This branded content article is sponsored by IvyWise
The faculty admissions landscape has all the time been difficult for college kids, but lately, it’s harder than ever — and it’s never too early, or too late, to begin perfecting your strategic plan.
Students are tasked with creating college applications that must be exceptionally strong, especially for those at competitive high schools. Every student is evaluated against others of their school when applying to varsity, so getting a student to face out through their application — and rise above their competition — is imperative.
“College admissions officers review applications within the context of an applicant’s highschool and region, in order that they have high expectations for college kids from competitive high schools,” Dr. Kat Cohen, founder and CEO of IvyWise, the world’s premier educational consulting company, told The Post.
Dr. Cohen and the IvyWise team are well-versed within the NYC highschool landscape, as they’ve worked with students from probably the most well-known schools, including Brearley, Chapin, Collegiate, Dalton, Horace Mann, Riverdale, Spence, Stuyvesant, and Trinity — in addition to top high schools in the broader tri-state area and boarding schools popular among the many Recent York elite. IvyWise shouldn’t be just an NYC powerhouse: they work with students in over 80 countries, in order that they know precisely how students will likely be read, not only within the context of their high schools and region, but in addition within the context of the broader pool of worldwide applicants. That is how IvyWise students get into selective schools at much higher rates, multiple times over the general admit rates.
A lot of the universities and universities which have traditionally been popular amongst NYC students have seen stark decreases of their acceptance rates over the past few years — making expert guidance all-the-more critical. For instance, Northeastern’s admit rate plummeted from 18.05% for the category of 2024 to five.64% for the category of 2027 (class of 2028 data shouldn’t be yet available). Similarly, those trying to stay in town at NYU will find that difficult, too: their admit rate decreased from 16.20% for the category of 2024 to eight% for the category of 2028.
Students at competitive high schools are learning that they will’t depend on just getting good grades and wish to deal with what’s going to set them other than their fellow high-achieving peers. With the constantly-changing landscape of admissions, many families are turning to expert consultancies, like IvyWise, whose team is comprised of former deans and directors of admission with over 400 years of collective admissions and real decision-making experience, to make sure their students get into their top-choice schools by creating bespoke highschool roadmaps spanning all 4 years, including customized summer and test prep plans.
The key sauce at IvyWise is their signature Roundtable service, which simulates the real-world admissions committee evaluation process. Through the application season, the complete team of IvyWise counselors meets weekly to review students’ applications, including college lists, all essays and supplements, test scores, and more, giving students invaluable feedback and areas of improvement to implement before hitting ‘submit’ to their best-fit universities.
An IvyWise alum, who went to a competitive highschool in Recent York, said of the service: “The Roundtable feedback was [immensely] helpful on this process. My essays were thoroughly written due to all of [my counselor’s] personal feedback and the feedback that I received from Roundtable!”
While many individuals might assume that they need to fork over a whole lot of 1000’s of dollars to get expert college admissions guidance, at IvyWise, programs that include unlimited access to Roundtable start at $14,000. A comprehensive, multi-year college admissions counseling program is about $50,000, which is lower than at other consultancies that don’t employ former admissions officers. Cohen says, “We have now a big selection of pricing, including serving 10% of our students pro bono.”
Cohen stresses how vital it’s to work with a counselor who has first-hand experience in admissions. “IvyWise counselors have sat within the room where these tough decisions are made, we all know what colleges are searching for, and we understand the intricacies of enrollment management,” said Dr. Cohen, adding that the admissions landscape is way too complex and nuanced to trust your child’s future to someone with no admissions experience or could be only a graduate of a selective institution. “Every IvyWise college admissions counselor is a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) and we strictly adhere to the NACAC code of ethics,” she adds.
A parent from Recent York who used IvyWise’s services to assist her daughter gain Single-Selection Early Motion acceptance to Princeton, said: “All of it went so easily. My husband and I felt comfortable staying out of the applying process because we knew our daughter was in such good hands with [her counselor]. IvyWise allowed us to maintain the peace during what could easily have been a miserable 12 months. And ultimately, the outcomes speak for themselves!”
