ABOUT US

We are an independent educational consultancy that assists students based in Pakistan, the Middle East, Europe and Asia research, select, and gain admission to colleges and graduate schools in North America and the United Kingdom. We help students identify, articulate and achieve their academic and personal goals, whilst helping them navigate every step of the admissions process.

What Makes Us Different?

Our approach is different. We put strong emphasis on the college application essay writing process and prefer to start working with our students from the brainstorming phase, teaching our students how to write compelling essays using our proprietary "Essay Slaying" methodologies. Also, we ensure that all of our students' applications are crafted in way that shows tremendous academic depth and focus. On account of this, the vast majority of our of student's regularly gain admission to "great match" universities at the very top end of their range.

Though we are rapidly expanding and constantly adding services, our results-driven approach and commitment to our clients remains unchanged. Our approach is personal and we never delegate our core duties to junior counsellors or other personnel- our Founder and CEO directly works with each of our students to ensure they attain the best results possible.

Our Founder and Chief Executive Officer:

Our Founder and Director of North American Advising, Zil Malik, is a double Harvard Graduate (B.A., 2000; Juris Doctor, 2003), a certified US admissions counselor (Rice, 2013), and a published authority in the field of US higher education. She is a featured writer on colleges and graduate schools for The International New York Times and has been a Harvard alumni interviewer for over a decade. She grew up in the Middle East and the UK, where she completed the IB diploma and was the top ranked student of her high school class. For college, she was admitted to Harvard University, Stanford University, Yale University, Princeton University, Northwestern University and Tufts University. She also received offers to read law at a number of UK universities, including Oxford University, LSE, and Kings College London. She chose to attend Harvard, where she received the Detur Prize, the Elizabeth Cary-Agassiz Scholarship, and the John Harvard Scholarship multiple times. At Harvard, she served as a Writing Tutor at the Barker Center for Humanities and was granted advanced standing, thereby completing her undergraduate degree a year early. She graduated from Harvard College in the top 2% of her class. She was then admitted directly to Harvard Law School and went on to have a distinguished legal career, working at top-tier international law firms in the US, UK and Pakistan. Three years ago, Ms. Malik left her legal career to pursue a profession in US higher education advising and has not turned back since. She loves working with young adults and is fixated with the craft of effective essay writing. Zil is a photography enthusiast and enjoys running, biking, and playing tennis. She is also a huge New England Patriots fan.

Our Head of Graduate Advising and Islamabad Office Head:

Scherazade Jamali, holds a joint MBA from Columbia University and London Business School. In addition, she completed her bachelor’s degree, with honors, from Boston University’s School of Management. She has grown up in Pakistan and attended the Convent of Jesus & Mary. She has had the privilege of both residing and working in North America, the Middle East, and South Asia. Having a passion for volunteer work, she wholeheartedly subscribes to her school motto: “Non Nobis Solum” – Not For Ourselves Alone. Since her school days, she has mentored talented youth and adults for a variety of organisations, including Street Children in Karachi, Big Sister to Little Sisters in Boston, and Junior Achievement in Kuwait. In addition, Scherazade has always pursued opportunities to mentor women and high potential employees in the private sector organisations she has worked at. With regards to her vocational pursuits, Scherazade has a passion for business transformation and has led multi-million dollar projects within the Banking, Financial Services, Telecommunications, and Travel & Tourism sectors. Outside of work, Scherazade enjoys hiking, Sufi literature, and has a passion for the culinary arts social justice endeavours.

Our Lahore Office Head:

Our Lahore Office Head, Ayaz Achakzai, first successfully navigated an application process, to an international high school, in a dingy net café which provided a dial up connection. With technological advances, the path to a liberal arts education and Ivy League masters was much smother and more brightly lit. College applications are an art and many bright and talented students can find the process confusing and daunting. Ayaz has recently opened the Edvisory Lahore office to help motivated students unlock their potential and fulfil their dreams of studying at the university of their choice.

He double majored in Economics and Mathematics from Colby College where he spent his junior year abroad at Oxford University, followed up by a master’s in public affairs from Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs).

Professionally he has worked for the public, private and non-profit sectors focusing on international development and public policy. An avid traveler, he has explored most of Pakistan and for a jaunt abroad, he highly recommends Japan and Tibet. When not working on pressing public policy issues or wordsmithing a student essay, Ayaz likes to hone his golf swing and cross-court backhand.

