Support Our Troops

July 13, 2016 Update: Please see this important update to this original posting. We at Ivy Coach were very sad to read the story by “Guardian of Valor” about the young man below. But we also remain steadfast in our resolve to help as many American veterans as we can — on a pro bono basis — earn admission to the highly selective colleges of their dreams, as we do each and every year. We believe in the goodness of people, and in particular the goodness of those who serve our nation in uniform, and we will continue to take veterans at their word.

At Ivy Coach, we are committed to helping as many of America’s veterans as we can gain admission to the colleges of their dreams.

Originally Posted June 30, 2015: At Ivy Coach, one of our missions is to help members of our American military as well as our veterans gain admission to the highly selective colleges of their dreams. These are young men and women who volunteered to serve their country at great personal risk. These are young men and women who heeded the creed once voiced by our President Kennedy in choosing to put their country before themselves. And there is nothing we are prouder of in this world than helping many of these same men and women further their educations at our nation’s most elite institutions. The Post 9/11 G.I. Bill subsidizes some of the costs of a college education and some highly selective colleges foot the rest of tuition costs.

But too many members of our military and too many of our veterans think that attending one of America’s most selective universities is an impossible dream. It is so often our great privilege to tell these brave men and women that, to paraphrase Al Michaels, the impossible dream can come true. We are deeply proud and humbled to be in the service of many of our nation’s warriors as we help them navigate the highly selective college admissions process and improve their odds of admission to these very schools, schools that tremendously benefit by the very life experience they inject into in-classroom and out-of-classroom discussions.

Chris allowed us to share his story in the hope of paying it forward, in the hope that service-members and veterans will come to Ivy Coach in the future to help them achieve their dreams. Chris was an airman in the United States Air Force. He served two tours of duty in Afghanistan with additional tours in Germany and Korea. This remarkable young man was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for his distinguished work during the Yeogpyeong crisis in the Korean DMZ. He is a shining example of the sacrifice of so many members of the great generation of young men and women who defended America in the years after the most significant terrorist attack on our soil.

We were very proud and humbled to work with Chris, one of the truly kindest and most courageous young men we’ve ever come across. We’ve worked with so many students over the years, but few have struck us as Christopher has. It very much fills us with happiness that Chris will be attending one of America’s — and the world’s — finest institutions next year when he enrolls at America’s first research university, Johns Hopkins University. Fittingly, he’ll be studying in Johns Hopkins’ renowned cognitive science program, where he hopes to learn about PTSD and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), which impact so many of our returning troops.

Thank you to Chris for all that you have done and all that you have sacrificed for our country. We know well that there is so much more you will set out to do in this lifetime and we’re deeply grateful and humbled to know and care about you.

If you’re a member of our military or a veteran interested in gaining admission to a highly selective American university, please read about our pro bono college admissions service and fill out a consult form so we can get in touch.