Clients are always asking us how they can get ahead in the college admissions process. College is hyper-competitive these days and with many schools going test-optional since the pandemic began, some students feel as though they have fewer opportunities to showcase their talents above neck-and-neck competition.
What to do Junior Year Summer
Your junior summer is your last summer of high school, but also the first real step towards college. This is the last time you’ll be able to truly affect your college application: what you do in your summer should build on your extracurricular activities so that you can show colleges a true narrative of who you are and what you’re interested in.
Should I Tour Every School on my List?
This blog could simply be the word “no,” but that would probably be unhelpful. Most of the students we work with end up compiling a list of around 10 schools to apply to and during that process, many of them think that they need to visit every school they put on that list. We always tell them, it isn’t as necessary or even as helpful as they think it is. We say this for a couple of reasons which are important for students who might be pushing themselves to go on visits to understand.
Top 10 Least Popular Majors at Brown University
We are often advising clients on how to get ahead in a world in which prestigious universities have single-digit acceptance rates. First and foremost, you need to have the basics down if you really want to get into an Ivy League school like Brown. You must have a stellar GPA in the most advanced classes offered at your school. You have to have exceptional extracurriculars. You also need to have really excellent essays. But each year, tons of hyper-qualified students apply to the Ivies. So how is anyone supposed to get ahead? One strategy we suggest is picking the right major.
How to Write a Letter of Continued Interest
Getting deferred is no one’s dream, but it’s not the worst-case scenario. Our students are often sad or even embarrassed when they are deferred from their early decision school. We totally get it, your emotions are valid, but we like to try to refocus our students when they start to get in the dumps about getting deferred. Getting deferred doesn’t mean you didn’t get in. We like to think of it as a second chance and with that second chance, there is a new opportunity to put your best foot forward. Our favorite way to do this is with a letter of continued interest.
How to Write a College Essay for Transfer Students
If you are thinking about transferring, you know that you are going to have to write some essays. Great transfer essays are kind of like ven diagrams: they show the overlap between you and the school. Pretty much every essay you write in the transfer process should lead the reader to think, ‘Wow, they are perfect for this place!’ It helps that a lot of the essay questions feel like excuses to write love notes to the school: why do you want to go here? What do you want to study? What do you want from an education? Etc. We see these types of questions pop up every year. While questions can vary from college to college, there are some tricks that can be applied broadly to writing a great transfer essay.
Top 10 Least Popular Majors at Columbia University
When it comes to college admissions, everyone wants a new angle. But we’ve found one truth in the admissions process: there’s no substitute for good grades. We work with our students to stand out from the stacks of applications through unique and thoughtful essays and resumes that impress, but ultimately, if you’re trying to get into an Ivy League school like Columbia, you must have the GPA to cut it. That said, if you’re a top-caliber high schooler itching to get ahead of the competition, there are a few other tricks you can keep in mind. Honing in on the right college major is one of them.
How to Transfer into a Top-Tier College
Just like in first-year admissions, getting into a top-tier college as a transfer is competitive. Top colleges can be very selective when it comes to transfers. But that doesn’t mean that you should be discouraged. Going with a plan and being organized will help you get into an elite transfer school. And we are happy to share our top 4 tips to make a first-rate transfer obtainable.
Transfer Application Strategies for NYU
So you want to transfer to NYU? We get why you would want to. They have great programs in most subjects, plus, getting to live in NYC is nothing to sneeze at. However, NYU is difficult. They even say it on their website, “Admission for transfer students is highly competitive.” So you will need to make your application shine.
5 Tips for Transferring Colleges After One Year
So you are looking into transferring colleges? The first thing we want to say is good for you. It’s easy to stay at a place that isn’t right for you (lots of people do!) We are super pro-transferring if you don’t feel like your current college is the right fit. That being said, transferring takes a little work. Ok, in most cases more than a little, but it doesn’t need to be scary. By utilizing a couple of simple tools and tricks, you can ensure that your transfer will go as smoothly as possible and we are here to give them to you.
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How to Plan for College in High School
A lot of people freak out when they hear the idea that they should think about college freshman year. But the whole application process is really a four-year journey and freshman year is the foundation. It doesn’t have to be intimidating. Think about freshman year as a time to explore your passions and position yourself for success in the future so it doesn’t pour down on you in your junior year. Then, you should spend sophomore, junior and senior year expanding upon what you’ve started to build. In other words, it’s a marathon, not a sprint and we recommend starting your run at a nice, easy pace early on.
Top 10 Least Popular Majors at Princeton
College admissions are like an extreme Olympic sport these days. That is to say, they’re hyper-competitive. It would seem no matter what you do, you’re going to be duking out with an equally-qualified candidate, if not several. While we want to prepare kids for the fact that college admissions can be a daunting process, we also believe there are ways to get ahead. Focusing on the right major might be a good investment of your time.
Top 10 Least Popular Majors at Yale
We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: colleges are very, very hard to get into these days. Kids try all kinds of tricks to get into great schools, going so far as to move into lower-performing school districts in their final years of high school to get ahead in the rankings. (By the way, we do not recommend this. Doing so takes away spots from potentially less-privileged kids who’ve earned the opportunity). Instead, we usually prescribe good-ole-fashioned hard work and planning. There is no substitute for excellent grades, a solid resume, and stunning essays. But there are a few strategies you might want to consider. Choosing the right major is one of them.
What Is a Yield Rate and Why Is It Important?
When it comes to college admissions, there are tons of statistics at play. The most discussed is the dreaded acceptance rate, which (as we’ve written ad nauseum), has slowly crept downward for top-tier schools year after year. But lurking in the background of the whole process is a more mysterious calculation: the college yield rate. A yield rate is essentially the number of students that are accepted to a given school who end up attending. This is why you should care:
Deferred from College: Now What?
Getting deferred from your top school can be a gut punch. You worked your butt off, likely with the expectation of getting in. The first thing we recommend you do is to take a breath. (You’re going to be okay!) Keep in mind, while it’s not ideal, it’s not personal. You might just want to sit down and stay down, but you have a little ways to go before you can breathe a sigh of real relief. We recommend following these next steps:
Deferred from Dartmouth Early Decision
We’re guessing you’re here because you got deferred from Dartmouth. We’re sorry that happened, and we encourage you to take some time to yourself to feel your feelings about it. But, if you’re reading this, you probably want to do something about it. Our guide will help you make a strategy for the rest of regular decision, while also sending your last pitch to Dartmouth.
Deferred from Columbia Early Decision
Deferred from Princeton Early Action
If you’re reading this, you probably just got deferred from Princeton. We’re sorry you’re going through this right now. Take some time to process, be a little sad, and treat yourself to a nice coffee or something. This is not the end of the world. In this post, we have a few tips on how to best pitch yourself to Princeton again, and more importantly, how to diversify and expand your college list so you’re prepared no matter what.
Deferred from Penn (UPenn) Early Decision
We’re very sorry to hear you’ve been deferred from the University of Pennsylvania. We know this is a difficult time, but it’s more important than ever to think about how to maximize your chances of admission. We called Penn to ask about their deferral rates, but they specifically do not provide information on what proportion of applications are deferred each year. We do know, however, that approximately % of those deferred applications are eventually accepted. So, if you’ve been deferred, your chances for admissions are actually higher than those of normal regular-decision applicants. We’re going to talk about how to push your application into that 16%: we’ll outline what to do for the best chances of success.