Preface
CheersYou（清柚教育） has been rooted in North America for 8 years, with a 99% application success rate and overwhelmingly positive student feedback. One of CheersYou（清柚教育）’s standout features—essay coaching—is especially well received. Lisa will take you behind the scenes to explore the stories behind these essays. Today’s interview features Luke Huang, a star mentor on the CheersYou（清柚教育） essay team.
Success Stories of CheersYou（清柚教育） Mentor Luke
Students admitted to Stanford University, Harvard University, Yale University, Cornell University, the University of Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, New York University, Washington University in St. Louis, and more
Interview with CheersYou（清柚教育）
Q: Hello, Mentor Luke, could you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello, Lisa! I’m Luke. I came to the U.S. to study from high school, earned CFA and FRM certifications during undergrad and graduate studies, and scored 750 on the GMAT. In 2018, I graduated from the Yale School of Management MBA program.
I previously worked in EY’s New York office for three years and am currently at a major Wall Street investment bank. Since I came to the U.S. fairly early and explored the North American education system on my own, I also have six years of experience in the education sector.
Q: You’ve been part of the CheersYou（清柚教育） family for five years. Could you share how you connected with CheersYou（清柚教育）?
Five years ago, while working, one of my interns was a CheersYou（清柚教育） student. What left a strong impression on me back then was that the student got into an Ivy League school during the application process. That’s how I learned about this North America-based educational consulting organization.
As I explored further, I discovered that many CheersYou（清柚教育） students have overseas backgrounds, and I myself have over 18 years of overseas experience. I hoped to leverage my strengths and help students on a high-standard platform.
Q: With so many organizations in the education space, why did you choose CheersYou（清柚教育）?
My choice of CheersYou（清柚教育） was based on multiple considerations and screening:
1) After years of working in North America, I’ve noticed that many students around me came from CheersYou（清柚教育） and spoke very highly of it, which sparked my curiosity.
2) After a few interactions with the founders of CheersYou（清柚教育）, I found the core team very solid and willing to speak the truth, which I personally admire in a founding team.
3) As an investment banking professional, rigor and high-quality output are always my standards. I felt that CheersYou（清柚教育）’s overall quality control was on par with the investment banking industry. I was amazed that an education company has its own CRM system—making communication efficient, convenient, and precisely optimized.
4) The investment in education technology at CheersYou（清柚教育） was the most impressive among the organizations I screened. A dedicated IT team, a self-developed interview system, and a proprietary information system are all unique features of CheersYou（清柚教育）.
5) Although we are all already professionals, after joining the company we still receive targeted training, and the demand for originality is extremely high. This made me feel that choosing CheersYou（清柚教育） was the right and serious decision.
Q: Can you tell us more specifically about your experience working at CheersYou（清柚教育）?
After joining CheersYou（清柚教育）, my biggest feeling is the company’s dedication to educational values and its responsible attitude toward students.
For example: CheersYou（清柚教育） independently developed its admissions application system, achieving true information transparency and making mentor-student communication more efficient. And its original essay theories have become benchmarks across the education industry—like the Comprehensive Ability Radar Chart, the Narrative Methodology, and the essay mentor matching mechanism. These are all CheersYou（清柚教育） exclusive products.
Finally, I really appreciate the professionalism at CheersYou（清柚教育）. My essay-writing colleagues are excellent professionals from various industries. Working together to support students’ applications gives us a strong sense of pride.
Q: Everyone knows investment banking is demanding—why join CheersYou（清柚教育） as well? How do you balance your time?
After working in North America for many years, I actually missed the education system quite a bit. Interacting with students and communicating more gives me a sense of accomplishment.
I also hope to use my experience to help younger students. Chinese people in North America can support each other, and I want to do my best to help them avoid detours and become even better.
As for balancing time, I believe both I and the other CheersYou（清柚教育） mentors manage it very well. With our sense of responsibility toward students and our dedication to work, we are more than willing to commit our time.
Q: When coaching students on their essays, do you have a unique approach? Looking at CheersYou（清柚教育）’s past results, the admission rate to Ivy League and Top 20 schools is extremely high—can you share some insights?
The two most important parts of a study abroad application are school selection/positioning and essay coaching.
First, CheersYou（清柚教育）’s school selection and positioning mentor team is composed of former North American admissions officers, and I believe they are extremely professional.
Second, the essay mentor team at CheersYou（清柚教育） develops its own original essay concepts and theories (e.g., the Six-Segment PS Structure, the Rare Narrative Methodology), rather than using formulaic templates. We focus on innovation and customization, while deeply exploring each student’s strengths in line with the preferences of each school.
Every mentor carefully weighs every word and phrase, refining and polishing repeatedly until we craft an essay that admissions officers praise.
Not overlooking any detail, and revealing strengths from simplicity to depth, is my way of helping students get into top universities. And my years of professional experience also allow me to combine career development with the chosen major, aligning perfectly with North American admissions logic.
Q: When coaching students on their essays, have you encountered difficult situations? How did you resolve them?
Over five years of essay coaching, I’ve dealt with all kinds of challenges. For instance, many students start preparing late, just before the deadline, which puts a lot of pressure on mentors. Or some students are applying across disciplines, so I need to be more patient and prepare PowerPoints to provide information.
A common challenge is that business school applicants often have their own ideas, but from a professional mentor’s perspective, we need to balance student preferences with school requirements while keeping the end result in mind. Better communication with students is always the best solution.
Q: In your opinion, what are the differences and advantages of CheersYou（清柚教育）’s essay team compared to others?
First, I think the biggest difference is the mentor composition. CheersYou（清柚教育） uses a combination of full-time staff and working professionals.
On one hand, there are full-time essay mentors who develop essay theories, research the latest essay styles, and even correct word-for-word.
On the other hand, there are professional mentors from the workplace who dig into each student’s unique strengths and achieve extreme customization.
By combining both, I think CheersYou（清柚教育） brings together the best resources from various industries to do more professional work.
And the advantages are what everyone already knows: more professional, more authentic, and more customized. We go into detail on writing style, wording, and key expression, refining every element to the utmost and pursuing continuous improvement.
Conclusion
Currently, CheersYou（清柚教育） has over 300 exclusive partner essay mentors and more than 30 native English-speaking essay mentors.
Mentors cover a wide range of disciplines, with over 30% holding advanced degrees from Ivy League schools (including Master’s, PhD, MBA), and over 70% from Top 15 prestigious universities. They also come from diverse industries, with nearly 50% working at top U.S. companies or large enterprises for over 5 years, spanning finance, computer science, biology, engineering, data analytics, and more.
Choose CheersYou（清柚教育）, choose excellence, choose the future!
