Uhhh, What’s Fat Mango?
Arun bought this domain over twenty years ago, as part of a jokey bet. Over the years, it became a nickname, but mostly laid dormant.
Until now. Fat Mango captures a slice of the vibe Arun is going for as he enters this new phase of his work with students. And his amazingly gifted and hilarious friend Adam has joined him on this journey. At Fat Mango, we’re finding a more productive way to think about college, on a case-by-case basis, so the process works for everyone. Fat Mango thinks that sound advice should not require breaking the bank, and we offer college counseling solutions across the spectrum of price points.
We preach honesty and openness. We believe it is the job of education to make a child into the very best person they can be, and we use all our expertise to facilitate that process. We ask our students to write about their ideas and their goals, their hopes for life and the future, and to revise what they have written, so they really consider the essence of their words, and ultimately themselves. We talk about these ideas in a positive way, and let that discussion drive the vision of where your child will go to college, and what they’ll do there. Hegel said that, in Shakespeare, characters are “artists of themselves.” We want your child to see themselves that way.
Meet Arun…
For nearly three decades, Arun has spoken truths and busted myths around applying to college. With admissions experience at three highly selective universities (UCLA, Caltech, and the University of Chicago, his alma mater), he’s guided hundreds of students on their unique paths to higher education through a focus on self-reflection, storytelling, and strategy. The results have included seeing students admitted to every school in the Ivy League and the same for other athletic conferences like the Big Ten and Pac-12 (RIP). He’s also the former Chief Academic Officer of Collegewise and host of Get Wise: College Admissions Explained, a podcast that focused on helping families better understand the journey to college.
As an admissions officer, Arun evaluated over 7,500 applicants’ files and read approximately 20,000 essays. He’s a frequent media contributor, including to USA Today, The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and local and national television—though his mom was always most proud of his NPR appearances.
Tens of thousands of students, parents, and educators have heard Arun speak at high schools, conferences, and communities worldwide. As a member of both the Independent Educational Consultants Association and the National Association for College Admission Counseling, he adheres to the highest ethical standards. Finally, the fervor of his belief that there's no such thing as bad pizza is matched only by his love of all things space, Ohio State football, and invigorating multi-day hikes to the tops of mountains.
Meet Adam…
Adam Novy’s cat has twenty-six thousand followers on Instagram. He’s a college professor, a novelist, a connoisseur of memes, a sports fan, a troll and a kettlebell obsessive. Because he’s taught at almost fifteen colleges, as well as middle schools, high schools, graduate schools and elementary schools, he knows everyone can write. Everyone can tell their story and choose who they want to be.
Adam went to art school at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, so he sees writing as a creative and deeply rewarding activity. At Scripps College, where he’s taught since 2008, he was named Faculty of the Year in 2017, and he’s been Teacher of the Year in his department three times. They had to make a rule that no one could win that prize two years in a row and finally stopped giving it altogether. Just this May, he was elected by the student body to speak at graduation. He loves teaching people how to write, especially when they think they’re bad at it or feel hopeless. And if you like to write, then there’s no limit to where you can go.
