We get a lot of questions about which classes kids should take senior year. Somewhat surprisingly, this can be a contentious topic. While we always want to encourage our students to follow their hearts, junior year can be make-or-break and your course load and schedule are crucial components. We have a bit of advice for students who are really grappling with the potential academic paths ahead: keep trucking along.
How Many Colleges Should I Apply to?
We get this question a lot: how many schools should I be applying to? The answer is a bit different for everyone, but we’re very intentional about the range that we suggest for each person, which is between 8-12. More is not better, in this situation. It’s just more stress and more work. And at a certain point we’re looking at diminishing returns in terms of essays and overall work quality if you’re applying to 18-20 schools. We know that it’s scary to have fewer schools on the list, but if you’ve done everything right leading up to this point, there really should only be 8-12 schools on your list. Why this range? A few reasons.
The Best Colleges in Los Angeles
So you want to go to school in la la land. We don’t blame you--the weather rules, the beach is close, there are tons of internship opportunities, and an overflowing handful of incredible schools in the Los Angeles area of all shapes and sizes. And we know, LA isn’t just for folks who are interested in working in Hollywood. There are also lots of opportunities for those interested in the arts, politics, sciences, tech (haven’t you heard: Silicon Valley is and on the move!), and beyond. Today we’re breaking down the best colleges in Los Angeles for you.
Top Materials Science and Engineering Undergraduate Colleges & Programs in the US
Materials engineers are detail-oriented and accurate workers with an eye for incongruities and efficient decision-making. If you love to solve puzzles, materials engineering might be for you. Potential career industries for materials engineers include biotechnology, tech, aerospace, research labs, and more. The fact is that materials engineers are highly sought after and can contribute to any industry that ‘creates,’ which is essentially every industry. Fun fact: Materials Scientists and Engineers have some of the highest starting salaries upon graduation from their undergraduate program.
Which Reach Schools Should be on a College List?
Reach schools: a sensitive topic. We know. Every year, we have to talk our clients down from 8 to 3 reach schools on their list, and it’s rarely pretty. Sometimes, there are tears. Often, there are large exhales. We understand that it’s challenging to whittle the “reach” category of your list down to a realistic size and scope because the college application process is probably one of the most challenging and stressful times in your life thus far. And making decisions when you’re stressed out is hard. We don’t envy you, but we do want to help you and remind you that with this blog post and every other one that we are on your side. We want you to go to college just as much as you do.
How to Build a College List: a Checklist
Building your college list can be an overwhelming and somewhat daunting task. When we construct our college lists with our students, we make sure that the list is balanced in terms of the likelihood of application review (sorry if this is “,” but applying to Yale on a whim with a 26 ACT score “just because,” is probably a waste of time and money), but consistent in terms of fit. What do we mean when we say “fit?” We mean that we want you applying to schools that are all of the following: cultural, academic, and social fit. Here’s a checklist to methodically take you through how to make sure that your college list is built-out correctly.
What Classes Should I Take Freshman Year of High School?
We sometimes work with families as early as , but oftentimes we don’t start working with them until after they’ve begun their freshman year. This means that they’ve already selected and started their classes. is a big task that we tackle with each and every one of our students, and because we often miss out on this process with 9th graders, we wanted to clue every rising freshman (and their parents, who we’re going to assume are reading this right now. Hi.) in on some considerations to have when you’re making your class selections.
How to Transfer to Amherst
Amherst is a small, highly competitive liberal arts school in Amherst, Massachusetts. Given that Amherst is quite difficult to get into as a freshman, it should come as no surprise that their transfer acceptance rate is below 5%. Their website will take you through the requirements, but we’ll go over the required writing supplements below.
How to Write a Letter of Continued Interest
One of the steps that we suggest after being deferred is to write a letter of continued interest. When you’re in limbo, it’s completely understandable to get stressed out and overwhelmed, but trust us when we say that taking steps to contact your dream school will alleviate some of your anxiety. There are no guarantees, but you do have one last chance to double down on your interest in X school.
How to Transfer to Pomona
Pomona is a small liberal arts school in California, and is also a member of the Claremont Colleges. Pomona didn’t release their regular acceptance year, so it makes sense that their transfer acceptance rates are not published by the school either. If you’re considering applying to Pomona as a transfer, be aware (and accepting) of the fact that it’s an uphill battle. Hot tip: Before you start writing, read through all of the questions to avoid overlap. Good luck!
How to Transfer to Tufts
Tufts is a private research university in Medford, Massachusetts, and you can read more about their transfer requirements . We’re breaking down the prompt that is required of every Tufts transfer applicant below. However, additional questions will populate after you’ve chosen what school and program you’re applying to. Because we don’t know your life and/or what program our blog readers are interested in, we’re only going over the question that everyone will be asked. Don’t forget to check for the other questions once you’ve written this one.
How to Transfer to Williams
Williams, a small liberal arts school in Massachusetts, has a transfer acceptance rate that rivals the Ivy League. It is difficult to find statistics online that came directly from Williams, but it has been reported that their transfer acceptance rate is 3%. We’ll break down their supplements below, but be sure to check their website for additional requirements.
What is a Letter of Continued Interest?
A letter of continued interest, which we have sometimes called a deferral package, is a letter that you send to the admissions office after you’ve been deferred or placed on the waitlist of a school. And while we think that it’s important to tell your dream school that you still want to attend, we are not suggesting that you send a letter of continued interest to every school that you’ve been deferred from. The process is similar to writing another (shorter) supplement, and if you don’t have valid reasons for still wanting to attend, and pertinent updates, you’ll be wasting your time and the time of the person reading the letter.
What to Expect Sophomore Year of High School
We’ve written about the importance of sophomore year and have even written up a checklist for you to track your progress through milestones that occur during this important year of high school. Here’s what to expect sophomore year, and what makes it different from other years:
Why Is USC So Popular?
How Important is Freshman Year of High School
Transferring to Cornell University
Last year, we did a deep dive into transferring to Cornell. This is because Cornell is a true outlier among the Ivy’s with a transfer acceptance rate of 18%-19% for the past four years. For context, Princeton didn’t even accept transfer students until last year and Columbia’s transfer acceptance rate is around 6%.
Transferring to Penn (The University of Pennsylvania)
Penn’s transfer acceptance rate has hovered around 8% for the past few years. Especially when attempting to transfer into top tier schools, it’s important to keep in mind that 1) they’re only replacing the small percentage of students who left and 2) acceptance rates are low across the board. And if you were out of range to apply right out of high school, one year of good grades in college won’t do much to help because the evaluation process includes high school performance. If you’re serious about transferring and think Penn is the place for you, keep reading. We’ll detail the three required writing supplements, but be sure to check for additional requirements for special programs.
How to Recover from a bad Freshman Year in High School
So, you had a not-so-great freshman year? You’re likely reading this because you ended your freshman year with a less-than-stellar GPA or you just felt like your performance was lackluster. It happens, and we commend you for searching out information to better yourself in the future. It’s better than getting to senior year, realizing your GPA sucks, and frantically Googling, “how to get into college with bad grades.” (Yes, we wrote a blog post with this title.) The first step is admitting you have a problem! We’re here to tell you: it’s going to be okay. We know that you are capable of more and we want to help you get on track. Here are three easy steps to getting out of a freshman year hole:
Transferring to Harvard University
We all know how hard it is to get into Harvard as a freshman. Anyone who went there will be sure to tell you twice! And getting in as a transfer is basically impossible. We don’t tell you this to break your spirit, we tell you this because if you’re going to apply, you should go into the process knowing that you have a 1% chance of getting in. There have been years when they don’t let anyone in.