Our Team

As Founder and Director of Arcus Advisory, Susie Cochin de Billy has helped students from around the world gain admission to leading schools and universities through a highly personalized and strategic approach. Her international background and deep understanding of the admissions landscape enable her to guide families with insight, clarity, and confidence.

Susie graduated cum laude from Tufts University in Boston with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and French Literature. She furthered her studies at the Sorbonne in Paris and is fluent in French. Having lived in London for more than thirty years and spent four years working in Hong Kong, she brings a truly international perspective to her work with students and families. Her extensive travels throughout Europe and Asia have given her a deep appreciation of different cultures, educational systems, and pathways to success.

Before founding Arcus Advisory in 2013, Susie built a successful career in real estate, advising a distinguished international clientele. Inspired by her own experience navigating the U.S. university admissions process for her three children, she established Arcus Advisory to provide families with the expert guidance and personalised support needed to navigate an increasingly competitive admissions environment.

Today, Susie works closely with students throughout every stage of the admissions journey, from school and university selection to extracurricular planning, standardised testing, personal statements, essays, and application strategy. A strong advocate for the breadth and flexibility of the American higher education system, she is committed to helping each student find an institution where they can thrive academically, personally, and professionally.

Casey O’Brien Blondes brings a rich and varied career in writing, editing, and communications to her work as a college essay coach with Arcus Advisory. A dual American-French national, Casey is the author of two illustrated books on France published by Rizzoli International.

She worked as a copywriter and concept developer across business, tourism, and lifestyle sectors, lectured in Marketing Communications to MBA candidates at IAE Paris Sorbonne and ESSEC, and translated extensively from French to English across literature, social sciences, and business.

Her breadth of cross-cultural experience and a keen ear for voice make Casey a natural guide for students navigating the unfamiliarity of writing personal essays. She loves nothing more than coaxing the best ideas out of the students she works with, helping them articulate what makes them truly distinctive and guiding them to become more insightful, concise communicators. Whether a student arrives with a rough concept or a blank page, Casey brings both professional rigor and genuine enthusiasm to shaping essays that are clear, compelling, and authentically their own.

Natasha is an experienced university consultant specialising in application strategy and student storytelling. As a writing specialist, she works closely with students to develop essays and portfolios that capture their authentic voice while showcasing their individual achievements. Her guidance helps students present thoughtful, compelling applications to some of the world’s most selective universities.

Natasha has extensive knowledge of international admissions systems and a deep understanding of highly selective universities, their diverse programmes, and the nuances of the application process across the US, UK, and Europe.

Her students have secured undergraduate and postgraduate offers from leading institutions including Ivy League universities, Oxbridge, and other top global schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Brown, UPenn, Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, King’s College London, Trinity College Dublin, Sciences Po, Bocconi, IE, McGill, and the University of Toronto, among many others.

Vedika Haralalka is an education professional based in London, originally from Mumbai, whose work focuses on global university admissions, education strategy, and the intellectual development of students navigating international academic pathways.

She works as an Educational Consultant at Arcus Advisory, advising internationally mobile families and supporting students applying to highly selective universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Her work centers on helping students develop intellectual clarity, build meaningful academic profiles, and approach competitive admissions processes with thoughtfulness and perspective.

Vedika previously worked at Lumiere Education in London, where she led global program partnerships and managed student pipelines across multiple markets. In that role, she oversaw onboarding and program delivery for more than 150 students while building international partnerships and representing the organisation at education events and panels.

She studied Economics and Global Development at Grinnell College, one of the leading liberal arts institutions in the United States. Her experience of the American liberal arts system continues to shape her perspective on intellectual exploration and undergraduate education.

Alongside her work in education, Vedika is a trained actor and theatre-maker. She holds an MA in Acting for Screen from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Her background in storytelling informs her approach to communication, narrative, and how students articulate their intellectual journeys.

Through this publication, she writes about the global ecosystem of elite education, the cultural differences between education systems, and the often-misunderstood dynamics of international university