Finishing Line: A Checklist Before You Hit Submit On Your College Applications

Posted by Kumar on January 4, 2012   |   No Comments

(1)   Look for grammatical errors. Read the entire application out loud. Yes, this is an annoying and boring process. However, if you write butt instead of but, no amount of facepalming is going to save you the embarrassment.

(2)   Make sure you wrote the right university down. One of the most common errors in college applications is addressing the wrong school in your essay. Often times you substitute names for your “Why I Want To Go To ________ University” essay. Please don’t mistake Boston University for Boston College.

(3)   Check your attachments. People forget to attach things all the time. Chances are the school will not give you a call with a friendly reminder.

(4)   Have someone look over your essays for last minute changes. You’ll be surprised to know how big of a difference a second set of eyes can make for any piece of written work.

(5)   Click the right boxes. Don’t say you’re a delinquent if you’re not. Don’t select Asian if you’re White. Don’t forget to waive anything you’re supposed to waive. Look over the boxes you’ve clicked so nothing you send over is questionable or false.

(6)   Check in with the people who are supposed to send in your documents. Give friendly reminders to your teachers, counselors, registrars, coaches, captains, instructors and whoever else may be sending in your materials. Your application needs to be complete as soon as possible on your end.

(7)   Celebrate. You’ve just completed the most stressful, annoying, pressurizing, and overwhelming process that many high school seniors have ever faced. Now it’s your chance to congratulate yourself. Break out the Haagen Daz, and eat right out of the container. You deserve the whole pint today.

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How to Write Your College Application Essays During the Holidays

Posted by Kumar on December 22, 2011   |   No Comments

January 10th. January 15th. January 30th. These dates are coming closer than your stomach is to bursting the button off your jeans during Christmas dinner (rookie mistake, sweatpants are a must during any big meal.) It’s almost impossible to divide your time equally between watching Elf on T.V for the fifteenth time and attempting to eloquently compare yourself to an iPad (please don’t compare yourself to an iPad in a college application essay). Here are three sure-fire ways to meet your college application deadlines and still watch the Times Square Ball drop. Tangent: New Year’s Eve, the movie, sucked.

1. Make A Timeline: If you don’t give yourself very specific deadlines, you will NEVER meet them. You’ll drag out the essays and then do a cruddy job while turning something in at 11:59 AM on January 10th. Your deadlines should include what part of your essay needs to be complete, what day it needs to be complete and what time it needs to be complete. Example:

  • First draft: December 28th. 3 PM.
  • Second draft: December 30th. 3 PM
  • Reading it out-loud to Mom: January 1st.  11 AM.
  • Final edits: January 2nd.  Noon.
  • Submit: January 3rd . 5 PM.

No one should take seven days to write 500 words, but you still need to give yourself a night to sleep on what you wrote. What sounds good today can sound terrible tomorrow..

2. Spend More Time Editing than Writing: Often times you’ll write a first draft and think you just need to read over what you wrote for some grammatical imperfections. The best essays have been rewritten so that every detail, every adjective, and every word play sounds fresh. Edit then re-edit. Make sure you have another great writer proof your work.

3. Schedule in Full Fun Days: Everyone needs a break during the holidays. If you spend every single day working on your essays, you’ll start to hate them. It’ll show up in your work. Most of the time, you know you’re just going to be stalking people’s holiday photos on Facebook instead of actually writing anyway. It’ll make you feel like you’ve been “working” forever. Take December 25th and December 31st completely off if you want. Make time for you, your family, presents and gingerbread cookies.

 

                                                          Happy Holidays Friends!

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Early Decision Winners 2016. What Worked?

Posted by Kumar on December 20, 2011   |   2 Comments

News has trickled into ivypoint Prep’s ivory tower about which students have made it into their dream school early this year. We had the Ecstatic. The Bummed. The Confused. The Insulted. And most often…the Hysterical.   Emotions are running high whether you were accepted, deferred, rejected or even still applying. While, I’ve done no statistical analysis of 2016 undergraduate applicants worldwide, I can tell you what trends our ivypoint Prep  experts have noticed this semester so far.

