We help Freshmen plan their summers every day. If you need help strategizing, contact us now!

Find Your Niche

Depending on the college, humanities majors include everything from psychology to German to Art History. You need to zero in on a major or area of study that interests you. The more specific, the better. For example, Humanities is far too broad. History is better. World History post-1800? Now we are talking!

Likely, you already have an idea of which classes or areas of study you like or are best at. However, you need to start zeroing in, and our recommendation is to choose a subject and really dive in. This can be scary for some students. “What do you mean I need to choose a major? I’m not even halfway through high school yet!” To that, we say, “Don’t worry.” Part of the wonderful thing about humanities programs is they are pretty flexible when it comes to majors. At most colleges, humanities majors don’t even have to declare a major until their sophomore year of college. However, colleges (especially top universities and elite colleges) want applicants who (at least on paper) know what they want to study and what their academic interests are. Trust us, you can always pivot later, but for now, you want to find your academic niche.

There are a couple of ways to hone your niche, but they all boil down to learning as much as you can and following your academic passions.

Our first easy tip is to start reading. You wouldn’t believe how many high schools don’t read books outside of class. We make all of our students read independently, and summer is a great time to start. Make yourself a reading list. If you hope to study Film Studies, you should read Mark Cousin’s . If you are thinking of Classical Studies, read or . If criminology or sociology is more your thing, maybe it's time to read by Michelle Alexander. On top of books, you can listen to audiobooks or podcasts. Read newspapers, magazines or journal articles. The more you learn about your intended subject area, the better.

Our second easy recommendation is to take an online course. There are many pretaped, flexible online college courses, many of which can be taken for free on platforms like Coursera. The students we work with tend to take between 1 and 3 of these kinds of classes during their freshmen summers, and you should, too!

Summer Programs

While pre-tapped online classes are great, doing a summer program through a university isn’t only more prestigious but also often more exciting for students. Many colleges offer summer sessions for qualified high school students. In the past, students we have worked with have loved , s Summer Offerings, Summer Classes, and many more. Many colleges offer similar programs. You can likely find at least one with the right dates, class subjects, and location for you. These programs usually require a short application. Generally, we recommend applying to 2-3 programs, especially if you are looking at highly selective ones.

Depending on which humanities subject you are interested in, there are some specialized programs as well. If you are all about creative writing, there are specific workshops like or that you should look into. If you are considering a music degree, there is or If this seems complicated to navigate, we would love to help!

Intern, Volunteer, Shadow, or Get a Job

We want to be clear: there is nothing wrong with lifeguarding or working at a summer camp. Having any summer job shows that you are a hard worker who is mature enough to handle some responsibilities. However, if you can connect that job to your niche, all the more impressive. For example, if you are fascinated by History, you could intern or regularly volunteer at a history museum, historical society, or historical landmark. If you want to study Political Science, you could intern or volunteer for a campaign or an elected official.

If you don’t know where to start, look for opportunities in your community. Ask your network for job shadowing opportunities. Likely, your parents, friends, or teachers know someone who works in a related field and might be open to letting a motivated high school student shadow their job. If done right, a job shadow can also often be the first step to securing an internship down the road.

We also love it when students commit to volunteering. Many students go on a short voluntourism trip or go to a beach cleanup once. This isn’t impressive to colleges. However, committing to a more long-term volunteer position is excellent. Volunteering at a teen helpline is great for hopefully psychology majors, while museums are perfect for Art Historians. You should try to find a volunteer position that helps build your resume and connects to your interests.

Generally, high schoolers have more time during the summer than the school year, which makes it the perfect time to start establishing a pattern of academic interest and curiosity. Impactful freshman summers require a little planning. Pull out your schedule, do your research, and make sure you start reaching out and applying for opportunities that make sense to you. If that all sounds daunting, we can help you plan a successful freshman summer.

Reach out today to talk to a college counselor.

MIT loves sharing statistics. They publish a lot of data, and it’s extremely helpful because facts are critical in demystifying the world of college admissions where feelings can take the lead. Afterall, MIT is an iconic school for engineers and STEM-minded students who want to rocket to the top of their chosen field. For the , MIT received 6,717 applications from international students alone. Only 129 were offered a seat. That’s a mere 1.9%. MIT doesn’t give a reason for having an international acceptance rate that is less than half the acceptance rate for U.S. citizens and permanent residents (5.4%), but we can offer some insight.  

For one, MIT has wildly high standards for academic preparation. These standards are built around the U.S. educational system. This doesn’t mean that international students aren’t capable of exceling at MIT, but it can be hard for international students to illustrate their preparedness to MIT in a way that is compelling, depending on the school system they are coming from. Keep this in mind when we dig into planning in advance and selecting a program below.

It's important to also remember, though, that a transcript isn’t everything. There are also other things at play, like how MIT doesn’t want to overwhelm their campus with international students. As with other top universities in the United States, international students are spice in the sauce. They provide something crucial on campus and in the classroom, and they’d certainly be missed if they were not there, but they are sprinkled in with moderation. This can sound a bit brutal, but it’s important to remember if an international student wants to get into a top tier school. It’s an uphill battle, even in the best of circumstances.

Next, we’ll break down three key steps to make the hill a little less steep.

Getting into MIT is hard, but we support international students through pulling it off.  Learn More.

MIT is full of brilliant, top-performing, and absurdly ambitious students. It’s not surprising, then, that tens of thousands of students apply each year. But only a tiny percentage get in. How do they pull it off? Below, we’ll give you some of the most critical tools. 

Step 1: Start Yesterday

If one is applying to MIT as an international student, it is difficult to start too early. This may sound extreme, but we mean it. We aren’t suggesting that students start writing college essays far in advance, or focus their entire life on the idea of getting into college — that’s a recipe for all stress and zero fun — but it is important to start planning long before you start an application. What does starting early look like, then?

First, prospective international applicants want to be on a trajectory towards taking the hardest classes they have access to, and they need to excel in them to boot.

Next, the student needs to be pursuing their interests outside of the classroom such that they end up in leadership positions before it’s time to press submit.

Both of these things take time. Often it takes at least 2-3 years to progress from starting an activity to being in line for a leadership position, and just as long to pursue a challenging course trajectory. Giving oneself time makes this all feasible well before students start essay-writing.  It also makes sure that there is room to specifically calibrate what a student is pursuing towards the goal of MIT — which leads up to step 2.

Step 2: Target Specific Programs

MIT may be the goal, but it actually isn’t specific enough. If one wants to get into MIT, they need to have a more focused vision of what they will actually be doing at the university. This is to say, pick a path.

By “path,” we mean a prospective program or major that you can tailor your courses and activities towards. This doesn’t mean that a student needs to have access to courses in Ocean Engineering to target the program at MIT, but they should be looking to take whatever biology, engineering, and earth sciences courses are available. Then, they could supplement these courses with online classes, or courses at a local university that are open to top-performing high school students.

Remember, too, that MIT isn’t only about STEM. They offer nearly every major you’d see at a more standard university, along with their hyper-specific STEM programs. So, if a prospective international applicant’s high school has great courses in political science and government, it may make sense to list either as a secondary interest on an application such that exceling in these classes at school makes the largest possible impact when one presses submit for MIT.  

It’s important to remember that, in the vast majority of cases, one will not actually be committed to this path just because they focus on it in their application. That doesn’t diminish, however, the power of targeting a program far in advance of submission.

Step 3: Cultivate Impressive Extracurriculars

One of the weak spots of many MIT applications from international students is the activities section — and it doesn’t just impact that one section. A limited list of experiences outside of the classroom means that one doesn’t have much to write about in the written parts of the application aside from the expected course-based stuff. This is a massive problem for applicants. If an international student wants a chance at getting into MIT, they need to do more than simply excelling in class.  

At the same time, we know that international students often have less access to clubs, student organizations, or other extracurriculars than students at American high schools. This is not an excuse, though, it’s an opportunity. 

If you don’t have easy access to a club, start one. If there isn’t a student group for spotlighting a deep passion, found it. The same goes for internships and part-time jobs. If it isn’t easy, that’s ok. Do the extra work to build an application that stands out. And there is a reason we emphasized starting early, as doing all of this can take time. That’s ok. Showing long-term commitment is as important as an activity sounding impressive — and often even more important.

It isn’t possible to make getting into MIT easy, but starting early, targeting specific programs, and cultivating an impressive list of activities and extracurriculars makes getting into MIT far easier as an international student. To give yourself an additional leg up, reach out. We can help.

If you are serious about gaining admission to MIT and you are an international student, contact us. We’re pros at just that.

Legacy admissions on the whole has been undergoing changes and heightened scrutiny over the years, but it still exists at Brown. Let’s talk about what you can do to increase your chances at Brown as a legacy student and stand out among the crowd.

What’s up with Legacy Admissions?

Like affirmative action, legacy admissions is also seeing increased attention from the general public. According to , colleges using legacy admissions have dropped by half over the last decade, and a few states, like Colorado, California, Illinois, Maryland, and Virginia have passed bans or restrictions on the practice in the past few years.

However, at most top schools, legacy is still a factor in admissions. At some schools, like Notre Dame, Duke, and Georgetown, legacy is a stated huge deal. At others, like Wesleyan, it’s not even considered. The Ivy League fits somewhere in the middle, with most schools choosing to hold their legacy info and data close to the chest.

Brown is interesting because in 2023, they decided to form a committee to determine if they should make changes to Early Decision, testing policies, and legacy admissions. Previously, Brown said this about legacy:

“The consideration of legacy status is a very, very small consideration compared to other attributes... We don’t admit students based on categories, we don’t release application and acceptance data in a way that suggests we do."

The committee came back in 2024 and : Early Decision will remain, testing will become mandatory for the class of 2029, and the legacy policy won’t change “while Brown continues to consider a range of complex questions raised by the committee and seeks more input from its community.” In the post, Brown states that the Class of 2027 is made up of 8% legacy students, and we know that there are right around 1700 students in the Class of 2027. To put that in even plainer numbers, Brown’s Class of 2027 allegedly has 135 legacy students.

What Can You Do?

Let’s debunk a popular myth about legacy – it’s not for the failsons of wealth alums. Legacy students who are admitted to top schools like Brown still have to meet all the same benchmarks as their non-legacy counterparts. You still need killer grades and scores and those great, niche extracurriculars that can help you stand out.

Grades

We work with legacies every year, and they almost always have 4.0s. Legacy students typically come from privileged backgrounds, which means things like private school, tutors, and investments in education go right along with that. In order to compete against the 50k+ applicants to Brown, you need to be getting the best grades in the hardest classes your school has to offer. This is non-negotiable!

Scores

Now that Brown has brought back testing for the Class of 2029, it’s more important than ever. Dartmouth and Yale ended test-optional last year, and the primary reason they cited was that students who did not submit scores performed worse than their test-submitting counterparts and that they believed that testing was the best indicator of college success. Where one Ivy goes, they typically all go. We always encourage submitting scores for our students, especially the legacies, so our approach hasn’t changed. The vast majority of admitted students for the Class of 2028 got higher than a 1500 or a 35 on their standardized tests, which means you should too.

Extracurriculars

It’s not enough to just join a few clubs and be captain of the soccer team – you need to show Brown depth. As a legacy student, Brown knows you’re connected, and if you just throw them a generic resume, you’re not going to stand out. If you tell them you’re interested in studying poetry and there’s nothing ��dz�’v�� done outside of school to prove you’re interested in poetry, they won't be convinced. This goes for every major – from comp sci to bio to history. We like to start working with legacy students as early as freshman year to help them build and craft a resume that shows they have a passion and have done the work to make it a reality.

