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“Being able to see something on the resume that has actually evolved over time and helped the person into a better individual as opposed to having 10 to 15 on their resume, I think that the former is way more valuable than the other.”
— Jerilyn, Harvard admissions interviewer
“…only keep one set of eyes on your personal statement, whether it’s Northwestern or anyone else.”
— Justin, Northwestern admissions director
“There are still students now who think that they could get a spot off the waiting list, even though it’s like beyond statistically unlikely.”
— Deborah, Carnegie Mellon admissions director
“I read her essay and I told her, ‘Your essay is horrible. You have about a paragraph and you’re not saying why you’re interested in University of Michigan.'”
— Bryan, UMich admissions director
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Interview
Interviews
Latest
Chess and Baseball: Angel Villeraldo’s Stanford Admissions Story
"Hearing those words of encouragement every really helped me overcome some hurdles of procrastination of applying to college," said Angel Villeraldo, a senior at James A. Garfield High School in Los Angeles. With his family's support, first-generation baseball and chess player Angel got admitted to Stanford University, Class of 2027. What you'll learn:
- What helped Angel's college essay flow
- Overcoming insecurities about college applications
- Getting rejected: what Angel did to deal with college rejections
Dear Socrates, Feature
Latest
Perfect, But Rejected from Colleges. What Went Wrong?
She had a 1550 SAT and 3.95 GPA. Directed 30 plays. Founded a school accounting club. Denied from Berkeley, Northwestern, Penn, USC, Harvard, Yale, and 3 other colleges. She ended the college app season with an acceptance into Arizona State (88% acceptance rate) for business, where she's headed. While I personally think ASU is a fun place to learn, people are wondering how to avoid working so hard for just one viable acceptance. As a college consultant, here's what I would done to help her gain multiple attractive offers of admission.
The Skinny
Writing Tips, COVID Survey, and Harvard Admissions Insight
- How to practice writing for ACT, SAT?
- How has COVID-19 changed the college choice process?
- Which Ivy is pulling back on the curtain on its admissions process?
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