Our Mentors

Harvard graduate and co-creator of the U4U Method, Nika developed the approach from her own experience succeeding across highly competitive academic applications and opportunities, combined with years of work with ambitious students pursuing selective universities and schools.

At U4U Lab, she leads student positioning, admissions strategy, and the translation of a student’s strengths, experiences, and ambitions into a clear and distinctive application direction. Her work focuses on identifying what genuinely sets a student apart, what still needs to be strengthened, and how every part of the profile can support one coherent admissions story.

Nika has worked with 250+ students, with students receiving offers from Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Williams, and other leading universities.

Harvard Psychology graduate and Davis Scholar, Yegor co-created the U4U Method from his own experience navigating highly selective academic opportunities, from boarding school through Harvard, as well as years of work with students building ambitious academic and extracurricular profiles.

At U4U Lab, he leads student development and profile building. He helps students identify the interests, strengths, and ambitions worth developing, then turn them into meaningful projects, expertise, leadership, and achievements that create depth rather than simply adding activities.

His students have received offers from Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, and other highly selective universities.

Harvard graduate in Psychology and Educational Studies, Belen brings a research-based understanding of motivation, learning, and student development to U4U Lab’s programs. She also continues her training in education at the graduate level.

At U4U Lab, Belen helps develop and refine the curriculum behind the U4U Method, ensuring that students are not simply completing activities, but progressively building stronger skills, clearer direction, and meaningful achievements. Her work helps translate psychological and educational research into practical systems used across the student journey.

Students completing U4U Lab programs have gone on to secure admission to leading universities in the U.S. and internationally.

Harvard graduate in Human Evolutionary Biology and Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholar, Jailene brings more than five years of college advising experience and firsthand knowledge of highly selective admissions. She was admitted to Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Duke, UChicago, and other leading universities.

At U4U Lab, Jailene tracks changes in selective admissions, scholarships, financial aid, stipends, summer programs, competitions, and emerging student opportunities. She translates these developments into continuous updates to U4U Lab’s curriculum, resources, and internal admissions knowledge, helping ensure that the method remains current as admissions practices evolve.

Students she has advised have been admitted to Harvard and other top-20 universities, including recipients of QuestBridge and Posse full-ride scholarships.