Shemmassian Academic Consulting

What Shemmassian Academic Consulting does

Shemmassian Academic Consulting is a privately held US-based educational consulting firm founded in 2005 by Dr. Shirag Shemmassian, specializing in admissions consulting for elite college and medical school applicants. The firm operates as a people-driven service business with no core technology platform, delivering all offerings through a Squarespace-hosted website and a founder-led team of admissions experts. Legal entity SAC Educational Services, LLC is domiciled in Delaware (formerly a California corporation) and headquartered in San Diego, California, with 1–10 employees.

The business runs a dual-revenue model combining high-touch professional services with subscription content products. 1:1 services include Medical School Admissions Consulting, College Admissions Consulting, MCAT Tutoring, Residency Admissions Consulting, and the Shemmassian Signature program, sold through a sales-led motion featuring a complimentary consultation. Recurring revenue streams include subscription access to proprietary content libraries: the MCAT Question Bank (4,000+ questions), Medical School Personal Statement Premium Example Hub (220+ essays), Medical School Secondary Essay Premium Example Hub (1,600+ essays), Common App Essay Premium Example Library ($49/week or $169/month), Casper Video Course, Med School Interview Question Bank (230+ sample responses), and College/BS-MD Supplemental Essay Examples (235+ essays), among others. Free resources — a 102-page medical school admissions guide and a 110-page college admissions guide — serve as lead magnets. The firm reports claimed outcomes of over 90% acceptance rates to at least one medical school on first application and over 90% acceptance to at least one top-3 school for college clients.

Go-to-market is anchored on content marketing, organic SEO, and earned media. The firm has been featured in The Washington Post, NBC, New York Post, Business Insider, U.S. News & World Report, and The Harvard Crimson, with speaking engagements at Stanford, Yale, UCLA, Berkeley, and Northwestern. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through the company website, with primary geographic focus on the United States and terms-of-service language permitting international access at the user's risk.

Name

Shemmassian Academic Consulting

Legal name

SAC Educational Services, LLC

Website

https://shemmassianconsulting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Shemmassian Academic Consulting is a US-based admissions consulting firm founded in 2005 by Dr. Shirag Shemmassian, offering 1:1 college, medical school, residency, and MCAT tutoring services alongside subscription-based premium content libraries for high school and pre-med applicants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational / Admissions Consulting

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Graduate & Professional School Preparation (EDALABAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Scholarship, Financial Aid & FAFSA Support Platforms (EDAFAMAF)

Keywords

• Medical school admissions consulting
• College admissions consulting
• MCAT test preparation
• Application essay coaching
• Residency admissions consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. 1:1 Admissions Consulting: Premium personalized consulting for medical school and college admissions, including Medical School Admissions Consulting, MCAT Tutoring, Residency Admissions Consulting, and College Admissions Consulting. These are high-touch, high-priced services sold directly to individual students and families.
2. Premium Digital Content Subscriptions: Subscription access to premium content libraries including MCAT Question Bank (4,000+ questions), Med School Interview Video Course, Casper Video Course, Medical School Personal Statement Premium Example Hub (220+ essays), and the Common App Essay Premium Example Library. Subscriptions renew monthly until canceled. Pricing examples include $49/month and $169/month for the Common App Essay library.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Shemmassian Academic Consulting provides one-on-one admissions consulting services for medical school, college, MCAT preparation, and residency applications, alongside a portfolio of premium subscription content products (MCAT question banks, essay example libraries, and interview preparation video courses). The firm serves individual students and families on a direct-to-consumer basis, converting prospects via free educational guides and a complimentary consultation into either high-touch consulting engagements or recurring monthly content subscriptions.