Luckily for you, we caught up with the IvyWise experts! As students gear up for the brand new school 12 months, listed here are the steps they need to take into consideration to assist them stand out to varsity admissions officers.
Standardized testing is a must … even when it doesn’t “need” to be.
A lot of probably the most selective institutions either have already gone back to requiring standardized test scores or will likely be reinstating the requirement soon. Brown, Caltech, Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale will return to requiring test scores this 12 months, while other universities like Georgetown, MIT, Purdue, the University of Florida, the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech have already returned to requiring tests when applying.
Colleges that remain test-optional will likely still expect students from competitive high schools to submit standardized test scores. “Optional” shouldn’t be really optional for these students. At a competitive highschool where students usually tend to take standardized tests and submit test scores, a student who doesn’t achieve this could stick out poorly. For instance, over 93% of Stuyvesant’s class of 2023 took the SAT, based on probably the most recent school profile.
The IvyWise team stays abreast of the newest testing policies and rating submission data at selective universities. At Notre Dame, about two-thirds of the admitted class of 2028 submitted test scores, in comparison with 44% of all applicants. At Rice, a whopping 78% of admits to the category of 2028 submitted scores.
Robotically assume that your student won’t have the opportunity to attain well on the ACT or SAT, so it’s not even price trying? Not so fast: “As with anything in college admissions, starting early and constructing a strategic plan under the guidance of a real expert are crucial,” advises Dr. Cohen, “Standardized tests are marathons, not sprints. Each the SAT and ACT are coachable tests!”
If feasible, students should consider enrolling in test prep courses or working with a tutor. IvyWise’s test prep tutors have a median of 15 years of experience and have scored within the 95th percentile or above on the standardized test to which they teach. IvyWise keeps their fingers on the heartbeat of the ever-evolving standardized testing landscape, including the upcoming ACT changes for the net version in spring 2025 and paper-and-pencil in fall 2025, with the intention to have the opportunity to best tutor their students. They analyze the scholar’s diagnostic tests through computer evaluation to find out which is the higher test for the scholar’s individual strengths and pinpoint the areas of improvement to deal with, making the method as efficient and effective as possible.
A private statement have to be exactly that.
The personal statement is a way for the admissions officer to cringe the curtain and see one other side of the applicant, so it should tell an admissions officer something they will’t learn anywhere else in the applying. All students are unique and complicated, in order that they need to indicate different sides of who they’re of their personal statements. Colleges are searching for mental vitality and variety. This matters, so students must dig deep!
IvyWise college admissions counselors really get to know their students personally to assist them find their voices and produce their unique stories to life. One student had a present and fervour for music and composing, with an educational interest in STEM, especially math and physics. He originally planned on applying exclusively to music conservatories, but the scholar’s IvyWise counselor encouraged him to tie his STEM interests into his study of music theory and composition. This made him realize that research universities is also a terrific fit for him, and he expanded his college list — ultimately earning acceptances to many top universities and music conservatories. He’s thrilled to be enrolling at Harvard this fall! His personal statement revolved around the concept of “contrast,” using a compositional technique as a metaphor for his interests in STEM and music.
That is an example of where the importance of a trusted guide who has relevant admissions experience comes into play. When searching for help together with your admissions journey, it’s important to decide on a counselor who has skilled insight into exactly what admissions committees search for, like each of the advisors at IvyWise has. Merely having undergone the school application process as a student shouldn’t be similar to having worked on the admissions side of the desk — oftentimes, those that claim they might help college-bound students simply because they themselves got into top universities lack the crucial insight that is required to properly advise students, especially given each student’s unique story, needs and goals. “But even having admissions experience isn’t enough – that’s why we also invest so heavily in skilled development, sending our counselors and staff on college visits and to industry conferences,” Dr. Cohen adds.
One other parent, whose son got into Brown through Early Decision, said: “We will’t thank IvyWise enough for all of their help, guidance, patience, advice, etc. with our student these past few months (in addition to with our other student 6 years ago!) and the incredible job they did helping our student produce great applications.”
