Do you ever feel that knot of anxiety tightening in your stomach just thinking about college admissions? Are you a student wrestling with the fear of rejection, the pressure to be perfect, or the daunting question of "what if I'm not good enough?" Today I want to talk about dealing with this fear and pressure, for both students and their parents when it comes to the college admissions process. In this episode, I share my own story and the reasons why I coach our students to set big goals, plus I...
Apr 25, 2025•10 min•Ep. 157
Have you ever felt like perfect grades and sky-high SAT scores were the only ticket to your dream college? What if you could defy those odds? Today, you’ll meet Kira, a Passion Prep student who just landed her spot at the University of Virginia, her dream college despite facing GPA and test score challenges. How did she do it? In this episode, Kira opens up about her journey and we dive into the strategies and insights that helped her stand out, even without "perfect" stats. If you're looking to...
Apr 04, 2025•18 min•Ep. 156
Would you like to know how our students got accepted into Ivy Leagues & Top-tier colleges, especially in competitive fields such as Computer Science, Pre-Med, and Pre-Law? Or, learn why you are actually decreasing your chances of getting accepted into your dream colleges without even realizing it? If you find yourself asking these questions, and are left yearning for the most robust strategies to help you stand out in this competitive landscape, this episode is perfect for you. Today, I’m sh...
Mar 10, 2025•51 min•Ep. 155
Ever wonder what truly sets apart students who achieve their Ivy League dreams? Or, more broadly, what the hidden traits are of those who conquer any goal they set their mind to? Over the last 14 to 15 years, I have been able to collect 7 common traits of highly successful people who have accomplished their goals & dreams. In this episode, I reveal what they are and how they play a pivotal role in your college admissions journey, and your future! I’m hosting a Free Live Workshop this Wednesd...
Mar 03, 2025•19 min•Ep. 154
Are you not sure when is the right moment to dive into SAT or ACT prep? This is a question I get often, so I wanted to break it all down for you today based on each grade level. In our latest episode, I reveal the best time to start preparing for these standardized tests, how diagnostic scores work and the academic factors that really matter when it comes to college applications. You may find this episode a little bit more instructional in nature and requires more technical strategies, but I fin...
Dec 05, 2024•12 min•Ep. 153
Do you have to be a genius to get into Ivy League colleges? This is a question I get often, and I want to quickly debunk this myth for students (+parents) currently navigating their college admissions journey. More than ever, colleges now are looking for more than just quantitative factors, and in this episode, I discuss the often-overlooked qualitative factors that play a crucial role in the admissions decision-making process. So, if this is a myth that has been holding you back from aiming for...
Nov 21, 2024•15 min•Ep. 152
In today's digital age, there’s no denying that social media has become an integral part of our lives. However, there's just so much going on in the world of social media and I’ve discovered students having a hard time managing all that comes with social media as it relates to college admissions. While there can be benefits to social media when it comes to college admissions, it can still be very tough. In our latest episode, I reveal 3 pros and cons of social media in the college admissions spa...
Oct 31, 2024•15 min•Ep. 151
Are you dreaming of attending your dream college and wondering what it takes to stand out in this competitive college admissions process? The answer isn't about doing everything all at once, but about having a strategic game plan and once you have a solid foundation in place first, you can focus on important action-steps that we execute inside our Passion Prep programs. Last week, I hosted a bonus training for our Passion Prep students on this very same topic. Although I rarely share our Passion...
Oct 24, 2024•21 min•Ep. 150
Identifying your major and building evidence(s) around it will help you stand out in the college admissions process, but do you select a hard major with a lesser chance of acceptance, or an easier one with a higher chance of getting accepted? This is a very nuanced topic because it depends on a lot of factors, and in this episode, I break it all down and reveal what you need to keep in mind when deciding on which major to pursue. I’m also hosting a free live workshop this coming Wednesday that I...
Oct 10, 2024•13 min•Ep. 149
A few weeks ago, one of our outstanding Passion Prep students, Rebecca, reached out to share the exciting news that she had been accepted into Cornell University! She wanted to express her gratitude for the support and guidance she received from our Passion Prep program. Her story is so inspiring that I knew I had to invite her to the podcast to share her journey with you. In this episode, you'll hear Rebecca's firsthand experience of her successful college admissions journey and why she credits...
