Empowerly Expert's Handbook to College Admissions, Here to Save the Day!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our first book, the Empowerly Expert’s Handbook to College Admissions! Get ready to unlock the secrets of successfully navigating the American higher education system alongside the best in the field. Most of all, answer your burning questions about how to navigate and maximize your outcomes in college and beyond. 

Data-driven, up-to-date, and packed with insights and case studies, this book is approachable for both the average reader and those seeking a deeper understanding of the complex and competitive college admissions landscape. 

Anyone considering pursuing higher education in the United States—or supporting someone else considering it—can benefit from reading this handbook. Whether you’re relatively familiar or completely unfamiliar with the American education system, the guide clarifies the most important terms and concepts so you can avoid confusion when it comes to these major decisions about your future. 

The handbook is designed to be an active reference that can be flipped through for guidance on specific topics and referred back to throughout the entire high-school-to-college transition. By providing a better understanding of the overall timeline and key deadlines, this guide can help ensure you don’t miss any crucial dates. Use the handbook as a starting point for your family discussions about college, and to ensure your student is on the right track.

“Over the last few years, for a multitude of reasons, college admissions have become more competitive than ever before. At Empowerly, we realized that there was a need for a guide like this to answer parents’ and students’ top concerns from a credible source. 

During the book’s creation, we also interviewed several former admissions officers and college admissions experts with proven track records to provide their perspectives at the end of each chapter. These experts are a large part of how Empowerly keeps the community up-to-date with the latest insights. 

Hopefully, this book can make the process of preparing students for success more approachable and less stressful for everyone involved.”

“This handbook is an invaluable guide. Every family should have a copy! As a reader, one of the book’s standout features is its accessibility. While it caters to a wide audience, it also achieves the rare feat of explaining complex topics clearly and directly without oversimplifying them. Consider it a must-read for anyone seeking clarity and guidance in this competitive arena, students and families alike.” 

With over 750 years of collective experience, our diverse team of educators, MBAs, PhDs, expert counselors, industry specialists, and former admissions officers from top universities has brought their expertise into this book. In addition to outlining the fundamentals of college applications, the guide also goes deeper into the factors at play in the college admissions landscape of 2023. Following the many disruptions of the last few years, students considering college now face a different reality than other generations. From facing online courses to adapting to standardized test changes to the growing national student debt, students deserve to know their options now more than ever.

Hanmei is passionate about empowering students to become the most successful version of themselves. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Business Administration and had previous experience working at Goldman Sachs, Teach for America, and Minds Matter prior to co-founding Empowerly. As an educator and college counselor, Hanmei has helped students get into their dream schools including Berkeley, Stanford, and Harvard. At Empowerly, she helps develop up-to-date curriculum and regularly works with former admissions officers from top universities. Hanmei is a member of YPO and was a Forbes 30 Under 30 Education Honoree, along with Changxiao, in 2022. 

As an immigrant and the first in his family to attend undergrad in the US, Changxiao felt firsthand the challenges and complexities of navigating the US higher education system. Through determination and finding the right mentors, he became a finalist and award winner at national and international science competitions, performed piano at Carnegie Hall, was a varsity swimmer, and graduated as the high school valedictorian. Changxiao graduated with high honors from Princeton with a B.S.E in Electrical Engineering and worked in technical and machine learning roles on Wall Street, IBM, and Facebook.

Changxiao co-founded Empowerly to create the most comprehensive, data-driven, personalized college counseling program - something he wished he had when growing up. He coaches students on how to win state, national, and international science competitions, help them on AI and CS projects, and curate performing arts portfolios. He has helped students gain admission into many of the top universities in the country including Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley, and MIT.

To learn more about our comprehensive college prep, college admissions counseling, essay editing, test prep, research mentorship, or internship matching programs, visit www.empowerly.com 

Wondering how to get your hands on a copy? You can find your own Empowerly Expert's Handbook to College Admissions, in both digital and paperback format, on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMN1TLJQ.