Apply Early

If you’re serious about Brown, especially as a legacy student, you need to apply early. If you don’t apply early as a legacy student, it doesn’t show that you have a true, vested interest in the school. If you submit regular decision, they may assume you’re trying to leverage your legacy status after a failed ED attempt to one of their peer institutions. It’s also smarter to do in general – while Brown’s acceptance rate overall is 5%, they accept about 13% in early decision. The best way to really convince them that you want this is by applying early.

Stay Involved

Parents, this one is for you. If you are serious about sending your child to your alma mater, you need to show Brown you’re serious about them. Our most successful legacy clients are not just the ones who have students with excellent credentials – they’re the ones who are active participants in their alumni communities. This may look like conducting interviews for admissions, assisting with fundraising, being on an alumni board, or a combination of these things and more. We encourage you to reach out to us to talk about the best strategy for your family.

If you’re a Brown legacy and you’re serious about going there, you need to make sure you have a stellar application. You need great grades, scores, and extracurriculars – you don’t want to give them a single reason to turn you down!

If you need help crafting an application that helps you stand out among the crowd, reach out to us today. We can help.

Dartmouth is one of those schools that chooses the U.S. vs. International student acceptance numbers in their Common Data Set report. This means that we can’t see how the international student acceptance rate compares to the acceptance rate for U.S. citizens and permanent residents. They have this data. They are just deciding not to share it. Why? Good question. It’s impossible to know precisely why they don’t make this data public except that, maybe, they aren’t hitting the numbers they want. So, they don’t share where they are at. But that’s all just us making an informed guess.

Now, let’s talk what we do know. The overall acceptance rate to Dartmouth was 5.4% for the fall of 2023, and they received nearly 10,000 international applications. That doesn’t help us in knowing what an international student is up against, though, as we don’t have the acceptance rate for international applicants in particular. Culturally, though, Dartmouth likes international students, so this shouldn’t be discouraging. Instead, applicants should focus on what they can control. And that is the point of this post.

Applying to an Ivy as an international student requires a winning strategy.  Get Yours. 

The best thing an international applicant can have when applying to Dartmouth is one-on-one help, but the next best is winning advice. Every year, we help international students get into the Ivies, and there are three steps we often wish our students had started before they even emailed up. It’s difficult, truly, to start these steps too early. So, start now.

Plan in Advance

We said to start now, and we would have loved if prospective international students started yesterday. Seriously. As an international applicant, you are inherently at a disadvantage. The school system isn’t tuned towards American college admissions. The extracurricular opportunities, like clubs and student groups, may be limited relative to what is commonly available at American high schools. All of that means that international applicants need to start plotting the future with more runway than a domestic applicant.

So, this means that beginning to work on a college strategy at 16, 15, or even 14 years old isn’t absurd. Instead, it’s smart. And you’ll see why in as we continue charting the steps international applicants need to be taking today.

Select Target Programs

Once an applicant is committed to this process and setting a plan, they need to pick a program, or programs, to target at Dartmouth. This is because simply focusing on the school isn’t enough. Dartmouth is a diverse, dynamic, and exciting learning environment. There is a lot going on at Dartmouth, and simply saying you want the university doesn’t really actually tell them anything about an applicant other than that they like the campus and community. What they need to know isn’t an applicant’s preference for a mountain environment. They want to know who the applicant is, what drives them, and what their passions are. And the best way to show that is by focusing in on a program at Dartmouth that embodies what the applicant is excited about.

Dartmouth offers more than majors. Of those programs, the hard sciences and economics are very popular. , the top five majors, in fact, were economics, government, computer science, engineering, and biology — in that order. That doesn’t mean that an international applicant should pick one of these programs, though. The most popular majors are big, so they have lots of room, and that can be a good strategy. But the most popular majors also have a lot of competition, because so many students are looking to pursue them.

At the same time, we know that Dartmouth more students for their humanities programs and what some applicants and their families might think of as “useless” majors because they don’t come with immediately obvious career trajectories (we disagree with the “useless” label, for the record). Because of this, we recommend that international applicants to Dartmouth either target the humanities, with majors like anthropology or classics, or pair a more popular major, like engineering, with a more niche major, like classical studies or a minor in global health. 

Remember that an applicant is not committed to these major selections. Rather, they are suggestions of what one could do as a student. They also serve as something to frame an application around, or tune an applicant profile towards.

And selecting a program, or pair of programs, isn’t a one-and-done and walk away type of thing. The whole point of selecting a program is to give an applicant something to aim towards. The target program should be used to help direct course selections, especially electives when available, summer activities, and, of course, extracurriculars.

Build Enviable Extracurriculars

Ah, extracurriculars — the secret sauce of a strong Dartmouth application from an international student. This is because most international students don’t have significant access to extracurricular activities like clubs through school, or they have responsibilities to their family that limit the time they have to commit to developing other interests.

First, let’s make it clear that family responsibilities and employment are not just valid things to include on an application to Dartmouth, they are critical to include if they are significant aspects of an applicant’s life. But while they serve to provide context and depth to an application, they aren’t enough.

International applicants to Dartmouth should develop things that they do outside of school, like clubs, student organizations, internships, part-time jobs, or online classes, that emphasize the student’s interest in the field of their target programs.

If there aren’t programs that a student can plug into through their school, community, or network, we work with our students to start things. If it isn’t there already, build it!

Applying to Dartmouth as an international student benefits from planning, strategy, and careful action. Applicants need top scores and exceptional grades, that’s obvious, but they also need to craft an application specifically tuned towards their target Dartmouth program or programs. If a student wants to get in, the details matter. That’s where we can help.

If you want a winning strategy as an international applicant, contact us.

There are a lot of factors that go into deciding whether or not you should be admitted to a particular school, both academic and non-academic, and they range from being very important to not considered at all.

Word to the wise, just because a school doesn’t track demonstrated interest doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do the things that would demonstrate interest. We recommend doing things like virtual or IRL tours, emailing the admissions team with your relevant questions, and reading the weekly newsletter because those things actually help you find out if you’d like the school! This list doesn’t just mean you can apply to all of these schools willy-nilly! Now, let’s get into the list of 13 schools that don’t track demonstrated interest.

Amherst

Amherst is a small, liberal arts college located in Amherst, MA. We know, how creative of them. Amherst is known as a little Ivy, meaning their academics, rigor, and acceptance rates are on-par with their Ivy League counterparts.

Amherst’s top programs are majors like bio, poli sci, econ, and comp sci. Even as a smaller liberal arts school, their STEM majors are highly regarded and prep students well for a future career in the sciences.

Carnegie Mellon

Carnegie Mellon not tracking demonstrated interest is not surprising. CMU does a lot of things under the guise of social justice, and we assume this is one of those. Not tracking demonstrated interest increases accessibility to students who otherwise might not be able to afford tours or don’t attend schools where CMU officers might visit. At least, we think this is their reasoning.

CMU is a very, very good STEM school. Students interested in computer science or engineering are drawn to CMU like moths to a flame. Also, in honor of their namesake, CMU has a really strong business program. We also think it’s a really friendly school!

MIT

MIT is one of the hardest to get into schools (and this list has quite a few of them) out there, and like CMU, they also buck a lot of the trends in college admissions – although not always for the same, or even consistent, reasons. MIT requires test scores, doesn’t like waitlist or deferral letters, and doesn’t use the Common App. They can be considered trend setters in the admissions world.

As we’re sure you know, MIT is a powerhouse school for STEM-minded kids. In addition to being one of the most prestigious schools for STEM majors, they also have a very, very good undergrad business program.

Stanford

Another one of the most competitive schools in the world, Stanford has a less than 4% acceptance rate, and we assume they don’t need to track demonstrated interest because they know you’re interested. Stanford doesn’t have a problem courting potential students, and the only advanced decision they offer is REA – this tells us they have a real laissez-faire approach to tracking interest.

Stanford is one of the best schools in the world, and the same can be said about a lot of their majors. Whether you’re interested in computer science or history, Stanford is going to give you one of the greatest educations out there.

U Chicago

We’ll be honest, it surprises us that UChicago is on this list. UChicago offers every admissions decision under the sun – ED, ED2, EA, their new ED0, and a transfer option a la Cornell. Typically, this translates into caring about whether or not a student cares about your school, but apparently not in their case.

UChicago is known as the home of modern economics, and econ is by far their most popular major. However, the school is strong in all social sciences and students who go to UChicago like its proximity to Chicago and the career opportunities they can access in the city.

UNC Chapel Hill

The only public college on this list, but not the only public college without demonstrated interest. In our experience, state residency is going to trump demonstrated interest every single time at public state schools, even at ones that track demonstrated interest (like Michigan.) UNC Chapel Hill is considered one of the best public colleges in the country, and it attracts students from all over the world even though being a North Carolinian (or Tarheel, UNC’s mascot) is going to help you the most.

UNC Chapel Hill has a top 10 undergrad business program, and along with other public colleges like Michigan, UT, and Berkeley, they give some of the Ivies a run for their money.

All Ivies Except Dartmouth

Yes, we’ve grouped them. This entry includes seven of the eight Ivies: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, and Yale. We could sit here and write blurbs about each, but we know you know about these schools. They are renowned for being some of the top schools in the world, and they don’t really care about demonstrated interest because they know that if you’re applying, you’re demonstrating interest in their school.

The only Ivy that does care about demonstrated interest is Dartmouth. We aren’t sure why! But for the rest of these schools, we still recommend doing the exploratory, interest-demonstrating things because they matter for you.

Demonstrated interest has never been the deciding factor at any school, but it’s not going to impact your chances at these schools. You have to make sure that every other part of your application is in tip-top shape, like your grades, scores, and extracurriculars.

Need help with strategizing for college or choosing where to apply? Reach out to us today.

Schools track demonstrated interest in a variety of ways: being on the email list, opening said emails and clicking on things, going on virtual or in-person tours, meeting your regional admissions officer on a tour, going to a summer program, etc. If one of these schools is at the top of your list, then you need to take steps to make yourself KNOWN! Get on that email list, girl!

A range of factors go into a school’s decision to admit you or not, both academic and non-academic, and range in importance from “not considered” to “very important.” At most schools, demonstrated interest is “considered,” but at one school on our list, it’s important!

If one of these schools is on the top of your list, you should strongly consider doing things to demonstrate interest, but also know that applying ED or EA will go a little further with them. Now, without further ado, here’s a list of nine schools that care about demonstrated interest.

Barnard

Barnard College is an all-women’s college located within the greater sphere of Columbia University. In fact, when you graduate, you have a diploma from Columbia. Barnard is a part of the Seven Sisters, a group of historically women’s colleges that were created to be counterparts to the, at the time, all-male Ivy League. Barnard is the only one of the Seven Sisters to be absorbed into their counterpart and still be a functional women’s college.

Barnard is known for their classic liberal arts curriculum, and has strong programs in the humanities and social sciences. Students at Barnard can take classes at Columbia and Julliard in addition to their Barnard courses.

Dartmouth

The only Ivy on our list! This surprised us; we definitely thought Cornell and Penn would end up on this list, but we were wrong. Dartmouth is the crunchier Ivy – they even have their own forest! Located in Hanover, New Hampshire, Dartmouth is a rural school. And, fun fact, it was one of nine schools to exist before the American Revolution.

Dartmouth’s claim to fame is their . The D-Plan allows for students to pursue research and internship opportunities outside the normal timeline expected at other schools – and they can help you find, secure, and fund these endeavors, too.

