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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 This notion is outdated.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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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.

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