Gautam Rao

             Independent Education Consultant


Gautam Rao has an M.B.A from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a dual concentration in Finance and Strategy. He has a B.B.A from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a major in Operations Management.
His secondary schooling was at Vidyaranya High School and Hyderabad Public School.

Gautam founded BestFit Educational Consultants in 2013. He is an Independent Educational Consultant – this means that he does not accept any compensation or commission from colleges / universities. He is compensated by the student’s family and works with the student (and the student’s family) to find the “best fit” for the student.

He specializes in helping students to successfully apply to selective U.S., U.K. and Canadian colleges and universities for an undergraduate education and guides students through all aspects of the undergraduate admission process. He works with students in the 9th through 12th Grades and, when necessary, during a student’s Gap Year (after 12th Grade) to help them develop a strong academic and extracurricular profile.

Gautam has been certified to administer and interpret the Strong Interest Inventory, an internationally validated psychometric test, that is widely used to help in educational and career planning. He utilizes this resource to guide children in the 8th grade or above by helping them identify extracurricular interests, potential college majors and career options that might suit them based on their interests.
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He is a member of the International Association for College Admission Counseling. He
travels several times a year to the U.S. and/or other countries to attend college
admissions conferences, tour colleges and meet with their students, faculty, and
admissions staff. He has attended multiple National Conferences of IECA and plans to apply for his IECA Associate Membership by Fall of 2023.

Gautam lived for more than 20 years in the United States. He is currently based in
Hyderabad, India, but continues to spend several months a year in the United States. He
has 25+ years of work experience. Prior to working in educational counseling, he
worked in managerial, consulting and training roles across multiple industries.
​Gautam is a member of the University of Michigan India Alumni Association and served
Ross/Michigan for more than 10 years as an alumni interviewer for MBA admissions. He interviewed MBA applicants in the Boston area, as well as in Hyderabad, India.