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Not All College Majors are Created Equal
Your future earnings and employment prospects could vary wildly depending on what major you choose. Read this recent Washington Post article for more details…
2012 New Year
We wanted to wish you all a wonderful 2012! May this year bring all good things your way. If you are a parent, we wish you peace and calm as you help your children navigate their high school years. For students, we wish you calm as well…but also confidence that if you work hard, stay true to yourself, and keep organized you will make the college admissions journey less stressful and — dare we say it — fun.
Please know we are here to offer you our insight, guidance, and resources for this all important time in your lives.
Be well, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Early Results Released
December 8th:
5:00 PM EST
Cornell University
Columbia University
December 9th
3:00PM EST
Dartmouth College
5:00 PM EST
University of Pennsylvania
December 13th
5:00PM EST
Brown University
December 15th
5:00 PM EST
Harvard University
New York University
Early Application Trends
Fall Early Application trends vary across Ivy League schools according to The Dartmouth. Read more on the percentage changes here.
Early Action/Early Decision
This year will prove to be an interesting year for early action/early decision given the fact that both Princeton and Harvard put back early action (single choice). In effect, talent in the early round will get spread around and students are forced to chose ONE college in the early round rather than apply EA to one and then holding out for regular. In other words, the same student can’t apply to Harvard, Yale and Princeton, only ONE. Many schools have already reported increases in their early pool – Georgetown is the latest to report a 1.4% increase from last year in the EA round, a surprise for them. Unlike many schools that fill up 30-40% of the class in early, Georgetown only fills 17% in EA leaving the majority of the e class open for regular applicants. They estimate they will take only 15% in the early round versus 17% last year. Read more here: http://www.thehoya.com/early-app-numbers-increase-1.2694570#.Tr0ellb6V5Q
Create Winning Applications Teleseminar
We wanted to let you know that the date for our annual Creating Winning Applications Teleseminar has been scheduled, and registration for the event is now available for purchase! We will be running this teleseminar, which you can join from the comfort of your own home, on:
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011
7:30 – 9:00 PM ET
This teleseminar will give you crucial tips for leveraging the Common Application and setting yourself apart, all before Early Action and Early Decision applications are due on November 1st or 15th. For the fee of admission to this virtual event, you will:
- Conquer the Common Application with our proven techniques.
- Create an Activity Sheet summing up high school awards, activities, and achievements. Once you sign up for the teleseminar, you will immediately receive tips for writing your own Activity Sheet as well as samples.
- Learn how to prepare multiple essays (including all required essays along with extra essays) that can be used for specific colleges using the Application Boot Camp® strategy.
- Understand how to develop an application strategy to increase college acceptance possibilities.
- Email your questions to Mimi and Michele and get them answered live!
- Receive a copy of the transcript of the teleconference so you can refer back to it as you complete your applications.
We hope you’ll join us for this event! You can purchase admission to this virtual event here. Any questions, contact Lauren at Lauren@ApplicationBootCamp.com or 781.530.7088.
Fall College Visits
Planning college visits to the Northeast? College towns around the Northeast make fantastic fall destinations for their gorgeous settings and cultural offerings that rival their urban counterpart. Read the Boston Globe Article here…
Out of State Applicants
Out of state applicants take note! http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevecohen/2011/08/29/the-latest-shhhh-secret-college-admissions-trend/
Be a Reader!
The SAT focuses on understanding vocabulary in context. Besides standard test prep to make sure you know how to tackle different parts of the test, understand the directions, etc.., the most crucial thing to do in preparation is to spend the years leading up to the SAT reading vocabulary-rich books (Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, or any other 19th century writers) and keeping a word notebook with a twist: instead of just writing down the word by itself, write down the word and the word it modifies. Thus, “diaphanous gown” with the definition “sheer, transparent.” If you do this often enough, it will be clear that certain words tend to get used with the same word—how many other words can you put next to diaphanous? In addition, students will become better, more flexible readers and will have a better sense of concentration on the actual test. We encourage students to aim for 300 words in context over the course of a two-year or so reading program. Plus, there’s never such a thing as “too much” reading, so you really can’t lose. We try to fit in as many books as we can each week, even with our busy schedules – use summers and breaks to fit in books you might not have time to read during the packed school year.
Happy reading!
Athletic Recruiting
At every high school there are casual athletes, serious athletes, and elite athletes. Almost all selective colleges value athletic experience, and most top high schools have extensive enough athletic programs that almost any student can make their way onto a team. If you’re not immersed in the arts or sciences, there’s no reason not to go out for a team and, if you like it, get serious about it. If you’re an elite athlete, however, you know who you are.
Elite athletes aren’t just starters or team captains. They are league MVPs. They make all-section or all-district teams. They play on high level club teams year round including summers. Some small Division III liberal arts colleges are happy to welcome merely serious athletes on to their teams, but to get recruited at a Division I school, you must be elite. (This is true of every school from USC and Penn State to Columbia and Brown.) For better or worse, these athletes have special avenues to get into college. (Keep in mind, the rationale is that many athletes with lower grades have lower grades specifically because they’ve spent so much time on sports!)
If you are a top-level high school athlete and considering being recruited, there are a number of things you need to do junior year. First of all, sign up on the NCAA website so you are official. Next, identify the names and address of college coaches at the schools which are of interest to you – they are high level in your sport, etc. Then, you will want to contact each coach with a letter and a resume so he/she knows you are interested. It pays to put together a stat sheet that has all the particulars (your height, weight, athletic awards, level of competition) along with your GPA, test scores and any other academic distinctions so coaches can see if you are going to be strong enough to pursue as an official recruit.
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Congratulations Everyone!
Michele and Mimi’s students had record breaking acceptances in the early round of college admissions results for the Class of 2015.
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Ivy League Admissions Statistics
Our exclusive data on the Class of 2015 Ivy League Admissions statistics, now updated for Early Action and Early Admissions for the class entering 2011. See exactly how many students applied and how many were accepted to different schools.
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