Go the additional mile — or two — with extracurricular activities
There are not any objectively “good” activities for all students to be involved in — an activity is priceless so long as it’s authentic to the scholar and reflects who they’re and what matters to them. Relating to evaluating extracurricular activities, admissions officers are searching for depth, leadership, impact, responsibility, and the way these activities relate to the applicant’s interests. Students — especially those at competitive high schools — should take into consideration going outside the classroom to seek out additional opportunities to make an impact.
“[My IvyWise counselor] was an enormous assist in narrowing my interests in engineering. She pushed me to explore my interests, whether it was taking a web-based course or doing a summer internship. I could never have completed what I did without the assistance of [my counselor] and the entire IvyWise staff,” recalls an NYC-based student who got accepted to Cornell University.
An IvyWise counselor recently worked with a student who attended a tri-state area boarding school and was inquisitive about atmospheric science. The IvyWise team helped him develop his interest in meteorology by identifying an exquisite summer program for him — Hurricane Camp on the University of Miami. IvyWise also suggested that he start two weather-related clubs, one in school and one outside of faculty. His counselor also guided him to enroll in probably the most rigorous science courses available at his highschool and ultimately construct the proper college list of colleges that will allow him to pursue his passions. All of this targeted interest development led to very successful applications, and he’s currently set to attend the University of Michigan, his top alternative, in the autumn.
IvyWise not only finds commonalities between a student’s interests, but additionally they offer Research Mentorship, a program that pairs highschool students with Ph.D. mentors to learn tips on how to conduct college-level research, complete 20-plus-page papers, and provides them the chance to change into published researchers before graduating from highschool. This offers students a competitive edge and helps them stand out within the admissions process.
Make summers count!
The summer months are a terrific time for college kids from competitive high schools to be productive and stand out from their peers. College admissions officers take a look at how applicants spent their summer breaks — so be thoughtful and impactful when developing your summer plans!
Long vacations and short community service experiences are frequently not impressive, as more selective schools need to see commitment, and quality and meaningful experiences that last no less than 4 weeks. While summer 2024 could also be winding down, students should start considering of creative ways to spend summer 2025, as it’ll be here before they realize it! As Dr. Cohen puts it, “Often, interesting summer activities are those the scholars develop themselves — equivalent to launching or expanding an initiative supporting a neighborhood cause, starting and running a small business, or conducting a distinct segment independent research project. We help students think outside the box. I all the time say, ‘Should you can’t find it, found it!’”
Dr. Cohen recalls a student who made probably the most of her summer: “Our team recently worked with a student from NYC to offer personalized and specific recommendations for extracurricular activities that will leverage her knowledge of French and her interest in medicine. Following our suggestions, she arrange a volunteer internship at a neighborhood hospital, where she spent 6-8 hours per week with a team conducting a study on distant monitoring of hypertension in an underserved community. This community included French-speaking immigrants, allowing her to utilize her language skills. Moreover, the scholar worked with one in all our tutors to lift her ACT rating from 29 to 35. She ultimately gained acceptance to Stanford!”
Map out your course selection ASAP
Plan your course load ahead of time, since college admissions committees take a look at all 4 years of highschool and it’s vital to maintain up good grades and take rigorous courses. Dr. Cohen says, “Be proactive and go in with a plan. Don’t let highschool ‘occur’ to you.” If a student is applying to a highly selective college but has taken just one or two advanced classes while many more were available to them, it is probably going that the admissions officer reviewing that applicant will query whether that student is ready or motivated enough to handle the educational rigors of their institution.
Students may consider further exploring their interests through courses at local people colleges, academic summer programs at university campuses, or online courses. “Selective colleges need to construct well-rounded classes made up of specialists who’ve defined interests in certain fields or subject areas and have developed that handful of interests throughout highschool to change into knowledgeable in those subjects — and intend to proceed pursuing those interests in college,” says Dr. Cohen.
Clearly, there’s loads to do. Feeling overwhelmed? We sure could be if we were in highschool lately! But expert guidance from teams like IvyWise might help to alleviate the stress. Contact IvyWise today to construct a customized college prep strategy that’s manageable and can maximize your possibilities of admissions success.
