IAM398 – School Admissions Expert Helps Thousands Get Into America’s Best Institutions

Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is a college and medical school admissions expert who has helped thousands of students get into schools such as Stanford, Yale, and Caltech.

He launched his business in 2013 as a side hustle after helping friends and family members get into America's best institutions for nearly a decade. Since then, Dr. Shemmassian has grown his company to 7 figures in annual revenue and has been featured in The Washington Post, US News & World Report, and NBC.

• CEO Hack: Calendar scheduling software – Calendly
• CEO Nugget: Think of the possibilities
• CEO Defined: Having a vision for what the company should look like

Website: https://www.shemmassianconsulting.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shemmassianconsulting/?hl=en

Additional links:
Medical school personal statement
Common App Essay

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:30

Hello, this is Gresh from the I Am CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. Shirag Shemmassian from Shemmassian Consulting, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 0:40

Hey, thanks for having me, Gresh.

Gresham Harkless 0:42

No problem super excited to have you on or what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Shirag so you can hear about all the awesome things that he's doing. Dr. Shirag is a college and medical school admissions expert who has helped 1000s of students get into schools such as Stanford, Yale, and Cal Tech. He launched his business in 2013.

As a side hustle after helping friends and family members get into America's best institutions for nearly a decade. Since then, he has grown his company to seven figures in annual revenue and has been featured in The Washington Post, US News and World Report, and NBC. Are you ready to speak to the IAMCEO Community?

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Dr Shirag Shemmassian 1:18

Yeah, I'm excited.

Gresham Harkless 1:19

Awesome, let's do it. So they kick everything off, I want to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story. And what led you to start your business?

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 1:25

Yeah, so I guess it'll happen organically. When when I was back in high school, we didn't have very good college admission support. So I was self-taught. And, you know, I had to learn what I could to get into Cornell University, which is where I graduated from. And for many, many years, people were asking me for help. And so I was just doing it to be helpful on the side because I didn't have that kind of support. And over time, I believe it was in graduate school. My friend gave me this book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which you know, I'm sure many people either know about or have read. And it's sort of like, took me down this rabbit hole. I'm like, Oh, my gosh, this is really good. And there were other book recommendations in there.

So I started reading tons of these, like personal development, personal finance, entrepreneurship, types of things. And over time, I was like, Man, that sounds really, really exciting to produce something of my own that didn't like exist before and create value for people like to help people that got really exciting. So then I had this bug of like, I'm going to do something someday, I don't know what. And it was really, as I was nearing the end of my graduate program, my Ph. D program where I, you know, I was thinking about, okay, like, what can I start and stuff, and I started to read a lot more of red meat safeties, materials.

So just, you know, he's like, you know, think about the skills you already have. And I was like, Oh, well, it's pretty obvious for me, I've been doing this work for many, many years, and the students I've been supporting were incredibly successful. And so I thought, Okay, this is a cool business idea. And you know, I launched my business, I had a website, and then a little bit after, I would say, a year and a half or so after I started the business, started thinking more thoughtfully about growth and how to market things.

Rather than letting it all sort of happen randomly, and the past several years, have grown that and it's been a really exciting journey, just like helping people get into the schools of their dreams, because it's, you know, it's not just like getting into a school, but they're, you know, they're allowed to pursue their careers and goals, in a way they otherwise might not be able to. So, it's such a joy to do what I do.

Gresham Harkless 3:34

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I definitely appreciate you Shirag that with us. And I think a lot of times you forget how it's not everything, but it can definitely be very impactful what college you get into because it like you said it could it could determine like your friends for the next you know, whatever years and the families and it opens so many opportunities. So to be able to kind of get that quote-unquote, leg up, I guess can be really impactful for somebody's life.

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 3:56

Yeah, absolutely. There. You know, there, I was recently reading some studies. So I came from a very solidly middle-class family, my parents immigrated from another country that was going through civil war and stuff like that. And, so like, you know, we weren't necessarily like, encouraged to like to dream big, it was all about like, stability, and like, get a good job, get a good education on this kind of stuff.

There are some studies showing that like, you know, for folks who come from, you know, more upper-class backgrounds and things like that, they already have like their, you know, really strong networks, and it's all about like maintaining things, but then there are other people who are maybe come from upper middle, middle, or even like lower class backgrounds, from a financial standpoint, that it just really helps you elevate your opportunities. You get access to more resources, you get access to more career opportunities, and different networks than you otherwise would. And it's certainly a great door to open for yourself.

Gresham Harkless 4:52

Yeah, absolutely. And get an idea of exactly what that process looks like. It's sometimes things that aren't aware people aren't aware of so it's great that you're helping to help so many families be able to do that. And I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper, can you tell us a little bit more about your consulting and how exactly it works and everything?

