A deliberate path to the colleges
worth the work.

Pathwise is a fully personalized coaching studio for families who want more than a curriculum. Each student works alongside multiple Ivy League undergraduates and working professionals on real passion projects, building academic excellence, admissions strategy, and the character behind the application.

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About Pathwise

Individualized attention. A structured plan. Relentless support.

Every student at Pathwise receives a plan written for them, not pulled from a shelf. We work alongside families from the earliest stages of high school through final decision season, pairing each student with a team of mentors drawn from the country's top universities and the professional fields they're most curious about.

Students are given consistent work every single day, reviewed and adjusted for them personally. Daily assignments keep momentum between sessions and give mentors something concrete to respond to, so feedback stays specific rather than generic.

Our work rests on three pillars: targeted academic preparation, strategic admissions guidance, and the quieter craft of personal development: the habits, interests, and skills that strengthen both the application and the person behind it.

Our Programs

Three disciplines, shaped around your student.

College Counseling

Our most comprehensive offering. We build a compelling, authentic narrative with each student, pairing them with a team of current Ivy League undergraduates and working professionals to pursue meaningful passion projects, and shepherding every application from first draft to final submit.

Multiple 1-on-1 mentors: Ivy League undergraduates and working professionals paired to each student's interests
Extracurricular development tied to a student's specific interests
Leadership, communication, and critical-thinking skill building
Tailored college list, tied to goals and strengths
Application strategy and positioning
Personal essay coaching across all written components
Interview preparation and decision-season support

SAT Preparation

We cover both Math and Reading & Writing through our own custom program and practice tool, built specifically for Pathwise students. Active practice replaces passive review: weekly coaching, daily assigned work, and steady gains in speed, accuracy, and composure under pressure.

Access to our custom SAT program and practice tool
Weekly 1-on-1 coaching sessions
Daily practice assignments with personalized feedback
Targeted review of weak areas across both sections
Full-length timed practice tests, with detailed analysis
Strategy for pacing, prioritization, and error patterns

AP Subject Preparation

AP prep across every subject, taught by tutors who earned 5s in the exam themselves. Many of them are current students at Ivy League and peer institutions. Coaching is tailored to your course, teacher expectations, and exam date.

Subject tutors drawn from top-university students who scored 5s themselves
Content review aligned to AP exam frameworks
Free-response and essay writing practice with feedback
Practice tests and scoring with targeted follow-up
Flexible pacing: year-round or exam-season intensive

About the Founder

Coaching built on firsthand experience.

Pathwise was founded by Jiayue Liu, a current student at Cornell University, on a simple conviction: the students who earn places at the country's most selective universities are rarely the ones who worked harder. They're the ones who worked deliberately, with someone in their corner who understood the terrain.

The program grew out of years Jiayue spent mentoring students one-on-one through SAT prep, AP coursework, and the admissions cycle itself. What began as occasional tutoring became a structured studio: hand-selected coaches from Ivy League universities and working professionals in the fields our students care about, paired through weekly check-ins, daily work, and a philosophy that treats each student as an individual case, not a data point.

Frequently Asked

Questions we hear often.

Who are the mentors my student will work with?

Every student works with multiple mentors: current Ivy League undergraduates and working professionals across fields like tech, medicine, finance, law, research, and the arts. We match each student to several mentors based on the passion projects and interests they want to pursue, so the guidance is genuinely relevant.

When should my student start working with Pathwise?

The earlier the better for college counseling, ideally 9th or 10th grade, when there's still time to shape extracurriculars and develop meaningful passion projects alongside our mentors. SAT and AP support can begin any time, and is most effective when started at least several months before the target exam.

What does a typical month of college counseling look like?

Weekly one-on-one meetings with a counselor, plus assigned work between sessions: essay drafts, research tasks, project milestones, or application components. Students engaged in passion projects also meet weekly with a subject-matter mentor for hands-on project work.

Can we enroll in more than one program?

Yes, many students do. A junior might work on SAT prep and college counseling concurrently, or add AP coaching in the spring. Programs can run in parallel.

Can we pause or adjust programs during the year?

Yes. The engagement is designed to flex with your student. Programs can be added, paused, or adjusted as their needs evolve.

Is the consultation really free?

Yes, a complimentary 30-minute strategy call with no obligation. It's an honest conversation about your student's goals and whether Pathwise is the right fit.

Schedule a Consultation

A complimentary 30-minute call.

Tell us a little about your student and we'll be in touch to set up an honest conversation about goals, timeline, and whether Pathwise is the right fit. No obligation.

A deliberate path to the collegesworth the work.