About Benji

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I’ve seen students transform not because of a curriculum, but because someone believed in them. Progress starts when a young person feels seen and expected to rise. That’s why when offered the choice in the American school I worked at in Suzhou I chose to take the so-called problem class, with low scores and low expectations. I was able to transform their outcomes, helping all secure a place in global QS top 100 universities, and most importantly help them to believe in themselves after they had been written off. That is the rewarding part of this work.

A lot of agencies focus on rankings-ironically these are normally run by founders who lack a strong academic background themselves. I don’t believe in sales language or fake pressure. I believe in something slower and stronger: helping students build the habits and mindset they’ll need to get into, succeed at, and succeed after university. Admissions is a milestone. The real key to success is building a happy and successful life that you can be proud of. I think it is important that we see university as one step on a longer journey, not the destination itself. 

I don’t believe in chasing names blindly. And I don’t believe in “best fit” as an excuse for low ambition. The best outcome is when a student finds an elite university that matches their values, temperament and goals-a place where they can suceeed not just academically. I’ve been in rooms where I’ve felt like I’ve not belong, I’ve been able to adapt and to thrive at places outside of my natural comfort zone like Oxford, but when I’m helping students I’m most focused on putting them in the elite room that gives them the best chance to succeed.

For me the role of education is simple: it should teach students how to think, question, reflect and build something bigger than themselves. Memorizing information, being well read and understanding concepts is all useful, and impressive enough, but that is truly important is being able to use knowledge for something, to analyze, and to change-in that way knowledge always leads to character.

Test scores are useful, but they’re not identity. The way a student treats others, handles failure, or explores new ideas tells you far more about their future potential than a number ever could. I think it is important in the university admissions process that we don’t lose sight of this truth: you can’t buy a good personality, and years from now no one will remember your exam grades.

The best compliment I can receive is when a student no longer needs me. Whether it’s seeing someone like my co-founder in Lucky Bay, Zekai, move from a 23 TOEFL to an 85, or now watching him go from needing my daily support to running our Suzhou office independently-my goal is always the same: to help students stand on their own, and be proud of who they’ve become.