Crimson College

[Manuela]

When I chose Harvard, I knew that I would not be getting the traditional college experience I had always envisioned. I assumed that I might not have nearly as much of the classic college fun as my family and friends would at their state schools. I accepted this because I knew that the opportunities that would be afforded to me at Harvard would exceed anything any other school could offer me.

There are a number of underlying factors that contribute to these pressures, and many are not specific to Harvard. I am not suggesting that we can make all of our stress suddenly disappear by throwing caution to the wind on Friday and Saturday nights.

As he tells it, Jamie Beaton found his way to Harvard after applying to 25 universities in the U.S. and U.K. But the New Zealander says he had no guidance on how to get into an elite college, and he had to find that path himself.

Beaton touts his company, Crimson Education, as a booming success. The company says it has raised $20 million from investors, has grown in value to $260 million and employs thousands of tutors to help its international clientele and U.S. students as well.

Crimson Education defends its use of college-age tutors, saying their recent admissions experience makes them more relatable mentors. The company insists its methods mean students are more likely than the general population to get into selective institutions.

Crimson officials said the company has "educational strategists" on staff who have stronger backgrounds in education to support tutors. And company officials downplayed the lack of staffed offices, saying many clients prefer to contact Crimson online. The company has locations in Auckland, Shanghai, and other locations with more staff on site.

The unregulated world of college counseling services has come under increased scrutiny, particularly in the wake of a celebrity-fueled college admissions bribery scandal driven by Rick Singer, the mastermind of Varsity Blues. Singer and others working with him doctored student records, paid off college coaches and arranged for clients to cheat the ACTs and SATs, according to federal authorities who have prosecuted him, celebrity clients and others. He now awaits sentencing for fraud, while parents and others caught in his crimes serve time in prison or are still facing their own charges.

The company said its "educational strategists" are full-time staff with more experience in the field. They help map out for the student which courses to take and where to apply. In all, Crimson says it has about 220 full-time staff members, with another 2,400 tutors and mentors.

Beaton has said the company uses an algorithm created by J. Galen Buckwalter, the man behind a similar tool used at eHarmony. Buckwalter declined to speak to USA TODAY and instead directed questions to Beaton.

Crimson started after Beaton had successfully completed a college application marathon, applying and receiving admittance to 25 selective universities, many of them American Ivy League colleges. He and co-founder Sharndr Kushor say they conceived the idea for the company as high schoolers, following a trip to a model United Nations conference in 2013.

Beaton secured funding from investors like Robertson, an American hedge fund giant best known for founding highly successful Tiger Management. Beaton worked with Robertson as a financial analyst while studying at Harvard.

Rapid growth has always been important to Beaton. In a 2016 profile, Beaton mentioned his desire to be like Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, who also attended (though later dropped out of) Harvard.

As it has grown, the company has become caught up in some legal entanglements. It fought with New Zealand media outlets to keep details of a business deal gone sour under wraps, a fight the company ultimately lost. And the company is being sued for "breach of contract" by the online education company Eurekly. Details from that suit are under seal.

Beaton and Kushor, though, deny the idea their tutors might be underprepared to offer the kind of advising that would cost $10,000 per student. They say their tutors are rigorously screened and receive ongoing training.

A former Crimson tutor who is a college undergraduate said the company would drive up the bill for its clients. (The ex-tutor asked not to be identified to avoid potential repercussions from Crimson.) The company would assign clients up to 20 sessions with an adviser, even though the tutor felt in many cases that much instruction was unnecessary.

Beaton denied that assertion. He said student success may require a lot of support, and the company is careful to "accurately assess" what a student needs. He also pushed back against the idea that Crimson was profit-motivated.

For instance, if he were applying to college in New Zealand, Singh said, he would have had to figure out his major before enrolling. In the U.S., most students are simply admitted to a college and then can choose any major. Crimson, he said, helped him to figure that out.

Singh echoes many of the sentiments of the students Crimson puts on camera for its public YouTube channel with 100,000-plus subscribers. In these short videos, the students praise Crimson broadly and say the company is responsible for their college admittance.

The company also says its students have an acceptance rate near 100%. Scott said Crimson considers it a success if a student gets into at least one of eight or nine universities they have applied to.

Others in the college advisement business have more stringent standards. Collegewise and Top Tier Admissions, two national advisement companies, base their success rate on whether the students get into one of their top three universities.

Until USA TODAY began its inquiries, Crimson Education claimed it was part of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the International Association for College Admission Counseling. They're trade groups made up of college consultants and university admissions officers.

Membership among these groups can signal a minimum amount of training and adherence to certain ethical standards. They can be a way to tell parents a consultant knows what they're doing and is familiar with the world of higher education. Because anyone can technically call themselves a college consultant, membership in one of the organizations can signal legitimacy.

Crimson had said it was a "proud member" of both groups, but didn't give any indication if that meant all its tutors met the trade group's requirements. The company has since said only two members of their company were part of the IACAC, and one had been part of NACAC for 22 years.

Good luck trying to reach Crimson over the phone. Depending on the country, callers might never make it through to a living person. Multiple calls to the line associated with the United States were not returned. In Johannesburg, the phone rang endlessly. Repeated calls to the number listed for the Edinburgh, London and Zurich offices produced a busy signal.

Correction: A previous version of this story gave incorrect information about one of Crimson's tutors. The tutor in question, whom the company declined to name, graduated from Princeton University and is getting a law degree at Yale. The story also included an incorrect number for the Ivy Leagues. There are eight Ivy League schools.

Each Friday, our staff and interns will walk around campus to search for students with the most school sprit. If we catch you wearing crimson or wearing Harvard College gear, we'll enter you in a raffle to win a prize! Post your photos on social media with the hashtag #CrimsonFriday

"We are taking action to make OU more affordable to Oklahomans and want students in the state to think of OU as their future college home. We are dedicated to keeping Oklahoma talent in our state, and Crimson Commitment helps us serve strong students who are in most need of financial assistance."

A student who is enrolled in OU's Crimson Commitment will not have to pay tuition and, combining outside and OU resources, average student fees for four years. Please check the OU Bursar website for exact course fees. The program is an upgrade and a replacement to the previous Sooner Promise program.

The program also offers academic and personal support, which comes in the form of peer mentoring and ongoing programming focusing on the transition to college, success on campus, and the college-career pathway.

During their first year on campus, Crimson Commitment students will also attend monthly symposiums, where students will have the opportunity meet other participants and learn more about resources at the University of Oklahoma.

Create, complete, and submit your application. If you're eligible for Oklahoma's Promise, our OU application will automatically waive your fee when you click "submit." This means you can submit your application without paying the application fee.

An average student taking 15 credit hours in the Dodge Family College of Arts & Sciences typically has $4,680 in fees a semester. Here's a look at fees per credit hour associated with each college. For a complete list of all additional fees, visit ou.edu/bursar/tuition_fees. No matter which classes a student takes, combining outside and OU resources, a student enrolled in Crimson Commitment will have up to $9,360 per year to cover fees. Scholarships and grant money a student receives reduce this sum. Crimson Commitment only applies to OU specific courses.

OU offers flat-rate tuition, allowing students to pay for 15 hours of tuition each semester or 30 hours per year. Students can take up to 21 hours each semester and still receive flat-rate tuition. Crimson Commitment guarantees Oklahoma Promise students $9,360 each year to cover average fees. A student's fees may exceed average fees depending on the student's course of study and the number of hours taken. Refer to the list of college specific fees for more information.

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