Strategic Admissions Consulting -

Kevin Mohanram

Dione was unbelievably helpful with my MBA application. I was in a tough situation as well – I was applying late in round 3 due to a layoff and I also had no GMAT score. She worked with me to really figure out and express why I wanted to go to business school. She also really helped me focus on what I wanted to do with my career, both in the short-term and the long-term.

She helped me find schools that were a good fit for me and could also waive my GMAT scores. She guided me through what schools were looking for in an applicant and taught me how to make my application stand out. There is no way I would have been accepted without her. I am very happy to say I will be attending the University of Michigan!

Dione was incredibly helpful, and I cannot recommend her enough!

A.N.A

Dione was amazing to have throughout the MBA application process and exceeded all my expectations. She is very knowledgeable and detailed and I knew I made the right decision soon after starting with her. Dione was fully invested in my application and spent time with me early to understand my background and help me clarify my goals and how to achieve them. I especially recommend her to anyone coming from engineering or any specialized field that may be difficult to translate to a general audience. I was able to put together an application that made my strengths shine and received multiple offers from top programs. Thank you Dione!

Madlen Wild

I really liked working with Dion Chen because I am not American and personally speaking was it difficult for me to understand what colleges or universities in the US are looking for and what exactly I have to do to apply. Dion helped me choose a college by asking about my likes and dislikes and what I believe my college experience should look like. Her goal was to accomplish a perfect fit for me and ensure I knew what to expect. She was also very good in communicating what colleges are looking for and provided me with useful commends. She was open for the ideas I had and was a good partner to discuss them with. I’m happy that I worked with her because due to her I found a university that really fit me and I knew what to expect.

Whitley Cargile

Dione was great to work with. She was very responsive and provided helpful feedback and support, especially when I was crafting my story. She reviewed every inch of my application and not only helped with writing my essays, but also short answers and other prompts. I believe this helped my application stand out from the crowd. She is dedicated to her clients and focused on helping them achieve their MBA goals.

Manu Gupta

Dione has been such a big help. As a high school student with two parents who did not go to undergrad in the US, it was a big help to have someone so knowledgeable and so connected to guide me along what was a largely confusing process. Dione was able to connect me with a current graduate student at UCSB who was very helpful in interviewing to help me learn about what academic pathway I wanted to go down. She is really focused on finding programs and schools that really fit you and what will help you thrive and succeed. I also found a lot of help and support through the writing process, may that be in my personal statement, supplements or letters of continued interest, Dione's knowledge and advice was invaluable in making sure my personality came across in an engaging manner. I really wouldn't have been able to get this far without her and her help!!

Liza Parpan

My husband and I decided to engage Dione's services during our son's sophomore year of high school, in order to allow him to begin thinking about his college plans as early as possible. Dione was very thorough and professional in her dealings with us and laid out a clear plan for each of her discussions with our son, offering him guidance on how to navigate his remaining years in high school and make sure that all of his activities aligned with his college goals. She also helped us to better understand the US college admissions process and guided our son in making an eventual shortlist of colleges and universities.

Lexa Glucksman

Ms. Dione has been so supportive of me ever since I received her assistance in university searching back in my Sophomore year, from long lists of universities’ pros and cons, discussions of strong topics to consider for my application essays, to contacting prospective universities about information I had asked her about. I’m now a student at my top choice university with the major I want: NYU Tisch’s game design, which I know I couldn’t have gotten into without Ms. Dione’s help. Ms. Dione is thoughtful, critical, and honest - all of which is accompanied with a determined mindset that pushed me to work harder on my university admissions. Although I lived in Thailand while Ms. Dione was in California, scheduling wasn’t too much of an issue due to Ms. Dione’s willingness to arrange plans based on how they fit my schedule - something she most definitely didn’t need to do but did anyways for my convenience. Overall, I’m incredibly thankful I had the opportunity to have Ms. Dione guide me through the admissions process and provide me with feedback that helped me strengthen my applications and get into my top choice. Irregardless of whether you have a university in mind or not, Ms. Dione will definitely help you find universities that suit you and help you work towards becoming a student where you’ll thrive most.

Jodie Tsih

Dione was an absolute life-saver and I would not be where I am right now without her. I have never been good at staying on top of things and when I met Dione I was just a freshman in HS. I thought that college apps were quite straightforward and that I wouldn't need help for them, obviously I was wrong. There were so many things I had not taken into account, and also so much work to be done when I was looking at schools, etc. Especially when applying to American colleges, there are a lot of "unspoken" rules that would be necessary to know in order to succeed. Dione helped me find summer work/internships and gave me a lot of guidance when I was looking for extra-curriculars I was passionate about. Whenever I had a question or needed help, Dione was always there for me. Even when I hadn't responded to her emails for weeks (months at times) she met me with the same grace and kindness as always and never ever made me feel terrible. When I met Dione my mental health was on a steep decline, which showed on my academic records. Things did not look good for me and I didn't expect much to come out of my college applications. Even though I was living in Hong Kong and she was in the U.S., Dione supported me as if she was right by my side. What was most helpful for me was her constant checking-in and also the guidance she gave when I was writing my essays and personal statements. Because of her vast experience, Dione told me exactly what I needed to convey in my essays, and she wouldn’t just tell me something wasn’t good/right, she would provide solutions and alternatives so that I could make it better. If I had any advice to give, I would implore all to seriously start early in high school because there is so much to get done, especially in today’s academic climate. Most college consultants/firms aren’t helpful because they offer the same advice that Google would and usually they just want your money. Dione is different. She was there for me when I needed help, no matter the time or place. If you’re looking for a college consultant, Dione is the best you’ll find.