About

Parent. Engineer. Writer. I’m Sowmya Athreya, and I can help you in your college admissions journey. I promise to reduce the stress of your college admissions process with well-researched advice and personalized feedback. I’ve lived your experience for 7 years from 2014 to 2021 while my two sons were in high school (Mission San Jose High School in the Bay Area in CA). I’ve researched extensively for the past decade – criteria for admission for individual colleges, college application details, essay reviews, major selection, test preparation. I’ve informally advised friends and family for years, offering insights on which courses to take, how to improve grades, which colleges to choose and why, what strategy to adopt for selecting your major. The key to successful outcomes – differentiation (reflecting your unique strengths in your application and essays), and having realistic expectations.

I have a Masters degree in Computer Engineering from Rutgers University and have risen up the ranks in corporate America in top semiconductor companies like Intel, Spansion, Cypress, and Micron. I enjoyed the challenge of verifying chips and excelled in people management. Ongoing stories of student stress and parent anxiety through the high school years led me to quit my corporate job in June 2023 and create “Goal Admit”. I’ve completed a writing course at Stanford and have written an as-yet-unpublished book of short stories – definitely helped when reviewing essays:-)

My two sons, my pride and joy, went to Stratford School and then attended Bay Area public schools from elementary through high school. Their high school journey was stressful, as will be detailed in my series of blog posts, but they’re thriving now. My older son graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle in 2022 with a degree in Biology, with minors in Applied Math and Chemistry, and is working in a research lab in the East Coast. My younger son is a rising Junior at the University of California in Berkeley, pursuing a double major in Computer Science and Cognitive Science.

Why Goal Admit – There are a large number of college consulting firms – I used one of them myself for my two sons. I promise to offer personalized, customized answers to all your questions and will always lead with empathy, having lived your experiences (twice!). No group sessions, no exorbitant rates, no generalized feedback, no waiting for days to get a reply to a simple question. Just quick, well-researched, customized answers to all your college admission questions, at very reasonable rates. With you every step of the way to help you achieve your goal of getting admitted to the college of your choice.