who we are

Michael wright

Test Preparation

J.D. Yale Law 2015

B.A. Yale College 2011

I graduated from Palo Alto High School in 2007 and spent my first year of college at UC San Diego. I then transferred to Yale College, where I studied philosophy and cognitive science. During my undergraduate years I also studied abroad at Oxford University and took summer classes at Stanford University.

After college I moved back home to teach a class for Blueprint LSAT Prep in San Francisco, and within a few months I began taking LSAT and law school admissions counseling clients independently. I continued working one-on-one with clients throughout my time at Yale Law School, and by the time I graduated I felt more drawn to the human impact I could have as a tutor than the work I would be doing as a lawyer.

In adopting The Hour For Hour Promise and expanding my services to the SAT / undergraduate admissions level, I aim to address the dramatic inequality of opportunity created by the test prep and college counseling industry, where students who can't afford to spend thousands on SAT prep courses and college essay revision enter this crucial stage of life at a severe disadvantage.

I graduated from Manual Arts High School in 2012 and was one of the first from my school to attend Harvard. As a first-generation college-bound student, my doubt and insecurities followed me from the dining hall to my classes. By the end of sophomore year, however, I truly started to gain confidence upon finding my community in various clubs, Eliot House, and the Harvard Ed Portal. I graduated in 2016 with a concentration in Government.

I quickly transitioned from taking classes to teaching them as a founding member of the Harvard Teacher Fellows program, housed in the Harvard Graduate School of Education. For my primary residency, I chose to work at Leadership Public Schools, Richmond, where I have taught high school social studies for four years, and served as a full-time college counselor for two.

I accepted this position as Head of Wright Minded’s College Counseling project in 2019, which has allowed me to focus solely on college access and admissions for all regardless of economic background.

I grew up in the East Bay and stayed local after high school to attend UC Berkeley, where I double-majored in History and American Studies and minored in Human Rights. For years, I organized alongside community members as school boards from Orinda to Oakland enshrined policies jeopardizing the wellbeing of underserved students. It is common to hear that a student’s zip code determines their educational outcomes, but my experiences helped me realize how dramatically educational opportunities differ even within one school or district. 

 At Berkeley, I channeled my frustration with our education system into research, teaching, and public service. I worked independently and alongside professors to conduct research on curricular reform, U.S. workers' rights and conditions, settler-colonial violence, and celebrity culture. I also tutored dozens of students of all backgrounds, ages, and abilities, and assisted Afghan refugee families.

Wright Minded's exceptionally thorough methodology, training practices, and ethics set it apart from the many other community organizations and tutoring companies I've worked with. This difference reflects my own passion for ensuring personalized, high quality instruction for every student, and is the reason I joined the project as Head of Academic Tutoring.