Student Spotlight: SIVANI

In this series, we spotlight a student who worked with Vanguard on their Test Prep and College Application process. Here is our interview with Sivani, who applied to numerous colleges in aerospace engineering and astrophysics for the Fall of 2025. She was accepted to UT Austin, Georgia Tech, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Purdue University, and more! 

Why did you choose Vanguard to work with you during the college application process? What was the biggest help to you in our process?

I first worked with Vanguard for my ACT and then my parents and I realized they also do college counseling. We’d heard so much about other college admission counselors and everyone says, "They're not worth it. They don't really do anything at all.” But we just saw the amount of dedication that the ACT side of Vanguard had and we just knew that they would still have the same amount of dedication on the college counseling side. I think it was really a great decision to continue with Vanguard.

What were you the most nervous about going into the college process?

I guess just everything, because I remember at the very start, I was still unsure where exactly I wanted to go, but Vanguard was very helpful in still giving me a little bit of leeway. They recommended a lot of colleges that fit whatever my mind changed to at the moment. Towards the start of junior year, my parents were getting really worried about what colleges we were choosing, but by the summer after my junior year, I had a better mindset of exactly where I wanted to go. Vanguard was very supportive with all of that, always updating and recommending newer colleges that fit my newer needs or requirements.

In what ways did you feel more prepared in your college application journey than your peers who did not seek our services?

The essays! Specifically the scheduling of the essays. But if I talk mainly about the essays, I have read my friends and my other classmates' applications and I'm like, “Whoa this is not how you do it ,” because they only talked about themselves and I'm like, “No no no no, you have to talk about the college as well! You have to show your interest in the college!” I never realized that that's a tip that not everyone knows—that you have to talk about the college and make that connection of how you would fit. So, I was glad that Vanguard already knew all of those tips. And definitely the scheduling of all the essays, because, for example, we finished everything before the Early Action deadlines and even finished the narrative closer to May. 

What was your experience like in Vanguard’s Test Prep program?

I wish I had started earlier, but that's me personally. The way Vanguard does the teaching—it's a proper lesson, not just test prep. It's the actual nitty-gritty details, like how to read properly, how to know all the math rules. It’s something that you should probably start in 10th grade, because then it just builds up over time. But for me, 3 months after I started my test prep at Vanguard, I got a 33 after a 27, and I was done. I was happy after just 3 months. But I know that maybe if I had started earlier or was willing to continue, I probably would have got a higher score. A lot of my younger classmates are coming up to me for advice and I say, "Finish your test prep by the end of 10th grade, then you can focus on your essays and other things for junior year and senior year.” I know that's something Vanguard really stresses upon.

How did your Vanguard Specialist help you through the process and with the anxieties you had going into college applications?

I know my parents had more worries than me. My parents were really worried about all the essays and how many applications I had. And they were worried at the start about which colleges I was choosing. But I feel like Vanguard was pretty good at having constant communication from their side to my parents’ side without giving away my privacy. They just told what was necessary for what they needed to calm their anxieties. So [College Counseling Director] Alina was really good about all of that. And [Essay Specialist] Madison was obviously amazing with all the essays. I feel like that was really needed, because I had writer's block multiple times and she was really helpful in alleviating it and helping me work through it.

Was there anything else Vanguard helped you with during the college selection/college counseling process that you would like to highlight?

The resume building! I think that was a very unique niche thing to do. I like how it's like painting yourself as a story, which we do through our essays, but it definitely starts with the resume building. You can see your achievements right there. And I know that anytime I felt worthless or felt like I wasn’t gonna get in, I just pulled up my resume that we made and I'm like, “Okay, I did that, I did that, and I did that—I can do more. If I have done this, I can do more things.” It was a list of achievements, physical proof of who I am and what I have done so far. That definitely helped me both for morale boost and also having a prepared document for colleges and other organizations.

What was essay coaching like at Vanguard?

