ABOUT US
MEET OUR CORE EXPERTS
Ryan Y. Choi, a.k.a. Ryan Choice
Founder & Lead Consultant
Hello!
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I am the founder and lead consultant at Sapient Academy.
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I have degrees in creative writing, education, and business from Columbia University, Teachers College at Columbia, and Haas School of Business at Berkeley.
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I work mainly in two areas: preparing students for standardized tests and helping them apply to colleges and graduate schools. Many of my students have successfully gained admission to world-renowned universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, CalTech, INSEAD, Oxford, Cambridge, and many others.
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If you are interested in any of the services we provide, please feel free to contact us. We would be more than happy to guide you through the process and help you succeed.
Aaron Blumenthal
Chief Strategy Officer | Literature & Writing Specialist
I graduated from Harvard with a BA in English and the New England Conservatory with a MM in Jazz Performance. I have over ten years of teaching experience and six years of application counseling experience, helping students into schools like Oxford, Princeton, Columbia, Berkeley, UPenn, and Brown.
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My private lessons and group classes focus on primarily on essay writing: my Functional curriculum comprehensively covers the foundational skills necessary to succeed in writing throughout high school. I also run competitions and teach literature and creative writing (fiction and poetry) to advanced students.
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If you're reading this, there's a chance you already know me from 1:1s or counseling. I also do everything on this website, including the blog. You can find out more about me if you click my face (or here).
Bryson Herrick
Academic & Admissions Consultant
Hello! My name is Bryson. I studied at Stanford, majoring in biology with a concentration in neuroscience. After graduating, I spent several years working as the Biology Department Head for a tutoring company in the San Francisco Bay Area and have been working with students along the West Coast for the past seven years. As such, I'm well-acquainted with the rigor of California courses and the high expectations of the students who take them.
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As an educator, I pride myself on building conceptual bridges between STEM units that are often presented without clear connections to each other. I invite questions from students to both test my own understanding and build students’ engagement in their education. In turn, I hope to develop the critical-thinking skills necessary for success in high school and college.
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I specialize in biology, chemistry, and test prep. Additionally, I have worked as an academic counselor and am intimately familiar with the challenges of applying to colleges and navigating the first few years. I continue to work as a college advisor with many of my students even after they bid a bittersweet farewell to AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and their SAT/ACTs.
Jai Ashar
Academic & Admissions Consultant
I am Jai Ashar, a proud graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where I completed the prestigious Jerome Fisher Program of Management and Technology. This unique program allowed me to earn dual degrees from the esteemed Wharton School and the School of Engineering, focusing on Finance/Management and Computer Science.
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I am a software engineer at Amazon Web Services, contributing to developing innovative Sagemaker products. This platform enables major clients like Facebook and Apple to access real-time predictions for their machine-learning models.
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My expertise is rooted in a strong foundation in mathematics, physics, computer science, and economics. Additionally, I thoroughly understand the college admissions process, making me a valuable resource for students and educators.
Yash Lahoti
Academic & Admissions Consultant
​I am Yash Lahoti, pursuing my MD at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, I hold a Master's in Artificial Intelligence and an undergraduate in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering.
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During my undergraduate years, I gained experience as a machine learning research scientist in the Department of Neurosurgery, an on-campus EMT for the Penn Medical Emergency Response Team, and an AI course instructor. My gap year was spent working at a machine-learning startup, where I developed novel deep-learning models for real-time analysis of sensor data on wearable health devices.
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In medical school, I continue to merge my passion for technological innovation and healthcare. I am currently building my own AI-driven digital health startup and leading an AI-enabled scoliosis analysis research project in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. Additionally, I collaborate closely with school faculty, assisting in redesigning the curriculum and instructing a groundbreaking course on Artificial Intelligence in Medicine.​​
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With over ten years of tutoring experience, I am always eager to provide mentorship. As a first-generation medical student and a non-traditional applicant, I understand the challenges of navigating the education system. I take great pleasure in working closely with students to comprehend their journeys and emphasize the unique aspects of their narratives in the application process.