  • As usual, SATs and GPAs are important. Nonetheless, this year SAT IIs are becoming academic deal breakers.  They make an even larger difference for splitters: students with either a great GPA but a weak SAT score or students with a fantastic SAT score but a so-so GPA. SAT IIs highlight that you can keep up with the academic challenges of the school even before AP/IB scores are available. They can also make up for your weakness in one area of a subject. If you scored a 600 on the Critical Reading section of your SAT but a 710 on your Literature SAT II, your SAT II score proves that you have certain academic abilities. Take relevant SAT IIs in subjects you’re interested in and make them count.
  • Run-of-the-mill extra-curricular activities do not cut it…even if you have been playing piano for 10 years. A couple of years ago, commitment played a huge role in evaluating your extra-curricular activities. If you were on the debate team, they wanted to see how many years you attended tournaments. If you were in Model UN, they wanted to see what position of leadership you held in the club. Most people have caught on that you have to be involved, but it looks like top-tier colleges are holding unique experiences on higher pedestals now. Among the students I spoke to that applied to early admission into schools like Harvard and Duke, I had a part-time writer for a major newspaper, a student pilot, an Irish government intern and a programmer of a new software program admitted.  
  • Collecting lots of AP/IB Classes is pretty necessary. In the past, many parents have assumed that enrolling in 3 or 4 AP classes for all of high school is enough for the top 25 schools. This notion is outdated. Colleges are looking for challenging curriculum, not just high GPAs. It doesn’t matter how challenging your regular high school program is, APs and IBs set a standard that makes you comparable to other applicants. Competitive candidates take 4 to 5 higher-level classes a year.
  • Essays that are not about YOU were given a cold shoulder. Every year I have students who try to send in application essays that are about their grandparents, their heroes, and books they’ve read. These types of essays may make very emotional writing pieces, but they are not winners during the admissions process. Essays that talk about someone or something else aside from YOU detract from your application. If more than 5% of the essay is not about your own experiences, it’s time to do some major editing.           


For my friends who didn’t get what they wanted this December: It’s never too late. Now is the time to re-write essays and send in supplemental materials to your dream schools explaining to them why you are a perfect fit for their school. Also, consider exploring other schools. We may think we know exactly what we want until we find something even better out there.  Don’t you people watch How I Met Your Mother? Don’t pull a Mosby.

- Kumar

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More Updates: Waiting on Early Decision.

Posted by Kumar on December 19, 2011   |   No Comments

Just as an update to last week’s post:

American- Added Early Decision II

Brown – 556/2919 accepted. 19% decrease in their acceptance rate from last year. Most of their efforts went into recruiting engineers for their new program that started in 2010.

Columbia- 631 accepted. 554 deferred. 3088 rejected. 20% increase in their acceptance rate from last year.

Duke- 648/2641 accepted through Early Decision. 20% increase in applications, but about the same number of accepted students. Acceptance rate dropped.

Harvard- 772/4231. 18% acceptance rate.

Princeton- 726/3443. 21% acceptance rate.

Williams- 239/566 applicants accepted. This will make up 43% of their class.

Yale- 15.7% acceptance rate (up from 14.5%). They also had a decrease in their number of applicants by 18% similar to UPenn. This is probably because both Harvard and Princeton opened up Early Decision again.

Schools My Students Hungrily Are Waiting On: University of Michigan and University of Virginia.

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Waiting for Early Decision Acceptances

Posted by Kumar on December 14, 2011   |   No Comments

The good news? As the numbers start to roll in, it looks like the trend this year is an increase in Early Decision acceptances in top-tier schools. Some of you have already heard back. Some of you are still waiting for December 15th or later (University of Chicago, for example, releases on the coming Monday).  It’s almost like waiting for your O.W.L.S …only bigger.

Let’s take a look at some of the trends schools are reporting shall we?

Some Early Decision/Action numbers for your perusal:

Dartmouth: 465/1800 Early Decision Applicants Accepted. 2.6% Increase in Acceptance Rate from last year.

NYU:  3, 182 Applicants. 7% Increase in Applications for Early Decision I.

Stanford: 755/5880 Early Action Applicants Accepted.

