As you probably already know, the point of your college application is to give admissions committees a solid sense of who you are. You’ve written a highly personal college essay, and probably some supplementals on your intellectual and extracurricular activities and your leadership experience. Maybe on your intended major and
“SR 2xsci 10, 11. JHCTY online MV Calc 12 fits w/Hutch internship. Supp: Hutch MD a rare gem.” This is the language of admissions officers. It’s often said, rightly so, that admissions officers blaze through your application at breakneck pace—your personal statement in a minute or two, your activities in
How do you make an admissions officer believe you? This, in my opinion, is the central challenge of college applications. You probably believe you’re smart enough, hard-working enough, and talented enough to get into the schools you’re applying to, and your job is to convince the application reader that you
College applications have various important components, but your grades, scores, and teacher recommendations are usually nearly already set in stone by the time you begin writing your essays. The 650-word personal statement in the common application (a similar essay of 500-550 words is included in the coalition application) is uniquely
One of the first and most often overlooked steps in applying to college is deciding where to apply. As a high school student, especially at a public high school but at private ones as well, you rarely receive any helpful information about what differentiates colleges. For example, my parents worked
On June 12th, Yale announced a test-optional policy for the 2020-2021 admissions cycle. This comes following the CollegeBoard’s announcement on June 2nd that they would not be offering the SAT online for the foreseeable future “because taking it would require three hours of uninterrupted, video-quality internet for each student,
“Dear Human, I’m sixty percent banana.” This sentence began an essay that helped me get into Stanford. “Bonus points for anyone who kicks the ceiling” began one for my Yale supplement. Short and sweet sentences like this can be effective ways to draw in a reader at the beginning of
“Why Brown?” “Please discuss why you consider Duke a good match for you.” “Why does Yale appeal to you?” “Given the opportunities at Hopkins, please discuss your current interests and how you will build upon them here.” “Specifically, how will an education from Cornell University help you achieve your academic
COVID-19 has drastically changed the lives of graduating high school seniors. From cancelling prom and graduation to having to finish classics and take classes online, the academic and social lives of students have been uprooted. As a result, students’ college applications are going to look fundamentally different. Extracurricular activities and
Colleges internationally have shut down their campuses and in-person research operations in response to the COVID-19 crisis, but the application cycles for most remain unaffected. Meanwhile, many high school students are stuck at home. While admissions officers will take into consideration the difficulties faced by students during this period, this
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