Duke

Duke being on this list is wholly unsurprising. Out of every school we help our clients with, Duke is one of the most legacy-, athlete-, and demonstrated interest-minded colleges out there. Students who fit the Duke Mold™ are excited about Duke and usually already do the things we mentioned – they’re quick to sign up for a summer program, eager to tour, and email their admissions officer with relevant questions.

Duke is located in Durham, North Carolina, a part of the state’s “Research Triangle,” which includes UNC Chapel Hill (their ultimate rival) and NC State. Duke’s known for being the ultimate work-hard, play-hard school and has recently developed an acceptance rate that rivals most Ivies, at 5%.

Michigan

One of the few state schools on our list, Michigan is known for so many different programs. Whether you are interested in studying business or comp sci or history, Michigan is one of the top-tier public universities in the country. And, if Duke is #1 for work-hard, play-hard, Michigan isn’t far behind.

Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan is a large public research university, which means there’s a lot of funding and research opportunities for students who want to pursue those avenues. Michigan Ross, their business school, is right up there with Wharton, Stern, Berkeley, and MIT in the rankings, and it’s one of the most popular programs with our clients. 

Northeastern

Northeastern is known for their co-op programs – they’re dedicated to finding you a job and will do almost anything to help you achieve that. Because of this, Northeastern has a pretty distinct pre-professional vibe, similar to what you might find at UPenn or Cornell. For students who are single-minded about their career path, Northeastern might be the right call.

Due to their co-op programs, Northeastern is not going to have a lot of ~liberal arts~ classes and requirements. For some students, this is a huge perk, and for others, a big downside. 

NYU

The largest private university in the country, NYU is most famous for Tisch – their school of the arts. If you’re a frequent user of Wikipedia to look up actors on shows you watch, ��dz�’v�� probably noticed most of them went to NYU. Outside of their acting and film programs, NYU also has a killer business school (Stern) and solid engineering school (Tandon), too.

NYU does not have a true “campus.” The school surrounds Washington Square Park, which sort of functions as the school’s unofficial quad. But, you can take classes in the site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, so that’s neat!

Rice

Located in Houston, Rice is primarily a STEM school. Engineering, math, pre-med all stand out as their top programs. However, due to their proximity to NASA, Rice is also known for fantastic programs in aeronautical engineering, astrophysics, and astronomy.

Rice has a lot of solid liberal arts programs too, and if you’re interested in a more well-rounded STEM education, Rice’s core requirements will help you do just that. The school is also a more urban campus, and while it’s no NYU, a lot of students enjoy and want to be in a big city with access to a lot of resources and future career options.

Tufts

Tufts is located right outside of Boston, the ultimate college town. Tufts, in our opinion, is one of the nicest schools out there and if you’re looking for a college where you’ll get a great education and be around kind people, this is one for you. We see a lot of students accepted to Tufts through ED and ED2, so if you’re excited about this school, we very much recommend it.

Tufts is one of the few NESCAC schools to be a university, rather than a college. That means the school has a lot of graduate opportunities and, in turn, more research opportunities for undergrads. Tufts also has a variety of unique majors and joint programs that combine the arts with the humanities, which might be a great fit for a lot of students out there.

Tulane

Tulane is the only school on this list where demonstrated interest isn’t just considered, it’s IMPORTANT! This is unsurprising, since Tulane accepts the vast, vast majority of their students from ED, EA, and ED2. By that, we mean their RD rate is like less than 3%. Tulane wants students who want Tulane, and the best way to show them that is by visiting, talking to admissions, and applying early.

Tulane is in the heart of New Orleans and is known for their pre-med and STEM programs. This is mostly due to the fact that Tulane started as a medical school, and still has a really strong med program to this day. Tulane is also one of the oldest law schools in the country, so students interested in pre-law or related humanities like history, poli sci, sociology, etc. will get a great education here.

Demonstrated interest only goes so far. While demonstrating interest will help you at these schools, you also need to make sure you have great grades, strong extracurriculars, and good test scores. Demonstrated interest is just one piece of the puzzle, and you need to check that you have all the other pieces, too.

Need help with strategizing for college or choosing what schools to apply to? Reach out to us today.

Dyslexia affects language processing, so these students do best in an environment that works with their strengths rather than forcing them into a one-size-fits-all approach. Many are bright, hardworking, and full of great ideas, but when faced with pages of text or rigid writing expectations, frustration can build fast. Without the right structure, it’s easy for them to shut down or avoid the process altogether. That’s where we come in – we create a system that makes applications manageable, ensuring students with dyslexia can showcase their abilities without unnecessary stress.

Why Hire an Independent Counselor?

The college admissions process is overwhelming for everyone, but having a private counselor can bring structure, clarity, and a real competitive edge, even for students who don’t have dyslexia. High school counselors, no matter how dedicated, often juggle too many students to offer personalized, long-term guidance before the end of junior year. That’s why private counseling can be such a game-changer, helping students start building a strong academic and extracurricular profile as early as freshman year.

Here’s something most people don’t realize: many top-performing students who land spots at elite colleges aren’t navigating the process alone. Private counseling is a behind-the-scenes advantage that many students use to stay ahead. If others are tapping into expert guidance to strengthen their applications, there’s no reason you shouldn’t do the same.

Admissions officers aren’t just looking for high grades – they want students who have actively explored their academic interests in meaningful ways. Crafting a compelling application takes careful planning, strategic decisions, and a deep understanding of what colleges are really looking for. By working with students early, we help them take the right steps to build an application that truly stands out.

For students with dyslexia, having this kind of structure is even more important. A confusing, unstructured process can make applications feel like an uphill battle, especially when reading and writing challenges come into play. That’s why we create a plan that eliminates unnecessary stress, focuses on strengths, and keeps everything manageable. With the right guidance, students with dyslexia can approach the admissions process with confidence without letting their learning differences hold them back.

What’s the Process?

For students with dyslexia, the college application process can feel especially daunting, often leading to frustration, procrastination, or burnout. That’s why we focus on building a structured, step-by-step approach that reduces stress and makes the process more accessible. When tasks are broken down in a way that works for their learning style, applying to college becomes far more manageable.

With personalized, one-on-one support, we help students stay organized, tackle writing-intensive tasks with confidence, and make steady progress without feeling overwhelmed. The admissions process doesn’t have to be a struggle. We create a clear, supportive system that makes it smoother, more predictable, and far less stressful.

Explore Interests

A standout college application isn’t just a list of achievements – it’s a story of a student’s intellectual curiosity and personal growth. But for many students, especially those with dyslexia, discovering and showcasing their academic interests can feel like a challenge. We help students identify what truly engages them, even if they haven’t pinpointed their passions yet, and find creative ways to explore those interests.

Instead of relying solely on traditional academic paths, we guide students toward engaging experiences that fit their learning style – whether that’s hands-on projects, interactive courses, thought-provoking documentaries, or real-world applications of their interests. The best applications come from students who have taken the time to develop their passions in an authentic way. By starting early, we help students build a compelling narrative that highlights their strengths and individuality.

Carving a Niche

It’s not enough to just say you’re interested in business or science these days – specificity is what makes an application stand out. We help students refine broad interests into distinct, compelling topics, like “behavioral finance” instead of just economics or “quantum mechanics in computing” rather than simply physics. This level of depth sets them apart from the many other applicants listing the same general, and often competitive, subjects.

We do this by helping students shape their coursework, extracurricular activities, and summer experiences in ways that allow them to dive deeper into their chosen fields. Admissions officers read thousands of applications with similar academic interests, but a well-defined passion, especially one backed by meaningful exploration, makes a student’s application memorable and convincing.

Build Extracurriculars

Discovering an academic passion is just the first step, because what truly makes a student stand out is how they bring that interest to life. We help students turn their curiosity into meaningful action, whether that means starting a project, conducting research, securing an internship, or creating something entirely their own.

Our process is fully personalized, focusing on activities that align with each student’s strengths, learning style, and long-term goals. Instead of stacking on superficial commitments, we emphasize depth, impact, and authenticity. Admissions officers don’t just want to see a busy resume; they want to see a story that feels real.

Long-term strategy

A strong college application isn’t something you throw together in senior year. It’s the result of strategic, well-planned decisions made over time. From choosing the right courses starting in freshman year to preparing for standardized tests and making the most of school breaks, we help students map out a path that sets them up for success.

Summer, in particular, is a key opportunity for exploring passions and developing a resume. For students with dyslexia, balancing a major project alongside a full school workload can be overwhelming, so we help them use their summers wisely. Whether through research, internships, hands-on learning experiences, jobs, or independent projects, we guide students toward opportunities that align with their strengths and goals without adding unnecessary stress.

Why TKG?

We’ve helped hundreds of students dealing with learning differences, Autism, eating disorders, or mental health struggles by providing the right structure and support, ensuring they stay on track without unnecessary stress.

Our approach is fully personalized and designed to help students navigate the process in a way that works for their unique learning style. By breaking tasks into manageable steps and offering clear, strategic guidance, we make sure students have the tools they need to move forward with confidence. College applications don’t have to be overwhelming! With the right plan, they become an achievable challenge rather than a frustrating obstacle.

If your child struggles with dyslexia and needs help with college prep, reach out to us today.

Need help planning your summer? Contact us today!

Find Your Niche

The school year can be hectic. Summer is a great time to let yourself explore your interests. Part of this should be dedicated to finding an academic niche if you haven’t already. Figure out which sub-section of business interests you most. There is a big difference between accounting and entrepreneurship. Maybe management makes you tick. Maybe you are fascinated by finance. The more specific, the better. We always prefer working with someone who “loves forensic tax accounting” than someone who is “pretty sure they want to do like… business.”

If you are unsure how to find your niche, we have a couple of strategies to help.

First, read books! This is good advice in general. We always recommend that students we work with read. While it is good general advice, reading books on business will also help you know more about the industry and help establish your niche. There are many amazing books about business, but if you are looking for somewhere to start, we would highly recommend:

• Dale Carnegie’s

• Peter Thiel’s

• Alice Schroeder’s

You can supplement your summer reading list with newspapers, magazines, or even podcasts. We love resources like The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Financial Times and even NYT’s The Daily.

Second, we recommend online classes. There are a lot of online courses (often available for free) that you can use to start to learn more about academic business. If you don’t know where to start, we love classes like Penn’s , University of Colorado’s or University of Illinois’s No matter your business niche, we also highly recommend taking an Excel class either online (we like this one from ) or at a local community college. Trust us, having excellent Excel skills will look great on any business resume.

We suggest taking 1-3 flexible online classes during our students’ freshmen summer more generally, but they can be invaluable when finding your niche especially.

Summer Programs

While online classes are an easy way to start your business education, you should also consider taking a course in person through a university. Many colleges offer summer programs for high school students. These programs are excellent for rising sophomores looking to expand their education outside of the school year.

A lot of colleges have these types of programs. Some of the ones that our students have loved in the past include Fodham’s , Wharton’s and Georgetown’s EntrepreneurshipDo your research and apply it to a couple of programs that fit your schedule, budget, and areas of interest. Some colleges also have online and commuter options for these programs. Generally, we suggest applying to 2 or 3, especially if some of your chosen programs are highly selective.

Intern, Shadow, or Get a Summer Job

Scooping ice cream or being a waiter might not sound like a big deal, but showing that you are mature enough to get and commit to a job is a good thing, especially after your freshman year. However, you can also look for opportunities that are more connected to your academic niche.  Ask your parents if any of their friends or contacts would allow you to shadow their job. If you are motivated and have a successful job shadow, you might be able to leverage that experience into an internship.

