9 Labs | Success in education and beyond.

9 Labs | Success in education and beyond.

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Updated: May 6, 2026 at 7:59 PM

9 Labs | Success in education and beyond.

The community committed to trust and transparency in higher education and beyond. Founded by @eightielts

Follow @ninelabs_education to stay updated with the latest community and transparency trends and news

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9 Labs | Success in education and beyond.

Apr 26, 2026, 04:54 PM

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Well...

🇺🇸 2026 US Admission Cycle is finally over, so lemme share some of my insights about it

I want to address KEY MISTAKES in this post. Other parts of the application will be in other posts, so stay tuned!

🚫 College application is just CommonApp/Coalition — FALSE. College application is much more than just hitting submit on your application portal. You have to ensure that you're capable of completing all parts of your application to be qualified. In my case: several universities didn't give me a CSS fee waiver. Auto-reject, because I simply didn't calculate that they might not give it to me.

🚫 Not telling a coherent story — MISTAKE. When you apply to US colleges, you're among the most qualified and intelligent people around the entire world. You have to stand out not in your honors or extracurriculars, which is very hard; you have to stand out by marketing yourself — your experience, worldview, ambitions. My example: only when I applied to the 10th university did I realize that my application was just several different fragments of my life, not one whole story.

🚫 Not focusing on my GPA in 11th-12th grades — MISTAKE. Boost your GPA, guys. Honestly, I think that if you have time, you just need to work really hard on the quality of your studies — study not a lot, but very effectively.

🚫 Only chasing reaches — MISTAKE. You need a balanced college list. Reaches are exciting, but they're called reaches for a reason. If you don't have solid target schools and at least one realistic safety, you're just gambling.

Anyway, that's it. I'm EXTREMELY proud of my friends and acquaintances who got into Ivy League, T50, or NYUAD. Rock it guys! 🫶

https://t.me/self_founder

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9 Labs | Success in education and beyond.

Apr 26, 2026, 04:54 PM

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🎓I mentored 300+ students to 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0 on their IELTS Writing, and these are my main takeaways.

💩90% of the resources available online is shit.

This is the reminder: don't trust your score to some 'This is a free LEAKED IELTS course of somebody, so trust me.' Especially, when people sell 'magical structures' to memorize and call it 'Ace your IELTS Writing' guidebook. Memorizing your essay can lead to your score being cancelled❌

My main advice is to learn from people, not AI or any shitty guidebooks you saw on the Internet.

✍️You're 15-20 essays away from a huge increase in the level of your writing.

What makes many candidates still hold back their level is a lack of practice and analysis. If you don't write and analyze your essays, the magical 'Writing 7.0' won't appear on the screen. Every day of practice and reflection helps you see the growth.

🧠Even the brightest students with whom I worked struggle.

Sometimes, I work with VERY talented students who are about to study or already study in very good schools. However, I keep seeing how even my brightest and most hardworking students struggle with some particular points, so this is totally okay.

😇And finally: don't rush the process.

Recently, all my Instagram feed was filled with 'VeRy CrEdIbLe IeLtS ScHoOlS' that try to convince you that you don't have enough time or you're in a 'strong competition,' but let's be honest. If somebody tries to FORCE your decision, this is a school that wants your wallet, not your success.

Author: https://t.me/self_founder
for:

9 Labs | Success in education and beyond.

Apr 26, 2026, 04:54 PM

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If you want to understand how to write outstanding personal narratives, you might need to watch 'A Bronx Tale'

Listening to such a coherent and introspective personal narrative actually teaches so much about how to write your story, make the person who's reading (or watching) relate, and understand.

Some brilliant https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Bronx_Tale from this movie:

People don't love him, they fear him. There's a difference. – Lorenzo

Sonny and my father always said that when I get older I would understand. Well, I finally did. I learned something from these two men. I learned to give love and get love unconditionally. You just have to accept people for what they are, and I learned the greatest gift of all. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices that you make will shape your life forever. But you can ask anybody from my neighborhood, and they'll just tell you this is just another Bronx tale. – Calogero's conclusion

It's nice to be both [feared and loved], but that's very difficult. If I had my choice, I would rather be feared. Fear lasts longer than love.

– Sonny

All these years, what have I been telling you? 'Stay in school. Get two educations'... Don’t do what I do. This is my life, not yours. I do what I have to do. This is not for you. – Sonny

9 Labs | Success in education and beyond.

Apr 26, 2026, 04:54 PM

🇺🇸If you want to study at a US University, here are some fundamental things you need to know 0)Prerequisites. Applying to the US universities is a game that is very different than what many people imagine. This isn't 'I have 1500 SAT. I will go to Harvard.'…

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9 Labs | Success in education and beyond.

