THE ADMISSIONS BRIEF What families who get in do differently. Download the brief →
Admissions mentorship · Washington, DC

Great applications aren’t written. They’re built, over four years.

Most families engage in senior fall, when the transcript is set and the story is fixed. Lovare Academy mentors your student from ninth grade forward, so every course, summer, and choice compounds toward the acceptance letter.

Book a private consultationSee our results
Founded by Ali Unar, a Georgetown JD and MSFS candidate who has guided families from Eton to Georgetown Prep for seven years.
Seven-year admit rates · ours vs national
CollegeNat’lLovare
Georgetown12%75%
Harvard3%47%
Yale4%48%
Princeton4%46%
Stanford4%39%
MIT5%51%
Columbia4%58%
All sixteen schools →
7
Years of results
75%
Georgetown admit rate
580+
Top-school offers
10x
The national Ivy rate
The platform

Atlas: your child’s four years, on one screen.

Every course, activity, test, and essay lives in a single plan, each step dated, assigned, and reviewed by your mentor, so you can see progress without chasing it.

01

Courses

The right classes, mapped across all four years toward the direction your child is aiming for.

02

Activities

A few real commitments, grown into genuine leadership, instead of a scattered list.

03

Testing

The SAT or ACT planned early, with time built in for a strategic retake.

04

Essays

Story work that begins the summer before senior year, never at the last minute.

See how Atlas worksExplore the programs
A question we hear often

“Our school already has a college counselor.”

What your school does

Your counselor knows the school, writes the official recommendation, and manages its relationship with admissions offices. That work matters, and nothing we do replaces it.

But at most independent and magnet schools in the DMV, one counselor carries hundreds of students, and the process begins in junior year. That is a structural limit, not a failure of the person.

What we add

We begin in ninth grade, carry a small number of families, and build the four years the recommendation will eventually describe: the course spine, the testing plan, the activities that become a story, and essays written at real depth.

We also answer only to you. We can tell you honestly where your child stands, and you never have to manage a relationship with us the way you must with the school.

We work alongside your counselor, never around them.

Ali Unar, Founder and Principal of Lovare Academy
ALI UNARFounder & Principal
From the founder

For seven years, families from Eton to Georgetown Prep have trusted me with the decision that shapes everything after it.

The families who do best do not work harder in senior fall. They start earlier and make every year count, on purpose. So I built Atlas to run all four years, and I read every file myself.

As a Georgetown JD and MSFS candidate, I sit close to how these institutions actually think. And I promise families the unglamorous thing: the truth about where their child stands, even when it is hard to hear.

Ali Unar
Founder & Principal · Lovare Academy
Ali Unar, Founder and Principal of Lovare Academy
Ali UnarFounder & Principal

Georgetown JD and MSFS candidate, founder of FAST, and Podcast Director at the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. Seven years of results, including a 75% Georgetown admit rate. He reads every file himself.

Brian H. Potts, Co-Founder and Head of Career Strategy
Brian H. PottsCo-Founder & Head of Career Strategy

UC Berkeley Law graduate, author of two books on hiring and career strategy, founder of the Legal Mentor Network, and a partner at Husch Blackwell. He makes sure the plan reaches past the acceptance letter.

Start where your child is

I have a child in

9th Grade

Set the course spine and start two activities that can go deep.

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10th Grade

Turn interest into commitment. First leadership, first real summer.

Explore →
11th Grade

The pivotal year. Testing, the list, and the narrative take shape.

Explore →
12th Grade

Execution. Essays, applications, and interviews through every deadline.

Explore →
Specialized paths

I need guidance with

Ivy League & Georgetown

Elite applications, from list strategy to early-round leverage.

BS/MD & Direct-Med

Combined medical programs, where the arc has to start early.

Private School Admissions

DMV independent schools, essays, and interview coaching.

Learning Differences

Right-fit colleges with real support, for diverse learners.

Athletic Recruiting

NCAA eligibility, profiles, and outreach to coaches.

Art, Film & Music

Portfolios and auditions for top creative programs.
The method

Admissions is a four-year argument. We build it deliberately.

i.
A four-year plan, not a scramble

A written roadmap, reviewed quarterly, in place of senior-year panic.

ii.
A clear story, not a checklist

A coherent arc beats a long list. Two threads, developed into a story only your child can tell.

iii.
Judgment you can verify

We run on data and reader-side experience, not rumor, even when the truth stings.

9
Foundation
Set the spine

Course rigor chosen with intent. Two activities begin that can go deep.

10
Depth
Commit

Interest becomes commitment. First leadership, first real summer.

11
Leverage
Position

Testing plan executed. Narrative and college list take shape.

12
Execution
Deliver

Essays, applications, interviews. A war room through every deadline.

Research

The only DMV practice running a randomized controlled trial.

Interviews, tests, and deadline seasons all tax one resource: working memory under stress. We study that mechanism formally, with Dr. Ian Lyons of Georgetown University’s Department of Psychology.

Inside the research
Dr. Ian M. Lyons, Associate Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University
Dr. Ian M. LyonsAssociate Professor of Psychology, Georgetown · PI, Math Brain Lab
Georgetown JD & MSFS candidateIRB research with Georgetown PsychologySeven years · 580+ top-school offers
Results

Seven years in, Georgetown is where our record speaks loudest.

A 75% Georgetown admit rate against roughly 12% nationally, and 580+ offers at the country’s top schools. Explore the full table, school by school.

See the full results
Programs

Three ways in. One standard.

Every engagement runs on Atlas, is led by senior mentors, and is capped so it stays that way.

THE FLAGSHIP
The Atlas Engagement
From ninth or tenth grade · the full four-year build
QuotedMulti-year, by invitation
·The complete four-year roadmap, run on Atlas
·Course, summer, and activity architecture from the start
·Anxiety and performance protocols from our research
·Career strategy, so the plan reaches past the acceptance letter
·Full application execution in senior year, included
Request a private consultation
The Two-Year Engagement
Junior through senior year
QuotedTwo admissions cycles
·Testing plan, list strategy, and the narrative arc
·Junior-year positioning before anything is written
·Essays, interviews, and every deadline in senior year
·Quarterly strategy reviews with parents
Request a private consultation
The Senior Intensive
Senior year · built for November 1
$16,000Single admissions cycle
·Gap audit of the four-year record
·Mentor-led essay lab at full depth
·Early action and early decision strategy
·Weekly execution cadence through submission
Check availability
The Diagnostic

A scoped, multi-session assessment of where your child actually stands, what the next eighteen months should hold, and whether we are the right fit. Credited in full toward any engagement begun within thirty days.

$3,500
Begin here

Engagements begin at $16,000. Multi-year engagements are scoped to each family’s starting grade and goals, and are quoted privately after a consultation.

Begin

The record is being written either way. Write it on purpose.

A thirty-minute private consultation. We will give you an honest read on where your child stands, what the next eighteen months should hold, and whether we are the right fit.

Book a private consultation