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 5:09

Yeah, so we create a lot of resources for people. So we create a lot of content, for the world, and a lot of people have come to the site, just looking for good information, a subset of those people, you know, want our support to guide them every single step of the way, because admissions is very high stakes. So in other words, it's very hard to get in. And to like the top schools and colleges, and certainly any medical school is really hard to get in.

So people don't want to leave this kind of stuff to chance. And so they'll reach out to us and they say, Hey, like, I probably figure some of this out. But I don't want to leave it to chance, I want to maximize my odds. And so they'll sign up to work with us. And what we essentially do is, depending on what stage they're in, we'll help them with everything from like choosing what activities to participate in choosing what classes to sign up for, and who to build relationships with, so that they can eventually get a letter of recommendation.

Then when it comes to the application side, just based on their grades and their background, like what schools, you know, should they be applying to, and also like how to write those college essays and medical school essays that will help them stand out. Because if you're an admissions committee member, you get a lot of applications from students with really high grades and test scores and things like that.

The thing that really separates, you know, the top applicants from everything else is sort of how you share that story. So you can do a lot of stuff, but how you communicate it is everything. And that's true for an interview or an application or any sort of evaluation thing.

Gresham Harkless 6:42

Yeah, absolutely. That's kind of like a case for life. It's, it's, you know, you can be like a really great person, or you can even have a really great product or service. But if you're not able to communicate that, showcase that, and let people know that then you know, sometimes that doesn't go the way it should go all the time. So yeah. And I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce, and this can be for you or your organization, but what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 7:05

Yeah, I mean, I really think it's one thing. I think it's like people from the beginning feel like very supported by us. And I think that's the way we write content and the way that we speak with people when they talk to us on sales calls and things like that when you visit our site, we don't just want to just give you information, we want to demonstrate that we understand what you're going through, like what your mental state is that when you're searching for a certain piece of content. That's really key.

When you get on the phone with us. It's all about like understanding you and what it is that you want, like, what are your dreams? And then how can we help you get there? And so I think that the secret sauce is the way I would distill it is like being others-centered, right, like being focused on others, rather than like, this is what we do. Because no one really cares about what we do. They care about their goals and how we can help them achieve it.

Gresham Harkless 8:01

Yeah, I love that. And I love that perspective. And the ability to be able to tap into that I usually say everybody's listening to WII FM, which is the radio station, what's in it for me? And everybody's kind of looking like what can you do for me? How can you help me do it's under, it's important to kind of understand that to be successful, you have to tap into what people want.

If you help enough people get what they want, and helps you get what you want. As the client goes. They said I wanted to switch gears a little bit. And I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. This might be an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 8:36

Yeah, a big one for me is our calendar scheduling software, it seems so basic, but I really don't like writing administrative tasks. I remember I used to, like people used to contact me and I was always looking at my calendar and bugging people. And I was like this has to stop. So sign up for an account. I think I use Calendly. And it's it's wonderful. I don't get paid by them to say this. Thank you Calendly people just made my life so much easier.

Gresham Harkless 9:07

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I use my scheduler as well, too. And I don't know what I would do without especially with time zones and everything. I know we talked a little bit offline about that. I am not good at that. That is not my secret sauce at all. So it's great that they have created something that we can all leverage to be more effective and efficient. Yeah. They said, Now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget and this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice or if you can happen to a time machine. What would you tell your younger business self?

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 9:34

I love the one quote whether you think you can or you think you can't You're right. I forget who said it might have been like Henry Ford or something. I can't remember either. But just like the mindset, right, like I think this is true. With admissions. It's true with business like if you have an idea, and you're like no I don't think that's going to work out. You're not going to a you might not try at all or be if you try it might be how half-hearted, right? But if you actually think it's possible, then you'll make the effort even if you think the chances are small. The reason that's been super important for me too is Gresham.

In my high school, I said we didn't have great support. I'm the only person in my high school's 60-year history to ever go to an Ivy League school. So like it was never like brought up. When I was going to apply. I had like teachers saying, like, do you think you can get in there? Those kids were really smart when I got in there, like you think you can make it there? So it's all this stuff?

If you listen to all that, all of that, then you won't try you won't do it. Right. And so you have to sort of like, like, sort of let that roll off of you and say no, I actually think it's possible. Let me go for it. Because I hate wondering what if. So, I want to think I can do it. And let's see what happens.

Gresham Harkless 10:49

Yes, I love that. And I love that perspective. And I think a lot of times and I don't know, if you do end up doing do you do have those conversations with clients as well to where, you know, like you mentioned, for the admissions process, if you think you're not going to get into, you know, so and so college, you have that mentality, then a lot of times I think that permeates probably through all the application process.

