application strategies

Demonstrated Interest at New York University

Everyone’s favorite dream school has gotten more competitive. Gone are the days of being a Violet (or a Bobcat or whatever their mascot is) as second-choice to Ivy League dreams. NYU’s acceptance rates have more than halved in the last ten years. HALVED!! In 2013, NYU had a 35% acceptance rate, which went down to 28% in 2017, down again to 19% in 2018, and finally for this last admissions cycle they’re down to 12.2%. And if we follow this math, it’s only going to get harder and harder to stand out amongst the piles of applicants.

How to Write Unique and Creative College Essay Conclusions 

You’ve worked extremely hard on your college essays. Spent hours on hours making it clear, concise, and powerful. You’ve told a beautiful story that tells the reader what you’re all about. It is your magnum opus. There’s one issue though, your conclusion is non-existent.

Early Decision 2021 Statistics

We are kind of numbers nerds. Seriously, we love pouring over data, especially the type of data that helps us prepare for next year’s college application season. By now, colleges have chosen their early decision admissions and many have shared that data online. We love to track this data and look for trends that might help our students make decisions in the future. This year was a bit of a mixed bag. So let’s look at the number for this year’s ED admissions.

Top 10 Least Popular Majors at Cornell

Getting into college can be tough. Getting into one of the nation’s top colleges, like Cornell or the other Ivies, can be near impossible. Students often ask us what they can do to get ahead. After all, they’re vying for a spot against countless other candidates with perfect grades, flawless essays, and extracurriculars that impress. Every little bit helps and we think landing on the right major is a solid strategy for getting ahead if the rest of your application is already perfect.

Junior Year: Preparing for College 

College applications are stressful for everyone, but thankfully, with a bit of preparation in your junior year, you can make the process much easier. But the thing that is hard is that there are no ‘hard’ deadlines in Junior year. It is the time to leverage your self-determination and organizational skills to pursue leadership, excel academically, and build relationships.

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.

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.