Sep 30, 2024•19 min•Ep. 148
In this episode, I'm excited to share real-life case studies from our students who gained acceptance into some of the most prestigious and competitive colleges: Harvard, Columbia, and UC Berkeley. By highlighting these case studies, you'll gain valuable insights into the strategies and approaches our students used to successfully get into their dream schools through our program, the Accepted Club. The recording you'll hear is from a recent live workshop where I discussed critical factors like GP...
Sep 19, 2024•23 min•Ep. 147
I’m thrilled to introduce you to Tara, one of our outstanding Passion Prep students, as she shares her inspiring journey through the college admissions process. In this episode, Tara opens up about the overwhelming stress she initially felt, trying to juggle “all the things” to stand out. But as she soon discovered, it’s not about the sheer quantity of activities or test scores - it’s about quality, passion, and intellectual curiosity that truly make a difference. Listen in as Tara reveals how s...
Sep 09, 2024•17 min•Ep. 146
In today’s episode, I tackle the controversial question, “Should you apply to Ivy League colleges?” I break down the real value of these prestigious institutions and whether they’re truly worth the effort. Discover the key reasons people are drawn to Ivy League schools and what they can offer - if you’re ready to maximize the opportunity. I hope you enjoy this episode, and I highly recommend that you register for our upcoming Live Free Training starting this coming Wednesday. During this trainin...
Sep 02, 2024•12 min•Ep. 145
I immigrated with my family to the United States from South Korea in third grade, and I’ve lived through what it feels like to navigate life and education in this country. My parents sacrificed so much to give me this opportunity to live, study and start my own business here, so in this episode, I wanted to share some of the big lessons that I’ve learned (so far!) in the hopes that you find them relatable, insightful and motivating to you. I hope you enjoy this episode, and I highly recommend th...
Jun 03, 2024•26 min•Ep. 144
Today, we will be talking about a controversial topic - is an Ivy League/Top-tier college education actually worth it? Recently, DailyMail.com published a report detailing the links between Ivy League degrees and future earnings, and this immediately prompted me to pick up my microphone and voice my honest opinions. Sit back, grab a refreshing drink, and enjoy our latest episode as we talk deeper about the worth of a flagship college education, as well as the common patterns we are seeing with o...
May 09, 2024•21 min•Ep. 143
To kick off another new episode, I will be sharing a recent Student Panel hosted with several of our Passion Project Bootcamp students. In this episode, our students share their unique college admissions journey and how they were able to find success throughout this process ultimately leading to acceptances to colleges such as Cornell University, UNC Chapel Hill, Emory University, NYU, and many more. I hope you enjoy this episode, and I highly recommend that you attend our free 60-minute introdu...
Apr 22, 2024•24 min•Ep. 142
The college admissions landscape is undergoing significant changes for the first time in history. For students to have a successful college application season, they must stay informed and be prepared for the latest policy changes in the world of college admissions. To kick off our new season for Demystifying College Admissions, I’ll take you through new college admissions trends students must watch out for in 2024 and 2025, and what you can do to combat the competition & position yourself as...
Apr 08, 2024•15 min•Ep. 141
Every single episode we talk a lot about students’ passion and helping them find their interest and values, but today I want to focus on the role the families play in this process with my special guest, Elizabeth West of EWC College Consulting. In this great conversation with Elizabeth, we take a deeper look at the parents’ roles. You’ll discover the new college admission trends that we’re seeing, and she gives her best advice for students who are on their college admissions journey. I love the ...
Mar 06, 2023•36 min•Ep. 140
If you’ve been following me for a while now or you’re a student in one of our programs, you know that I am always emphasising the importance of mindset. In this episode, I want to talk about some of the things that are not really discussed in the space of college admissions. Today, I reveal the role mindset plays in having the confidence to set big goals that will ultimately lead you to find passion and success on your college admissions journey. Remember, there’s a transformation you can go thr...
Feb 20, 2023•20 min•Ep. 139
The college admissions process is stressful, but in this solo episode, I reveal how you can make this journey less stressful and more fun , I uncover the reasons why this stress exists, and the ways that college admissions have changed drastically over the years. Today, you’ll learn the true importance of how being passionate and being yourself is ultimately what will get you into your dream college! I hope you enjoy this episode, and I highly recommend that you attend our free 60-minute introdu...
