College admissions counselling, from Grade 9
Cracking Top 50 Colleges with Plinth.
Start in Grade 9 or 10 and apply with the profile already built. One plan from the first diagnosis to the last application, for the strongest US universities with the UK alongside, at a fee published before you call.
₹2,00,000 in Grade 10, ₹3,00,000 in Grade 11, ₹5,00,000 in Grade 12: ₹10,00,000 in all, billed a year at a time.
- 300+
- Students advised since 2021
- Six
- Countries worked from
- Two a year
- Competitions mentored, in every fee
The three-year plan
Grade 10 lays the base, Grade 11 builds it, Grade 12 argues it.
Grade 10The base
₹2,00,000
- Written profile diagnosis and a roadmap to the end of Grade 12, delivered in the first 30 days
- Two pillars chosen with the student, and an activity plan built around them
- Subject and test strategy: AP, IB or A-level choices, and when to sit the SAT or ACT
Grade 11The build
₹3,00,000
- Weekly sessions through the year that decides the profile
- Summer-program applications, deadlines managed by us
- Research, project and internship direction, with the student doing the work
Grade 12The applications
₹5,00,000
- Balanced college list of up to 12 universities across reach, target and likely
- Personal statement and every supplement: brainstorm, structure, line edit. We never write a sentence for the student
- Activity list and honours section written to admissions standards
Two awards or competitions a year are mentored inside the fee. Starting later is possible and is priced from the year you join. Families applying outside the US pay by destination instead.
In every plan
The two people most firms leave out.
An application is three years of a teenager's life and a large decision about a family's money. We staff both, inside the fee.
- A therapist, every month
- A monthly session with a therapist for the student, to manage exam and application stress. Board exams, tests, deadlines and decisions arrive in the same eighteen months, and no student should carry that alone.
- A financial strategist, for parents
- A financial strategist for parents: proof of funds for the visa, aid forms where they apply, remittances and education loans. The money side has its own deadlines and paperwork, and families should not be working it out alone.
- Every family, at any grade
- Grade 9 or the January of Grade 12. A personal plan for every student, led by Vansh, with the mentor team that has worked with students through Projectling since 2021.
Who does the work
Led by the founder, mentored by one team.
Mentoring since 2021, through Projectling. Based in Dehradun, in person in Delhi and Mumbai.
Every diagnosis, pillar decision and college-list call is led by Vansh. Competitions, research and projects are mentored by the team that has worked with students through Projectling since 2021. Tutors are brought in for defined pieces of work.
More than three hundred students on, the same faults recur: ten activities telling ten stories, a competition entered without reading a winning entry, a deadline nobody owned. The method exists to catch exactly those.
The work, in order
Five steps. Each ends in a document you keep.
- 01
Diagnose
Read the profile the way an admissions office will.
A written profile diagnosis and a 24-month roadmap
- 02
Pillars
Choose two things to be known for.
A two-pillar map and a 10-activity plan
- 03
Build
Make the evidence exist.
Published work, awards, and a calendar that was actually kept
- 04
Prove
Turn the record into an argument.
Essays, activity list and interview readiness the student can defend
- 05
Land
Submit, decide, enrol.
Offers, a funded decision, and a student who knows why they chose
Case files
Four engagements, written out in full.
- 01Grade 10 to a funded US offer, thirty monthsAdmitted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a scholarship covering about 90 percent of cost.
- 02Grade 11 to Cornell, twenty monthsAdmitted to Cornell as a Tata Scholar, which made the cost workable for the family.
- 03Grade 11 to a UK economics course, twenty-two monthsNo US admits.
- 04Grade 12 to Dartmouth on full aid, nine monthsAdmitted to Dartmouth with financial aid covering the full cost, and to two other US universities with smaller awards.
Composites drawn from real engagements, details changed. One of the four did not go to plan.
Services
Take the whole arc, or the piece that is missing.
- 01College Admissions CounsellingPriced by destination and grade
- 02Profile and Pillar BuildingIncluded in the destination fee
- 03Awards and Competitionsfrom ₹75,000
- 04Research Mentorshipfrom ₹90,000
- 05Essay Brainstorming and Editingfrom ₹75,000
- 06SAT and ACT TutoringQuoted on request
- 07School Subject TuitionQuoted on request
- 08Interview Preparationfrom ₹25,000
Destinations
Seven systems, one profile.
Association
Where students have gone, applied and competed.
Competitions and programmes
Admitted to, applied to, or entered between 2021 and 2026. A name records a student’s association, not an endorsement. How outcomes are counted.
Selected writing
Read before you call.
- Plinth Education Results 2026: Research, John Locke and Admits4 min
- Getting into the Ivy League from a Mumbai IB School6 min
- The Real Cost of the Ivy League Without Financial Aid, 2026-276 min
- How Much Should You Spend on College Counselling? The 10% Rule7 min
- Family Income Threshold for US Financial Aid From India6 min
- Does Applying for Financial Aid Hurt Your Admission Chances?6 min
Who does the work?
Vansh Gupta leads every engagement: the diagnosis, the pillars, the college list and the calendar. Competitions, research and projects are mentored by the team that has run Projectling, our activity and competition consultancy, since 2021. Every student also has a monthly session with a therapist, and a financial strategist works with the parents. Subject tutors are brought in for defined pieces of work.
Is it too late to start in Grade 11 or 12?
No. We onboard families at every grade, including November, December and January of Grade 12. A late start changes the work, not the welcome: the plan becomes the essays, the list and the deadlines still open, and we say plainly what can change in the time left. Every student gets a personal plan, whenever they join.
What does it cost?
It depends on where the student is applying. The US is ₹2,00,000 a year in Grade 10, ₹3,00,000 in Grade 11 and ₹5,00,000 in Grade 12. The UK is ₹2,50,000, Singapore and Hong Kong ₹2,00,000 each, and Australia ₹50,000, once, whichever grade the student joins in. Each destination after the main one is 25% off. Single pieces of work start at ₹25,000.
Do you write essays?
No. Not a sentence, not an activity description, not a research paper. Universities prohibit it, readers notice it, and a student who did not write their essay cannot defend it in an interview. We brainstorm, structure and edit.
Why no student photographs?
Our students are mostly minors and their applications are their record, not our marketing. We publish the method, the prices and anonymised case files instead. Families can be introduced privately, with consent.
Where are you based, and do you meet in person?
Plinth is based in Dehradun. Sessions run online, on your time zone, for families across India, the UAE and Singapore. Vansh meets families in person in Delhi and Mumbai, and in Dehradun.
Request a call, with the fee in front of you.
Two minutes on the form shows our fee for your child's grade and destinations. If it fits, the thirty minutes with Vansh are spent on the student, and if you do not need a counsellor he will say so.