Meet Abdusamed, a distinguished admissions coach and the founder of Sherif Academy, renowned for his expertise in guiding candidates to top MBA programs and prestigious internships.
Abdusamed has a Bachelor’s from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Abdusamed leveraged his high-profile internship experience and Harvard education to establish Sherif Academy. This non-profit organization focuses on assisting students from low socioeconomic backgrounds in gaining admissions to leading colleges and MBA programs and securing Fortune 500 internships. Over five years, Sherif Academy has supported over 5,000 students worldwide, with more than 600 gaining admission to their dream MBA programs.
Abdusamed’s professional network extends to partnerships with key figures in MBA admissions, including the Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions at Harvard, MIT Sloan, Stanford GSB, and Wharton School. These connections have provided him with deep insights into what top institutions seek in candidates and the nuances of their selection processes. Abdusamed has successfully coached candidates toward acceptance into several elite schools, including Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Kellogg, and MIT Sloan,
His journey to becoming an admissions coach was inspired by his father's dedication to providing him with the best educational resources. His father's belief in his potential led Abdusamed to excel academically, culminating in his admission to Harvard Business School through the 2+2 Program. This experience instilled in him a desire to provide similar opportunities to others.
Abdusamed's coaching style is characterized by a personalized approach, helping candidates to find and express their unique stories. He collaborates closely with applicants, focusing on their strengths and aspirations to develop tailored strategies. He aims to empower candidates to own their narratives and confidently navigate the competitive admissions landscape.
In his free time, Abdusamed enjoys connecting with founders from underrepresented backgrounds and indulging in his love for sports, including semi-professional soccer and basketball. He is an avid fan of Arsenal and the Lakers.
Allan is an accomplished admissions coach with over a decade of experience guiding students through the intricate and competitive admissions landscape. Professionally, Allan is a senior leader at Shell, a Fortune 10 company.
Allan has a Bachelor’s from Cornell University and an MBA from Chicago Booth School of Business, where he played a crucial role as an alumni interviewer for prospective and admitted students for over five years. Allan's extensive admissions experience spans a diverse spectrum, covering admissions consultation for early and high school candidates, essay preparation, extracurricular activity strategies, and comprehensive support for undergraduate and MBA programs. Students he has recently coached have been admitted to several top-tier schools, such as Cornell, Northwestern, and Penn.
As a first-generation college student, Allan intimately understands the challenges and complexities of the admissions process. This experience fuels his passion for supporting and guiding students through their application journey. He enjoys seeing students and their families celebrate success, instilling confidence in the application journey.
Allan's greatest strengths lie in his ability to break down the application process into manageable steps, providing clarity and purpose for each aspect. His coaching style focuses on understanding the rationale behind application components, enabling students to build intentional and meaningful applications.
Allan excels in transforming students' shortcomings into strengths, creating applicant profiles that resonate with admissions officers beyond grades and test scores. He encourages applicants to find strength in their weaknesses, emphasizing resilience and competitiveness throughout the application process. He believes perfection is not a prerequisite for success; embracing one's unique journey can make the application stand out.
Outside coaching, Allan enjoys playing and competing in badminton tournaments and exploring the world with his wife and two children.
Meet Alleah, a dedicated admissions coach ready to guide individuals through their MBA application journey.
Alleah has earned a Bachelor’s from Brandeis University and is pursuing an MBA at Duke Fuqua. While at Brandeis University, she served as an Admissions Interviewer, gaining a valuable perspective into the application review process. Her greatest learnings from this experience include understanding the qualities sought by admissions committees, nuances between different business schools' criteria, and the importance of holistic candidate evaluation.
Alleah brings a rich background in coaching students, including prospective MBA candidates, through their application process with her non-profit organization, Mother’s Legacy Foundation. She has also been coached by MBA admission professionals, gaining invaluable insights into the admissions process and learning the key tools needed to be a strong candidate. Alleah's guidance has helped students secure acceptance to several top-tier schools, including Fuqua, Ross, Kellogg, and Tuck.
Alleah finds it genuinely invigorating to witness individuals' transformative journeys. It's incredibly fulfilling for her to be a catalyst in someone's growth, aiding them in unlocking their potential and achieving their goals. Alleah’s joy comes from seeing the tangible impact of guidance and support in someone's life, building meaningful connections while guiding individuals, and learning as much from her mentees as they do from her. Alleah is devoted to supporting every candidate, not just as an advisor/coach but as someone who understands the importance of a well-rounded, genuine application that reflects their true selves.
Alleah is a people person, and her greatest strengths are personalized mentorship, strategic guidance, and holistic development. She leverages a blend of interactive yet reflective and productive, one-on-one coaching sessions to create a dynamic learning environment in her sessions and for overall coaching relationships. Alleah's coaching methodology prioritizes fostering a deep understanding of each student’s personal and professional goals and enhancing that with their personal stories. She enjoys encouraging students to remember that the application process isn't just about showcasing academic achievements—it's about painting a holistic picture of who they are—embracing passions, sharing unique stories, and letting authenticity shine.
In her downtime, Alleah thrives on variety. Whether catching the latest blockbuster at the movies, jetting off to new destinations to satisfy her wanderlust, cheering passionately at soccer and basketball games, or embarking on adventures with her beloved Goldendoodle, she finds joy in every moment. These activities keep Alleah balanced, energized, and constantly seeking new experiences. Plus, having a furry companion beside her makes every adventure memorable!
