About US
When our founder, Conor Slattery, was applying to study in the USA, he found it incredibly difficult to find admissions advice relevant to his experience as an Irish student. After his success in the 2021 application cycle, he wanted to ensure that the barriers that he faced while applying could be removed for any other Irish students who had dreams beyond the CAO. This led to the creation of Ambitions Abroad.
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Conor, supported by a small admin team, works with exceptional Irish students, anywhere from 2nd Year onwards, who are looking to study in the United States of America at schools like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, etc. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that every student working with us reaches their full potential as an applicant to these universities. This includes:
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developing world-class academic and extra-curricular profiles in line with their interests,
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helping students achieve outstanding SAT and other standardized test scores,
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developing students' writing skills into the unique style necessary for US applications,
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preparing them for the unfamiliar interview format used in America,
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ensuring that the narrative underlying the applications are managed and positioned in a way that gives each student the best possible opportunity to gain that coveted acceptance,
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and more.
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Getting the student accepted isn't the sole priority for Ambitions Abroad, we want to make sure that each student's application is an accurate reflection of who they are, their interests, their achievements, and their genuine development, not a reiteration of a pre-determined formula.
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We also understand the financial challenges that accompany this process. Therefore, our prices (both pay-as-you-go and package deals) are significantly lower than their American equivalents. Furthermore, we also promise to be honest in our assessment of the services a student requires, never recommending anything the student won't genuinely benefit from, and immediately making it clear to both the student and their families if at any stage during the process, we recognise that a service is becoming obsolete and could be ended or exchanged for another program.
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Conor
Conor Slattery
Founder & Lead Advisor
Conor applied to the USA as part of the 2020/21 Regular Decision round in January 2021. A few months later, decisions began to trickle in. By mid-April, he held offers from all three of the most selective colleges in the world, Stanford, Harvard, and Columbia, in addition to acceptances from many other top schools, both public and private.
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While the reward most certainly justified his efforts, he had found the process incredibly difficult to navigate, as much of the advice online and from advisors was not applicable to Irish students. If this wasn't challenging enough, the style of writing required for US college applications drew shocking contrasts with the style he was accustomed to from the Leaving Cycle and took immense amount of works to master.
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Discovering he had been the only Irish student admitted to either Harvard or Stanford as part of the 2020/21 admissions cycle, he decided to establish Ambitions Abroad so he could use his expertise to help other exceptional Irish students experience similar success as they looked to the United States to study.
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Conor is currently our only advisor as he wants to ensure that every student receives only the highest standard of advising, however, this may change in the future as Conor interacts with previous successful Irish applicants who study in Stanford and other top institutions.