You can also look for internship opportunities in your community. Maybe a local store needs help with social media marketing, your town has a free tax prep service at the library that takes volunteers, or your dad’s friend could use an intern at her business. However you do it, getting job experience is a fantastic idea for the summer after your freshman year.

Summer is the perfect opportunity to take some classes, add to your resume, and explore your academic interests. While it can be a lot of planning, a set-up summer is necessary for second-semester students. If you are struggling to plan or need some extra help to make sure your summer is setting you up for success, we can help!

Reach out to talk to one of our dedicated counselors!

First, though, let’s talk numbers. For the , Brown received 10,646 applications from international students and admitted only 401. Compare that 3.8% acceptance rate to:

• the out-of-state but U.S. citizen or permanent resident acceptance rate of 5.5%, or even

• the in-state (meaning from Rhode Island) acceptance rate of 10.6%.

Looking at the Brown student body, more than 20% of first-year undergraduate applicants to Brown are international students, but they make up only 15% of accepted students. Brown loves international students, but they accept fewer international students than domestic students, driving down that acceptance rate to under 4%. 

At the same time, it’s worth noting that a 3.8% international student acceptance rate is actually quite high for an Ivy. Compared to nearly every other Ivy that publishes data, 3.8% is some of the best Ivy odds you’re going to get as an international applicant. Keep this in mind as you review our steps to success for international applicants to Brown below.

Applying to college is personal. Contact us to get your customized strategy.

When you are applying to Brown as an international student, there are three key things that you need to do to improve your chances of getting in. We’re not going to talk about grades or scores here, because it should be obvious that grades must be strong, and scores must be high. Those are assumed, and if you are reading this post chances are you have that part of the game under control. Instead, what we are focusing on are the less quantitative aspects of your applicant identity.

Start Early

Hopefully, a student or family member is reading this post months, if not years, before the application deadline. If not, you seriously need to reach out. This is because applying to college in the United States isn’t simply about a set of test scores or projected grades. Colleges and universities in the US, and perhaps especially Brown, practice ‘holistic’ admissions. They look at applicants from lots of different angles, and make a decision based on the whole picture.

That is not to say grades and scores are devalued. For top colleges, they are the starting point for serious consideration. If one applies to Brown without exceptional grades and strong scores, they will not get in. However, having strong grades and scores doesn’t mean an applicant will get in, either. 

By starting to plan for the college admissions process early, and putting Brown at the center of their crosshairs, international students are taking the first step towards setting themselves up for success. But what should they actually be doing?

Whether a student is more than 1 year out from applying to college or the application is due in just a few weeks, everything we emphasize here applies. However, how much one can execute on it will depend on how much time one has. If a student is interested in attending college in the United States, we recommend that international students begin planning, and identify a top-choice school, by the equivalent of the beginning of junior year. This gives plenty to time to aim for the goal through strategic course selection, extracurricular development, and more.

Target Specific Programs

Brown as a goal university is great, but it’s also actually quite vague. Brown is big, and they have a lot going on — so what does one want to do there, really? We advise our students to pick 1-3 specific programs to target within Brown such that one can develop an application towards those programs.

How one picks a goal program isn’t, however, through throwing a dart at the list of concentrations (their term for major) or searching the web for the “most popular Brown programs”. Neither of those, for the record, are good strategies. Instead, the applicant needs to balance their passions and interests with what is in their own best interest as an international applicant.

One also needs to take into consideration that Brown has an Open Curriculum, but that doesn’t mean that they can do whatever they want. Brown students pick a concentration, or two, and each comes with a set of required courses that they complete over a period of 2-3 years. Outside of those courses, you have a lot of flexibility as a student. As an applicant, though, they want to show direction. This is why picking a program to focus on in your application is so important, and picking the program well ahead of submitting an application offers the opportunity to build towards an application that spotlights that goal.

But how to ?

The first place to look is at what’s popular. The most popular areas of study at Brown are the . This means that the programs are big, but there are also a lot of students trying to get into them…and Brown isn’t a school wholly focused on the sciences. This is all to say that simply having big programs at Brown doesn’t mean that it’s easier to get in.

We advise students to pick the program that is closest to their passions, but also not so specific that it’s tiny and has few spots available. , the Brown|RISD Dual Degree program is attractive, as is the PLME (Program in Liberal Medical Education), but both are excruciatingly hard to get into for any student. The PLME acceptance rate, overall, is 1.5%. That is less than half the recent international student acceptance rate. Instead, if a student is interested in the arts we recommend that they look at or , and if they are interested in medicine we point them towards , , or . But, of course, if you are dead set on a hyper-specific and selective program, we have a proven track record of pulling off an acceptance against the odds.

Craft Your Extracurriculars

Once a student has a program in mind, they need to make sure that what they are doing outside of their time in class underlines their interest in the subject that will be emphasized in the application. Prospective international applicants need to be taking the hardest courses they can in the most closely aligned subjects to what they are interested in studying at Brown, but if one’s interest seems stuck to class time that will work against the application.

We work with our students to develop deep, meaningful, and long-term extracurriculars that strengthen their application. For international students, this can take additional effort as your school may not offer many, if any, of the clubs, student groups, or other opportunities that are typical of most American high schools. But simply not having easy access to a school club isn’t an excuse for not pursuing activities outside of class. Instead, it opens up an opportunity.

The opportunity is this: make things happen. If there aren’t clubs, start them. If there aren’t relevant classes, take them online. If one feels limited by the opportunities at hand, look beyond what is right in front of you. Find internships, part-time jobs, or volunteer opportunities that are relevant, long-term (i.e., more than a few weeks), and that show how serious you are about your interests.

All of this is extra work on top of the minimum Brown requires to consider an application, but simply doing the minimum doesn’t get an applicant into Brown. You need to go above and beyond by crafting an application that is focused, targeted, and exciting for Brown admissions to review. With all that, we can help.

We help strong international students get into exceptional schools. Contact us to learn more.

Students with eating disorders often feel great shame around not just their bodies, but all aspects of their lives. We’ve found that many students with eating disorders are perfectionists, seeking an element of control over their stressful lives. They also regularly exist with other comorbid mental health disorders, like depression, anxiety, OCD, autism, and ADHD. As you can imagine, adding the college search process into the mix can be a massive trigger, but it doesn’t have to be. An independent counselor can help students with eating disorders manage the process without it feeling out of control and give them a sense of autonomy over a process that can so often feel like a maze. 

Why Hire Independent Counselors?

A private college counselor isn’t just for students facing the impacts of an eating disorder – every student can benefit from personalized guidance that maximizes their potential in the admissions process.

Even at top private schools, college counselors often manage large caseloads and can’t provide individualized, long-term support. Their real involvement usually starts in senior year, focusing on essays and logistics rather than shaping a student’s academic and extracurricular profile early on. That’s where a private counselor makes all the difference: helping students make strategic choices as early as freshman year to build a strong, well-rounded application.

And here’s something most people don’t realize: Many of the students who seem to effortlessly earn top grades and impressive college acceptances already have outside help. If already-advantaged students are using private counseling to stay ahead, it makes sense to invest in the same level of support for a student who may be struggling.

That’s where we come in. Competitive colleges aren’t just looking for high GPAs and a laundry list of activities, and while those are important, they really want students who are passionate, engaged, and intentional about their academic and extracurricular pursuits. By working one-on-one with students, we help them craft a compelling, unique application that stands out.

For students with eating disorders, our structured approach is especially beneficial. We break the process into clear, manageable steps, ensuring that students stay on track without feeling overwhelmed. We help create benchmarks that make students feel successful throughout the process and allow them to focus on their progress instead of being anxious about the end result. The outcome? A well-planned, stress-free path to college success.

What’s the Process?

The college application process can be stressful for any student, but for those managing an eating disorder, the pressure can feel even more overwhelming. Burnout, frustration, and uncertainty can make it tough to stay on track, which is why we provide structured, one-on-one support to help students stay on track without feeling burnt out. A lot of students with eating disorders are stressed about being perfect, getting an “A” in the process, and we help take that pressure off. With the right guidance, they can confidently navigate this journey while prioritizing both their well-being and academic success.

Discover interests

A strong application starts with genuine academic curiosity. Through thoughtful conversations, we help students figure out what excites them – even if they’re not sure where to start. By asking the right questions, we uncover both clear interests and hidden passions, and then help students explore them in meaningful ways. That could mean diving into online courses and books, or more creative outlets like documentaries, a speaker series at a local college, or hands-on experiences. The goal isn’t just to tick off boxes! We want to build a foundation of real enthusiasm that shines through in their application.

Develop a niche

Admissions officers see thousands of applications with students listing generic, and overly competitive interests like “biology.” To stand out, students need a well-defined niche that reflects genuine passion and intellectual curiosity. We help them refine their academic focus – whether that means diving into environmental policy, space exploration, or the intersection of neuroscience and mental health. The more specific their focus, the more compelling their application becomes.

Build out extracurriculars

Once students know what they’re passionate about, the next step is doing something with it. We help them turn interests into action, whether that means launching a club, landing a research position, securing an internship, or working on an independent project. But here’s the thing: we don’t believe in padding resumes just for the sake of it. Every student’s path is different, so we focus on quality over quantity, making sure their time is spent on activities that truly matter to them. We wouldn’t have a poli sci student volunteer at a hospital, or a pre-med hopeful work for their state rep.

Longterm strategy

College admissions isn’t something you can throw together last minute. It takes smart planning. We help students make intentional choices about their coursework, standardized testing, and how they spend their school breaks. And when it comes to summer? That’s a golden opportunity to dive into big projects without the pressure of school. For students who struggle with executive function or feel overwhelmed by juggling everything, we help them create a summer plan that balances productivity with rest – so they can make progress without burning out.

At the end of the day, our goal is to help students approach the college process with confidence, structure, and a clear plan, so they’re not just getting through it, but actually thriving.

Why TKG?

We’ve worked with hundreds of students who face challenges like autism, anxiety disorders, ADHD, and eating disorders, and we understand how these struggles can make the college process feel overwhelming. But here’s the thing: with the right support, these students don’t just survive the process and get the bare minimum, they thrive.

We’ve helped students with executive dysfunction gain acceptance to top 20 schools by providing the structure, guidance, and encouragement they need to stay on track. Our approach is built on patience, empathy, and a deep understanding of how these students think and work best.

We know students with eating disorders are giving it their all, and we’re here to help them turn that effort into real results. With the right strategies in place, students can focus on their strengths, stay on track, minimize triggers, and build an application that truly reflects their potential.

If your child is feeling overwhelmed by the college process and struggling to juggle all the m

OCD is an anxiety disorder, which means these students need a structured and safe environment that helps them minimize triggers and stress. Students with OCD are often perfectionists who put a lot of pressure on themselves, and when they try to navigate this process on their own, it can lead to a shutdown. When we work with students with OCD, we’re able to create a navigable system so they get through the college process with ease.

Why Hire an Independent Counselor?

The college admissions process is challenging for everyone, but a private counselor can provide the structure, clarity, and strategic edge that makes a real impact – even if you don’t struggle with OCD. High school counselors, no matter how dedicated, or how prestigious the school, often juggle large caseloads and don’t have the time to offer individualized, long-term planning. With a private counselor, students can begin building a strong profile as early as sophomore year, giving them a strong advantage in the admissions process.

