Ep 11: Owen Xu - Hardship makes it all worth it in the end! Co-founder of waste treatment startup MicroH2O, nominated and shortlisted for Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2016 at the age of 15; interned at Climate Project, the non-profit founded by former US VP Al Gore — is the story of Owen Xu, a former student at Point Avenue. Despite many impressive achievements beyond his age, Owen humbly shared that without Danny's mentorship, he couldn't become who he is today.  What are the hurdles that Owen had to overcome? What are lessons learned? And what advice would he give to parents & students ..read more

Ep 12: Pakwhan - When Harvard is also just the 2nd option Instead of opting for the prestigious institution of Harvard, Pakwhan chose to pursue her dream by enrolling in the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology at UPenn. This achievement was made possible through Pakwhan's unwavering determination and disciplined approach, supported by the expert guidance of Point Avenue's study abroad consulting team. Pakwhan's profile is distinguished by outstanding academic accomplishments, achieving a perfect score (5/5) in nine AP subjects and garnering prestigious medals from international ..read more

Ep 10: Marcus Gao - Embrace the failure to become a better you Humility, integrity, hard work, .. are the words that Danny used for Marcus. Unlike other students who felt pressured and stressed by their family members’ academic achievements, Marcus shared that he was fortunate to have his parents and sisters motivating him to get out of his comfort zone.  Valedictorian, Shanghai High School International Division - Captain, High School Varsity Basketball Team  - Writer, SDLF Psychology Club  - Intern, MedMotion Rehabilitation Clinic & CEiC Innovation Capital  - In ..read more

Ep 8: Eddie Lee - Take Initiative and Explore your passion Point Avenue is super proud to have the chance to work with many talented students. Each student has an admirable unique personality and inspirational story. Episode 8 in the series Cracking the Code is about Eddie - a first-year computer science student at UPenn. ️? Despite having impressive academic and extracurricular achievements, Eddie was once an introverted student and hated public speaking. Thanks to the pursuit of competitive debate, he became more confident and proactive. The achievement that Eddie is most proud of is writin ..read more

Ep 7: Amber Choi - Embrace the change and Step out of your comfort zone Amber is a freshman at Vanderbilt University class of 2026. As a previous student and intern at Point Avenue, Amber proudly shared that meeting Point Avenue was one of the best highlights of her life. In the interview with Danny, Amber emphasized that what made her a reliable candidate for schools was her extracurricular activities, including: ✔️President of National Art Honor Society ✔️President of Veterinary Explorers Program ✔️Board member, Gay-Straight Alliance Not to mention, Amber also has experience participating ..read more

Ep 5: Mignon Xu - A journey of finding true values and overcoming imposter syndrome Mignon Xu graduated from USC Marshall and currently works for venture capital fund Capital Partners. Before being admitted to Marshall, Mignon Xu had a very outstanding profile: President of Care and Share project specializes in recycling used laptops and electronic devices to give back to children who do not have access to technology. Organizer of the Matriarchal Lugu project, which collects excess yarn from manufacturing plants and donates it to a textile village in China to help locals preserve tradition ..read more

EP 6: Dylan Kim - Be men & women for others! Passionate about swimming since childhood, but Dylan had to give up his dream of becoming a professional swimmer due to injury. However, this helped him discover his passions for technology and entrepreneurship. Currently, Dylan is studying computer science at Boston College. Some outstanding extracurricular activities in Dylan's application profile: Founder and President of UNISTEM, a non-profit organization based in San Diego with 3 main services: UNISTEM Design (game design, python/java programming, UI/UX design), UNISTEM Robotics (AI, Lego ..read more

Ep 4: Alexander Lam - Insider tips to build a well-rounded image & take advantage of college opportunities Alex is on a short-term study abroad program in Oslo through UC Berkeley. After graduating, he will start his master's degree in information & data science. When applying to Berkeley, Alex spent a lot of time building a resume of extracurricular activities, including: Founder & Head coach of Lay Up Your Dreams, an organization dedicated to teaching basketball to students in less fortunate communities in Hong Kong. In partnership with a local NGO, Lay Up Your Dreams held week ..read more

Ep 2: Zachary Neri - Self-discipline and embrace the unpredictable! Zach and Point Avenue's journey began when he was a 13-year-old student. From a test prep student, Zach currently is a senior student at Columbia College and is about to work for Sequoia Capital, one of the world's leading investment funds behind billion-dollar unicorns in the traditional market like Google or Apple. The most interesting part of Zach's academic journey is that he transferred from Columbia when he was a sophomore at Vassar College. Talking to Mr. Danny, Zach frankly shared, unlike many people, university for ..read more

An Phan is an AC alumnus at Point Avenue and a Neuroscience major undergraduate at Princeton University (#1 NU). In episode 4, we are excited to have a talk with An about what he believes was his key to getting into Princeton. He talks about the importance of practicing discipline and effective time management in high school to navigate his responsibilities as a ballet dancer, a pianist, an AP student, and more. Check us out on our social media channels: Instagram: @point.avenue Facebook: www.facebook.com/PointAvenue Website: www.pointavenue.com ..read more