Meet Your Admissions Committee
The Ivy Centre was built on the belief that students benefit from multiple perspectives. Much like the college admissions process itself, our approach brings together distinct areas of expertise to understand each student and their application as a whole.
In addition to over a decade of college admissions expertise, our committee includes a former BCG consultant who brings a strategic eye to identifying a student's strengths and positioning their application; a psychologist who facilitates deeper reflection and helps students articulate who they are; and a surgeon who offers particular insight into the pre-med journey alongside a longstanding passion for creative writing.
Together, we help students understand what sets them apart and shape it into a coherent application strategy.
Lara David
Founder & Counselor
Lara is the founder and a counselor at the Ivy Centre, bringing more than a decade of experience in college admissions and advising students through every stage of the application process. Her admissions expertise is complemented by her background in management consulting at Boston Consulting Group, where she developed a deep understanding of strategy and positioning, which she translates into thoughtful academic and extracurricular choices that align with the student and their ideal university.
Marah Selim
Co-Founder & Counselor
Marah is a co-founder and counselor at the Ivy Centre. She values bringing a psychologically informed approach to understanding students and supporting them through the reflective work inherent to the college admissions decision process. Alongside this work, Marah has trained as a psychotherapist for the past five years and teaches Human Development at the University of Miami. She brings this developmental lens into her admissions counseling work as she supports an understanding of how students form interests, manage anxiety and perfectionism, develop greater self-awareness so that they may begin to meaningful decisions about who they want to become.
Marah helps students navigate both the practical and emotional demands of applying to college. She also works with students to build the organizational habits and proactive mindset needed to drive their own success, not only through admissions, but well beyond it.
Jorge Dorantes
Co-Founder & Counselor
Jorge is a co-founder and counselor at the Ivy Centre. Jorge is also a medical doctor at Baptist Health and an award-winning essayist. He brings firsthand knowledge of the academic preparation, experiences, and long-term decisions involved in pursuing a medical career. He helps students build intentional academic and extracurricular trajectories while developing applications that clearly communicate both their accomplishments and the purpose behind them.