Feb 06, 2023•19 min•Ep. 138
Today I’m joined by a very special guest, Andrew Kim, who is a graduate of Brown University, Cambridge, Harvard Medical School and a White House Fellowship. In this episode, Andrew reveals how he achieved all his accomplishments. You'll be surprised to hear that it wasn't just by studying hard, which could be considered unexpected coming from a doctor and researcher with such an impressive resume. I’m really excited to share this episode with you because it’s crucial for high school students to ...
Jan 09, 2023•32 min•Ep. 137
We have some exciting news! Our Passion Project Bootcamp Next Level student Isha just got accepted into UPenn Early Decision, and in today’s episode, you’re going to hear exactly how she did it. Isha shares her GPA, SAT scores, extracurriculars, and the strategies from our program that she implemented to get accepted into her dream college. It’s important to note that she didn’t have straight A’s, and she didn’t submit her SAT scores, but by following her passion and proven strategies, she was a...
Dec 26, 2022•33 min•Ep. 136
Today I’m sharing with you some of the examples and strategies from our Passion Project Bootcamp and Next Level students. In this episode, you’ll hear from three different students of ours; one who got accepted into John Hopkins and Harvard, another who was accepted into Cornell, and the final student who got accepted into USC. They each reveal the mistakes that they made in the initial part of their college admissions journey, some of the changes they had to make once they started working with ...
Dec 19, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 135
Today I have a very special episode for our Class of 2024 students. Being a Junior is really tough; you have an unforgiving course load, an insane amount of homework, and a lot of added commitments that make it difficult to look ahead and plan for your Senior year. That’s why I wanted to record a comprehensive episode for you detailing 5 of the most important things you must work on right now if you are a Class of 2024 student! Are you interested in learning more top strategies that will take yo...
Dec 05, 2022•15 min•Ep. 134
As you can see from the title of this episode, today I want to help you understand something so essential to question in your college admissions journey: whether passion should drive your college admissions journey. In this episode, you’ll o hear why I believe the answer to this question is “no” and why I feel so strongly that passion should drive your life, and then as a byproduct , your college admissions success becomes inevitable. Are you interested in learning more top strategies that will ...
Nov 21, 2022•17 min•Ep. 133
Today we have a very special guest, Nicky, who is a graduate of UC Berkeley. Nicky majored in film and minored in computer science, and we invited him onto the podcast because he has a lot of useful insights and information about important things like selecting a major. This is an area where many students and parents are stressing out about, and Nicky reveals how he was able to finally declare his major during his junior year. He also shares the pros and cons of UC Berkeley, specifically regardi...
Oct 17, 2022•25 min•Ep. 132
Julie Kim Consulting has been renamed Passion Prep! Our mission is to inspire, motivate, and mentor high school students to get accepted into their dream colleges using their strengths, real personality, passion, values and honesty. We mentor our students to live passionately and daringly. This is the legacy we’ll leave behind, and to learn more, visit our brand new website by clicking here . We cannot wait to mentor you! Are you ready to take the next step in your college admissions journey? Yo...
Oct 03, 2022•13 min•Ep. 131
In this episode, I want to talk about the negative self-talk that is so addicting and easy to fall into. We tend to be hard on ourselves and want to do everything during the college admissions process, but there is a way to make this journey life-changing and stress-free. Today, I am going to share 3 strategies that you can use to begin eliminating negative self-talk so that you can start showing up as the best version of yourself! I also want to share some amazing motivational testimonials that...
Sep 05, 2022•21 min•Season 2Ep. 130
As school is starting back up again, I am incredibly excited to be recording a brand new episode for you today! Along with the fun that comes with back-to-school shopping, this is a great time to focus on goal setting, which is something that I always looked forward to when I was a student. To kick off the back-to-school season, I thought I would give you a mindset boost and talk about how I coach our Passion Project Bootcamp students to develop a long-term mindset for success beyond the college...
Aug 15, 2022•20 min•Season 2Ep. 129
In today's podcast episode, I wanted to reveal what it was like for me as a 1st Generation Korean American to navigate the college admissions process. I also have a lot of insights to share that can be applied if you are an international student or a 1.5 generation student as well, so you’ll want to tune in and listen. We’re also sharing another series of student interviews with our Passion Project Bootcamp students. In these student interviews, they talk about the importance of mindset and the ...
Jun 13, 2022•20 min•Season 2Ep. 128
