more contact with your mentor, one-on-one contact, which is important because the mentor gets to know you more personally, helping with essays, planning, and college list more efficiently.
Livia L.
Utrecht University
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
Video testimony available.
Receiving guidance from someone with experience allows you to get familiar with the application process. Having my mentor explain everything in detail during every step of the way was very valuable! I also had the help of my mentor to prepare for my interviews, so I was confident for them. I would, of course, recommend this mentorship program to everyone!
A part of The Ivy Centre has always belonged to something bigger
Potential should never be limited by access.
Long before The Ivy Centre existed, ProDuca began with a simple belief: extraordinary students can be found everywhere, even when extraordinary opportunities cannot.
That belief still shapes what we build today
Every year, part of what we build here goes back to where it began.
Each year, The Ivy Centre invests a portion of its work and resources into supporting a select group of high potential students through ProDuca, our education access initiative.
- Potential
- Curiosity
- Ambition
- Determination
Through ProDuca, we look for students with exceptional potential, intellectual curiosity, ambition, and the determination to make the most of an opportunity, particularly those whose circumstances may otherwise limit their access to highly personalized mentorship.
Register your interest
There is no application season for potential.
You do not need to wait for a formal application cycle. We are always excited to learn about promising students and the journeys that brought them to us.
Register your interest365
Days a year
Registration of interest is open year round.
-
Register your interest
Tell us who you are and what has shaped your journey.
-
We review throughout the year
Our team considers submissions as opportunities become available.
-
We reach out directly
If we believe there may be a strong fit, we will contact you with next steps.
The Ivy Centre Programs
The same methodology. Different levels of founder time and involvement.
Every mentorship program follows the same five stage methodology and gives students direct access to The Ivy Centre founders. The difference is the amount of individual founder time built into the program and how closely our mentors can remain involved as new questions, opportunities, and decisions emerge.
Students can join at different ages and starting points, and programs can span anything from a few months to multiple years depending on the student's timeline and needs.
01
Collaborative
Shared mentorship. Personal strategy.
A pair-based program for independent students who want the full Ivy Centre methodology with less individual founder time.
- Work alongside a peer. Most sessions are shared with one other student, creating space for discussion, perspective, and momentum.
- Individualized strategy. Each student receives their own blueprint, college strategy, and application support.
- Private when it matters. Assessment conversations and essay brainstorming take place individually.
- Ideal for independent students. A great fit for those with a strong foundation who benefit from strategic direction and expert perspective rather than frequent one to one support.
Starts at$15,000
Same methodology. A powerful start.
02
Individual
On demand mentorship. Closer support.
A one to one program for students who benefit from dedicated mentorship and greater ongoing access to our founders.
- Dedicated one to one sessions. All sessions are centered on the individual student.
- Deeper assessment. More founder time to understand the student and build a personalized strategy.
- Closer accountability. Ongoing support around projects, priorities, and next steps.
- More individualized development. Additional time to explore interests, opportunities, and areas for growth.
Starts at$25,000
More time. More possibilities.
03
Signature
High touch mentorship & founder involvement.
A fully personalized program for families who want our three founders to have substantially more time and flexibility to become involved across the student's broader journey.
- Everything in the Individual Program.
- Greater founder access. More time with Lara, Marah, and Jorge.
- Broader scope. Support across academic projects, research, extracurriculars, summer opportunities, internships, entrepreneurship, and more.
- More continuous involvement. Our founders remain closely engaged as new opportunities and decisions emerge.
- Support wherever the journey leads. Guidance for college and beyond, including graduate school and early career decisions.
Starts at$50,000
Our deepest partnership.
04
Ivy League Retreat
Seven days of focused, immersive work.
A one week, in-person experience in Lake Como for students who want to step away from their everyday environment and make meaningful progress with all three founders and a carefully selected cohort.
- Seven immersive days. Focused work, reflection, and collaboration in an inspiring setting.
- All three founders. Direct access to Lara, Marah, and Jorge throughout the experience.
- Work tailored to your stage. Explore interests, develop your profile, strengthen your college strategy, or work on applications.
- A carefully selected cohort. Learn from and build relationships with ambitious peers from around the world.
- Leave with a plan. Greater clarity and concrete priorities for what comes next.
Starts at$11,000
A week that lasts a lifetime.
Same five stage methodology. Same three founders. Different levels of founder time, access, and involvement.
YOUR JOURNEY STARTS NOW
It’s time to make your mark! Welcome to your future.
PLEASE READ BELOW Before scheduling your consultation session A few important details will help you get the most out of your session.
Taking a moment to review this information will ensure a more meaningful and productive conversation.
This free consultation session is only designed for families considering to enroll in one of The Ivy Centre’s paid programs.
Please note that a parent, guardian, or financially responsible decision maker must join the call with the student. The decisions surrounding college are deeply personal and often made as a family. We want this first conversation to reflect that, creating space to understand the student’s ambitions, hear the family’s perspective, and determine whether there is a meaningful fit between your goals and our approach.
As a reminder, our mentorship programs start at $15K while the Ivy League Retreat for Summer 2027 starts at $11K.
CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE CONSULTATIONWhat to Expect From Your Consultation
This consultation gives us an opportunity to learn about the student’s academic profile, interests, ambitions, college goals, and experiences.
We work with a limited number of students each year so that each family receives the level of attention, preparation, and personal involvement our model requires.
Before the call, families will complete a short set of questions about the student’s background, priorities, interests, and goals so that our team can review their profile in advance.
If our team does not receive the answers to these prep questions, your consultation will be canceled.
A Valuable Conversation, Whether or Not We Work Together
We view the consultation as the start of a meaningful conversation about the student’s future. It is also an opportunity to determine whether The Ivy Centre is the right fit for the student and family.
Even when a family does not ultimately join The Ivy Centre, we want the conversation to be valuable and for every family to leave with a better sense of decisions that matter most. As such, we will speak openly about the student’s current position, opportunities we see ahead, and areas that deserve greater attention.
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