CAPE TOWN - Education and mentoring consultancy, Crimson Education, has launched in South Africa.
The New Zealand company was founded in 2013 by high schoolers Jamie Beaton and South African-born, Sharndre Kushor.
Since then, Crimson Education has grown into a multi-million-dollar company, with offices in over 15 countries world-wide.
“The top-ranked universities in the world are extremely competitive, most have acceptance rates under 10%. This means that the process of applying is daunting, especially to international students unfamiliar with foreign educational processes,” says Kushor, who together with Beaton, made the much-coveted Forbes Asia 30 under 30 list in 2017.
In an interview with Duncan Parsons Country Manager of Crimson Education South Africa, he explained that many universities are looking for International students so it is their goal to help these international students outside the U.S and UK to apply to ivy league schools in the US and UK and bridge the information gap for applicants so that they get a btter chance of being accepted.
"We chose South Africa because the market here has bright students who are capable and that work hard enough to be given the opportunity to study overseas and we want to help them find the best universities in the US and UK" said Parsons.
When asked about helping the student with funding towards going to university abroad, Parson confirms that there is help available.
" There are financial aids available to help students and we will match them up with universities that have it, if the student needs it".
Crimson Education’s business model is simple ; the company connects high school students to teams of mentors who have walked similar educational and career paths.
The team will even coach students through launching a community project or small business, aligned with their interests and goals.
According to Country Manager for South Africa, Duncan Parsons, South African students are underrepresented at the top universities in the world. According to figures from EducationUSA, only 0,1% of South African university applicants go on to study at US institutions after matric.
“There is familiarity with applying for postgraduate studies abroad, but limited awareness of the huge value and opportunity that undergraduate programmes offer.”
“While funding is certainly a barrier to entry, many strong candidates are overwhelmed by the complexity and unfamiliarity of the application process before they even get to applying for financial aid,” says Parsons.
Since 2015, Crimson students around the world have collectively received 102 offers to Ivy League schools and 37 to Oxford and Cambridge universities.
Parsons hopes to replicate these numbers in South Africa by starting to work with students from grades nine and ten to build comprehensive and competitive applications to some of the top 50 universities in the world.