Aman has a Bachelor's from Rutgers University, a Master's from Johns Hopkins University, and an MBA from The Darden School of Business. Having served as an admissions interviewer at Darden and actively participating in the admissions process for two consecutive years, Aman gained valuable insights. During this time, he discovered that Darden places high value on a candidate's potential contributions to the university, emphasizing the narrative behind their MBA pursuit, and the meaningful connections within that story. Furthermore, Aman found that the admissions committee at Darden values candidates who make the effort to visit the school, seeing it as a demonstration of their commitment. Aman's expertise has been instrumental in guiding candidates to successful acceptances at esteemed institutions such as HBS, Tuck, Darden, Columbia, Yale, Georgetown, and others.
As a former teacher, Aman loves the opportunity to take what he learned and help make other people's lives easier. He has also been a basketball coach, SAT tutor, and mentor at university multiple times, truly enjoying the process of mentoring.
Aman's greatest strengths lie in his exceptional ability to cultivate understanding and adaptability tailored to each individual. His distinctive approach blends being very specific with thought-provoking insights, aiming not to prescribe actions but to guide individuals toward self-discovery and growth through their own efforts. In the application process, he strategically places considerable weight on financial considerations and the pursuit of potential scholarships, as he himself was awarded the prestigious Jefferson Fellowship, a full scholarship at Darden.
Aman is a member of the Consortium, understanding its ranking system and emphasizing commitment to its mission in his applications. In his free time, he enjoys watching movies, hanging out with friends and family, playing golf and basketball, and coaching basketball.
Anurag brings a lifelong passion for teaching and mentoring to guide MBA candidates through the intricate process of gaining admission to top-tier business schools.
Anurag has a Bachelor’s from Stanford University and an MBA from the Chicago Booth School of Business, where he served as an Admissions Fellow during his second year. In this role, he contributed to the application review process and interviewed prospective students. Post-graduation, he continued to share his insights as an Alumni Interviewer at Booth, interacting with numerous applicants worldwide. Professionally, Anurag has nine years of experience at top technology and consumer companies, including Apple, Nike, and T-Mobile.
Anurag's journey began as a teaching assistant at Stanford during his college years, fostering his dedication to supporting and guiding others. His coaching style is firmly grounded in transparent, growth-oriented feedback. Anurag believes in being direct yet compassionate when discussing areas for improvement, embodying a growth mindset mentality. Before offering guidance, he prioritizes actively listening to each person's story and gathering comprehensive background information to contextualize their capabilities and aspirations.
When working with MBA candidates, Anurag aims to empower them to express their authentic voice. Drawing from his experience navigating the application process, he understands the challenges of articulating rich, multi-faceted experiences within tight word limits. Anurag’s approach is collaborative rather than prescriptive, engaging in discussions to identify and highlight compelling aspects of their unique journey.
Anurag's greatest strengths lie in his ability to provide insightful guidance and collaborate with candidates effectively. Having successfully aided applicants in gaining admission to esteemed institutions such as Wharton, Booth, and Columbia, he brings a wealth of knowledge about the specific criteria and comprehensive assessment approaches employed by admissions committees.
Anurag became intricately familiar with Booth's distinct criteria and approach to holistically assessing applicants across various dimensions, including academic preparedness, professional accomplishments, leadership potential, communication skills, and other intangibles indicating one's likelihood of success in business school and beyond. Anurag also honed his ability to discern applicants' authentic motivations and genuine interest in the school during interviews.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Anurag enjoys playing and watching soccer and tennis, engaging in experimental cooking, exploring the Pacific Northwest through hiking, and immersing himself in non-fiction literature.
With a diverse career journey and entrepreneurship experience, David is skilled at offering a distinctive blend of guidance, technical expertise, and conscientious support to help individuals achieve their personal and professional goals.
David holds a Bachelor of Business from Emory University and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His experience includes being part of the Dean's Student Admission Council (DSAC) at Chicago Booth, where he served as an application reader and interviewer. He remained actively involved as an alumni interviewer for ten years after graduation. David has successfully assisted candidates in gaining acceptance to institutions such as Chicago Booth and Emory University's Goizueta School of Business.
David's passion for coaching and tutoring stems from his unconventional career path, combining a JD/MBA with entrepreneurship. This diverse journey has given him a unique and broad perspective that he enjoys sharing. Additionally, David has had the opportunity to coach and mentor highly accomplished individuals, learning valuable lessons from them.
David excels as a reliable sounding board, offering technical expertise and acting as a moral compass. He believes that this combination allows individuals to develop a sense of what they need to do to achieve their goals, and it's then a matter of fine-tuning the approach and staying accountable. For MBA applicants, David emphasizes the challenging nature of the application process, highlighting the required introspection. He notes that the process goes beyond technical and administrative aspects, delving into the emotional realm. David recognizes that this emotional component adds challenges. It makes the journey meaningful and enjoyable, forcing candidates to reflect on their past experiences and how an MBA can contribute to their personal and professional transformation.
In his free time, David is an avid NHL hockey fan, enjoys traveling, and has taken up cooking since the onset of the pandemic.