I studied hard to get a perfect 1600 on the SAT, and was accepted to 9+ top universities including Stanford and Princeton. Since then I've helped more than eleven students earn admission to the Ivy League. I take a small number of families each cycle, so every student gets a school list built around who they actually are, and every essay gets personalized care.
No charge, no pitch · Reply within one business day
1600
SAT
perfect
11+
Ivy League
admits
8+
Years
tutoring
I've been on both sides of this process: as an applicant who got in nearly everywhere, and as the person reading a seventeen-year-old's fourth draft at eleven at night. These are some of the schools that admitted me.
9+ universities in a single application cycle.
1600
Perfect SAT score
Not a superscore. I can show a student precisely what the ceiling looks like and how to climb toward it.
11+
Students admitted to the Ivy League
Including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania.
9+
Acceptances of my own
Stanford, Princeton, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Rice, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, UGA and more.
8+
Years tutoring, students ages 10–22
One-on-one and small group, across private, volunteer, and academic settings.
As immigrants we had no idea how to navigate the college admissions process with our eldest daughter. Aqib guided her through everything, including applying to local schools like UCLA, and helped her showcase her accomplishments in her University of Pennsylvania essay. Cindy is very excited to be going to Penn this fall.
Aqib was very professional, and his prices are hard to beat given how much care and experience he brings to each essay my son needed help on. The Comprehensive package was great. My son could talk to Aqib whenever he needed, and Aqib encouraged him through a stressful admissions cycle. Harvard was Dylan’s dream school, and getting in was truly a dream come true.
Aqib helped my son with the PSAT and raised his SAT score from 1150 to 1420 in just three months.
Schools are getting harder to get into every year. Trust someone who has been through the process himself, knows what it feels like, and has helped many students reach their dream schools.
That also means being honest about fit. The best outcome is not the most famous name on the list, it is the school where your student will actually thrive, and I help every family find the schools that are right for them before we write a single word.
I work with every kind of student, whatever their grades or test scores look like right now. There is a college for every student, and my job is to find the schools where yours will get in and do well, then build the strongest possible application to them. I take students at every level. A student rebuilding confidence in algebra and a student polishing a Harvard supplemental need different things, and I build each plan around the goals the family actually has. I also work with transfer students, college students who want to move to a school that fits them better. Everything is one-on-one.
I spent months writing essays for dozens of universities. I know what the admissions team is looking for, and I cater the essay editing to showcase your student's story.
Price shared on the free call
Learn moreStart to finish, junior spring through decisions. I take a limited number of these families each cycle so nobody gets a rushed read.
Price shared on the free call
Learn moreNo minimum · no package required
For students who don't want a full package. Book the hours you need, spend them on whatever is most pressing, and stop whenever you want. No commitment past the hours you've booked.
Price shared on the free call
Learn moreI scored a perfect 1600. I know which habits produce the last eighty points, and they are not the ones most prep courses drill.
Price shared on the free call
Learn moreSessions are built backwards from what the student is actually stuck on, not from a generic curriculum.
Price shared on the free call
Learn moreAlso offered
Applying to American universities from abroad is a different problem, and most of the advice online assumes you already understand a system you have never been inside. I work with students applying from Bangladesh, from across Europe, and elsewhere, translating what US admissions committees are actually looking for into something you can act on.
The order matters. I don't start teaching until I know what's actually going wrong, which usually isn't what a report card says it is.
01
Fifteen minutes, parent and student both on the call if possible. We cover goals, timeline, and whether I'm the right fit. No charge and no pitch.
02
A real assessment before any teaching: a full-length practice test for test prep, a writing sample for essays, or a problem set for coursework.
03
You get the target, the weekly cadence, and the milestones in writing. You'll know what we're doing in week six before week one starts.
04
Consistent same-time slots. Students get work between sessions, and parents get a short note after each one covering what we did and what's next.
05
Every four to six weeks we re-measure against the diagnostic. If the plan isn't working, it changes. That's the point of measuring.
Credentials
I tutor the way I was taught to solve engineering problems: figure out what's actually broken before you start fixing things.