Product overview

Shemmassian Academic Consulting operates as a dual-service educational consulting firm with two distinct offerings: (1) premium 1:1 admissions consulting services for medical school, college, residency, and MCAT tutoring, and (2) a subscription-based premium content library. The 1:1 services include Medical School Admissions Consulting, College Admissions Consulting, MCAT Tutoring, Residency Admissions Consulting, and the Shemmassian Signature program. The premium content suite comprises multiple subscription products including the MCAT Question Bank (4,000+ questions), MCAT Video Course, Medical School Personal Statement Premium Example Hub (220+ essays), AMCAS Work and Activities Section Premium Example Hub, Casper Video Course (4 practice exams), Medical School Secondary Essay Premium Example Hub (1,600+ essays), Medical School Interview Premium Question Bank (230+ responses), Med School Interview Video Course (230+ responses), Medical School Update Letter Premium Example Hub, Common App Essay Premium Example Library ($49/week or $169/month), College (BS/MD) Supplemental Essay Examples (235+ essays), UC Personal Insight Questions Premium Example Hub, Medical Residency Personal Statement Premium Examples, Medical School MD-PhD Essay Premium Example Hub, Secondary Application Video Course, BS-MD Essay Premium Example Library, and MCAT Premium Content Guides. Free resources include the 102-page medical school admissions guide, 110-page college admissions guide, and MCAT Question of the Day. The company has been featured in major publications including The Washington Post, NBC, New York Post, Business Insider, and U.S. News & World Report.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Medical School Admissions Consulting One-on-one personalized consulting guiding applicants through the entire U.S. medical school admissions cycle, including AMCAS application strategy, personal statement development, secondary essays, school selection, and interview preparation. Targets pre-med students applying to U.S. medical schools.
• College Admissions Consulting One-on-one personalized consulting for high school students applying to selective U.S. colleges, covering Common App essays, supplemental essays, activities sections, school selection, and overall application strategy.
• MCAT Tutoring Personalized one-on-one tutoring designed to help pre-med students prepare for and achieve high scores on the MCAT exam.
• Residency Admissions Consulting One-on-one consulting for medical graduates applying to U.S. residency programs, including personal statement development and broader application strategy.
• Shemmassian Signature Flagship comprehensive admissions consulting program delivered by the firm's senior team, providing an end-to-end admissions experience for elite college and medical school applicants.
• MCAT Question Bank (4,000+ Questions) Subscription-based premium question bank containing 4,000+ MCAT practice questions for pre-med students preparing for the exam. Auto-renews monthly until canceled.
• MCAT Video Course Video-based MCAT preparation course for pre-med students covering the content and strategies needed to master the exam. Enrollment currently closed.
• Medical School Personal Statement Premium Example Hub Subscription-based premium library providing 220+ medical school personal statement examples with expert analysis and breakdowns, for pre-med applicants drafting their AMCAS personal statement.
• AMCAS Work and Activities Section Premium Example Hub Subscription-based premium example hub providing guidance and sample entries for the AMCAS Work and Activities section of the medical school application.
• Casper Video Course Video-based Casper test prep course including four full practice exams, designed for medical school applicants required to take the Casper assessment.
• Medical School Secondary Essay Premium Example Hub Subscription-based premium library providing 1,600+ medical school secondary essay examples with comprehensive analyses for pre-med applicants completing school-specific secondary applications.
• Medical School Interview Premium Question Bank Subscription-based premium question bank containing 230+ sample responses for common and MMI medical school interview questions.
• Med School Interview Video Course Video-based course featuring 230+ sample medical school interview responses with strategy breakdowns, aimed at pre-med applicants preparing for interviews.
• Medical School Update Letter Premium Example Hub Subscription-based premium content hub providing examples of update letters that medical school applicants can send to schools during the application cycle.
• Common App Essay Premium Example Library Subscription-based premium library providing Common Application personal statement examples with comprehensive analyses, priced at $49/week or $169/month, auto-renewing until canceled. Targets high school students applying to selective U.S. colleges.
• College (BS/MD) Supplemental Essay Examples Subscription-based premium collection of 235+ college and BS/MD combined-degree program supplemental essay examples for high school applicants.
• UC Personal Insight Questions Premium Example Hub Subscription-based premium content hub providing example essays and analyses for the University of California personal insight questions, for college applicants to the UC system.
• Medical Residency Personal Statement Premium Examples Subscription-based premium example library for medical graduates drafting residency personal statements.
• Medical School MD-PhD Essay Premium Example Hub Subscription-based premium example hub providing MD-PhD application essay examples for applicants to combined MD-PhD medical scientist training programs.
• Secondary Application Video Course Video-based course on writing medical school secondary applications, currently listed with enrollment closed.
• BS-MD Essay Premium Example Library Subscription-based premium essay library providing examples for high school applicants to combined BS/MD degree programs.
• MCAT Premium Content Guides Subscription-based premium study guides and reference content for MCAT preparation, covering the content areas tested on the exam.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 90% of students get into at least one medical school on their first application
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Crimson Education: Global admissions consulting firm profiled alongside Shemmassian in the New York Post 'Ivy Whisperers' feature. Offers 1:1 consulting across college, medical school, and graduate admissions with a much larger global footprint.
• IvyWise: Established admissions consulting firm also named in the New York Post 'Ivy Whisperers' feature. Provides college, graduate, and medical school admissions counseling directly comparable to Shemmassian's offerings.
• Command Education: Elite college and graduate admissions consulting firm co-featured with Shemmassian in national media. Directly competes for affluent families seeking high-touch admissions strategy support.
• Empowerly: College and graduate admissions consulting company profiled alongside Shemmassian in the New York Post feature. Offers similar 1:1 admissions coaching and essay guidance to the same target segment.
• Top Tier Admissions: Boutique admissions consulting firm named alongside Shemmassian in the New York Post feature. Provides personalized college, medical school, and graduate admissions counseling directly comparable to Shemmassian's 1:1 service.
• PrepScholar: Test prep and admissions platform combining online content with personalized tutoring. Overlaps with Shemmassian's MCAT prep and admissions consulting offerings, especially on the self-serve subscription side.
• Magoosh: Online test prep subscription company with strong content-driven product similar to Shemmassian's premium MCAT question bank and video courses. Targets a comparable self-serve student segment.

Broad incumbents

• The Princeton Review: Large incumbent in test prep and admissions with broad course catalogs and tutoring services. Competes with Shemmassian's MCAT prep and college admissions consulting as part of a much wider portfolio.
• Kaplan: Major test prep and admissions services company with MCAT, college, and graduate offerings. Serves as a scaled incumbent competitor to Shemmassian's premium MCAT tutoring and admissions consulting.

Others

• College Confidential: Large online admissions community and resource hub. Functions more as an enabling community than a direct competitor, but its free content and forum overlap with Shemmassian's free guides and blog as a top-of-funnel resource.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shemmassian Academic Consulting