Our Chief Operating Officer and Head of UK Advising:

Our Chief Operating Officer, Daniya Sardar, holds an Msc. from Imperial College London and a Bsc. from The University of Warwick. She is an accomplished writer, with featured articles appearing in The International New York Times and The Express Tribune. Daniya’s vocational background is in entrepreneurship and management. She was Head Girl of Bay View Academy and has been a competitive, national-level swimmer who trained with the Pakistani Womens Swimming Team. She has extensive experience working with early-stage start up companies. Additionally, she is particularly well versed in the Oxbridge and Russell Group university admissions process. She oversees UK University Advising, Foundation Program Advising, and Graduate Degree Counseling. In her free time Daniya enjoys theatre, painting, and travelling. She is also a fitness enthusiast who loves kickboxing, running and swimming.

Our Mathematics Test Prep Head:

Our Head of Mathematics Test Prep, Asim Gul started teaching at the young age of sixteen and continued teaching part-time while he pursued his undergraduate studies. He graduated with Bachelors in Business Administration from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi- the country’s most prestigious business school. After graduating, he worked in the corporate sector for two years, after which he was awarded a scholarship by the government of Pakistan to pursue his Masters in International Business from Huazhong University of Science and Technology. On his return, he continued helping students with test prep. He has also worked with students online in the U.A.E, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the U.S.A. Having taught SAT I, SAT II, GRE and GMAT Math for over eight years, Asim has honed his personalized, student-focused approach and has helped many students obtain perfect SAT Math scores over the last few years. In addition to teaching Mathematics, Asim teaches Mandarin at schools throughout Karachi and also conducts Business Mandarin classes. He is a true polyglot and takes great interest in learning about the language and culture of different countries. He is also a strong proponent and follower of functional medicine and believes in the efficacy of alternative health solutions to cure major ailments and to attain a balanced, purposeful lifestyle.

Our Verbal Test Prep Head:

Our Head of Verbal Test Prep, Azka Ahmed, has a BSc in Biomedical Engineering from Rutgers University. She has had prior teaching experience as a certified tutor for Chemistry, Biology and SAT English at the Rutgers University Learning Center. Azka grew up in Pakistan, where she completed her O-level and A level education. For college she was admitted to NYU and Rutgers University. She chose to attend Rutgers, where she was a recipient of the Delaware Valley Scholarship and Career Motivation Award in Mathematics. At Rutgers, Azka was inducted to the Honors College, Biomedical Engineering Honors Academy and the National Society of Leadership for Excellence in Academics. During her undergraduate years, she published scientific research in The Journal of Chemistry and PLOS one and was nominated to present her group’s research at the CECAM Physics of Protein Assembly seminar in Lausanne, Switzerland. Azka also served as the International Student Ambassador for Rutgers University from a year. She graduated Summa Cum Laude and was in the top 10% of her class. After graduation, Azka moved back to Pakistan where she pursued teaching. She has worked at a number of top schools in Karachi including Karachi Grammar School, Cedar College and Bayview College. Recently, Azka began teaching SAT English in Pakistan- her students have regularly scored in the 90th percentile. Outside of work, Azka enjoys traveling and mentoring students. She is also a yoga and hiking enthusiast.

Our Office Manager:

Amirah Muneer has a background in education and has been working as an early childhood teacher for the past 8 years. She has worked in many well known institutions such as British Overseas, Bay view Academy and R.E.A.Dyslexia. She received her training from the London School of Montessori and has also completed a diploma that enables her to teach students with specific learning disabilities and dyslexia. She is passionate about working with children of all ages. She’s firmly believes that every child has the right to a quality, learner-centered education that ensures optimal outcomes with regards to educational attainment and university admissions. In her free time, Amirah enjoys reading, running, classical dancing and Yoga. In addition, she does a lot of voluntary work for the Children's Cancer Hospital and many other charitable organisations.

Our EDvisory Board:

Zehra Rizvi-Sayed (BA, UC-Berkeley). Ms. Rizvi-Sayed is a private banker based out of San Diego. She brings a wealth of knowledge on California university admissions to The Edvisory’s students, with a focus on the University of California system and the Claremont Consortium. Given her background in finance, Ms. Rizvi-Sayed also offers invaluable insight into pre-business bachelors degree programs in the United States.

Khurram Malik (MBA, University of Toronto; BA, Boston University). Mr. Malik is a Toronto-based investment professional who heads the Research Division of Jacob Securities, an independent investment bank. Prior to this, Mr. Malik worked for more than seven years as a research analyst at Morgan Stanley in New York. Having interviewed hundreds of candidates for investment banking positions, Mr. Malik is an authority on top North American and European business school programs. He also serves as a mentor/advisor for business school students and frequently gives lectures on curriculum selection and navigating the job market. In addition, having lived and studied in Canada for nearly a decade, he possesses significant knowledge on Canadian graduate institutions.