I'm a Stanford graduate with a bachelor's in mechanical engineering, currently finishing my master's. Over eight years I've worked with students ages 10 to 22 across math, from foundational algebra through advanced calculus, along with science, writing, history, and the study skills that hold all of it together: organization, time management, and knowing how to actually retain what you learned last month.
That work has been one-on-one and in small groups, in private, volunteer, and academic settings. What stays constant is that I tailor each session to the individual student. A middle schooler who can't track assignments and a senior three weeks out from an AP exam need completely different things from me, and pretending otherwise wastes everyone's time.
I graduated high school with a perfect GPA and a 1600 on the SAT, then spent months writing application essays for dozens of universities across the country. That ended in acceptances to Stanford, Princeton, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Rice, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, UGA and others. It left me with an unglamorous, first-hand familiarity with drafting and revision that no amount of reading about admissions can substitute for.
The application process can feel overwhelming. It did to me. What I've learned since, helping students into schools including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Penn, is that the overwhelm almost always comes from treating it as one enormous task instead of a sequence of small ones.
I also advise international students applying to US universities, from Bangladesh, Europe, and elsewhere.
My goal is for students to leave with more than an acceptance letter: the confidence and the mindset to handle the next hard thing without me.
Both. Online on Zoom/Google Meet for students anywhere in the country, and in person for students in the Bay Area, where I keep a limited number of slots. Most families choose online because it removes the drive and makes scheduling easier, but in person works well for younger students who need more structure.
Ages 10 to 22, from about grade 5 through college. Academic tutoring, study skills, and SAT/ACT preparation are available at any grade, and plenty of students start test prep well before junior year. The admissions work, school lists and essays, is mostly juniors and seniors, plus college students applying to transfer.
Weekdays from noon to 10pm, and any time on weekends. Most families lock in a standing weekly slot, which is the easiest way to keep momentum through a long semester.
Hourly sessions are billed by the hour, with no minimum and no package you have to buy first. Most students meet once a week; students with a test date coming up often go twice a week for the final stretch.
It depends on what your student needs, so I go through pricing on the free 15-minute consult, once I know whether we are talking about a few hours of test prep or a full application cycle. Hourly work has no minimum and no package you have to buy first, and packages can be split into monthly payments.
Yes. I advise students applying to US universities from abroad, including from Bangladesh and across Europe, on how the American system differs from their own, which tests matter, how to present a foreign transcript, and what financial aid is realistically available to international applicants. Sessions are online and scheduled around your timezone.
Yes, and that is a lot of who I work with. No grade point average or test score rules a student out of college, it only changes which schools we aim at and how we build the case. A student rebuilding confidence in algebra and a student polishing a Harvard supplemental need completely different things from me, and the plan gets built around your goals, not a fixed curriculum. The free consult exists partly so we can figure out what would actually help.
No. I brainstorm with them, push back on drafts, and edit line by line, but the words stay theirs. Admissions officers can tell, and more importantly, a ghostwritten essay doesn't teach anyone anything.
Twenty-four hours' notice to reschedule at no charge. Cancellations inside that window are billed at the full hourly rate, since the slot can't be filled that late.
Most methods work: Venmo, Zelle, cash, or bank transfer. Hourly sessions are settled as you go. The essay and comprehensive packages are split: half up front, half at the midpoint.
Talk to me before you rule it out. Most families who ask about cost need a payment plan rather than a lower price, and I'll split any package into monthly payments across the engagement at no extra charge. I also keep a small number of reduced-rate spots each cycle. If you need one, say so in your inquiry and tell me a little about your situation. If I can help your student, I would rather find a way to make it work than turn the family away over money.
Tell me about your student and what you're working toward. I answer every inquiry within one business day.
Email me anytime!
Call or text
Response time
Within one business day
Availability
Weekdays noon–10pm
Any time Saturday and Sunday
In person
Available for students in the Bay AreaLimited slots
I’ll reply within one business day, usually sooner. If anything is urgent, you can also email me at AqibHelps@gmail.com.