So, because I know in the start I was very poetic—which has its own good things—but I feel for a college admissions essay it has to be very direct. I feel like Madison really helped me with that. She was very specific in the advice she gave and the changes she made. I feel like I don't get that from many other essay advisors of any sort, like they're very vague because they don't want to change your purpose. But I feel like Madison was not afraid to do that, she was ready to explain. It just kind of made me realize that things needed to change and we could change it together.

What colleges did you get into? Where did you choose to go and what are you studying?

So, I got into UT Austin, UC San Diego, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne ,Texas A&M, Purdue University, University of Colorado Boulder, Penn State, UT Dallas, Arizona State University, and finally Georgia Institute of Technology—and that's the college I'll be going to. I will be studying aerospace engineering.

What are your future goals with your degree?

I definitely want to go more into the space industry, maybe NASA, primarily for space research. And I know that Georgia Tech specifically has a lot of exciting opportunities in that area, so I'm glad that I actually got in! After visiting Georgia Tech, I realized I really like Georgia Tech. I like Purdue because of the collaboration between social life and the busy-ness of education. But specifically at Georgia Tech, I like the pure educational aspect of it. Yes, they also have a social life and everything, but it's just that when I went there, everyone was studying, which—let me read this quote I found the day after I came back and I was like, “Wait, this is exactly why I like Georgia Tech.” It goes: “Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning. Once it does, it becomes the kind of thing that makes you grab your wife around the waist and dance a jig.” (Malcolm Gladwell) I realized that what I liked about Georgia Tech was that the work they were doing was meaningful. It gave them meaning. I could see everyone actively enjoying it. So that's why I realized I would enjoy literally learning at Georgia Tech.

What was your favorite part of working with Vanguard or your most proud achievement during your time working with us? Is there anything else you would like to highlight about your experience?

I'm obviously proud of the end achievement—I got into some amazing colleges—but also my growth as a writer. I feel like I now have the very specific skills to switch between prose and poetry and narrative and analytical. Also, I feel like Vanguard has such a great support system, and I feel that was really necessary. Another thing that my mom highlights that she liked about Vanguard was that when my grandfather passed away last year, [Co-Founder and Director] Natasha set up a meeting and said, “You're done with ACT, you're not doing another attempt.” I had done two attempts by now, and I was going to do another one in March or April, but she's like, "No, you're done. Focus on something else. Do not worry about your ACT." I feel like that push was really needed, and it needed to come from Vanguard's side to do that, because 1) I was grieving, and 2) it made me save whatever energy I had to pour into the essays, which were a very important part. I noticed that other than Rice and a couple of UC's, the only other college that I didn't get into (I was actually deferred) was Northeastern, and that's the only college I applied to that doesn't have supplemental essays. So for every single college I got in during early action, the essays really did help! A lot of people are like, “It's a holistic review.” Yes, it's a holistic review, but the essays tie the holistic review together!

How did the skills you learned at Vanguard help you after you left the program? Perhaps at school or other areas?

I would say it definitely helped with my perception of being a perfectionist, because when I'm writing, I think I have to get it right this exact time, like I only have one shot to write this sentence or write this essay. But because in Vanguard in the essay prep, we really broke down all the aspects over time, it taught me that it's okay to have a draft. It's needed to have a draft, to have a working draft. So that's definitely helped me in my other essay writings, when I have academic essays to do at my school.

What advice would you give to younger Vanguardians embarking on their College Application process? 

Do listen to your Vanguard teachers! Listen to your Essay Specialist! Listen to your College Counselor! Do listen to all of them because they genuinely are there for your best interests. They're here for you and all their advice will definitely help. I would also say try to be more independent: take ownership! Obviously they're there for you and everything, but do take it in your own hands. And I think one big reason why I was unstressed this entire college process was because my parents were not constantly worried about me because I was doing everything by myself. So that was another thing I noticed everyone in my school was stressed until the last day, because they were turning in their essays the last day, whereas I turned it in weeks before. I completely forgot some colleges even had a deadline because we submitted things even three weeks before. So, do everything on Vanguard’s timeline and also definitely listen to your specialists.

Essay Specialist Madison L

Hamilton College