UPenn: 1,148/4526 Early Decision Applicants Accepted. 1% Decrease in Acceptance Rate from last year.

Already Sent out Early Decision Acceptances:

  • Brown
  • California Institute of Technology
  • Columbia
  • Cornell
  • Georgetown
  • Northwestern University
  • Stanford
  • Washington University in St. Louis
  • William & Mary

I’ll have more updates on early decision acceptances and deferrals later this week.

It’ll be interesting to see what types of students are accepted for various schools for the Class of 2016.

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Do College Admissions Committees Have Quotas for My High School?

Posted by Kumar on December 7, 2011   |   No Comments

No blanket answer exists that applies to all colleges for this question. For majority of all universities, there is no number of students that the university sets to admit from a particular high school. In other words, if there are 9 students that are admitted from fictional, but awesome Kumar High School into Northwestern University, lucky Mr/Ms. 10 can probably still get in. Then you may ask: what about schools like Stuyvesant High School that sent 113 grads one year to Harvard, Princeton and Yale? Or perhaps J.P Stevens High School that sends a sizeable amount to Georgetown University? Isn’t Raffles in Singapore the “gateway into the Ivy League”?  These universities are playing favorites I tell ya!

High schools that historically have strong academic and intellectual curriculums meet the criterion that many top-tier schools are looking for. They want to know that you can handle their academic rigor. If students from your high school in the past have excelled at your dream university, they illustrate to the admissions committee that you have also navigated through a similarly challenging high school process.  They look favorably on your high school in some-ways. Nevertheless, a set number is rarely ever seen in the admissions process. In the battle between private and public schools, people often question which type of education will get you into the best colleges. Obviously private schools can afford to beckon Ivy League resources. They also have programs that they can offer their students to be more assertive about college admissions. Nonetheless, public-school educations still dominate admissions by a land-slide. The bottom line: get good grades, ace the SATs, volunteer every weekend, start a club, craft superb essays, and maybe even chit-chat with Kumar (:D) That’s going to matter more than figuring out which high school will statistically guarantee you admission into Dartmouth.

XWYRNMEM4CKM

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I Missed Early Decision. Now What Do I Do?!

Posted by Kumar on November 15, 2011   |   No Comments

Similar to all great movies some great colleges include a sequel. If you couldn’t figure out which university to sign your life to or you couldn’t finish up your essays, do not fear! You have a second chance! There is a whole bouquet of colleges that you can pick from to apply for Early Decision II. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this sneaky little opportunity, Early Decision II, works just like Early Decision I- except the deadline is later.  Deadlines are in early January.

10 Schools That Have This Great Sequel:

  • Vanderbilt
  • NYU
  • Colgate
  • Vassar
  • George Washington
  • Emory
  • Wesleyan
  • Carnegie Mellon
  • Bryn Mawr
  • Tufts

And More!

 5 Advantages for You:

  •  Schools may accept a December SAT Score. Enough time for you to make a comeback and still be at your dream school!
  • You have more time to visit campuses, so you can be absolutely sure you want to go there.
  • You can still prove that a particular school is your number one choice.
  • Winter Holidays give you the chance to edit your essays while sipping on eggnog.
  • Decisions are made way before April…they’re mostly handed out in February. That’s less anxious waiting for the whole family.

In other Early Decision news, you might be interested in knowing that this year Harvard and Princeton have both restarted taking non-binding early applications. Princeton got a whopping 3,547 applications. This means some other big league schools, like UPenn and Dartmouth, had a slight drop in their total applicants. Other schools have their work cut out for them. UVa reported 11,417 non-binding early-action applications. Ouch.

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What to Do as You Await Your November SAT Score

Posted by Kumar on November 15, 2011   |   No Comments

A good week has passed by since you took that test. You’re still trying to figure out which one was the experimental and no longer ever want to visit the Grand Canyon. Annoying hexagons and too many trees tried to trick you up in those math sections. Anxiety has kicked in because the countdown is now one week to your scores (scores will release on November 22nd for the empty-headed individuals at the back of the classroom…)    So what now???

