We’ve got new programs launching in 2020! To stay up-to-date on program announcements, please subscribe.
The first is a collaboration with Strategy Girl. Please reach out via email or the contact form for more info.
Not a girl in high school, or not located in NYC, but interested in pursuing a purpose project? Please email us!
For information about one-on-one college counseling, please visit this page.
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Jim Jump does it again! I encourage you to read his latest in Inside Higher Ed, Ethical College Admissions: Counseling vs. Coaching. I started my career as an IEC as a “college counselor” and though that role does involve coaching, I love Jump’s distinction and that he raises questions that I also think a lot about: Do our students, parents, and schools want college counseling or do they want college coaching? Is the aspiration to transform young people’s lives unrealistic, even naïve, in a landscape that is increasingly transactional?
From his article:
What is the difference between college counseling and college coaching?
College counseling sees the college process as part of a larger quest to help young people figure out who they are and what they care about. Admission to college is the product of that process of discernment. College counseling is developmental, educational, relational and process-oriented. It is more about asking questions than providing answers.
College coaching, by contrast, is transactional and results-oriented. Admission to college is an end in itself rather than a means to self-discovery, and a coach serves as chief strategist for the student in the application process.
Of course, as Jump notes, it’s not that simple. All college counselors help students navigate a process that’s complex and confusing and not at all transparent, to say the least. So in that way, college counselors are college coaches. To me what is important is how much I counsel versus how much I coach, and more importantly, why I do what I do in the first place. Hint: it’s not to help kids who aren’t a fit for college X “win” admission to college X.
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College admissions can be heartbreaking on many levels, but what’s “the worst” is the number of applicants who think they can get lucky in regular decision—especially at schools with ED II, and who report RD admit rates under 10%. Even for students with a strong resume and “great” numbers, the odds are against you. At the most selective schools, there is not much luck to be had.
You’ll need something special (or a special combination of things) to get a fair look at a top-top school in RD: be at the top of your class with perfect or near-perfect grades, have little/no competition from classmates, be a legacy, and often very important, attend a high school that has an already established pipeline to these schools. You’ll need some awesome essays, too.
It might help to see that a 5% admit rate = 95% rejection rate
I know this sounds negative, and anyone who knows me knows that I am a glass half full type of person, but it’s time to start seeing rejection rates for what they are, especially if your list is full of schools with admit rates under ~25% (meaning the RD rate could dip to under ~10%).
Sometimes [insert uber-selective school here] just needs a new library, or full-pays, or more women from Idaho, or a flute player. So…
Don’t take it personally if you don’t fall into that tiny, tiny pool; you are, I promise, still enough.
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It is time to press submit (if you haven’t already!)! A few things to keep in mind as you finalize applications:
And though not exactly related to submitting your apps, don’t forget to:
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The Early Application Round is open! The LaunchX early application deadline is December 15, and this is your opportunity to be compared with a smaller pool of applicants.
If you didn’t know already, LaunchX is a 4-week experience hosted at top universities around the United States. Students collaborate with other motivated and skilled peers to plan, design, and launch a real startup! In previous years, LaunchX has been held at the University of Michigan, Northwestern University, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania. The locations and dates for summer 2020 will be announced in January, though please note, you are applying to LaunchX, and not to a specific university location.
Unlike many other business programs, LaunchX focuses on entrepreneurship and getting real, meaningful results. Throughout the program, students are provided advisory boards and mentors with real-world experience, plus students learn from and engage with many industry experts in fields from product design to marketing strategy. “Launchies”, as we like to call them, work together in an intensive and collaborative community to discover unique opportunities, conduct market research, prototype, user test, and more, finally culminating in Demo Day, where they showcase and demonstrate their hard work.
Wondering what the admissions committee looks for in a great applicant? We’ve got you covered! Check out this blog post where we’ve shared more about what matters to us.
Concerned about being able to afford the cost of the program if admitted? We offer generous financial need to domestic admitted students! Check out this post for more on last year’s financial need, plus note that we offer application fee waivers with proof of financial need, and waive application fees to students who have applied previously!
Don’t forget to check out our new Summer Program guide, filled with tons of super helpful information.
Additionally, make sure to follow and check the LaunchX Instagram page @launchxed. New this year, our interns will be hosting live Q and A sessions where you will be welcome to ask any questions you have about the LaunchX experience and application process.
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Get a head start on college by taking a course online during Cornell University’s Winter Session.
High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors can choose from a wide range of subjects, from economics to psychology—all taught by members of Cornell’s exceptional faculty.
Studying alongside Cornell undergraduates, you’ll earn from one to four transferable credits and receive a Cornell transcript.
See the Precollege Studies online courses page for the complete list of courses and to enroll.
Registration ends November 29.
Classes:
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Seniors:
Juniors:
Sophomores and Freshmen:
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From our friends at Upperline Code in NYC:
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UVA’s Dean J always has it right. 9-11th graders listen up! This advice applies beyond UVA.
1. All of your core classes are important.
A lot of people focus on the core areas that correspond to their current academic interest. I’ve even had people wave off certain subjects because they aren’t interested in them or they don’t come “naturally” to them. I wish they’d stop this. High school is the time to get a broad foundation in several areas and college is the time to specialize. We are most concerned with a student’s work in five core areas (in alpha order, not order of importance): English, Math, Science, Social Science, and World Language.
2. The number of APs or the IB Diploma don’t drive a decision.
Plenty of people want to know how many AP courses a student should take to be competitive in our process. We don’t approach applications this way. First of all, not everyone goes to a school with APs as an option. Second, some schools limit how many AP courses a student may take. Third, with the number of AP courses offered these days, you can rack up a lot of APs in just one subject. There could be students with big AP numbers who also haven’t take an advanced course in other core areas.
Similarly, students sometimes assume that full diploma candidates at IB schools (which are pretty common in Virginia) get in and everyone else is denied. If you are working on the full IB diploma, that’s fantastic. We will also be very interested in your grades and review which subjects you opted to take as your HLs. The full diploma isn’t the only route to an offer, though. There are students who weren’t able to get the full diploma done while still having some impressive HL work to show. We can admit them, too!
3. Doubling up in one subject at the expense of the core doesn’t “look good.”
There are some students who are so excited about a certain subject that they want to double or even triple up on courses in that area. I don’t think it’s smart to drop core subjects to load up classes in one area. Cover the core and use your electives to explore your interests.
The following was taken directly from the JHU website, but it’s so applicable to any selective college/university, that I wanted to share it:
Academic Character
How do you demonstrate your academic passions? What is important to you? To get a good idea of where your academic spirit lies, we’ll look at your transcripts and testing, but also your teacher and counselor recommendations.
Impact and Initiative
Our undergraduates contribute to our campus and our community. We urge students to think about how they can make a difference through service, leadership, and innovation. The admissions committee looks closely at applicants’ extracurricular activities and recommendations to assess commitments outside the classroom.
Personal Contributions
How do you engage with your community—academically, personally, and socially? What personal qualities do you possess that would make you a good fit for our campus? We’re looking for students who are eager to follow their interests at the college level and are enthusiastic about joining the campus community.
So what does all of this boil down to? Colleges seek students who are actively engaged participants in life! Everyone has time to:
You don’t need that much time to make it happen. Ask us how!
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