Apr 26, 2026, 04:54 PM

🇺🇸If you want to study at a US University, here are some fundamental things you need to know 0)Prerequisites. Applying to the US universities is a game that is very different than what many people imagine. This isn't 'I have 1500 SAT. I will go to Harvard.'…

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9 Labs | Success in education and beyond.

Apr 26, 2026, 04:54 PM

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This is how I know we did a great job.

31 people saved the post about SAT and IELTS preparation, or shared it with their friends🥹

🎯We're motivated by the commitment to sharing truthful data, drawn from experience, and avoiding misinformation that many tutors use to sell their services. And this just proves my point: we need more information we can trust, backed by real experience and research.

🫂Sharing means caring, so I appreciate any repost or engagement. Let’s build a Telegram channel that doesn’t gatekeep information, doesn’t lie, but maintains the commitment together.

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9 Labs | Success in education and beyond.

Apr 26, 2026, 04:54 PM

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🇺🇸If you want to study at a US University, here are some fundamental things you need to know

0)Prerequisites.

Applying to the US universities is a game that is very different than what many people imagine. This isn't 'I have 1500 SAT. I will go to Harvard.' This is a long journey of writing your portfolio, crafting essays, going through financial documents and interviews. It isn't easy.

1)Know Why You're Applying.

Colleges smell when you want to 'escape your regular life' or 'travel across the US'. Many very competitive schools (like Ivy League) have 'Why College' essays, where you have to explain why you're choosing their school over others. Sooo...

2)Do Your Research. Period.

Instead of blindly applying to 'These schools can give you full-ride' list, do actual research. Start with exploring Common Data Sets, Financial Aid Offices, https://www.bigjeducationalconsulting.com/resources data, use ChatGPT after all (with browsing mode). No one is gonna send you a magical list, so put some efforts into researching unis. Know where and why you're applying.

3)Tell The Story No One Else Could Tell.

This is very important. Many people get pretty much similar grades, SAT scores, and sometimes even Extracurricular Activities and Honors! Where you can win is your story. You have to tell your story. Be quirky. Share personal things. If you wrote your essays on paper and left them in a classroom without your name on it, would someone be able to guess it’s yours?

In other words, write those damn essays!

4)Do Your First Step.

You won't magically write perfect essays after this post. But now you know where you can start.
Research —> Reflect —> Write!

Resources I really recommend:
https://collegeessayguy.com/, https://650magazine.com/, https://www.essay.cafe/blog, https://www.instagram.com/uaqiqaqi/, http://borderless.so/

PS. I'm currently a High School Senior, and I wrote this post in assistance with my dear friend https://t.me/altynmind

9 Labs | Success in education and beyond.

Apr 26, 2026, 04:54 PM

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9 Labs | Success in education and beyond.

Apr 26, 2026, 04:54 PM

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😕 What should you take first: IELTS or SAT?

High School Class of 2027/2028/beyond — this is a very important topic for your future college applications.

Here’s what I see lately: more and more students have SAT scores of 1500+, but their real English level is weak. At the same time, a lot of wrong advice from so-called “experts” is spreading. That’s why this topic matters.

Where should you start: IELTS or SAT?

SAT and IELTS test very different things.
SAT (EBRW) checks:
- reasoning — understanding a text and choosing the right answer
- grammar — choosing the correct word or sentence structure from the context

IELTS checks real English ability in 4 skills:
- Listening — completely different from SAT
- Reading — only about 20–30% similar to SAT
- Writing — completely different
- Speaking — completely different

🚫So the idea that “if you did well on SAT, you’ll easily pass IELTS without prep” is not true. There are many real examples proving this.

Because of this myth, many students don’t prepare seriously for IELTS. But any exam needs preparation, especially when the formats are so different. Taking IELTS a few days before deadlines and then being unhappy with your score is a very common mistake.

So which exam should you take first?

There is no one correct answer. Instead, use this simple method. Let’s say you have about 6 months to prepare for both exams.
Step-by-step plan:
1)Take a free English test: https://www.efset.org/
2)Look at your results:
- If your Listening and Reading are C1–C2, you can start with SAT (about 4 months).
- If your level is B1–B2, it’s better to start with IELTS (the same period). B1–B2 Reading is risky for SAT prep.
3)After your first exam, check your score:
4)If you’re satisfied, switch fully to preparing for the second exam.

❗️Important rules:
* There is no “perfect path,” but you can adjust your plan
* Start as early as possible — this gives you more options
* Prepare in a healthy way: don’t drop your hobbies and activities

About the author: I scored 1510 on the SAT (no leaks, just several months of serious prep). I am also an IELTS mentor and worked one-on-one with 100+ students in 2025.

Everything written here is based on my real experience.

https://t.me/self_founder

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