Passion Prep Review

Founded in 2015 by Julie Kim, Passion Prep is aimed at helping through the process of creating a Passion Project that can help round out their university applications. Julie is a USC college grad, and also offers general application guidance, mentoring and assistance. In this comprehensive Passion Prep review, we’ll score them along five key metrics so that you have a full picture of whether Passion Prep is a good fit for you.

Although the face of the company is Julie Kim, there are other coaches trained by Julie who will work with the students. They have backgrounds in education and English (although no further information is provided regarding their professional and academic backgrounds).

The founder, Julie Kim, is still involved in the company. She attended University of Southern California for undergraduate college and received her masters in Education at Harvard School of Education.

Passion Prep’s strategy is focused on helping students develop and create a personal project to help them get into college. Upon enrollment, students’ current resume undergo an assessment by Passion Prep coaches to determine an effective passion project strategy.

For the rest of the year, students are guided through the development and execution of a bespoke Passion Project. The structured program integrates instructional videos, targeted exercises, and monthly Q&A sessions with the founder.

The self-guided program includes supplementary materials, like email templates for networking, general email access to coaches through their Bootcamp portal for any questions, and informative videos about the general college admissions process.

For those looking for more information, Passion Prep does offer a complimentary 10-minute “Discovery Call,” so families can chat with Bootcamp coaches to answer any specific questions or concerns.

The program is open to 8-11th graders.

Passion Project Bootcamp – $2,997

Year-long program that includes: 

• Monthly Live Group Q&A Sessions with coach (offered 4x per month)
• A private student community where individuals can chat with one another and get insight from coaches regarding class selection, test prep strategies, materials preparation, and any other college-related inquiries they might have.
• A pre-packaged data library, Library of College Admissions Resources, which includes eight self-paced united devoted to developing and executing a Passion Project

Finding a truly qualified consultant is half the battle. Some consultants have not gone to top-tier schools themselves, and repeat advice they hear from others. Also, some firms have a qualified “face” of the company, but then bait and switch you with a less experienced consultant after you’ve paid. That’s why we always start each review by doing full due diligence on the company’s consultants.

We recognize the continual involvement of founder Julie Kim, since she is the face of the company and creator of regular content on her podcast. However, we worry that she is sometimes not the primary person giving admissions advice to customers. While the company acknowledges the employment of coaches beyond Julie Kim, we’re concerned about the lack of specific details regarding their professional and academic backgrounds, and their employment status (e.g, are they independent contractors or full time employees?).

The biggest risk when applying to college is following bad advice. You only have one shot, so you need to make it count, and choosing the right admissions service can make a big difference. We use a 50-point evaluation system to determine the likelihood a service will help a student get into their desired college.

Although Julie serves as the public face of the company and her educational background aligns with consultants from similar firms, there are concerns that Passion Prep employs less qualified consultants once a student has enrolled.

Details regarding the coaching team’s identity are scarce; they are neither featured nor mentioned on the company’s website. The identities of these coaches, who also offer advice and guidance on a student’s profile beyond the passion project, are only disclosed post-enrollment. Given their significant role, verifying their qualifications is crucial.

Furthermore, students are never guaranteed a direct answer to their specific case, as all support is done in group settings (either via a Q&A session or in a group forum). 

This, coupled with the complete lack of transparency regarding the coaching team leads to strong concerns about the consistency and effectiveness of Passion Prep’s program for the average student.

College is already expensive. College consultants shouldn’t be more expensive than they need to be. We want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth, and that your investment is translating into real improvements in your outcomes.

Passion Prep’s Passion Project Bootcamp price is around the industry average for the content and support given. However, the lack of credentials about the consultants give us pause on the actual value of the program.

College applications are already stressful enough. So any admissions service should be thoughtfully designed and easy to use. We consider factors such as customer support responsiveness, accountability, time commitment, and scheduling constraints.

Passion Prep can be reached via their website’s contact form.

Once enrolled, students do not have direct access to consultants for inquiries. Instead, they can have their questions addressed during the monthly Q&A sessions or by posting on a group forum with other students. The effectiveness of this approach varies based on the student’s learning style. Those who gain insights from hearing others’ issues might find this setup advantageous. However, students who prefer direct, personalized feedback on their profiles might find this approach frustrating.

Passion Prep does not offer a refund policy for their program.

College admissions is a complex process, with many moving parts. And with the stakes so high, mediocre consultants simply won’t cut it. You really want to find the “best,” but it can be hard to differentiate one firm from another. In this section, we take a look at what makes this service stand out, for better or worse.

While Passion Prep has a lot of uncertainty around the quality of their consultants, we do like that Passion Prep breaks away from the traditional consulting service by providing a program that is a mixture of self guided courses and support from consultants. This approach is particularly beneficial for those who are self-motivated and prefer a more independent style of learning.

Passion Prep also provides free content (via Julie’s podcast and TikTok) around the stress management aspect of college admissions, which may be helpful for parents and students.