Christopher Rim, 29, is the CEO of Command Education, a college consulting firm that has assisted hundreds of students from wealthy families in gaining admission to prestigious Ivy League universities. His company provides round-the-clock support for students, starting as young as 12, offering services from test preparation to crafting unique application materials designed to attract the attention of admissions officers.
Rim claims that Command Education boasts a 94% success rate over the past five years. However, this success rate only includes students who followed the company’s advice. Notably, his high-profile clients include billionaires, top Instagram influencers, the CEO of Europe’s largest bank, and even a sitting president.
While most of Command Education’s students are based in New York, the firm also serves clients from elite international schools, particularly those from prestigious British institutions such as Harrow, Eton, and Radley. Although the company has assisted students in gaining admission to Oxford and Cambridge, the majority ultimately opt for top U.S. universities.
“We work with many influential families in the UK,” Rim stated.
Command Education has achieved significant financial success, with an annual revenue exceeding $20 million. Rim himself lives in luxury, owning a $7.5 million mansion in Miami and a $2.3 million condominium in Manhattan. Through his consultancy, he has become a key figure for wealthy families looking to secure spots for their children at elite universities.
Tapping Into the Growing Education Consulting Market
Rim’s business success is a result of his ability to capitalize on the expanding market for private educational consultants, which has seen rapid growth over the past decade. According to marketing firm IBISWorld, the independent education consulting industry is now valued at $3 billion.
His clients are extremely dedicated to their children’s educational futures. Some go so far as to cancel business meetings to join conference calls with Rim’s team. In one instance, a father in Manhattan offered Rim $1.5 million to ensure no other students in his child’s class could use his services—a request Rim turned down.
This level of commitment from families may be justified, given the increasing competition for spots at top universities. The Wall Street Journal notes that the number of applicants to Ivy League schools has surged fivefold over the past 30 years, while the size of Ivy League enrollment has increased only slightly. As a result, acceptance rates at schools like Harvard and Yale have dropped to under 5%, down from around 20% two generations ago.
Such competition has led to the rise in demand for services like Rim’s. An annual survey from Harvard’s student newspaper found that 23% of freshmen entering in fall 2023 used a private admissions consultant, up from 13% in 2017. For families earning over $500,000, that number jumps to nearly 48%.
Since founding Command Education, Rim has seen his client base grow from just 40 students in its early years to 220 students this year. “Demand is really growing, and our business is doing really well, so I’m really happy about that,” Rim said.
A Rocky Start
Despite his current success, Rim faced significant challenges early in his career. He recalled trying to buy advertising space for his tutoring business at the age of 13, only to be dismissed by a local marketing firm that assumed he was making a prank call.
“As soon as they heard I sounded young, they told me not to make prank calls and hung up,” Rim said in a 2018 interview with the South China Morning Post. “Even now, there are still people who underestimate me because of my age, but I never let that stop me.”
Rim went on to attend Yale University, where he provided essay writing tutoring for $50 an hour and helped fellow students gain admission to prestigious schools like Stanford and MIT. After graduating in 2017, he decided to focus on his business full-time.
Initially charging $75 an hour for consulting, Rim was advised by a billionaire client to raise his fees to enhance his credibility. He followed this advice, increasing his rate to $1,500 per hour.
Today, parents pay Command Education $120,000 per year for services, or $750,000 for a full package that covers everything from seventh grade through college. This package includes unlimited SAT and ACT test preparation.
Reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey, Rim advises, “I think the most important quality of a successful entrepreneur is perseverance and never taking ‘no’ for an answer.”