Here’s something that might surprise you: many of the students who seem to earn top grades and secure spots at elite colleges effortlessly aren’t doing it alone. Private counseling is a tool that many advantaged students use to get even further ahead. If they’re leveraging extra support to maximize their success, that’s a good reason for you to get help, too.

That’s where we come in. Top colleges are looking for students who are passionate about their academic interests and can prove that they’ve engaged intentionally with their interests. Crafting that kind of application requires time, strategy, and careful planning. By working with students early, we help them make informed decisions that strengthen their profile and set them apart.

For students with OCD, this personalized approach is even more crucial. We create a structured, predictable plan that minimizes uncertainty, reduces stress, and helps them stay on track without feeling overwhelmed. With steady guidance, clear expectations, and individualized support, we ensure students can navigate the admissions process with confidence and minimal triggers.

What’s the Process?

For students with OCD, the college application process can feel overwhelming, leading to stress, avoidance, or burnout. That’s why we focus on creating a structured, step-by-step plan that removes uncertainty and keeps students from feeling stuck. When expectations are clear and manageable, the process becomes far less daunting.

Through personalized, one-on-one support, we help students stay organized, break tasks into achievable steps, and maintain steady progress without unnecessary stress. College admissions doesn’t have to feel like an uphill battle – we can help make it easy, predictable, and smooth.

Explore Interests

A strong college application isn’t just a list of activities—it’s a reflection of genuine intellectual curiosity. Through ongoing conversations, we help students uncover what excites them academically, even if they don’t know for sure what they’re excited about yet. The, we help them find meaningful ways to explore them.

From books and online courses to documentaries and hands-on experiences, we guide students toward opportunities that help them figure out their “what.” The key to a standout application is authenticity and depth, and you have to start early to make that happen.

Carving a Niche

It’s not enough to just say you’re interested in economics or physics, you need to be more specific than that. We help guide students to more refined topics, like “macroeconomic theory” or “physics of black holes,” which makes them stand out from a crowd of applicants who say they’re interested in the same things. This is done through more curriculum, extracurricular development, and creating summers where students can get more in-depth.

Admissions officers read thousands of applications from students with similar majors, but a well-defined, unique interest makes yours memorable.

Build Extracurriculars

Identifying an academic passion is just the beginning – what sets students apart is how they act on it. We help students translate their interests into meaningful extracurricular experiences, whether that means launching a club, securing a research position, finding an internship, or pursuing an independent project.

There’s no one formula for extracurricular development. Our approach is completely personalized; we focus on finding activities that fit each student’s strengths and goals. Rather than piling on random commitments, we emphasize depth and impact and sincerity – because a well-crafted story always stands out.

Long-term strategy

A standout college application doesn’t come together in your senior fall – it’s built through thoughtful, strategic choices along the way. From selecting the right courses to planning for standardized tests and maximizing school breaks, we help students navigate these decisions.

Summer is especially valuable for college application development. For students with OCD, balancing a major project during the school year can be stressful, so we help them use summer wisely. Whether through research, internships, or independent projects, we ensure their experiences align with their academic goals, without adding any unnecessary pressure.

Why TKG?

For students with ADHD, Autism, or anxiety disorders like OCD, the college admissions process can feel overwhelming – but it doesn’t have to be. We have helped hundreds of students by creating the right structure and support, so students can stay on track.

We specialize in creating a personalized approach that helps students manage the process without feeling overloaded. By breaking everything down into manageable steps, we make sure students have the tools and guidance needed to move forward with confidence. College applications don’t have to be chaotic – with the right plan, they become a challenge students can handle with ease.

If your child struggles with OCD and needs help with college prep, reach out to us today.

It is hard to get into the University of Chicago as an international student because the number of international students who want to attend UChicago is disproportionate to the percentage of seats in the first-year class that are available for international applicants. The acceptance overall first-year acceptance rate for the University of Chicago for the class of 2028 was . They received 43,612 applications, and accepted just 1,955 students for the first-year class. However, these overarching numbers only share a piece of the story.

The University of Chicago is known for accepting a high percentage of their first-year class in the Early Decision round. They offer both Early Action and Early Decision, but it’s Early Decision I and II that results, historically, in the highest rate of acceptance. We advise our students that you have to apply ED if you want to get into the University of Chicago, whether or not you are an international student but especially if you are an international student.  

At The Koppelman Group, we help students beat the odds and get into the University of Chicago from abroad. Below, we give you a peek at our playbook for international students. Contact us to get your full customized strategy.

Applying to a top-tier American university as an international student requires strategy.  Contact us to get yours.

If a student is applying to the University of Chicago as an international student, there are three steps you absolutely must be taking immediately to improve your chances of getting in. We haven’t numbered these because they need to be addressed concurrently, or at the same time, rather than in a sequential order. And the time to start is yesterday, seriously.

Plan in Advance

When you are applying to college in the United States, it’s hard to start thinking about it too early. Beginning in the equivalent of your second year of American high school, it is crucial that a prospective applicant start mapping your path to college by excelling in the hardest coursework they have access to, and beginning to prep for tests including English proficiency testing and the SAT or ACT.

A for UChicago is above 1550 on the SAT or a 35-36 on the ACT. For the vast majority of students, attaining those scores doesn’t happen on the first try — especially if English is not their first language. Plan for months of studying and practice tests, if not longer.  

Next, we encourage international students to lean into being themselves. If a student is applying to UChicago as an international student, they shouldn’t try to be an American student. The undergraduate program international students who will “share their ideas and perspectives,” with the rest of the student body. So, the admissions team at UChicago is not drawn to international students who have tried to copy an American experience. They want to see the uniqueness in you, and your background.

This often means pursuing or deepening into aspects of a cultural identity that one is already passionate about, whether around food, community, faith, or the arts. Doing this in an authentic manner over an extended period of time is crucial to it truly strengthening any UChi application, which is another reason why planning ahead is important.

The other big reasons to plan ahead are targeting a prospective major and developing other extracurriculars and activities, both of which we’ll go into next.

Identify a Target Program

When you apply to the University of Chicago, you’ll be asked to specify a program that is your first choice for a major at the university. While one doesn’t need to select the prospective major until they actually complete the application, we highly advise students to having one in mind long before they even create a Common Application account. 

The — and so the largest — majors at the University of Chicago are Economics (by far), Computer Science, and Mathematics. Other top majors include Public Policy Studies, Psychology, and Political Sciences. These represent only a sliver of the more than 50 majors at the university, and are not the only majors one should consider, but applying to majors that have room for a lot of students can be a strong strategy for international students.  

On the other side of things, applying to much more niche majors can be a good plan, too, if a student has the academic and extracurricular background to back up their interest in the subject.

For example, one definitely doesn’t want to apply to UChicago as an Art History major if there is nothing in their background that underlines an interest in Art History. But if one is passionate about art history, and have pursued related activities (like working as a docent at a local gallery or museum) even if courses aren’t available through your school, then targeting a niche major may be a strong plan.

Working with an expert can help you pinpoint what the right strategy is for a student given their interests, strengths, and areas of expertise. Having this guidance can be crucial in earning an acceptance to the University of Chicago, especially because one needs to build an applicant profile that augments and underlines a target program.

Pursue Verifiable Extracurriculars

The University of Chicago looks for students who are passionate and excited about sharing what they love with others. The underline this. They want unique. They want quirky. And they want long-term commitment.

At the same time, the biggest weakness we see in international applicants before our help is a lack of depth, focus, and passion in what students do outside of the classroom.

Sometimes this is because a student is still figuring out what they want to do, and hasn’t been sure where to point their attention. That’s normal and ok, but it’s time to zoom in and focus!

Other times, it’s because there are limited structured opportunities for activities through school, a community center, or a local government. The application readers for international applicants at the University of Chicago know that international students likely have fewer structured activities, like school clubs or student groups, to plug into than one would in the US. Schools in the US prioritize student activities, whereas many schools internationally put their entire focus on academics.   

However, this is a reason that it may be hard to find activities — not an excuse for not pursuing them.

Once an international student has their target program, one needs to build a resume that highlights deep engagement in that subject or field. If one is able to do this through school, great. However, if international students don’t have opportunities through school, they need to make them. Start a school or community paper. Create a club or student organization. Pursue independent research. Get a job or internship at a local business relevant to what you may want to study. Do something, and preferably a few somethings, that go outside of what you’re doing at school in a way that is focused, that deepens into a passion, and that is, ideally, long-term. A single one-week internship isn’t enough, but it’s impactful if you pair it with starting a club at school and doing work independently.

Students at UChicago represent about 100 countries, and there are no ‘quotas’ for any given country. If you’re from outside the USA, you can get into the University of Chicago, but it requires strategy, and planning. It also benefits from an expert guide. That’s where we can help.

Getting into an American college from outside the US isn’t simple. Contact us for your custom plan.

Students with depression need a safe, structured place to get help through the college application process. Without it, they may feel totally alone, overwhelmed, burned out, and unmotivated. These feelings impact their self-confidence and can have strong negative effects on their college outcomes. However, when students work with us, we’re able to help them manage the process with ease and help them secure the outcomes they deserve.

Why Hire an Independent Counselor?

Even if you don’t struggle with depression, working with a private college counselor can significantly impact your college admissions journey. High school counselors – even at elite private schools – often manage large caseloads, meaning their real involvement doesn’t start until senior year, when the focus is primarily on reviewing your essays and the logistics of sending transcripts and rec letters. While they can provide valuable insights, they don’t offer the long-term strategy or structured support that can help students truly thrive. With a private counselor, you can start shaping your resume and academic path as early as sophomore year, giving yourself a real advantage.

And here’s something to think about: Many of the students who seem to breeze through high school with top grades and impressive college acceptances? They’re not doing it alone. Private counselors are a resource that many already-advantaged students use to get even further ahead. If they’re maximizing their opportunities, why shouldn’t you?

That’s where we come in. Top colleges aren’t just looking for high GPAs and a packed activity list (even though those are important); they also want students who are engaged, driven, and pursuing their interests with depth and purpose. By starting early, we help students make smart, intentional choices that strengthen their profiles and position them for success.

For students with depression, this kind of structured support is even more valuable. We provide a steady, manageable plan that eliminates unnecessary stress, avoids last-minute surprises, and ensures students don’t feel overwhelmed. Our approach is tailored to each student’s needs, offering guidance, reassurance, and a clear path through a murky process.

What’s the Process?

For students with depression, the college admissions process can feel overwhelming and exhausting. When the pressure becomes too much, it’s easy to shut down or disengage, but with the right support, it doesn’t have to be that way. Our guidance helps students move forward at a steady, manageable pace, giving them the confidence to stay on track without becoming overwhelmed. With the right strategy and support, they can navigate college admissions with less stress and more success.

Explore Interests

Through in-depth conversations with their counselor, students start to discover what truly excites them academically. By asking insightful questions, we help them identify potential interests and build a personalized plan for deeper exploration.

We guide students toward meaningful engagement, whether that’s through online courses, books, documentaries, or hands-on experiences. It’s not about ticking off boxes; it’s about cultivating genuine curiosity. The earlier students start exploring their passions; the more compelling their academic and extracurricular profiles will become down the line.

Carving a Niche

Once a student identifies their broad interests, the next step is refining them into something more specific and compelling. It’s not enough to say you want to major in political science or computer science – you need to showcase a deeper, more defined passion, or as we call it, your niche.

Instead of just “poli sci,” you might be interested in the German electoral system, and instead of just “computer science,” you’re interested in the intersection of ethics and AI. By narrowing their focus, students develop a unique angle that sets them apart from other applicants. A well-defined niche makes you more memorable to admissions officers, especially in a sea of applicants to the same majors.