This branded content article is sponsored by IvyWise
The faculty admissions landscape has all the time been difficult for college kids, but lately, it’s harder than ever — and it’s never too early, or too late, to begin perfecting your strategic plan.
Students are tasked with creating college applications that must be exceptionally strong, especially for those at competitive high schools. Every student is evaluated against others of their school when applying to varsity, so getting a student to face out through their application — and rise above their competition — is imperative.
“College admissions officers review applications within the context of an applicant’s highschool and region, in order that they have high expectations for college kids from competitive high schools,” Dr. Kat Cohen, founder and CEO of IvyWise, the world’s premier educational consulting company, told The Post.
Dr. Cohen and the IvyWise team are well-versed within the NYC highschool landscape, as they’ve worked with students from probably the most well-known schools, including Brearley, Chapin, Collegiate, Dalton, Horace Mann, Riverdale, Spence, Stuyvesant, and Trinity — in addition to top high schools in the broader tri-state area and boarding schools popular among the many Recent York elite. IvyWise shouldn’t be just an NYC powerhouse: they work with students in over 80 countries, in order that they know precisely how students will likely be read, not only within the context of their high schools and region, but in addition within the context of the broader pool of worldwide applicants. That is how IvyWise students get into selective schools at much higher rates, multiple times over the general admit rates.
A lot of the universities and universities which have traditionally been popular amongst NYC students have seen stark decreases of their acceptance rates over the past few years — making expert guidance all-the-more critical. For instance, Northeastern’s admit rate plummeted from 18.05% for the category of 2024 to five.64% for the category of 2027 (class of 2028 data shouldn’t be yet available). Similarly, those trying to stay in town at NYU will find that difficult, too: their admit rate decreased from 16.20% for the category of 2024 to eight% for the category of 2028.
Students at competitive high schools are learning that they will’t depend on just getting good grades and wish to deal with what’s going to set them other than their fellow high-achieving peers. With the constantly-changing landscape of admissions, many families are turning to expert consultancies, like IvyWise, whose team is comprised of former deans and directors of admission with over 400 years of collective admissions and real decision-making experience, to make sure their students get into their top-choice schools by creating bespoke highschool roadmaps spanning all 4 years, including customized summer and test prep plans.
The key sauce at IvyWise is their signature Roundtable service, which simulates the real-world admissions committee evaluation process. Through the application season, the complete team of IvyWise counselors meets weekly to review students’ applications, including college lists, all essays and supplements, test scores, and more, giving students invaluable feedback and areas of improvement to implement before hitting ‘submit’ to their best-fit universities.
An IvyWise alum, who went to a competitive highschool in Recent York, said of the service: “The Roundtable feedback was [immensely] helpful on this process. My essays were thoroughly written due to all of [my counselor’s] personal feedback and the feedback that I received from Roundtable!”
While many individuals might assume that they need to fork over a whole lot of 1000’s of dollars to get expert college admissions guidance, at IvyWise, programs that include unlimited access to Roundtable start at $14,000. A comprehensive, multi-year college admissions counseling program is about $50,000, which is lower than at other consultancies that don’t employ former admissions officers. Cohen says, “We have now a big selection of pricing, including serving 10% of our students pro bono.”
Cohen stresses how vital it’s to work with a counselor who has first-hand experience in admissions. “IvyWise counselors have sat within the room where these tough decisions are made, we all know what colleges are searching for, and we understand the intricacies of enrollment management,” said Dr. Cohen, adding that the admissions landscape is way too complex and nuanced to trust your child’s future to someone with no admissions experience or could be only a graduate of a selective institution. “Every IvyWise college admissions counselor is a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) and we strictly adhere to the NACAC code of ethics,” she adds.
A parent from Recent York who used IvyWise’s services to assist her daughter gain Single-Selection Early Motion acceptance to Princeton, said: “All of it went so easily. My husband and I felt comfortable staying out of the applying process because we knew our daughter was in such good hands with [her counselor]. IvyWise allowed us to maintain the peace during what could easily have been a miserable 12 months. And ultimately, the outcomes speak for themselves!”
