So you’ve decided to transfer or, at least, to apply. Welcome to an enormous club. According to a 2015 report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, more than a third of college students transfer, and nearly half of those who transfer will go on to transfer at least one more time.
Does Going to Camp look bad for College?
Will Taking Harder Classes (honors, AP, advanced, IB) Help me get into Top Schools?
We receive dozens of the same questions during every single application season. They range from questions about testing, grades, time management, and class selection, but we want to make sure that you know we hear you. Every time you email us, we reply to each individualized question. But in order to make this knowledge as accessible as possible, we’ve started to address these questions in the public forum () so that you can understand our stance on the hot topics of college applications. Let’s get started with a question that plagues every single student around this time of year as they’re selecting classes for next year: “Should I take the AP class?”
How Much Do SAT/ACT Scores Matter?
Listen, we agree that humans are not quantifiable, that your potential isn’t dictated by a number, and that standardized testing is sometimes fickle and frustrating. All of that is true. But while we’d love to be able to say that scores don’t matter and that you being a great person and a world-class tap dancer will get you into your dream school, they do matter. A lot.
Summer Ideas for Juniors Who Are Interested in Science
Many kids dream of taking the summer after Junior to go on a Teen Tour, go spend one last summer at camp, or catch up on the last 26 seasons of Doctor Who. While the desire to engage in these activities is totally understandable following the completion of an entire year of , we encourage our students to fight the urge and consider summer the optimal time to secure their eligibility at their first-choice schools.
Summer Ideas for Juniors Who Are Interested in Writing and Journalism
Rory Gilmore from the CW classic, Gilmore Girls was a model student. She was a staff writer for her high school paper, transferred to a prestigious prep school to increase her odds of attending Harvard, and when she wasn’t hanging out with her boyfriend (Dean or Jess, depending on the season), she could often be found beneath her favorite tree, reading “Anna Karenina” for fun.
How to Write the Washington And Lee Supplement
Washington and Lee University is a small liberal arts school of about 1,800 undergraduates. It’s located in Lexington, VA. It is known for being academically rigorous, and students who attend greatly embrace the outdoors. It has been coeducational for only 37 years, having admitted its first class of women in 1985. The university also operates on a peculiar schedule—each year is comprised of Fall term and Winter term, where classes are in session for 3 months before finals period begins, and then there is Spring term. Spring term is only 4 weeks long, and students take just 1 class during that time period. It’s a time to delve deep into a particular subject. Students get a lot out of studying something specific for a short period of time, as all of their attention is devoted to that one class. However, before enjoying their interesting academic schedule, you have to get in. We break down their supplement below:
Does Attending a School’s Summer Program Increase my Chances for Freshman Admission?
Though what students do during the academic year is important, there are also 3 months out of the year where students aren’t in school. These months are additionally important because they illustrate how students use their free time. Colleges consider this chunk of time an opportunity, as do we. As should your student. Many top tier colleges offer summer programs for students to participate in and we often get the question: “Does attending Brown’s (Harvard, Penn, Princeton, etc.) summer program increase his chances of getting in?”
What Other Materials May I Submit in Addition to the Common Application?
We had a student who had a particular obsession with baking. He specialized in creating these incredibly intricate lattice tops for pies. This student also designed and executed those kinds of pie crusts that have various cookie cutter shapes on top, layered in such a way that is so impressive. A true sight to behold. This was a passion of his and when it came time to submit their college application…he wanted to send a pie. Listing “avid pie crust designer” in the just wasn’t going to cut it. We were a little bit stumped but ultimately decided that sending an actual food item to an admissions office might result in being flagged for anthrax or something insane. Instead, we helped this student create an art portfolio of sorts, but instead of photographs of human subjects or still life paintings, we staged a photo shoot for his pie crusts. The photos came out wonderfully and we submitted all of the photos along with his application. . Maybe it was because of the pie crusts, maybe it had nothing to do with them. What we are pretty sure about is that it at least caught the admissions readers’ eyes. Because who else could have submitted a photography portfolio filled with images of beautifully designed pie crusts? We’d venture to say literally not one other applicant.
Deferred from Early Decision: A Guide to Freeing Yourself from the Upside Down
A Letter to Students About to get Deferred
What to Do If You Get Rejected from Your Early Decision School
Getting rejected from your Early Decision school can be heartbreaking. You’re 17 or 18 years-old. This is probably the first big rejection of your life and even if it’s not, it’s the first time you’ve been rejected by something so recognizable in society. Losing your student government race can be crushing, too, but getting rejected from a place you’ve heard of since you were a little kid can be rougher and you know what? It’s okay to be heartbroken.
5 Steps to Take If You Get Deferred
Deferrals can be rough. In fact, we find that they can be rougher than flat-out rejections because at least rejections provide closure instead of thrusting you into Deferral Limbo. While few of our students get deferred, we have developed a step-by-step backup guide for kids who find themselves in .
How to Get Into College With Bad Grades
We receive a lot of questions from parents and students alike that have to do with GPA, grades, scores, school choice, and likelihood of admission. What everyone really wants to know, though, is this: can my kid get into his dream school if he has less than stellar grades/scores? Let’s not beat around the bush. The answer is: YES. But there are some caveats to that yes, so read on.
How to Write the Princeton Supplement: A Practical Guide to Getting In
Some students struggle with the Princeton supplement because there are a number of questions and infinite ways one could answer them. But don’t get caught up in the pressure of thinking you have to sound sophisticated for the . As we’ve , the supplement is your chance to show your dream school who you really are. It’s personal. So, think of each part of the supplement as a chance to show Princeton a unique side of you.
How to Write the Lafayette College Supplement
How to Write the Mount Holyoke Supplement
Mount Holyoke is an all-women’s liberal arts college in South Hadley, MA. With about 2,100 undergraduates, Mount Holyoke is small and has a significant focus on research. If you apply to Mount Holyoke, we encourage you to visit and do a lot of research on the school. As for their supplement, here’s how to approach it:
What Are the Most Important Criteria in the Admission Process?
Can I Submit More Than One Version of My Common App Essay to Different Schools?
Students sometimes ask us whether or not they can submit different versions of the Common Application essay to different schools. As we’ve said before, the Common App is changeable. So yes, you can absolutely change the essay, submit it to a school, change it, and submit it again.
But why on earth would you do that?