Command Education in the Media

College is an opportunity for students to encounter opposing viewpoints and hear from people who are different from them, says Christopher Rim, CEO and founder of Command Education, an admissions consulting company. “You want a diverse opinion. You want people who have different experiences than you. I think that’s going to be lost.”

By lunchtime Thursday, Christopher Rim, president and CEO of Command Education, had received more than two dozen calls from students and their families, all with one question: How would the Supreme Court’s ruling on the affirmative action admission policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina impact their future applications?

“Feedback is not helpful when it is neither action-oriented nor constructive,” said Christopher Rim, CEO and founder of Midtown-based Command Education, an education and admissions consultancy. “As a manager, you cannot request feedback from an employee if you aren’t willing or prepared to do something about it, as it will create situations that are more frustrating for everyone if there is no follow-through.”

When you run a boutique college-consulting firm like mine, you get used to urgent, last-minute requests.

The son of one of my clients — a 10th grader from New York City — texted me at 11 p.m. on Memorial Day. He said, “Chris, I have a final tomorrow. I need a math tutor.”

Even though it was late at night and a holiday, I got a math teacher ready for the student by 11:30 p.m. They had a 1 ½ -hour class and logged off at 1 a.m.

Your essays should highlight unique traits or accomplishments that help differentiate your application from others, says Christopher Rim, CEO of Command Education. “You want to be able to write about in these essays what you’ve done in the past, what you’ve done during school, what you did the summer before. That’s what’s really important.”