Cultivating confidence since 2014
About Us
Custom Academic Coaching is a holistic, custom-tailored alternative to one-size-fits-all admissions advice. We help families clear the chaos of admissions: dispel the myths, demystify the rules, and give you a complete picture of your options, so your family can make informed decisions that meet your needs.
People-first approach
Everything we do is built around understanding your needs and helping you succeed.
Long-term relationships
We’re not just here for the now. We build lasting relationships with our clients and grow with them over time.
Proven process, flexible execution
We bring structure where it counts and adaptability where it matters.
Founder & Head Coach
Nena Malhotra
Nena is an independent educational consultant and an expert in admission to American and British undergraduate and graduate programs — the Ivy League and other top-tier schools, liberal arts colleges, technical colleges, and art schools.
Since founding CAC in 2014, 97% of her college counseling students have been admitted to one or more of their top three choices.
She graduated a year into the Great Recession with a degree in English & Comparative Literary Studies and a minor in Art History from Occidental College, then worked in admissions offices, law firms, arts nonprofits, and small business ventures. She studied law at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, where she was First Year Moot Court Champion, and at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, and clerked at the ACLU of Southern California, the Los Angeles Legal Aid Foundation, and Public Counsel.
Those years shape how she works: admissions experience to explain how gatekeepers actually decide, a tactical approach from debate and moot court, and an editor’s eye for the narrative that wins over a reader.
Executive Member of the Board of Trustees at The Pasadena Waldorf School since 2022. Member of the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA).
Specialists on call
Expert coaches
Nena brings in a specialist when a student’s path calls for one. Click a card to read more.
Applying this fall?
Join the 97% of families whose teen got into a top-choice college.
Seats are limited.