Not just a consultant —
someone who's been there.
Authent Ed was built by someone who found his own path the hard way, and now helps students find theirs before they have to.
Haech Seong — My story & why I do this
I grew up across three countries — India, Poland, and South Korea — before coming to the US for college. By the time I graduated from KIS Pangyo in 2015, one of Korea's largest international schools, I had already spent years teaching classmates through subjects they found difficult. What started as volunteer tutoring in middle school had turned into something I genuinely loved: figuring out how someone else thinks, and helping them find their way through.
At St. Lawrence University I followed the pre-med track — Dean's List, Magna Cum Laude, immunology research at UVA. On paper, I had a plan. Then I worked for a year and a half, came back to Korea for military service, and somewhere in that stretch the certainty quietly dissolved. I realized that medicine had been a destination I'd inherited, not one I'd arrived at by genuinely asking who I was or what I wanted to build. That pivot changed everything about how I now work with students.
Back in Korea, I kept teaching — AP and IB Math, Biology, and Chemistry — while building a more deliberate consulting practice. The pattern I kept seeing, especially in international school environments, was students chasing school names their parents approved of, without ever stopping to explore what they actually cared about. In Korea, prestige in college is often treated as the finish line. But the world is shifting. Individual proof of value is becoming more important than institutional pedigree, and students who spend four years coasting on a brand name risk graduating without having built anything real.
That's the problem Authent Ed exists to address — not just for the college application, but well before it. I work one-on-one, closely, over time. Not as a task manager, but as someone students can think out loud with. I'm working toward a formal counseling certification because I believe that's the right frame for this: not just admissions strategy, but genuine mentorship at one of the most formative points in a young person's life.
Our approach
Data-Driven College Matching
We use a proprietary matching engine built on real admissions data to identify your reach, match, and likely schools — calibrated to your GPA, test scores, and personal preferences. No guesswork. No gut feel.
Long-Term Planning from 9th Grade
We help students build a 4-year high school plan that positions them well for their target schools, including course selection, AP/IB strategy, and summer activity planning. The earlier we start, the more options you have.
Self-Discovery & Authentic Storytelling
Great college essays aren't written — they're uncovered. We guide students through a structured self-discovery process that surfaces their genuine story, then help them tell it in a way admissions committees remember.
Application Excellence
From essay brainstorming to interview prep, we support students through every application component — while keeping the voice and story authentically theirs.
What Makes Authent Ed Different
- Consultant is a TCK — lived the international school experience firsthand
- 10+ years teaching AP & IB Math, Biology, and Chemistry
- Proprietary college matching engine built on real admissions data
- Structured self-discovery process, not just essay editing
- Support starting as early as 9th grade
- Dedicated student portal — every client, every session
- Small roster — you work directly with Haech, always
Ready to get started?
Let's have an honest conversation about where you are and where you want to go.
Book a Free Consultation