WHY OTUS?

  • Icon ionic-md-checkmark-circle-outline
    EXPERTISE: Otus team consists of talented counselors from Ivy League and top universities in USA and Canada.
  • Icon ionic-md-checkmark-circle-outline
    RELIABLE: Our guiding method is scientific, logical, and has been proven to be successful through Otus’ impressive track record.
  • Icon ionic-md-checkmark-circle-outline
    GROWTH: At Otus, we focus on students’ personal development and work ethics. We teach you how to think critically, how to conduct research, and many more skills to set you up for success in the future.
  • Icon ionic-md-checkmark-circle-outline
    NETWORK: We care about your passion. With Otus’ wide professional network, we are dedicated to connecting you with the right people and the right opportunities so you can grow.
  • Icon ionic-md-checkmark-circle-outline
    HOLISTIC: Otus’ counseling service does not stop at college guidance, but goes beyond what you might initially expect. We tend to all aspects of our students’ success and well-being, from academic advice and family expectations, to interpersonal issues and mental health.
  • Icon ionic-md-checkmark-circle-outline
    INTEGRITY: We value absolute honesty and integrity in the admission process, because we do not simply guide you to build a college application, but your character as well.
100 Students getting accepted to top 100 U.S. universities
80 Students getting accepted to their top 3 schools
10 Students getting full-ride scholarships
26 Average financial aid award for a student
100 Visa acceptance rate
75 Students receiving scholarships and/or financial aid
1 Otus counselor per student
37 Total grants for Otus students from 2014-2024
UNIVERSITIES THAT

OTUS STUDENTS GETTING ACCEPTED INTO

Harvard University

Stanford University

University of Pennsylvania

Princeton University

Yale University

Brown University

Bowdoin College

Dartmouth College

Northwestern University

Pomona College

University of California, Berkeley

University of Chicago

Download brochure

Otus team

Beside admission results and essays, Otus counselors always communicate with students and parents about the student's future plan, thus helping them choose the most suitable college. Furthermore, Otus mentors students utilize all resources and excel in their fields of interests.
founder
FOUNDER - CEO

TRANG NGUYỄN GRANT (Harvard (2011), Stanford - Education Ph.D. (2022))

As a CEO, beyond her managerial role, Ms. Trang still effectively tracks each student’s own progress and has meaningful conversations with them. She wants students to learn and grow, so she always gets to know students personally to understand their individual aspirations. 

According to Ms. Trang, with Otus’s support, students will improve self-awareness and better articulate their dreams through writing college essays as well as their participation in extracurricular activities. College application is also a great opportunity for self-exploration and personal development. Thus, the Otus community including students, counselors, alumni is very close-knit, always uplifting each other in multiple fields.
View more

tran true-01
SENIOR COUNSELOR

TRÂN TRẦN (Dickinson, UNC-Charlotte)

As a doctoral student in Psychology, Tran strives to help students understand themselves, their strengths and weaknesses to better evaluate their capabilities, thus building their profile effectively. 

Tran is punctual, respectful to individual time but always ensures students meet their deadlines. With her research experience, Tran focuses on improving students’ critical thinking skills to write essays in the most coherent ways.
View more

img_chauvo
SENIOR COUNSELOR

CHÂU VÕ (Stanford, Harvard/MIT)

The scientific research experience substantially influences Chau’s writing style; she values conciseness, creativity, and logic. These are important characteristics of a high-quality college essay, so she always makes sure students’ essays meet these requirements while revising them. 

In addition, Chau likes to equip students with skills that will remain beneficial to students well beyond completing their college application–how to search for reliable information, how to connect with mentors, etc. Chau has a network of friends and colleagues from Stanford who are involved in different fields, and she’s always willing to connect her students with them.
View more

phat-le-01-100x100
COUNSELOR

PHÁT LÊ (Yale University)

When working with students, Phat sees himself 4 years ago: anxiety, stress, and self-doubt. Hence, Phat feels that Otus is a safe environment in which he can support students through friendly conversations and sharing his experiences. 

He has one piece of advice for students who are going through the college application process: consistency. That means students should be consistent both in balancing every element of their application and in demonstrating those elements.
View more

miranda_2
COUNSELOR

MIRANDA LÊ (Stanford University)

Miranda has been pursuing her passion for education ever since she was an Otus student up to now when she’s prototyping other educational products Otus has to offer. 

As the main curriculum developer for Otus classes, Miranda always researches and applies pedagogical approaches that stimulate students as well as help them realize the values of the knowledge they’re going to acquire in the class.
View more

nha ngo-01
COUNSELOR

NHÃ NGÔ (York University)

With her passions in creative writing and non-profit social work, Nha inspires her students to write essays in more unique ways. She’s also a very considerate counselor who loves to support students with their extracurricular activities. 

Nha is open to every idea and even often encourages students to draft all of their ideas, then contemplates more about the process, significant benchmarks to identify personal values. According to Nha, this helps students become more confident in the creative process and articulating their ideas.
View more

What our students say about us

Skype calls with Ms. Trang helped me got into my dream school. Ms. Trang is a patient and inspirational counselor. She challenged me to defy my creativity limit which I truly appreciate with all the opportunities I had.
Cindy Nguyen Yale University

A thing I like about Otus is that Otus values personal development more than “college prep”, and they, like a family, can create a safe environment for students to share, have fun, and be confident.

Đỗ Danh Nam Brown University

Every week my counselors edited every essay, suggesting me what to tell about myself to allow admission officer to realize my potentials as well as how to prepare portfolio, mock interview. Thanks to Otus, I got into University of Southern California, ranked second nationally for Music and Arts.

Hoàng Mỹ An University of Southern California (USC)
What I like the most from Otus is the can-do spirit. There are times when I had to discard two main “unqualified” essays, but Ms. Trang taught me, that no matter how big or difficult the problem is, the best way to deal with it is confront it.
Đăng Nguyễn University of Chicago

OUR COUNSELING SERVICES

Financial aid and scholarship

We provide advisory on applying for college financial aid that suits each student’s family financial contribution. We also help high-achieving students seek and apply for merit-based scholarships from top universities.

Test scores

Otus recommends students high quality test prep resources and services for SAT/ACT, TOEFL/IELTS, etc. In addition, we help students develop a strategic plan and schedule to help them achieve their desirable scores as early as possible.

School selection

Based on student’s and their family’s goals, Otus helps choose colleges that suit their interests, academic criteria and financial situation. We understand that throughout 4 years of college, students not only study but also experience college life with faculty and friends.

Essay consulting

Otus helps students with self-awareness as well as finding ideas for main and supplement essays. We also guide students to develop and edit their essays in ways that impress admission officers.

Career orientation

At Otus, we focus on fostering students’ aspirations. Otus encourages students to nurture their passions throughout the college application process and actualize their dream careers that fit their personalities and make positive societal impacts.

Extracurricular activities consulting

Otus helps students explore their potential interests to navigate students to participate in the right activities through which they develop interpersonal skills and understand their strengths.

Find out more

BLOG

More about blog

GET IN TOUCH WITH US