Each year at Colledge, as our senior students hear the good news from admissions offices, there is always so much to celebrate. This year, I am thrilled to report that among our early admission applicants, Colledge students were accepted to over 85% of their colleges. And to top things off, our students were awarded more than $1,000,000 in combined merit scholarship money over the next four years. Almost every single admission notification our students received at Colledge had a scholarship attached to it. Not a bad way to start the admissions cycle!
As I pause and reflect on so many student successes, several key elements come to mind.
1. The Right Fit
Students who are familiar with what the college has to offer them, and what they have to offer the college in return, will typically experience a higher level of success. With each student’s unique qualities in mind, we develop a tailor-made early college list AND a working strategy to help our students target the right colleges and maximize their potential in early admissions.
Focusing on the student’s strengths, interests and abilities is absolutely essential. And looking for schools that offer the student the strongest fit for their major, their location preference, and the quality of educational opportunities must be at the core of this early college list.
One of our top students was pleasantly surprised to find a strong alternative to the Ivies (and maybe an even more perfect “fit” for his math and physics work) at the University of Cambridge in the UK. After visiting the campus for a faculty interview and entrance exam, our student was admitted. He is overjoyed to find a potential academic home at Cambridge and is not so concerned about the Ivies at the moment.
2. Compelling Personal Essays
Students who take time out to develop their writing skills, reflect on their personal qualities and stories, and the qualities of the colleges they are applying to are simply going to be stronger applicants all around.
As a former admissions officer for Caltech, UCLA, and Scripps College, I used to cringe when I read essays that were poorly written, especially when I knew the student had the academic background to succeed at our college. A poorly written essay, an essay that was trying too hard to impress me, or even an essay that simply did not explore the prompt in a meaningful way, could really make a big difference in how I evaluated a student.
3. A Qualified Team
A team of qualified professionals coaching the student to make smart college-oriented choices is critical. Our team at Colledge consists of former college admissions officers from Caltech, Stanford, Occidental College, Scripps College, UCLA, and USC, as well as essay specialists, and a major specialist.
Ashley Sim, who worked closely with the Stanford admissions office and is a former admissions officer for Caltech, brings a wealth of admissions decision knowledge to her work with students. Arman Davtyan comes from the Occidental College admissions office and UCLA’s Law School admissions office, and has read thousands of applications. James Hayashi, our essay specialist, works at USC as a writing coach for graduate students. And Kelsey Wetmore, our essay and major specialist, has years of experience teaching English and tutoring high school students in the US and abroad.
Our parents are overwhelmingly thankful, our students say they couldn’t have done it without us, and more importantly, these students have strong, viable options for college success.
If you are a parent of a student of any age and hope to offer your child a high-quality college planning experience, click HERE for a free consultation. The time to start this process is now.
