Key facts
- Name
- Marifat Jamal; also written Ma’rifat Jamal and Marifat Jamalova
- Known for
- Teaching the SAT, and her education blog on YouTube, Instagram and Telegram
- SAT
- 1590 SAT superscore (EBRW 790, Math 800); best single sitting 1580 (EBRW 780, Math 800),
- IELTS
- 8.5 overall band
- Teaching
- The SAT since 2019
- Founder
- Jamal’s International Academy, Tashkent (named Marstiff SAT Academy until )
- The academy
- 11K+ students have studied at Jamal’s International Academy (the academy’s own figure, jamalsadmissions.com, )
- University
- Columbia University student; admission announced
- On camera
- Since 2021: Telegram channel created ; YouTube channel @marifat_jamal since
- Audience
- 134K subscribers on YouTube (4,126,917 views), 158K on Instagram, as of
- Contact
- @Marifat_Jamal_bot (collaborations) · marifatjamalova@jamals.academy
Her story, 2019–2026
Self-study and the SAT, 2019–2023
In 2019 she began preparing for the SAT on her own, aiming to study abroad Source (kun.uz), and began teaching it the same year Source (marifatjamal.tilda.ws). Her first official score was 1420 Source (youtube.com); she held 1500 by November 2021, announced 1540 (760/780) on Source (t.me), and 1580 (EBRW 780, Math 800) from the sitting, her best single sitting Source (t.me). A 790 in Reading and Writing in March 2023 made her 1590 SAT superscore (EBRW 790, Math 800) Source (t.me).
MIT, and the grants she turned down
She won full grants from universities in the United States and turned them down to try again for MIT, her dream school Source (daryo.uz). MIT did not admit her in the 2021 cycle. In her words:
My dream school is MIT. ... I didn't get in in 2021. I'll try again next year.
On she published the video “NEGA MIT’GA KIRA OLMADIM?” (Why didn’t I get into MIT?), talking openly about the rejection Source (youtube.com).
Teaching on camera, since 2021
She created her Telegram channel on Source (t.me), posted on Instagram from November 2021, and opened her YouTube channel, @marifat_jamal, on with a complete overview of the SAT Source (youtube.com). She teaches in Uzbek; on her college-prep channel switched fully to English Source (t.me).
Marstiff, then Jamal’s International Academy
Her own SAT groups grew into an academy: the name Marstiff first appears in a teacher-hiring post on Source (t.me), and its courses run on a curriculum she wrote herself, in three levels (Foundation, Pre-SAT, SAT Advanced) Source (t.me). On Marstiff SAT Academy was renamed Jamal’s International Academy Source (t.me). By the academy’s own figure, 11K+ students have studied there (jamalsadmissions.com, ).
The gap years
Six years passed between school and university. She wrote that most of them went into building the business, and that the lab work, the startup and the research paper all came in the last year Source (t.me): she joined a research lab in Tashkent in July 2025 Source (t.me), became second of four authors of a conference paper Source (api.crossref.org), and built Avoza, smart glasses that turn speech into real-time subtitles for deaf and hard-of-hearing people Source (pivot.uz).
Columbia University and New York, 2026
On she announced her admission to Columbia University Source (t.me); she later wrote that she had applied to 20 universities and been admitted to 3 Source (t.me). She arrived in New York on Source (t.me):
With Bismillah, we begin the New York pages.
In her words
Please, let's normalize making mistakes. Make mistakes, this is how you grow!
And most importantly, do your best and stay detached. Your effort matters, but your worth is never defined by a test score.
Starting late is normal. I began preparing for university, and exploring my goals without fear, only after finishing my second year. I wasn't late for anything.
Women were never created to be small.
I had one firm resolve: choose the field that is needed most, study at the best places, and come back to Uzbekistan.
If my students really are becoming stronger than me, I haven't lost. That is exactly what I built.
Six years worked for me because of what was inside them, not because of the number six.
Many people knew I wanted to get into MIT. That plan didn't work out. Something better was written for me. Now we're at Columbia :)
Her channels
- YouTube@marifat_jamal · 134K subscribers () · 4,126,917 views
- Instagram@marifat_jamal · 158K followers ()
- Telegram, personal channel@marifatjamal · 14.2K subscribers ()
- Telegram, College Prep (English)@MarifatJamalAtColumbia · 15.7K subscribers ()
- Telegram, Admission + SAT@MarifatJamalsat_admission · 2.89K subscribers ()
- TikTok@marifat_jamal · 14,000 followers ()
Press highlights
9 bloggers from Uzbekistan whose content will be interesting and useful to you
WE project (weproject.media)
From student to SAT mentor: Marifat Jamal's journey to SAT
Kun.uz (English edition)
Why Columbia University and not MIT?
HAYOTALKS (YouTube), host Hayotullo Ismailov