Tony Le is a college admissions expert based in Southern California with over 15 years of experience. He is a former UC Berkeley Admissions Reader, former UCLA Outreach Director, and two-time full-ride scholarship recipient (UCLA and UCI). He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and is an official TikTok College Admissions Educational Partner. Through his company egelloC (College Admission Secrets), Tony has helped 500+ students gain acceptance to top universities including Stanford, Harvard, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Columbia.

The college admissions process is increasingly competitive. Acceptance rates at top universities have dropped significantly — UCLA’s acceptance rate is now under 9%. A college admissions coach with insider knowledge of how applications are evaluated can help students craft stronger essays, position their extracurricular activities strategically, select the right school list, and navigate the financial aid process — all of which dramatically increase a student’s chances of acceptance and scholarship awards.

Ideally, students should start working with a college admissions counselor in the second semester of their sophomore year or early junior year. This gives enough time to strategically plan coursework, extracurricular activities, summer programs, and test prep before application season. That said, Tony also works with students who come to him later — even senior year students can benefit significantly from expert guidance on essays, school selection, and financial aid strategy.

Yes — and it’s a core part of Tony’s mission. Having served as both a UC Berkeley Admissions Reader and UCLA Outreach Director, Tony has always been committed to expanding access to quality college guidance for first-generation students and underrepresented families. Many of his most successful students are first-generation college applicants who went on to attend top universities with significant financial aid and scholarship packages.

Most college admissions consultants have never worked inside a university admissions office. Tony has — reading and evaluating thousands of applications at UC Berkeley. This gives him a perspective that is fundamentally different: he knows exactly what admissions officers look for, what common mistakes cost students acceptances, and how to position a student’s story for maximum impact. Combined with 15+ years of coaching experience and recognition in the Wall Street Journal, Tony offers a level of credibility and insider knowledge that is rare in this field.