Shemmassian Academic ConsultingReviews of shemmassianconsulting.com

Deciding to use Shemmassian for MCAT tutoring was the best choice I could have made for my MCAT preparation! When I was initially trying to decided which tutoring service to go with, the team at Shemmassian was extremely helpful and patient. They spoke with me over the phone and worked with me financially to find the best fit for my needs. After signing up, this communication did not go away. The team was always quick to respond to my questions (even outside of business hours). Outside of the MCAT team as a whole, my tutor was incredible! Having already taken the MCAT, he helped me create an individualized study plan, focusing on my specific areas of weakness. We even adjusted the schedule through out preparation based on my needs and other life commitments like work and family demands. As I am working full time, this was extremely valuable. I always felt that I could speak with my tutor to adjust the schedule should I start to feel overwhelmed. After all, we're all human and can have/do have lives outside of the MCAT. My tutor was also great at explaining concepts in a clear and concise way. In addition to content, he worked with me to learn how the test was created, which helped me to get my mind in the right headspace for answering the questions accurately. The tutoring sessions were a perfect combination of test strategy, content review, and chatting about how to manage my mental state during preparation and the exam. He pushed me but was supportive and genuine in his actions. After not doing so well on my past attempts, my tutor helped me to regain confidence in my ability. On test day, I successfully executed and got my goal score! After the exam, my tutor continued to check in with me to see how the exam went and how I was doing. Shemmassian tutoring is a comprehensive approach to the MCAT, focusing on your mental state, test strategy, and content. The team works with your finances and life schedule to ensure you can still be successful no matter your situation. I was so pleased with the Shemmassian organization, that I signed up for the MD/DO application consulting as well! Shemmassian (and my tutor specifically) are outstanding!

Since the very first conversation with Dr. Shemmassian, I gave my full trust in SAC and they helped me in the med school application. Now I'm a medical student. I appreciate their professionalism and insight into the process. I did my part and they assisted me along the way. It's a dry and long process I had to admit. They are always there to help. That's the most important to me. I would recommend SAC to students who are determined for their dream.

Thanks to all the wonderful help and support from Shivani and the SAC team, my son is thrilled to be a part of UPenn's Class of 2026! Shivani came up with an excellent capstone project idea and provided critical support to ensure the project was off to a strong start. The capstone project played a critical role in both the personal essay as well as in responses to many of the college specific questions. Thank you Shivani - and Dr. S - for your consistently positive attitude through all the ups and downs of the arduous college application process. SAC's blogs related to various aspects of the application, along with the various sample essay responses, were extremely helpful. What made it all so effective were Shivani and her team's timely reviews and feedback on all draft essays and all follow up letters to colleges. Your approach of "more is less" helped us stay on message and ensured a powerful overall application. I will definitely work with Shivani and SAC again when the time comes for my younger children and have no hesitancy recommending you to anyone going through this daunting process. Once again, a very BIG thank you!!!

I would give this group 10 stars if the option was available. My experience with Shemmassian Academic Consulting group has been so satisfying that I had no other choice but to leave another 5 star review. I have been very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Dr. Shemmassian and Ellen Hoang on my Master's, Residency, and PhD applications over the past few years. Thanks to them, not only my application processes were stress free, I also got accepted to all the programs at my first school choice, which is also the first dental school in the world. Dr. Shemmassian and his team are the most talented, professional, and trustworthy group I have ever worked with. Ellen Hoang has helped me with every aspect of my application from editing my CV and essays to preping me for the interviews. I find no words that can describe her level of expertise and professionalism. She has always been very supportive, helpful, and kind. She listens to you, understands you, and with her magical talent, she helps you write winning statements and have an edge over other applicants in the interview. I am very grateful for the decision to contact Dr. Shemmassian and would highly recommend this amazing team to anyone who is looking for true professional help with their school application. Don't wait! Just contact them!

Really appreciated my application support - including some essay revisions and interview prep - from Garrett over last spring through now. He was extremely prompt and thorough with constructive feedback each time, and made himself available via email for any additional questions I had along the way!

Best decision ever! My consultants were instrumental in answering the many questions I had about the application process, keeping me on track, and editing my application essays until we felt they were the best they could be. The support and guidance they provided me also really made a difference on my confidence going into the cycle. With them by my side every step of the way, I was accepted to my dream medical school! I'm beyond grateful for this service. Highly recommend!

I worked with the Shemmassian team for both medical school and residency admission and each experience was fantastic. Having a team helping me through both was extremely beneficial in my journey and led me to my top choice for residency. The Shemmassian group consultants have always been professional, down to earth, and empathic to my personal needs (and willing to work around my crazy schedules). Aside from their expertise in application preparation, having someone to help manage the stress, and give you that extra boost when you most need it, priceless. Can't thank the team enough, would absolutely do it again.

We are parents of a highly competitive kid, who was a straight A student athlete aiming for IVYs and IVY equivalents. Shermassian Academic Consulting (SAC) services helped our kid getting into her top 3-choices and we are highly satisfied with the services provided and would recommend them to any parents who are looking to help their kids navigate this stressful process. Though our daughter is a straight A competitive student athlete, during the second year of high school, after listening to all the noise around college admissions and lot of wrong advice that is shared between peers and even from adults, she started questioning her choices, and started to get nervous about getting into good schools. This prompted us to investigate college consulting services. During the search we talked to a handful of college consulting services, before settling on SAC. We were not looking for a service that would try to game the system, or simply try to push our daughter into majors that have a higher chance of acceptance. We were looking for a service that would take the time to understand our child, her interests, her accomplishments and help her highlight to the schools her accomplishments, and the contributions she can make. In this regard, after we signed up, SAC assigned our daughter a counselor that fit her personality, and having established an understanding of our kid, the counselor then guided our kid to explore areas of her interest, and in ways she could broaden her horizons. The approach the counselor took, made our child feel comfortable to explore outside her comfort zone and take some risks. The outcome of this was by the time she applied to college, she had a very good understanding of her strengths, weakness, interests, and she had a good idea of what major she wanted to pursue. If done right, the college admission process can truly help a kid grow. Watching from the side, as a parent it was great to see our daughter regain the confidence, realize how much she had to offer, and venture outside her comfort zone. As a parent, I valued the growth she experienced as a young adult even more than her getting into her top choices, and even if our child had not gotten to the top 3 choices, I still would have considered it was money well spent. To any parents looking into consulting services, remember SAC is not about gaming the system. Your child must be willing to put in the effort to get the best out of it. Though there is no guarantee (the college admission process has a certain level of randomness as well), if your child works with SAC, and puts in the effort, he/she will be getting to their top choices and will also grow through the experience. Only cons I see with the SAC service, I wish SAC service had compiled a list of application and scholarship application deadlines for all the top schools (IVYs do not give academic scholarships, but there are a few IVY equivalents that do), and also previous applications questions for these schools.