  • Check in to a movie theater. Sure, the last Shrek movie sucked, but Puss in Boots is AWESOME. Antonio Banderas is hilarious not to mention the fact that Puss and his ladylove have some serious dancing skills. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry (not really) and you’ll be able to escape into a world of fairy tales. Of course you can also do that this weekend while watching the new Twilight movie. No judgment from me.
  • Take time to research colleges and plan visits. For my junior year overachievers, I hope you can start to list the colleges you would consider applying to next fall. Exploring all the different majors, the organizations, and the locations of multiple colleges takes time and consideration.  It might make you feel productive to do this while you feel helpless waiting for your SAT score. For my stressed out seniors, if you haven’t taken time to visit colleges yet, it’s time to get a move on. Make a list and plan on visiting on any of the weekends between now and January. The earlier the better. Your college application essays are more likely to show some passion if you’ve actually researched or been to the school you’re applying to this year.
  • Pull out that Easy-Bake Oven. It’s almost the holidays everyone. That means pecan pies, sugar cookies, and the constant scent of cinnamon all around.  Deee-licious. Practice those recipes so you can perfect them before Thanksgiving and feel productive while waiting for D-Day.
  • Apologize to your parents and friends for being obnoxious for the past several weeks. Chances are you were a little bit snooty while studying for your test. It’s not your fault, it happens to the best of us. Go take a shower and give your parents a gigantic hug. They probably watched you with great concern since you completed all their sentences as reflex. Now answer all those Facebook messages you ignored. You can become a participating member of society once more!
  •  Reconnect with Your Homework. It’s really hard to balance studying for a standardized test and school. You feel like you have to pick between one or the other. Well now that your test is over, it’s time to refocus on…all the other tests. Whomp whomp. Final exams aren’t too far away. Time to get serious about your Physics class again.

Any interesting stories or concerns about you November SAT experience? Post here with your comments. Remember, no posting about actual questions, you don’t want to become an outlaw of CollegeBoard.

~Kumar

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How to Not Throw Up During Your College Interview

Posted by Kumar on November 15, 2011   |   No Comments

If you’ve already received information about setting your alumni interview up, chances are your heart is beating a little faster than usual. Your hands are trembling and you’re picturing yourself running out of that Starbucks in a hysterical fit of tears during the interview.

Okay so if that stuff wasn’t happening to you before, it is now. (Whoops, sorry!)

There are some key things that most applicants forget, assume, and stress about during interviews. After collaborating with various people who do interviews for Brown, Georgetown, UT Austin, U Penn and a few more ivory towers, this is the best advice I can give you and my students.

Tip #1: Be Prepared To Strut Your Stuff

You should know that most universities do not hand out a list of questions that the alumni have to ask during the interview. There are no rights or wrong answers. Most interviewers make up their questions and want to hear you talk. This is your chance to share with someone who knows the university, how awesome you are…not necessarily answer questions correctly.

Always bring a resume and perhaps a small portfolio to explain your work. This could be a newspaper clip that features the local dance show you organized or an abstract of that science fair project. That being said, do NOT lug in a suitcase full of last year’s English papers. Bring only what is significant. Everything should fit nicely into a manila file folder.

To avoid treading the line of arrogance, make sure to prepare questions about the school. Asking alumni about their academic experience, not just general questions about the university, underscores that you’re not just interested in yourself.

Tip #2: Know That This Interview Won’t Make or Break Your Application

Doing great on an interview feels awesome. Chances are the alum will go back and write a glorifying review about you. If you bomb the interview, you’ll just have to mope and watch re-runs of How I Met Your Mother on TV while eating Oreos out of the box.

With either scenario, you should know that the interview doesn’t play an integral part to your application for majority of the schools. The most important thing is that you don’t come off as a rude and mean candidate. College is no place for bullies (though somehow they do find their way there). If you were slightly awkward or a little nervous and the interviewer writes about it, your other qualifications can more than make up for it.  Most alumni reviews are the last thing that is looked at in the application. Alumni usually know very little about admissions, even if they boast otherwise.  Be warm and respectful to the interviewer and the conversation will just follow naturally.

~ Kumar

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