Build Extracurriculars

Once a student starts refining their academic interests, the next step is turning those passions into action. We help students build extracurriculars that show depth – whether that means launching a club, finding a research position, securing an internship, or developing an independent project. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach; every plan is tailored to the student’s strengths and goals. We also focus on quality over quantity. Filling a schedule with activities that don’t feel meaningful or purposeful is a waste of time. Instead, we ensure each experience is both fulfilling and strategically valuable for college applications.

Long-term strategy

A compelling college application isn’t built overnight – it’s the result of thoughtful choices made along the way. We help students navigate key decisions, from selecting the right courses to preparing for standardized tests and making the most of school breaks.

Summer, in particular, is a prime opportunity to take on a meaningful project without the pressure of school. For students with depression, balancing big commitments during the academic year can lead to burnout, so we help them use summer strategically. Whether through research, internships, or independent projects, we guide them toward enriching experiences that align with their academic goals.

Why TKG?

We’ve worked with hundreds of students facing challenges like depression, eating disorders, and other mental health struggles, and we know how overwhelming the college admissions process can feel. But with the right support, students can move forward with confidence, and even secure spots at top-tier colleges.

Depression can make it hard to stay on track, meet deadlines, stay motivated, and manage the pressure of college prep. That’s where we come in. By providing structure, encouragement, and a clear plan, we help students navigate the process in a way that feels manageable, reducing stress and ensuring their application reflects their full potential.

If your child struggles with depression and needs help with college prep, reach out to us today.

A key piece of how we get international students into Duke is strategy, and a strong strategy requires an understanding of the playing field. For example, the early decision acceptance rate at Duke is much higher (13%), nearly 3 times, the regular decision acceptance rate (4.4%). So, if you’re an international student who wants to get into Duke, you might want to consider applying Early Decision.

There is also the fact that only of the enrolled first-years for the Class of 2028 were international. While we can’t know the total number of international applicants that year (because Duke hasn’t released that data), we know from experience that international demand for Duke increased dramatically in recent years. This means that the acceptance rates for international students, regardless of application type, was certainly below the Early Decision acceptance rate of 13% and the overall acceptance rate of 4.4%.  

All of this further underlines that getting into Duke as an international student is really hard. At The Koppelman Group, we help students beat the odds and actually get in. In this post, we’ll give you a peek at our playbook. Below we share three key steps that any prospective international applicant needs to be taking to set yourself up in advance.

Contact us to get your customized international application strategy. Learn More.

If an international student is planning to apply to Duke, there are three things that they absolutely must be doing to get into Duke, but also into any other top college or university in the United States. We aren’t calling these “steps” because they aren’t something a student should address sequentially. They must be tackled concurrently, or at the same time, for a student to accomplish their goals.  

Plan in Advance

Applying to college in the United States requires planning and strategy. We’ve seen prospective international students try to pull it off in a rush, and it rarely works out well. So, we work with our students to start the college process well in advance — and every student should, too (or, even better, contact us).

For the past few years, submitting SAT or ACT scores has been for most, if not all, Duke applicants. However, prospective international students should not treat it as optional. As an international student, strong SAT or ACT scores underline an impressive academic record and play an important part in making the case for admission. And what constitutes an impressive score? A SAT is for Duke is over 1550, and a strong ACT is at or above a 34.  

Hopeful international students need to plan for college admissions well in advance to avoid rushing to take tests that truly benefit from time, preparation, and even repeated attempts. Students also benefit from that much higher acceptance rate in this post when applying Early Decision, and planning early empowers you to apply early.

Select Programs Strategically

Picking the right academic program at Duke to highlight as the first choice on the application is crucial as an international student, even though students are not required to pursue it if accepted by Duke. This is because Duke needs to accept students that represent a wide range of interests. If they were to accept mostly math and science students, that would actually pose a huge problem. Every department needs students, so they look for a distribution.  

This can help us direct the students we work with towards their ideal program.  

Next, we look at these three questions.

• First — what is a student interested in?

• Second — what is the student really good at academically?

• Third — what are programs at Duke that match their interests but that are also likely to not be the most competitive because they are large and/or are looking to grow?

The top five most popular majors at Duke are Computer Science, Economics, Biology, Public Policy, and Psychology. This tells us two things that are sort of contradictory. On one hand, these major departments are large and so can accommodate a lot of students. On the other hand, a lot of students who apply are interested in these majors, so there’s competition.

At the same time, Duke has a decline in applications from students interested in the humanities. But they don’t want their humanities programs to be shrinking. As a result, they are looking for potential humanities majors in the application pool, and emphasizing an interest in the humanities could strengthen your application. 

However, simply saying that you want to major in a humanities subject, but not doing anything to back up that interest, won’t work. It’s imperative that you either:

a) Select a major that already aligns with a students academics, activities, and demonstrated interests.

or

b) Select a major with enough time before the submission deadline to build a resume of activities and experiences that back up a student’s interest in it. If this is the case, the student still needs to already be excelling in the subject academically.

Whether you select route A or B, the next step is building an application that bolsters the profile and dream you want to present to Duke.  

Pursue Connected Extracurriculars

Once a student has identified , you need to work backwards and assess how the other pieces of the application supports that major selection.

One of the major weak points we see in applications from international students before they begin working with us is that they don’t have focus nor depth in what they do outside of school. Often this has happened as a result, to some extent, of the school system they are in. Their school doesn’t have a substantial number of clubs or student organizations, if any, or they have responsibilities outside of the classroom that have limited them in some way in pursuing extracurriculars.

We completely understand that limited opportunities and family expectations can complicate building an ‘activities list’ for your application, but we also don’t see either as an excuse. Rather, they are opportunities. You can start clubs or initiatives where they already don’t exist, or pursue after-school activities or jobs that also fulfill family commitments. For example, a student who is a potential economics major could work at a grocery store and also independently study the economics of groceries. A student who wants to study anthropology, history, or politics, could start a school or community paper or blog, and recruit peers to work alongside them.

We don’t want our students to live as if every moment of their life needs to be aimed towards a college application, but it is important to set a vision for a future at Duke, plan a strategy for getting there, and then execute on that plan. This is exactly what we do for our students, and it’s a must if an international student wants to get into any highly competitive college or university. Students should also keep an eye on what Duke , as they will announce if things shift or change as regards international applicants. Duke is going to want to learn a lot about you, and so you should be learning as much as you can about them.

Every year, we help international students get into top-tier colleges, including Duke. Contact us to learn how.

If you are in advance of submitting your college applications, though, time is of the essence. Having an internship on your college application can be a game changer when you submit, but only if you play it right by getting a strong internship for you.

What makes a strong internship?

Well, a strong internship is connected to the other interests that you’ll be emphasizing. Or, in other words, it is relevant. It’s also extended. We aren’t fans of calling a two-day shadowing opportunity where you follow an employee or entrepreneur around an internship, because it isn’t. Strong internships should be at least a few weeks long. Strong internships won’t necessarily pay you — in fact, it will probably be unpaid — but you shouldn’t be paying for an internship.

Again, you should not pay to do an internship. Companies selling internship-style opportunities to teenagers is more of a trend outside of the United States than it is within the US, but we don’t like these programs regardless of your location if you want to emphasize an internship on your application. Programs you pay for can certainly be fun, but that doesn’t mean they’ll become a cornerstone of a supplemental essay.

Which brings us to why to do this for your college applications at all. Like, what’s the point?

Well, beyond the personal development opportunities they provide, internships can look really good to colleges. We say “can” because it’s all about how you frame it. An internship can be mentioned in your activities list and nowhere else, but that does very little for the strength of your application. We encourage students to make their internships truly useful on their applications by not just including them in their activities list, but also working them into supplements, including an internship on your resume for colleges that allow you to submit it, and incorporating it into conversations like an alumni interview.

All of this is well and good, of course, if you can get an internship. And that’s the point of this post. Read on to learn how to secure a productive and useful internship as a high school senior.

We help driven students craft exceptional applications, from picking courses to developing extracurriculars, to executing essays.  Learn More.

If you want to secure an internship as a high school senior, especially if ��dz�’v�� never had an internship before, there are four steps you need to take. Below, we break down each step so that you are empowered to make moves immediately. For even more impactful assistance, send us an email.

Step 1: Decide What You Like

The title of this step is a tad flippant, but it really is that simple. You need to determine where your interests and your talents intersect, and start there. Then, zoom in. This is a similar process to picking a college major, which makes sense given that any internship you pursue as a senior should be related to what you’ll be emphasizing in your college applications as a potential area of focus.

Decide on three interests, and then be happy down the line if you find something that addresses two of them. These need to be realistic, too. If you want to be a doctor, don’t expect to be assisting surgery or even getting within five yards of a patient. Instead, maybe your big long-term interest is medicine, but a focused interest is helping people, and another is dynamic work environments that require thinking on your toes, and a third could be technology that helps people. So, you could have an internship with a tech start-up related to medicine, a nonprofit that assists with access to medical services, or an organization that runs mobile clinics. In none of these would you be close to patients, but in all of them you’d develop your interests under the umbrella of the medical field.  

This same logic can be applied to any passion, helping you focus in on a trio of specific interests that will guide your internship search.

Step 2: Brush Up Your Resume

Next, use your interests and the field you’re drawn most to when crafting a resume that is tuned towards your ideal path. Don’t try to put everything on your resume, either. This resume must be only one page, and so filtering previous experiences to focus in on what is most relevant is important.

What you should include is previous work experience, even if it’s not relevant if it reflects your skills, and long-term or on-going community engagement experiences. Don’t include that you know how to use Microsoft Word. Everyone does. It’s not impressive. However, you do need to prove that you know how to use Microsoft Word, or another word processor, by formatting your resume well. There are so many template options that are slick and clean, so pick one and keep it simple.

Once you have your resume, you need to write a cover letter. Each cover letter introduction should be customized to the company or nonprofit you are reaching out to, but the rest can be mostly copy-and-paste. What goes in it, though? Basically, the cover letter is one page or less introducing yourself, stating what you are seeking in an internship opportunity, and summarizing 2 or 3 top hits on your resume that are most relevant. Remember, also, to thank them for their time and consideration.  

Step 3: Look Around You

Once you know what you want and have a resume that shows what you can offer, you need to figure out where to send it! You may already have some places in mind. If that’s the case, great! But you don’t want to put all your eggs in one internship basket.

So, look around you. What businesses or industries are in your area? Where do your family friends work or the parents of your friends, or even your teachers? The best way to get an in for an internship is having a personal connection, so mining your network isn’t cheating — it’s playing the game while also being completely ethical. We’re underlining this because we often hear from students that they don’t want to ask their parents or family for help finding an internship or summer job because it might be unfair. However, your network is also part of the hand of cards you have to work with. So, use it, respectfully and with an awareness that the most important cards you hold are your skills.

Step 4: Aim for a Recommendation

After ��dz�’v�� secured an internship, you need to execute on the opportunity. If you’re a younger student, an internship is a building block. You want to do well so that it can build to something bigger. As a senior, the stakes are a bit different. It is unlikely that you will have time to do another internship before you have to submit your applications, so this opportunity isn’t a building block as much as it is the end goal. Accordingly, the goal is different: a recommendation.  

Many colleges allow you to submit a supplemental recommendation from a supervisor, boss, or coach. An internship is a perfect route to a strong supplemental application if you do exceptional work. So, do exceptional work.

