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 This notion is outdated.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
Interesting analysis; the unique extra-curriculars that successful admits to Harvard and Duke was not a surprise to me, but the SAT II difference-maker was new to me and made a lot of sense. As a third party group, were you able to get hard statistics on this or was this a qualitative observation (which nonetheless makes sense to me)?
Our observations are hard statistics based on our own ivypoint Prep students, qualitative based on hearing from other students outside of our classroom, and qualitative reasoning after hearing from admissions officers. Clearly, this analysis wasn’t made with a lot of regressions and standard deviations. Nonetheless, this is our blanket understanding of the 2011 applicant pool. I hope this helps. Thanks for your question!