Bespoke is an adjective that means made especially for a particular customer or user. Bespoke consulting is extremely personalized; I meticulously customize and curate each student's individual profile for the best fit and to highlight their best features while mitigating and managing their downsides, much like a tailor custom makes a perfectly fitted bespoke suit. There is no one-size-fits-all that is often used by large companies that mass produce student applications like a factory. Each one of my students is far more than just a number or checklist to me; in the best-case scenario, they become like my own children, and we keep in touch for life. 

Having a team and delegating work would certainly make things easier for me, but it would have the reverse effect on the student, their profile building, and ultimately, the strength of their application is compromised.

When too many "cooks" (advisors, client managers, and essay writers) are in one kitchen, the end result is very often that the student's profile and application will look disjointed, confusing, and often similar to the many other students that the team is assigned to.

One-on-one advising with me ensures that I know the student inside and out and can carefully tailor their profiles and applications. Every activity done, class selected, summer enrichment undertaken, and word written on the application is reviewed and scrutinized by me to create a meaningful, unique, stand-out profile.

Lastly, in a team setting, the burden is on the student to figure out which team member to contact for XYZ, and then extra time is wasted in logistics to find the right person and schedule a meeting in their time zone.

If admitted to a cohort, you and your child will have my personal WhatsApp and email address to ask anything at any time. From 8 am in the morning to 8 pm at night, ASEAN common time, I liaise with my students and their families. None of my time is spent on marketing or business strategy - just on the whole host of services I provide to help the student. I guarantee same-day replies and advising, as well as same or next-day in-person or Zoom session for more complex discussions.

Please be wary and do due diligence whenever a team structure is in place. Often, these "strategic teams" are compromised of people who lack experience on the whole, are doing consulting as a part-time job in addition to a full-time one, and are sometimes staffed with college students themselves who are cost-efficient hires but lack experience and knowledge of what admissions committees seek out, and often do not even have a grasp of basic grammatical structure and rules. Quantity does not ensure quality.

The bulk of my professional career was spent as a professional writer and editor for the Wall Street Journal. I also worked at Citibank in investment research. CT Bespoke started in 2002 as a passion from helping my own children and then grew to helping my friends' children and then referral after referral from family friend to family friend and beyond started flooding in. I officially left Citibank in 2005 to consult full time. I have 19 years of experience and counting, and this gives me a complete and comprehensive view of admissions, along with being able to track year-to-year changes and trends. Another distinguishing feature I hold is that I am a professional member of The Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), a governing body that ensures:

"Hiring an independent educational consultant who is a member of IECA ensures that you will work with a professional who has proven expertise, is fully vetted, and demonstrates the highest standards in education, training, ethics, and experience." 

I protect, maximize, and prioritize my time for my current students. Thus, to be considered for a spot in one of my cohorts with availability, new intake interviews (of approximately 30 minutes) are conducted in my offices on a limited basis and incur a USD$150/SGD$200 fee.

The in-person intake interview is vital to establish the close interpersonal working relationship which sets me apart. It is a good chance for parents and students likewise to get to become acquainted with my method and ask questions. Following an intake interview and submission of transcripts, please allow a minimum of 5-10 working days to be notified of a cohort admission decision.

There is no single factor that leads to acceptance in my cohorts. I do a holistic and thorough review of a student's profile by first meeting with them and their parents in person to establish that the working relationship will be a good fit and ensure our values align. I then request student transcripts and test scores if they are available and consider both the fit and the availability of spots within a given year's application cycle cohort.

I start working with students entering Grade 6 all the way to those who are starting the fall semester of Grade 12. I keep confidential quotas, and once each grade level is at full capacity, I close intake for that particular cycle's cohort. Please enquire on availability for your year of application.

I have strict client confidentiality and keep all records in anonymity. If you engage my services, and I think that you might benefit from seeing a particular component of a previous successful profile, I will share essays or strategies with all identifiers censored and removed. Other companies and websites with published students' full names, photos, and videos are doing a great disservice to the confidentiality and privacy of clients that does not benefit the student at all but instead functions as a marketing mechanism to generate more income.

I have successfully helped students find their best fit university in the US, UK, Canada, France, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and China.

I visit university campuses annually to form and maintain strong connections with admission directors. Additionally, I attend IECA and general education conferences and receive daily industry-only-access updates about universities. I have many students at all of the top universities and visit them on campus to learn about their first-hand experience, bring them my signature Levain cookies, take them to lunch or dinner, and make sure they're all stocked up with trips to Target and such!

Absolutely - CT Bespoke actually started with US boarding school admissions first! I have a strong record of helping SEA students navigate the unique application process and position themselves for admission success to schools such as Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, St. Paul's, and many others.

Because of the close connection and trust we form during the undergraduate application process and beyond, my high school students regularly return to me (60%+) to help them strategize and apply for graduate school.

No, I do not. I happily spend 100% of my time working with my students to help them develop to their full potential and do whatever it takes to achieve their dreams.

Everything I do is in pursuit of developing my students and seeing the absolute pride and joy on their faces and their family's faces when they receive their acceptance notifications and go off to do great things.

I do not spend time doing social media for marketing and self-promotion to acquire new clients. All my clients are referred to me by previous or existing relationships with families who treasure the help I give them and are thrilled with my work.

My bespoke methodology, results, consistency, experience, and in-person strategizing set me apart. Additionally, instead of making information publicly available, I reserve all information and strategies for my clients; only they receive content and strategy as part of my exclusive services.

Test optional may not apply to all students - after a thorough and holistic review of the student's profile, scores, and credentials, we will work together to assess if submitting scores will help or hurt your application.

I give diagnostic SAT and ACT tests to students to see which test gives them their best baseline score, and then we proceed from there to plan their best preparation.

Again, with bespoke consulting, there is no one size fits all, and I work closely with the student and their individual strengths to help them decide if the AP or IB curriculums will work best for them to get their best grades and their best preparation for university. What I can debunk for everyone, though, is the myth that the UK requires the IB. False!