If you are a senior who hasn’t had an internship yet, you need to move quickly. The clock is ticking down, and in order for an internship to be impactful for your application you need to line one up as soon as possible. Of course, your applications aren’t the only reason to do an internship, but it should be a motivating factor!

We support students in crafting superior applications that lead to top-tier acceptances, contact us to learn more.

PTSD is an anxiety disorder, which means students with PTSD need a safe, structured environment free from triggers, stress, and surprises. When students feel calm and safe, they’re able to navigate the college preparation and application process with ease. Students with PTSD are putting a lot of pressure on themselves, and if they don’t have someone to help them manage the process, they may shut down and withdraw altogether. That’s where we come in – we help create structure in this chaotic process and support students all the way through admissions.

Why Hire an Independent Counselor?

Navigating the college process is challenging for any student, but having a private counselor can provide structure, clarity, and a competitive edge – even if you don’t struggle with PTSD. No matter how dedicated high school counselors are, they often manage large caseloads and typically don’t get deeply involved until second semester junior year. Their focus tends to be on essays and application logistics, not on long-term strategy or creating a structured system where students can truly excel. With private guidance, students can start shaping their academic and extracurricular profile as early as sophomore year, setting the stage for a stronger application.

And here’s something many don’t realize: the students who seem to breeze through high school with stellar grades and dream college acceptances? Many of them are working with private counselors. If they’re getting extra support to maximize their opportunities, it only makes sense for you to do the same.

That’s where we come in. Top colleges aren’t just looking for perfect GPAs and a laundry list of activities – they want students who are passionate, engaged, and intentional about their choices. Creating that kind of application takes time and strategy, and we work with students to ensure they’re making smart decisions that truly set them apart.

For students with PTSD, this personalized approach is even more essential. We build a plan that minimizes stress, keeps expectations clear, and provides steady guidance without overwhelming pressure. By offering structure, reassurance, and consistent support, we help students stay on track, build confidence, and navigate the process with far less pressure.

What’s the Process?

For students with PTSD, the college admissions process can quickly become overwhelming, leading to stress, avoidance, and frustration. That’s why we provide structure, reassurance, and a clear game plan to keep everything manageable. Students who know what to expect and have a step-by-step approach are far less likely to shut down. With personalized, one-on-one support, we help them stay organized, confidently tackle tasks, and move through the process at a steady, stress-free pace. College admissions doesn’t have to feel like a mountain to climb! With the proper support, it becomes a path they can navigate with ease.

Explore Interests

College admissions isn’t just about listing activities; it’s about showing genuine intellectual curiosity. Through ongoing conversations, we help students uncover what truly excites them academically, even if they’re unsure where to start. By asking the right questions, we identify clear interests and hidden passions and map out ways to explore them further.

Whether through books, online courses, documentaries, or hands-on experiences, we guide students toward opportunities that make learning engaging and meaningful. The goal is to cultivate authentic enthusiasm, not just pad a resume. A standout application starts with building a strong foundation early on – you can’t add a bunch of stuff in your junior or senior year and hope that sticks.

Carving a Niche

Once a student identifies their interests, the next step is diving deeper. It’s not enough to say you want to major in political science or computer science—you need to show a specific, developed passion. Think “19th-century poetry” instead of just English or “sustainable bridge design” instead of just engineering.

Finding and refining a niche helps students stand out among thousands of applicants. Admissions officers read thousands of applications from students with similar majors, but a well-defined, unique interest makes yours memorable.

Build Extracurriculars

Once students define their academic interests, the next step is turning that passion into action. We help students craft extracurriculars that demonstrate initiative, depth, and authenticity. That might look like joining or starting a club, securing a research position, landing an internship, or pursuing an independent project. There’s no one-size-fits-all formula; everything is tailored to the student’s goals and strengths. We also focus on quality over quantity – there’s no point in stacking activities just for the sake of it

Long-term strategy

A standout college application isn’t built overnight! It’s the result of smart, intentional choices at every stage. We help students make those decisions, from selecting the right courses to planning for standardized tests and making the most of school breaks. And if making those decisions are hard, we can help!

Summer, in particular, is a prime opportunity to take on something meaningful. For students with PTSD, managing a major project during the school year can feel overwhelming, so we help them use summer strategically. Whether it’s research, internships, or independent projects, we guide students toward experiences that align with their academic goals, without adding unnecessary stress.

Why TKG?

We’ve worked with hundreds of students who deal with everything from ADHD and Autism to anxiety disorders like PTSD, and we understand how overwhelming the college admissions process can feel. But with the right structure and support, students don’t just get through it – they can thrive! They might even have fun! Our expertise lies in creating a calm, structured environment that helps students manage stress while staying on track.

By providing steady guidance and a clear plan, we help students focus on their strengths, reduce overwhelm, and build an application that truly reflects their potential.

If your child struggles with PTSD and needs help with college prep, reach out to us today.

Harvard as an institution is so ridiculously historic that they don’t have to take where you live into consideration when reviewing your application — except as it impacts class make-up and diversity of origin and experiences among students.

As a result, it isn’t, theoretically, that much harder to get in as an international student compared to a domestic student…except that the data shows that it is.  

Based simply on the application numbers, Harvard could fill the entire first-year class with international students. However, doing that wouldn’t fulfill their mission of maintaining a geographically diverse student body. So, they limit the number of international students to maintain that diverse student body. Historically at Harvard, about 85% of seats in any given undergraduate class are for domestic students. Then of every hundred may be for international students. This is despite nearly 30% of applicants being international.

The overall acceptance rate for the Fall of 2023 was 3.5%. The acceptance rate for first-year international applicants was .

Seeing an acceptance rate under 2% can be daunting, or even discouraging, for some prospective international students. With our students, we like to take it as a challenge. Remember that 15% of admitted first-years for the Fall of 2023 were international, and you could be one of those students with the right grades, scores, interests, extracurriculars, and essays. Honing your personal and academic profile to meet Harvard standards is one of the ways an expert like us can make an impact on your application. 

In this post, we’ll break down what you need to know if you want to get into Harvard as an international student. These steps and tools can be put into action immediately, whether you are the equivalent of a high school junior or 4+ years out from applying to college. The best next step, though, is to ask for help. Getting into Harvard as an international student is statistically improbable, even as an objectively excellent candidate. And yet, we help students pull it off. When you’re trying to do the (nearly) impossible, experience matters.

Applying to college as an international student requires strategy.  Get yours.

As an international student applying to Harvard, you’re going to complete the same application as every other first year applicant. You have nearly the same requirements, with the addition of an if applicable, and there aren’t a bunch of other ways that Harvard proactively gives you to stand out from the thousands of other students (15,000 or so) also applying from outside of the United States.

So, in order to ensure that your application shines, you have to work within the opportunities and limitations of the Common Application (or the Coalition Application should you wish to use it). This means planning in advance for the ways Harvard will see you on paper, and amplifying the opportunities for your application to pop through carefully selecting and cultivating your interests.

Plan in Advance

The first step of applying to Harvard as an international student is to have started planning yesterday. Harvard requires standardized test scores, like the SAT or ACT, except for in . These tests are not last-minute commitments. You need to be preparing months in advance, and ideally further if English is not your first language.

And months in advance is pocket change compared to how we advise our students who ultimately get into Harvard. If you are really serious about Harvard, you should be strategizing at least two years in advance. This doesn’t mean that you have to have your future mapped out — in fact, you shouldn’t. You’re a kid. However, you do need to have a sense of what you love, and be leaning into it.

One challenge we often see for international students is differentiating their application from their peers due to a lack of opportunities for extracurricular experiences, or things outside of the classroom. School is often so all-consuming, that there aren’t clubs, student groups, or often even sports unless you are a specialist. We’ll go into pinpointing your interests more deeply below, but for now just remember that planning in advance offers you the opportunity to develop these aspects of your application.

Select Target Programs

If what you see when we say, “target programs” is a big flashing sign that reads “HARVARD,” that actually isn’t specific enough. To successfully apply to Harvard, you need to have a precise idea of what you want from Harvard, such that you can show them what you can offer, even if your ideal major may change before you officially declare a major during your sophomore year.

This means identifying a major, department, or program to use as your north star.

Sometimes the easiest way to start is by ruling things out.

First, you should definitely say that you want to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree, rather than a Bachelor of Science degree. This is a common international applicant mistake, as the SB sounds “more serious.” But only a few dozen students graduate with an SB each year, while 98% graduate with an AB.  

So, if we decide that shooting for an AB is the best option, let’s narrow it down to a few specific majors, which Harvard called Concentrations, that you may want to consider. By looking at on degree conferral, we can see what concentrations hold a large number of students (History and Literature with 46 seniors in one year) compared to, say, Folklore and Mythology with 3. If you are an international applicant choosing between focusing on either of those two options on your application, we’d highly advise the History and Literature route.

The of students in recent years can be found, though, in four places: Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics, and Government. All of these are Bachelor of Arts degrees, not Bachelor of Science, even though “Computer Science” has science in the name.  

You should also identify a network of activities at Harvard that are related to the chosen concentration — like a club, a study abroad program, a research opportunity, or another extracurricular. These aren’t things you can do now, obviously, but they are things you could do at Harvard, and they are something to aim towards.

So, if you want to study biology and are interested in a research opportunity, you should be pursuing research in biology now. That could mean an internship, a lab position during the summer, a relevant summer intensive, or a research assistant role.

If you want to study history and love writing papers that connect current events to historical precedents, you should be writing for a school newspaper, contributing to a journal or publication, doing independent research, and interning with a publication. 

None of this is busy work. Based on our experience getting international students into Harvard, it’s necessary.

The most important thing here, though, is identifying the target within Harvard to aim towards. You should have goals you are pointed towards, and an idea of how you are going to get there. And, ideally, you should have a guide pointing you in the right direction.

Pursue Verifiable Extracurriculars

One of the biggest hurdles we’ve seen international applicants to Harvard face is not being sure how to focus in on an interest or area of expertise beyond the course offerings at their school. However, it’s crucial that you go deeper for a strong Harvard application. One of the best ways of doing this is identifying the ideal concentration, as you did in the previous step, and working back from there. This goal concentration can be your guiding light in building a niche through your activities.  

Harvard does understand that schools outside of the United States often don’t have the types of clubs and activities that those within the US do. The solution to this is two-fold. First, start things. You may not have access to a student paper — but you can probably start one. You may not have a math club — but you can probably start one. Find a teacher willing to support you and start convincing your administration. This can take time, underlining the importance of planning ahead. We’ve helped kids all over the world petition administrations to start clubs.

The second thing you can (and should) do is to look externally. If you’ll be putting a bunch of things ��dz�’v�� started and run on your application, you should consider also signing up for an ‘official’ online course, or virtual or in-person program, through a high-caliber U.S. university.

Also, as you aim towards this target program at Harvard, you need to make sure that what you are doing outside of your coursework can be easily verified by admissions. They will not take the time to do a web search for each activity on your list. If the things you do are all independent and self-organized, you could just be making them up. “But why would anyone do that?!” you may be asking. Fair question, and yet it happens frequently. Harvard is on the look-out for students who are inflating their application with faked credentials.

None of these steps are technically required, and Harvard doesn’t tell you to take them. However, we know what actually works in the end. We help international students not just apply to the Ivy League, but get in.

Every year, we help strong students get into exceptional universities. Contact us for an assessment of your profile as an applicant.

What is Stanford looking for?

Stanford uses a holistic application review. To do this, they look at a lot of factors, however, they give different weights to them. They have published a chart to break down these factors as part of their .

