Becoming a millionaire by helping rich kids get into top universities

"Million dollar" income

Christopher Rim (29 years old) graduated from the prestigious Yale University in the US. He was admitted despite not having an ideal score. In return, Rim focused on extracurricular activities.

During his high school years, Rim founded a non-profit organization that fights bullying. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Born This Way youth support organization, founded by American singer Lady Gaga.

From personal experience, Rim has provided consulting services since he was a student, supporting students in completing their applications to the top prestigious universities in the US. At that time, Rim charged a fee of $50/hour, including helping students with essay writing skills and preparing their applications.

When he graduated from Yale in 2017, Rim decided to turn his side hustle into a full-time job. He initially charged $75 an hour. But a billionaire parent told him to raise his rates if he wanted to be seen as a professional by wealthy clients. Rim has since raised his rates to $1,500 an hour.

Rim’s clients are now willing to pay him $120,000 a year for consulting services. Full consulting services starting in seventh grade can cost up to $750,000.

Rim said 94% of the students he counseled were admitted to one of the top three universities they desired.

Christopher Rim - admissions consultant to top US universities (Photo: Telegraph).

If parents come to Rim after their child has failed the early admission round of the schools, they will have to pay a higher fee, up to 250,000 USD, for Rim to quickly "restructure" the entire application of that student and resubmit it early in the main admission round.

Rim’s education consulting firm generates more than $20 million a year. While working with the wealthy, Rim has had some strange experiences. For example, a wealthy New York family once offered him $1.5 million on the condition that he would not provide consulting support to any of their children’s classmates. Rim declined this strange request.

Many families even prepare non-disclosure agreements, to ensure that Rim never says anything about them after the two sides cooperate.

Competition for admission to top universities is increasingly fierce.

“I am increasingly accepting younger students whose families want to start their application process early,” Rim said. “They understand that the competition for admission to top US universities is fierce. Grades and academic achievement are just the foundation. What really sets a student apart is their extracurricular activities and the impact they make in the community.”

According to Rim, the important thing about a top university application is that every detail must fit into the overall story, in order to convince the admissions committee.

“If a student wants to study computer science, then handing out food to charity is not really appropriate. It would be better if he organized a program to teach basic computer skills to children who don’t have access to technology,” Rim said.

Students with "perfect profiles" have become much more common, while admission rates to Ivy League schools remain low (Photo: iStock).

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for an impressive portfolio. Rim once advised a makeup-loving student to create a TikTok and YouTube account dedicated to making cosmetic review clips. The number of followers of the student's account has since increased to more than 80,000.

This student regularly donates reviewed, almost brand new cosmetic samples to charities, who then sell them and raise funds. This is a testament to creating positive value for the community through personal passion. This makeup-loving student eventually got accepted to the prestigious University of Pennsylvania.

Previously, a GPA of 4.0 and an SAT score of 1600 were considered "passports" to ensure that excellent students could enter top universities in the US. Candidates who demonstrate outstanding academic ability, leadership roles, and active participation in community activities often have a high chance of being admitted to the Ivy League (8 prestigious universities in the US).

But those days are over, and today, students with "perfect profiles" are much more common, while admission rates to Ivy League schools remain low.

Even the “second-tier” schools compared to the Ivy League now have low acceptance rates. New York University accepted 34% of applicants in 2014, but now that number is down to 7.7%.

In today’s admissions landscape, it’s not enough for a student to have good grades, lots of clubs, and extracurricular activities. Top schools expect their admitted students to do more than that.

Currently, students need to prepare a unique personal profile, showing strengths in many fields, having independent initiatives that create positive impacts on the community, and having their own creative personal mark...

Outstanding candidates are those who know how to express their unique perspective and personality through every detail in their profile (Illustration: iStock).

In today’s globalized and technologically advanced world, students need to be able to creatively utilize technology, social media, and online relationships to make a positive impact on the community. Doing so will give them a distinct advantage.

Prestigious universities today are not only looking for students who excel academically, but also those who combine personal passion and practical action to positively impact the community.

Rim admits that to get into Ivy League schools today, students need to achieve higher than before, creating a more obvious positive impact on the community than before.

However, according to Rim, the current evaluation of admissions boards does not only look at the "weight" of a profile, but also cares about the creativity, breakthrough thinking and personal mark of the candidate, to see the potential for future development. Outstanding candidates are those who know how to express their unique perspective and personality through every detail in their profile.

The Ivy League consists of eight prestigious universities in the northeastern United States. These are considered the leading schools in terms of academic achievement, teaching and research. This group of schools has a very strict admission selection, attracting many individuals who are considered to be the intellectual elite of the future of the United States as well as many other countries in the world.

The term Ivy League has been used in the field of higher education in the United States since 1933. This group of eight schools includes Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University and Yale University.

According to Telegraph/Forbes

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/tro-thanh-trieu-phu-nho-giup-con-nha-giau-do-dai-hoc-top-dau-20250422212739816.htm