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Caroline Koppelman
Why This College Essay Question Guide and ...

Why do you want to go to school here? If there’s one prompt you are certain to write more than once, it’s this one. This prompt comes in a few different flavors, but at the end of the day, they all want to know why their school is the perfect school for you and why you’re the perfect student for them. No pressure or anything.

Caroline Koppelman
Official Common App Essay Guide 2024-2025

We’ve spent the last few weeks breaking down the Common App essay prompt by prompt, and today we’re going to give you our ultimate guide to writing the Common App essay. There might be seven different prompts, but ultimately, all schools want the same thing from their applicants’ Common App essays: a story.

Caroline Koppelman
Rejected Early Decision from Columbia 2023

Getting a rejection in the Early Decision round is definitely not easy. But the good news is, it’s really just the start, and that one rejection has no bearing on how you’re going to do with other, similarly competitive schools. The thing about Early Decision is it comes alone and it comes first. It’s sometimes easier to tolerate a rejection when it’s preceded by several acceptance letters. College admissions are extraordinarily competitive these days and the Ivies are just more competitive than any other time or place in history. That’s it. It doesn’t get harder. And Columbia in particular has just a 4% acceptance rate! So, if you’ve been rejected in the Early Decision round, don’t despair. We have some advice about how you might go forward. (And don’t worry, it’s really not that much more work!)

Caroline Koppelman
Deferred by Harvard — Now What? (2023-24)

If you’ve been deferred by Harvard, you are not alone. Harvard is notorious at this point for deferring an enormous percentage of early admission applicants. While most elite colleges with early admissions programs, like early decision and early action, only defer students they are seriously considering for the next freshman class, Harvard has released on early admission suggest that they take a very different approach.

Caroline Koppelman
Writing the “Why This College” Essay

Even though every college has slightly different supplementary application materials, you’ll likely run into a variation of one question more than any other: “Why do you want to attend this school in particular?” It’s every institution’s way of saying, Let’s cut to the chase. Why us?

ivy league

How to Transfer to Cornell

We recently wrote a blog post on transferring into an Ivy League school and Cornell was a very clear outlier. When looking at the transfer acceptance rate chart from the post linked above, you might think “I want to go to a better school, Cornell is an Ivy, I’m going to apply there!” But in the grand scheme of things, an acceptance rate below 20% is not high. It’s only high when compared to the rest of the Ivy League schools. And it turns out there’s a reason for that figure, explained below:

Extra-curricular Activities to Get into Harvard

When it comes to Harvard admissions, everyone is looking for shortcuts. But the unfortunate truth is there just aren’t any. The only way in is by working extremely hard and building an impressive portfolio. Dedication and perseverance are what get you to home plate. If anyone tells you otherwise, they’re likely pedaling snake oil.  

College Essay Examples for Cornell

In this blog post, we take a deep-dive into the Why Cornell essay. The good news is, there is a formula to crack. There are several key points students should hit in reaching their overall objective of persuading the admissions committee that they are qualified to pursue their intended area of study. 

Tips for Applying to Harvard University Undergraduate

Have you ever heard the phrase “just because you can doesn’t mean you should?” Your preschool teacher probably said it to you after you coated your hair in fingerpaint, or after you decided it was easier to pee in the playground than to waste precious time going inside. If neither of those things happened, you probably heard it from a parent or grandmother, or concerned aunt. It’s a classic, and it’s a classic for a reason.

Applying to all Ivy League Schools is a Bad Idea

Here is a typical email (paraphrased) that we get this time of year…

My kid is applying to college, and we’re looking to hire someone to help us. He isn’t sure where he wants to go, so can you just do all of the Ivy League apps with him? We can do the rest on our own.

The only answer we give (albeit in a wordier and more *slightly* friendly format) is “N.O. Absolutely no.”


2018 Acceptance Analysis

2018 acceptances for the Class of 2022 are out and what we predicted has come to pass: it is harder to get into college than ever. HOT TAKE. Acceptance rates are plummeting, and the rates at top schools have yet again hit record lows. At the same time, the number of applicants who were waitlisted is off of the charts. Colleges are becoming more conservative in their admissions decisions. Unfortunately, students are bearing the brunt of it.