While factors like GPA and Class Rank reign supreme, extracurriculars are “important.” We would maybe even say you should consider them to be very important. Now, you may be thinking, “Wait? How are they very important? They are just listed as important!” Well, it’s in a bit of a sneaky way. Character/Personal Qualities are listed as very important. There are two ways to show off your qualities. One is through essays and the other is through experience. That experience is going to come through via your extracurriculars… but more on that later.

In either case, your extracurriculars are important to Stanford and today we want to break down what that looks like.

Best extracurriculars for stanford

There is no one correct answer to this. Every student is different, but there is a certain caliber of student that Stanford is looking for. The easiest way to explain this is with a case study. We wanted to use a student we worked with recently who ended up at Stanford.

It’s all about Quality.

Stanford says on their website, “Students often assume our primary concern is the number of activities in which a student participates. In fact, an exceptional depth of experience” that they look for. Our case study student was passionate about STEM and was a strong leader. She showed off these qualities through her extracurriculars. Let’s break them down.

Intellectual Vitality and Academic Excellence

Stanford says on that they are looking for students with Intellectual Vitality and Academic Excellence. This should be evident in your extracurriculars. You need to push yourself to explore your academic interests both inside and outside of class. For example, our case study student wanted to study engineering. She started her school’s rocketry club and an engineering outreach program for middle schoolers. She also was the president of the STEM club at her school. She showed her curiosity and commitment to her academic niche and that is important when applying to Stanford.

Go the extra mile

Stanford is looking for students who excel in their passions. They say, “We want to understand the impact you have had at your job, in your family, in a club, in your school, or in the larger community, and we want to learn of the impact that experience has had on you.” They are looking for students who have made an impact and that means going the extra mile when it comes to commitment and follow through.

Our student took her interest in rockets and ran with it. After starting the Rocketry Team at her school, she used that experience to apply to internships. The summer before her junior year we helped her gain an internship at a California-based drone-start up. The next summer she went to a Rocketery start-up. She worked hard to get experience in unmanned aviation and engineering. This experience led to an exceptional and objectively impressive understanding of the field. This is exactly what Stanford is looking for.

Follow your passions (whatever they might be)

Stanford students contain multitudes. You need to excel in your academic passions, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t follow your other passions as well. You aren’t a robot and being well-rounded is going to help you. This student was passionate about crew and competed on the varsity team at her school. She also loved music and musicals. She performed in school musicals and was part of an elite honors choir. Her choir was even invited on a European tour which she went on during her junior year. She was able to show different sides of herself with a love of sports and the arts. (These are two popular pursuits amongst Stanford admits, but you should do what you love! 

Stanford is highly selective and the students who usually get in are pretty exceptional. They show off great qualities like academic excellence, leadership, and dynamism. If you hope  to apply to Stanford, you should push yourself to do the same when it comes to extracurriculars. Yes, it is a lot, but we can help.

Need help applying to Stanford? It’s what we do, reach out here.

Students with executive dysfunction often struggle with things like organization, time management, forgetfulness, and emotional dysregulation. Their symptoms can lead to teachers, their peers, and even their parents misunderstanding their behaviors as laziness or lack of care, which leads students with executive functioning issues to feel a great deal of shame and anxiety. As these students start thinking about college, they may begin to feel overwhelmed and want to put off the process altogether. That’s where we come in.

Why Hire Independent Counselors?

For students without executive functioning issues, having a private counselor in your corner can help all students achieve more out of the college prep process.

Even at private schools with dedicated college counseling departments, counselors are stretched thin. A college counselor at a top-tier private school might juggle dozens of students, and their hands-on involvement doesn’t start in earnest until mid-junior year. Usually they are most engaged senior year, and it’s largely focused on essays and application logistics. While in-school counselors are great resources for providing school-specific data and essay editing, they don’t get involved at the beginning. A private counselor, starting in your freshman, sophomore, or junior year, is the best way to shape your resume and application so it’s the strongest it can be.

And here’s the most important part: a lot of the students who get effortless As hire private counselors. The students who have the coolest and deepest extracurricular interests hire private counselors. And generally, the students who get into the best schools hire private counselors. In short, a private counselor can really help set a student up for success.

That’s where we come in. Hi! Elite colleges aren’t just looking for good grades and a long list of activities—they want students who are truly engaged, driven, and actively pursuing their interests in meaningful ways. That kind of standout application doesn’t happen overnight.

By working with students one-on-one as early as freshman year, we help them make intentional choices that strengthen their academic record, elevate their extracurricular profile, and build a compelling narrative that sets them apart. College admissions isn’t about last-minute scrambling; it’s about strategic planning. And students with executive dysfunction thrive when they’re given the structure and planning we provide.

What’s the Process?

When working with students with executive dysfunction, it’s important to give them the structure and support they need to navigate an already complicated and daunting endeavor like college prep. Their symptoms can make them burn out and get frustrated easily, but by having one-on-one support, they’re able to flourish and go through the process with confidence.

Discover interests

Through their weekly meetings with their counselor, students will start to figure out what they want to study and why. Our counselors get to know their students, asking questions that reveal potential academic interests – hidden or otherwise. Once larger topics have been identified, we find other ways for students to pursue their interests. In the beginning, this might look like online courses, books, documentaries, TED Talks, you name it. We encourage students to pursue what makes them excited, which in turn keeps them more engaged.

Develop a niche

One of the main ways our students stand out in the ever-growing pools of applicants is by narrowing down their academic interests. We help them go deeper than just “history” or “STEM,” instead, we help them find more niche topics that make them excited to learn and help them be more appealing as an applicant. Some students may come to us with something more narrow that they’re already interested in, like astrophysics, and from there we might help them discover a passion for exoplanets or asteroid monitoring. Each niche is personalized to each student.

Build out extracurriculars

Once our students start defining their interests and building a niche, we help brainstorm the right kinds of extracurricular activities for them. Whether it’s starting a club, landing a research position with a professor or PhD student, securing a standout internship, or developing an independent project, we customize our approach for each student. There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy because no two students are the same. We take the time to understand what excites and motivates them, then guide them in turning those passions into tangible experiences that make a real impact.

Long-term strategy

Building a niche and developing extracurriculars is just one piece of the puzzle. We also help students choose the right classes for them at their school, advise on things like standardized testing, and help plan activities and programs during their school breaks. Helping students plan their summer is one of the most influential parts of our process – students with executive dysfunction may be overwhelmed by completing a big project on top of all the regular school stuff they have to do, so using their summers to work on those passion projects is an absolute must.

Why TKG?

In short, we’ve worked with hundreds of kids who struggle with everything from autism, eating disorders, ADHD, executive dysfunction, and more. We know how these students’ brains work, and we’ve been able to positively impact their lives through our work. We have helped place many students with executive dysfunction at top 20 schools, we’ve helped give them the structure they need to accomplish their goals, and we make sure we’re always working from a place of empathy and patience.

We know students with executive functioning issues are trying their best – and we want to help them get there. With the right support, students can focus on their strengths and build an impressive application profile.

If your child is feeling overwhelmed by the college process and struggling to juggle all the moving pieces, we’re here to help. Reach out today.

The applications of top students can look nearly interchangeable when extracurriculars and electives are removed. Top performers all have exceptional grades in the hardest courses they have access to. They all have very strong standardized test scores. Even the clubs that students like you (because we’re guessing you are a top student) do are similar. If you’re really into the humanities, you may be an editor of the paper or lead a literature club. If you are an aspiring engineer, you do some STEM stuff. It all matters, and it all should be there on your application, but the truth is that it isn’t enough to really stand out — because everyone like you is doing nearly the exact same things.

One of the most impactful ways of being seen through the noise is an internship. Every year, we help our students find relevant and impactful internships that help their applications stand out. “Impactful” here doesn’t mean that you’re doing community service — although an internship may do that as well depending on your interests. Rather, we’re focused on internships that are more than a short mention in your activities section. The right internship can become the foundation for a long supplement, or even make its way into your main essay.  

Read on to learn how to turn the idea of an internship into action.  

We support driven juniors in building compelling applications that lead to outstanding acceptances. Learn More.

Getting an internship as a junior in high school can be broken down into four key steps that you can (and should) start today.

Step 1: Define Your Areas of Interest

You are a junior. You’ve finished two years of high school, can probably drive a car, and we really hope that you have some idea of what you are interested in (if not, call us). We aren’t saying that you should have charted your whole ‘perfect future’ in your mind. You don’t need to know what you want to be when you grow up down to your very job description, but you should have an idea of what types of industries you are drawn to, and what type of work environments you thrive in.

A good rule to remember is that you need to point yourself in a direction if you want to land there, even if ‘there’ is broadly defined. In Step 1, you are basically creating buckets that can sit next to each other, or even fit into each other, that will help you identify, find, and secure your ideal internship. For example, you could choose to define your areas of interest with the terms Engineering, Leadership, Teamwork, and Architecture. This could lead you to, say, looking for internships at large architecture firms that have in-house engineers.  

Another example may be History, Research, Politics, and Activism, which could lead you to look for an internship with a professor, think tank, nonprofit, or campaign.  

Wherever you want to look, and whatever interests you have defined, the next step is to put yourself on paper.

Step 2: Refine Your Resume

Ideally, you will have had a summer job before, volunteered for an extended period of time (like weekly for a semester) with a nonprofit, worked informally as a babysitting or mowing lawns, or even run your own small business. However, we also know it’s possible that ��dz�’v�� never engaged in any form of work of long-term engagement at all. And, even if you have, you may not have a resume. But you need one to get a great internship.

Your resume should be tailored to those areas of interest you identified earlier, which means that you don’t need to include every sports award ��dz�’v�� received. This filter will also help ensure that your resume is no more than one page. Seriously. And there is no excuse for bad formatting. There are many, many free resume templates on Google Docs and in Word, and basically any other word formatting software, so don’t try to make it up on your own. For resumes, templates work.

Continue on to steps 3 and 4, but before you actually submit a resume you need to write individualized cover letters for each company, presenting who you are, what you are looking for, and what you can offer. Start with the last, though. You always want to lead with how much you can bring to someone else, as opposed to leading with what you want from them.

Step 3: Look Around You

The best place to look for an internship, once you know what you want, is right around where you are. Sure, your dream internship may exist at a company in California, but if you live in Rhode Island that isn’t generally much help unless you have a parent who wants to move with you to San Diego for a summer. Instead of trying to make the case for a cross-country move in exchange for free labor, look close to home. What businesses or nonprofits are around you that appeal to the aspects you are looking for in an internship? Then, build connections. Maybe a parent, or parent of a friend, or relative works for one of them. Maybe your favorite teacher knows someone there. Using connections isn’t cheating, it’s networking — and networking is literally the secret to professional success.

Step four Small is Okay, But Find Room for Growth

You’re a junior; they aren’t going to name you CEO. Chances are that any internship you get will be small beans relative to the dreams you have for yourself. That isn’t just okay, it is to be expected. Starting small also sets you up for future opportunities. If you can make a good impression with a small internship, you may be offered a bigger opportunity during senior year. If so, take it — again, even if it isn’t your dream. This isn’t forever, but it is the kind of thing you need to be doing right now to differentiate your college applications from your classmates with the same grades, interests, and dream colleges, but without your internship experiences.

An internship isn’t as important as strong grades and test scores, but it can become a powerful storytelling tool in your applications that makes the difference with admissions officers when it comes time to submit.

Our students submit applications that succeed. Contact us to learn more.