We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nived Ravikumar. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nived below.
Nived, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I claimed the domain StatementGuru.com nearly 15 years ago. I barely knew anything about writing admissions essays back then, let alone be any type of personal statement guru. But the domain was available, and it was catchy. There was certainly a feeling of imposter syndrome as I tried to convince college applicants to hire me.
The most obvious way to overcome imposter syndrome is by creating a track record of success, of course. But that’s kind of a catch-22. You need the track record to get business, but to get business, you need a track record. To get past that, for me, it came down to two things.
The first is what you might call a founding principle, why was I even motivated to get into the admissions essay business in the first place? I had discovered that my years spent studying storytelling (filmmaking, screenwriting) translated beautifully to the realm of admissions essays. So, whenever I wasn’t sure about how to proceed in a particular circumstance, I found clarity in drawing upon time-honored storytelling principles. Another way to think of it: when you’re venturing out of your comfort zone, bring things that give you comfort along with you.
The second thing involves adopting a learning mindset. Being Statement Guru implies that I’m a teacher and the client is a student. While that might technically be true, it suggests a binary, zero sum type of dynamic. I believe that every interaction I have is, to paraphrase Aetio, an opportunity to learn and ultimately improve. This paradigm change goes a long way in terms of feeling less like you’re an imposter and more like you’re an apprentice.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m an admissions essay consultant who works with applicants to college and graduate schools, helping them craft exceptional personal statements, statements of purpose, supplemental essays, resumes, etc.
What makes me so effective is my ability to help each applicant put together memorable, interesting documents that still retain their unique voice. While many schools are making things like SAT scores optional, personal statement requirements remain. Not only that, the competition to get into top schools keeps getting fiercer, which puts additional scrutiny on these essays. Ironically, applicants, both for college and graduate school, are generally not experienced in the type of writing that is the most effective when it comes to admissions essays. So, they are starting out at a disadvantage.
Having the Statement Guru in their corner is a game-changer. I bring years of experience and a natural talent for writing while preserving each client’s authentic thoughts and voice. When working with me, there’s no staff, no junior gurus. It’s 100% me the whole time; I’m there with you for the long haul. In addition to admissions essays, I’ve worked on all sorts of other kinds of letters, documents, essays, and speeches. Need help on something you’re putting together? Get in touch with me, let’s see if there’s a way I can help take you to where you want to go!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Taking risks – starting any kind of business involves risk. Anything worth doing is time-consuming, mentally draining, and often, financially taxing (fortunately, Statement Guru has always had low overhead and expenses). Ultimately, there’s no real guarantee that your endeavor will work out. Not everyone is cut out for the risk-loving entrepreneur lifestyle, but those who are simply can’t imagine doing things any other way. But be smart about it, save up beforehand, establish a support system. Learn to minimize risk while still embracing it.
Conversation – I like having actual conversations with people, especially in real life. Nowadays, mobile phones and computers are so ubiquitous that the art of face-to-face conversations seems to be getting lost. I work with applicants from a wide range of ages, so I notice how on the younger end of the spectrum, the conversations tend to flow less easily. A lot of my job involves being a good conversationalist. Having someone new contact me and then meeting them in person a day or two later is normal for me. I have to flourish in these moments to get the insights I need for my work from someone who is essentially a stranger at that point, and being a great conversationalist is key to that.
Curiosity – I’m a naturally curious person and often find myself down new rabbit-holes. Although I might not be a certified expert in a bunch of areas, especially in the sciences, by at least trying to make sense of articles I might stumble across and trying to learn more in both inside and outside of my areas of expertise, I am so much better at being Statement Guru. Working not just on undergraduate admissions essays, but graduate school, law, medicine, engineering, Ph.D.s, you name it wouldn’t be possible without at least some rudimentary understanding of many different fields. While I didn’t necessarily plan for things to play out this why, my inquisitive mind has been preparing me for the wide range of subject areas I encounter regularly as Statement Guru my entire life.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
The admissions game is very seasonal. A lot of deadlines are clumped together at the very end/very beginning of the year. Medical school admissions has its own admissions season starting early summer. As a result of the cyclical nature of admissions, at some times of the year, I’m getting inundated with inquiries. At other times of the year, inquiries are barely trickling in. As much as I would like a more consistent year-round schedule, colleges are probably not going to stagger their deadlines for my sake, so I’ve had to find other solutions. For example, I offer off-season discounts for applicants who want to get an early start on their applications. To maintain a better work-life balance during the busy season, I sometimes have to turn away potential clients. I have also cultivated other revenue streams, most notably, I host two Airbnbs. It’s nice having a year-round gig like that to stay occupied, but eventually, it always comes back to the essays.
Contact Info:
- Website: statementguru.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/statementguru
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/statementguru/
- Twitter: twitter.com/statementguru
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/statement-guru-santa-monica-4
Image Credits
main: Michael Modecki second: Julian Klein third: Ariel Oye fourth: AI generated fifth: Michael Modecki