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 11:09

Yeah, 10,000% true. Like there is you want to obviously, like have some risk management built-in, you don't want to have someone apply to only places where they're going to have a really difficult chance of getting into but sometimes people say like, I really want to get into this school, but as no one gets in there. or so and so a year ahead of me applied, and they had this test score, and they didn't.

So it's just like you're sort of defeating yourself before you even try. And I'm huge on not just saying no, no, I think you can get in but like actually challenging that like putting it on the table and saying like, Why do you think that? Is that helping you in any way? You know, like, basically, let's talk through this. Because I don't want you to subconsciously put in less effort for that kind of thing.

Gresham Harkless 11:50

Right. And that can you know, like you said, it permeates itself through so many different aspects of the application. And whether you're running a business or filling out an application. It's a big thing. And I love the fact that you kind of touched on you going through that process, and how it helped you out because I think a lot of times when building a business, like Malcolm Gladwell has this book, and I forgot exactly what book Outliers. It talks about the 10,000 hours.

A lot of times you see somebody that's successful like you've been able to successfully build your business, but you forget of all the hours that you put in yourself going through that process, the decade that you spoke to have all the work that you put in so that when you started your business and put out the flag, it wasn't like you were just getting started.

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 12:29

Yeah, absolutely. I'm like a total admissions nerd. Ever before I started a business, like, people usually, like get into college, they're like, oh, my gosh, I never have to think about that. I read every article published, I've read every book, I've worked with, like 1000s of students spoken with 1000s of family, right, like, so I live in this every single day. And so when people are like, oh, like how do you know, I was gonna thinking that or whatever it's like, I don't know, like, I just do it. Because I've spent so much time in this world, you know? So true.

Gresham Harkless 13:02

Yeah, is the true definition of mastery of being able to kind of just take in so much information and content that you kind of know what's going to happen before it happens, because you just are so prepared in that situation. So I appreciate that. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote-unquote, CEOs on the show. So what does being a CEO mean to you?

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 13:23

This is, comes at an interesting time, because I'm literally reflecting on what should I be doing right now. So some of my notes, and I was talking to a good friend of mine who has a very successful business, it's essentially just like, having a vision for what the company should look like. And then putting people putting the right people in the right places to make that happen.

That's my current understanding of it asked me in six months, I may have a different answer. But essentially, you have to have clarity. Otherwise, you don't know what to create, you don't know who to hire or delegate, what tasks, and things like that. So just get clarity around what you want to achieve with it, rather than getting sucked into the day-to-day. Because it's very easy to feel, productive by answering, you know, 100 emails that day, but did you really like it? Did you really feed the vision? Perhaps not. So that's very top of mind for me right now?

Gresham Harkless 14:19

Yeah, absolutely. I think that makes perfect sense. And like we kind of touched on a little bit, too. Did you? Were you really productive if you were scheduling a bunch of meetings unless I guess you're working for Calendly? And maybe that helps out as part of your job. But in actuality, you know, was that feeding your vision and understanding to like you talked about, you know, six months from now, maybe that vision changes. Maybe it changes a year from now and understanding that it can be something that's fluid as well, too.

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 14:41

Yep. Totally Nice.

Gresham Harkless 14:43

Well, I definitely appreciate you appreciate your time all the awesome things you're doing to kind of help out families, and of course, the insight you gave just today. I wanted to pass you the mic just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know and then of course, how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things you're doing.

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 14:59

Yeah. sure. So anything people want to know, I think it just goes back to what we talked about earlier, like developing the right mindset. Be super honest with yourself about what your anxieties are and what your strengths are, and sort of challenge those anxieties and see is what I'm worried about is actually the case, what are my goals? Am I actually working to serve those who are brutally honest, and legitimately go for it?

In terms of how people can find me and they can come to the site, I'm sure you will link to it at shemmassianconsulting.com It's not the easiest thing to spell. I clearly, you know, have no business education. So I was not thinking about my website back in the day. But it's memorable. So you can visit the site very easily to contact me there. My phone numbers are there, and my email addresses are there. Yeah, come say hi. It'd be a pleasure to connect with people.

Gresham Harkless 15:50

Definitely. Well, I definitely appreciate your time, and thank you for letting me struggle through the pronunciation. I know I probably didn't nail it at all. But I we will definitely have all those links in the show notes as well so that everybody can follow up with you. But I appreciate you appreciate all you're doing appreciate the challenge you put out to your clients but also to us to go to that next level especially because a lot of times we think whatever is around us is what is going to be an all there can be but we definitely can go more if we challenge ourselves to do that. So I definitely appreciate that.

Dr Shirag Shemmassian 16:19

Yeah, awesome. Thanks for your time. Gresh and thanks, everyone for listening.

Outro 16:22

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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