This year, Columbia admitted 3.9% of students who applied. Yale accepted 4.35% of students, Brown accepted 5%, and Dartmouth just 6%. Getting into the Ivy League used to be pretty straightforward—if you had the grades, the test scores, and a solid leadership position in a club or sports team, you were in the game. Now, students need to really stand out to have a shot.
We offer a highly-tailored approach for individual students looking to get into the nation’s most competitive schools. Here’s a bit more information about our strategy:
DEVELOPING A NICHE
Students often ask us how they can stand out in a field that’s crowded with incredibly talented applicants. Our philosophy is that they need to have a specialty. Each school wants to cultivate a class of experts in highly-specialized fields who will go on to be the best in those fields. So, we work with our students to explore their academic passions early on in high school and then build a brand accordingly by selecting classes, internships, and extracurriculars that reflect that very specific brand. We help students pursue leadership positions in their extracurriculars throughout high school that lead to…
CAPSTONE PROJECTS
Our students go above and beyond by having capstone projects as an extension of their academic niches. These are usually large-scale projects that, most importantly, interest and inspire them and are their own design. Students who have cultivated an academic brand in environmental science have created town-wide clothing recycling projects that they can implement in surrounding towns to scale their impact. Students interested in entrepreneurship have started businesses. We find that positioning yourself as an expert in one area and really building something creative from that is a great way to show schools that you’re accomplished and serious.
CONNECTING THE DOTS
We also work with our students to identify particular programs and majors at the schools on their list that are a natural extension of their academic areas of expertise. We find that applying to a particular program that’s in line with what students have already been pursuing is a great strategy and important for those applying to the Ivy League. We work with our clients and their families to outline a rigorous plan ideally across the last three years of high school to make the entire application process manageable.
Applying to college can seem really daunting. The key is to have a clear strategy throughout high school. While some students might be intimidated by the fact that college planning can begin as early as freshman year, it actually makes everything more doable than cramming it all into the two semesters towards the end. Our method is also to encourage and support students’ passions. If a student is really loving learning in a particular area, it will shine through on their Ivy League application.
Want some help applying to the Ivy League? Call us. We’re experts at helping students get into elite universities.