Hi! I’m Poly Popova, the founder of ElevateEd Consulting and a PhD student at Yale University.

Like many others, my first experience writing about myself came during college applications. Although I had strong credentials — AP classes, a high GPA, leadership roles, and jobs since age 14 — I didn’t know how to turn any of that into a compelling story. My essays ended up sounding generic and impersonal. They didn’t reflect who I was, and, as a result, my options were more limited than I had hoped. Watching classmates with similar backgrounds get into more exclusive schools made me realize something important was missing from my application.

I carried that question with me into college: Why did some applications resonate while mine fell flat? Applying to dozens of scholarships and programs taught me, through trial and error, how to present my story with intention. By the time I applied to graduate school, I had developed the tools to write with clarity and confidence. I was accepted to multiple Ivy League and top public PhD programs and received more than 19 awards, including the competitive NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. I also helped friends and peers strengthen their essays, which gave me a front-row seat to the patterns that make a personal statement stand out.

Today, I bring that insight to my work with students. I help them write like real people, not résumé machines. I believe no story is too small. Every experience holds value. You just need the right words. That’s where I come in.