Having excellent grades isn’t enough to get into an elite schools as a STEM major. Majors in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields are often among the most competitive. If you dream of attending a top college, great grades and scores are just the first steps. You also need to have amazing extracurriculars. It’s never too early to start building a stand-out extracurricular resume. But how? Don’t worry; we are here to break it down for you.

Harvard is, well, Harvard. As one of the most famous universities in the world, offering degrees that many see as golden tickets to a prosperous future, they definitely don’t need us gassing the school up. And they aren’t wrong. Going to Harvard offers students access to a learning experience, community, and, perhaps most importantly, network, that is only available at a handful of schools in the world. But you almost certainly know this, as you have a parent (or two) who already went to Harvard.

Dartmouth College is an outstanding undergraduate college within Dartmouth University, and part of the famed Ivy League. The college receives over 30,000 applications each year, including for the Class of 2028, and the acceptance rate for the same class was only — a record low for Dartmouth. The college is especially known for combining an exceptional academic program with an iconic community and social life. Students study hard, and they have lots of fun along the way. They have the most significant Greek Life of any Ivy, a historic athletic tradition, particularly in winter snow sports like nordic and downhill ski racing, and Hanover, New Hampshire is a beloved college town. Dartmouth is also known for a super tight-knit alumni community, and legacy admissions plays an important part of that.

Yale is one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and one of the hardest to get into. For nearly a decade, we’ve worked with international students to get into top-tier American schools, including Yale, and we’ve learned a lot along the way. In this post, we’re going to give prospective international applicants a peek into our playbook to help strengthen an application — starting far in advance. This isn’t just about writing a strong essay; it’s about building a competitive application over the long-term. First, though, let’s talk some statistics.

Cornell is a famed Ivy League research university in Ithaca, New York. The university is large, with over 16,000 undergraduates, and it is divided up into 8 smaller colleges that each provide their own unique experience and community. One of the unique aspects of Cornell, especially when compared to other top tier colleges, is the range of programs offered at the undergraduate level, including programs, like hospitality and agriculture, that don’t appear anywhere else in the Ivy League. Cornell is, subsequently, very difficult to get into. Students who want Cornell truly want the experience they offer, and there are far more students who want that experience than they can accept. The overall acceptance rate for first-years who enrolled in the fall of 2024, across all 8 colleges, was .

We love science-kids. Whether you are mad about math or an engineer of the future, majoring in a STEM field is an excellent choice for college. However, it is also a popular choice, especially when it comes to majors like engineering and computer science. Often, these types of majors represent the most challenging programs to get into at top schools. If you dream of getting accepted to an elite STEM program, it's never too late to start crafting a great resume. Freshman summer is the perfect time to jump in! But how? We are glad you asked.