Luckily for you, we caught up with the IvyWise experts! As students gear up for the brand new school 12 months, listed here are the steps they need to take into consideration to assist them stand out to varsity admissions officers.
Standardized testing is a must … even when it doesn’t “need” to be.
A lot of probably the most selective institutions either have already gone back to requiring standardized test scores or will likely be reinstating the requirement soon. Brown, Caltech, Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale will return to requiring test scores this 12 months, while other universities like Georgetown, MIT, Purdue, the University of Florida, the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech have already returned to requiring tests when applying.
Colleges that remain test-optional will likely still expect students from competitive high schools to submit standardized test scores. “Optional” shouldn’t be really optional for these students. At a competitive highschool where students usually tend to take standardized tests and submit test scores, a student who doesn’t achieve this could stick out poorly. For instance, over 93% of Stuyvesant’s class of 2023 took the SAT, based on probably the most recent school profile.
The IvyWise team stays abreast of the newest testing policies and rating submission data at selective universities. At Notre Dame, about two-thirds of the admitted class of 2028 submitted test scores, in comparison with 44% of all applicants. At Rice, a whopping 78% of admits to the category of 2028 submitted scores.
Robotically assume that your student won’t have the opportunity to attain well on the ACT or SAT, so it’s not even price trying? Not so fast: “As with anything in college admissions, starting early and constructing a strategic plan under the guidance of a real expert are crucial,” advises Dr. Cohen, “Standardized tests are marathons, not sprints. Each the SAT and ACT are coachable tests!”
If feasible, students should consider enrolling in test prep courses or working with a tutor. IvyWise’s test prep tutors have a median of 15 years of experience and have scored within the 95th percentile or above on the standardized test to which they teach. IvyWise keeps their fingers on the heartbeat of the ever-evolving standardized testing landscape, including the upcoming ACT changes for the net version in spring 2025 and paper-and-pencil in fall 2025, with the intention to have the opportunity to best tutor their students. They analyze the scholar’s diagnostic tests through computer evaluation to find out which is the higher test for the scholar’s individual strengths and pinpoint the areas of improvement to deal with, making the method as efficient and effective as possible.
A private statement have to be exactly that.
The personal statement is a way for the admissions officer to cringe the curtain and see one other side of the applicant, so it should tell an admissions officer something they will’t learn anywhere else in the applying. All students are unique and complicated, in order that they need to indicate different sides of who they’re of their personal statements. Colleges are searching for mental vitality and variety. This matters, so students must dig deep!
IvyWise college admissions counselors really get to know their students personally to assist them find their voices and produce their unique stories to life. One student had a present and fervour for music and composing, with an educational interest in STEM, especially math and physics. He originally planned on applying exclusively to music conservatories, but the scholar’s IvyWise counselor encouraged him to tie his STEM interests into his study of music theory and composition. This made him realize that research universities is also a terrific fit for him, and he expanded his college list — ultimately earning acceptances to many top universities and music conservatories. He’s thrilled to be enrolling at Harvard this fall! His personal statement revolved around the concept of “contrast,” using a compositional technique as a metaphor for his interests in STEM and music.
That is an example of where the importance of a trusted guide who has relevant admissions experience comes into play. When searching for help together with your admissions journey, it’s important to decide on a counselor who has skilled insight into exactly what admissions committees search for, like each of the advisors at IvyWise has. Merely having undergone the school application process as a student shouldn’t be similar to having worked on the admissions side of the desk — oftentimes, those that claim they might help college-bound students simply because they themselves got into top universities lack the crucial insight that is required to properly advise students, especially given each student’s unique story, needs and goals. “But even having admissions experience isn’t enough – that’s why we also invest so heavily in skilled development, sending our counselors and staff on college visits and to industry conferences,” Dr. Cohen adds.
One other parent, whose son got into Brown through Early Decision, said: “We will’t thank IvyWise enough for all of their help, guidance, patience, advice, etc. with our student these past few months (in addition to with our other student 6 years ago!) and the incredible job they did helping our student produce great applications.”
