Q&A with Jane: Inside Command Education’s Dual-Expertise Mentorship Model

A: Command Education draws together expertise from both sides of the admission desk to provide the most comprehensive support in the industry. Foundational to our approach is one-on-one mentorship from Ivy League graduates. Our Senior Mentors are intimately familiar with what it takes to craft a successful application because they have done so themselves, making them uniquely capable of relating to and motivating students through the process. They understand what admissions officers are looking for as a result of their firsthand experience navigating the admissions landscape and guiding numerous students through the process, as well.

We pair this invaluable experience of our mentors with the industry insights of former admissions officers through our Admissions Advisory Board, composed of former admissions officers who train and inform our Senior Mentors about the latest trends in admissions at top colleges. This dual approach confirms that every piece of guidance we provide is backed by rigorous knowledge of what admissions committees are looking for today. These specialists work closely with mentors as they advise students on profile building and application development, and they provide a rigorous final review before students press “submit.”

A: The Command Education team is a diverse collection of admissions experts, Ivy League graduates, former admissions officers, and an in-house marketing team to support student projects.

The student experience is grounded in the one-on-one relationship with their Senior Mentor. The mentor facilitates weekly meetings, guides students to follow an intentional roadmap throughout their high school journey, coaches them to adapt as their interests and goals develop, and works closely with them throughout every step of the process. Around that relationship is a broader ecosystem of support consisting of team leads who advise on high-level strategy, admissions officers who provide expert insights on student profiles, and creative professionals who help students bring student initiatives to life. This robust network provides students with industry-leading guidance at every stage of the process on each individual facet of their profile and application.

A: We take a multi-layered approach to application reviews, ensuring that every application has gone through numerous meticulous layers of evaluation before reaching the admissions committee. The Senior Mentor is involved from the early stages of brainstorming, helping students articulate their authentic voice through their writing. Second reviewers and Directors of Mentoring review final drafts of essays, providing a secondary layer of critique. Before anything is finalized and submitted, a member of our Admissions Advisory Board—someone with direct experience reading applications at prestigious institutions—conducts a final evaluation, reading the materials according to the standards of top universities.

A: Mentors bring something an admissions office perspective alone can’t provide: lived experience excelling in the competitive admissions landscape. Because our Senior Mentors are only a few years removed from the application process, they acutely understand the pressures and demands and can motivate students to achieve their most ambitious goals. Their closeness in age and experience builds a level of trust and openness that allows students to be honest about their interests, their doubts, and what genuinely excites them.

Beyond their relatability, our mentors are also seasoned professionals with dynamic expertise. They are not only Ivy League graduates, but award-winning scholars, college athletes, education experts, seasoned researchers, and published authors.

A: Our distinctive model is the industry-leading approach to admissions consulting because it addresses both ends of the admissions funnel. Through emotionally intelligent mentorship, students are empowered to discover and pursue their authentic passions without simply checking the boxes they assume admissions officers want to see. Meanwhile, our Admissions Advisory Board equips mentors to provide students with the most up-to-date guidance, so that students’ exploration is nurtured within a framework that fosters success in the admissions process and beyond. The result of this multi-pronged approach is that student narratives are both genuine and presented in a way that resonates with admissions readers.