Go the additional mile — or two — with extracurricular activities
There are not any objectively “good” activities for all students to be involved in — an activity is priceless so long as it’s authentic to the scholar and reflects who they’re and what matters to them. Relating to evaluating extracurricular activities, admissions officers are searching for depth, leadership, impact, responsibility, and the way these activities relate to the applicant’s interests. Students — especially those at competitive high schools — should take into consideration going outside the classroom to seek out additional opportunities to make an impact.
“[My IvyWise counselor] was an enormous assist in narrowing my interests in engineering. She pushed me to explore my interests, whether it was taking a web-based course or doing a summer internship. I could never have completed what I did without the assistance of [my counselor] and the entire IvyWise staff,” recalls an NYC-based student who got accepted to Cornell University.
An IvyWise counselor recently worked with a student who attended a tri-state area boarding school and was inquisitive about atmospheric science. The IvyWise team helped him develop his interest in meteorology by identifying an exquisite summer program for him — Hurricane Camp on the University of Miami. IvyWise also suggested that he start two weather-related clubs, one in school and one outside of faculty. His counselor also guided him to enroll in probably the most rigorous science courses available at his highschool and ultimately construct the proper college list of colleges that will allow him to pursue his passions. All of this targeted interest development led to very successful applications, and he’s currently set to attend the University of Michigan, his top alternative, in the autumn.
IvyWise not only finds commonalities between a student’s interests, but additionally they offer Research Mentorship, a program that pairs highschool students with Ph.D. mentors to learn tips on how to conduct college-level research, complete 20-plus-page papers, and provides them the chance to change into published researchers before graduating from highschool. This offers students a competitive edge and helps them stand out within the admissions process.
Make summers count!
The summer months are a terrific time for college kids from competitive high schools to be productive and stand out from their peers. College admissions officers take a look at how applicants spent their summer breaks — so be thoughtful and impactful when developing your summer plans!
Long vacations and short community service experiences are frequently not impressive, as more selective schools need to see commitment, and quality and meaningful experiences that last no less than 4 weeks. While summer 2024 could also be winding down, students should start considering of creative ways to spend summer 2025, as it’ll be here before they realize it! As Dr. Cohen puts it, “Often, interesting summer activities are those the scholars develop themselves — equivalent to launching or expanding an initiative supporting a neighborhood cause, starting and running a small business, or conducting a distinct segment independent research project. We help students think outside the box. I all the time say, ‘Should you can’t find it, found it!’”
Dr. Cohen recalls a student who made probably the most of her summer: “Our team recently worked with a student from NYC to offer personalized and specific recommendations for extracurricular activities that will leverage her knowledge of French and her interest in medicine. Following our suggestions, she arrange a volunteer internship at a neighborhood hospital, where she spent 6-8 hours per week with a team conducting a study on distant monitoring of hypertension in an underserved community. This community included French-speaking immigrants, allowing her to utilize her language skills. Moreover, the scholar worked with one in all our tutors to lift her ACT rating from 29 to 35. She ultimately gained acceptance to Stanford!”
Map out your course selection ASAP
Plan your course load ahead of time, since college admissions committees take a look at all 4 years of highschool and it’s vital to maintain up good grades and take rigorous courses. Dr. Cohen says, “Be proactive and go in with a plan. Don’t let highschool ‘occur’ to you.” If a student is applying to a highly selective college but has taken just one or two advanced classes while many more were available to them, it is probably going that the admissions officer reviewing that applicant will query whether that student is ready or motivated enough to handle the educational rigors of their institution.
Students may consider further exploring their interests through courses at local people colleges, academic summer programs at university campuses, or online courses. “Selective colleges need to construct well-rounded classes made up of specialists who’ve defined interests in certain fields or subject areas and have developed that handful of interests throughout highschool to change into knowledgeable in those subjects — and intend to proceed pursuing those interests in college,” says Dr. Cohen.
Clearly, there’s loads to do. Feeling overwhelmed? We sure could be if we were in highschool lately! But expert guidance from teams like IvyWise might help to alleviate the stress. Contact IvyWise today to construct a customized college prep strategy that’s manageable and can maximize your possibilities of admissions success.
