Blog

College Rejections Aren’t Personal

College Rejections Aren’t Personal

I’m thankful that most of our students are admitted to their top choice schools in the EA, ED 1, or ED 2 rounds. But every year, some students are not so strategic with their choices and, therefore, are not as successful in these rounds. Each year since it was posted, I have revisited a wonderful article on rejection by Adam Grant. It begins by reminding us of what both students and parents can fast-forget when dealing with a college rejection:

When someone rejects you, it helps to remember that there’s another you.

You are not in this alone! A college with a 15% admit rate rejects 85% of applicants, so you’ve got a lot of company. Remember that you have to play to win, and when the game is over, the best thing you can do is move on confidently. 

As someone who has been rejected an appropriate amount, How to Bounce Back From Rejection is something I know well! Yet, it’s not something that can always be taught or that we can prepare students for, especially if a student is used to coming out on top. During a sea change year (i.e., this year and… honestly…the pathreet 3 years!) and when there is a lot of misinformation and misguidance around how hard it is to get into selective schools in the US, results can feel even more confusing. 

What Grants also points out that I hope all students and parents can keep in mind is rejection often happens for a reason that is not personal to the applicant: lack of fit. Fit is not all about where the student thinks they will be the best fit academically, culturally, etc. Fit is determined based on what a college needs (its institutional priorities)—it’s a moving target and not always a two-way street. Students don’t control, and in many cases don’t even know or understand, a college’s institutional priorities. How can they be when colleges are not transparent about it? What constitutes a fit in one applicant pool might not be a fit in another, and this can vary from school to school and year to year. 

Students, please remember: 

We are more than the bullet points on our resumes. We are better than the sentences we string together into a word salad under the magnifying glass of an interview. No one is rejecting us. They are rejecting a sample of our work, sometimes only after seeing it through a foggy lens.

Hang in there. In the end, as hard as it will feel to accept in the moment, things almost always work out just how they should.

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Business Bound Workshop for High School Students

Business Bound Workshop for High School Students

Business Bound is an on-demand, interactive workshop led by Dr. Brittany Maschal (no boring PowerPoints, promise) to help high school students who are undergrad b-school hopefuls set the foundation for competitive, differentiated applications. This workshop is offered in a small group setting (5 students max) or 1:1, and covers: 

Academic Foundations: Math is your friend! You’ll learn how to choose the appropriate foundation and extension courses both in and out of school and understand the nuances of standardized testing in the undergrad b-school admissions process. 

Why B-School: You’ll benefit from developing a compelling reason to study business in college. After this workshop, your why could change drastically and for the better.  

Extracurriculars: Your activities are the key storytelling elements of your application. They back your why, and they highlight what you’ve got to bring to the table. 

Leadership & Impact: Leadership is everywhere, and everyone can make an impact. We’ll show you how. No title of Captain or President needed.

Email us for more information on pricing, timing, and how to sign up. 

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Students Admitted Early Decision as a Percentage of Enrolled Freshmen

Students Admitted Early Decision as a Percentage of Enrolled Freshmen

In 2022, Education Reform Now released the first brief in their Future of Fair Admissions series. The brief contained the most comprehensive research on college admissions early decision plans, which provide an applicant an admissions decision in mid-December in exchange for the student’s commitment to enroll if admitted. 

The chart linked below from ERN shows the 84 IHEs where a third or more of freshmen were enrolled through early decision (ED) programs in 2022 plus 6 more that enrolled more than a third of their freshmen ED in 2020 but did not share data for 2022. The Common Data Set does not publish the number of students who are enrolled through early decision. Since early decision is binding, you would expect a very high share of all students admitted ED to enroll. Blank spaces represent years when data were not available. 0% represents years an IHE did not offer ED.

You can review the chart here
 
*Stay in the know! Subscribe*
 
 
Support for Deferred Students: Crafting a Deferral Strategy

Support for Deferred Students: Crafting a Deferral Strategy

Every year we work with a handful of deferred students on turning those defers into admits. Reach out to us if you want individualized guidance!

Some colleges and universities can’t admit all of the students they would like to in early decision or early action (“ED” or “EA”), so they defer some and evaluate them again during regular decision (“RD”). These candidates have a shot (albeit small at many top 30 schools) at getting admitted RD. However, some schools just defer everyone or almost everyone! Most students who fall into this category should move on and focus on other schools. If you are not sure which category you fall into, ask us. 

If you’d like some general guidance on working the deferral, you’ll find it below. But first, a few notes before doing anything to “work” a deferral:

1. Stay positive for RD, or preferably early decision 2, and keep moving forward on other apps! Those are much more important now.

2. Consider ED 2; it’s often smarter than relying on RD. Not all schools have ED 2; check your Common App to see if ED 2 is offered at any schools on your list. Why? Because….

3. The RD round is tough.  Get familiar with the ED 1 and RD numbers and understand why ED 2 can present a significant advantage over RD. Read this chart by Jeff Levy and Jeannie Kent. Pay particular attention to the percentage of the class filled by early plans.

4. Don’t rush to write to the school without a strategic DEFERRAL PLAN/STRATEGY! Don’t make the same mistakes again. You should be very open to completing a thorough evaluation of what might have gone wrong with your early app(s). With fresh eyes, you might find a few things you would change. Or, with the feedback from someone else, see that you missed the mark completely on some elements of your application. If you’d like an evaluation of your deferred app, our “redo report,” and help to craft a deferral plan and strategy, contact us.

Additional tips to consider as you craft a formal deferral strategy…

–Please follow all deferral instructions. If your defer letter does not provide specific guidance, reach out to your admissions officer/rep and ask them what steps they suggest. Check your portal, too—sometimes deferral guidance is hidden there.

–Get your guidance counselor’s support. Have your guidance counselor advocate for you via telephone. Make sure updated grades/transcripts are sent promptly. Your grades should have remained the same or improved, not dipped.

–If you applied test-optional, consider taking and/or sending scores. Colleges have always valued competitive scores, and this year is no different.

–Get an extra letter of recommendation if the school notes you are allowed to send one*. This letter could be written by a teacher, coach, employer, or someone else who can speak to your background, performance, and potential. *Side note on alumni letters and letters from well-known or famous people. Many students ask if these are helpful to send, and the answer is usually no. And…some schools explicitly state not to send any extra letters.

–Make contacts locally and talk to students and alumni. Reach out to local alumni chapters and ask if there is anyone willing to meet with you for an informal informational interview. Use this meeting as an opportunity to learn more about the school, and demonstrate your interest in attending. Information learned in these meetings can be included in your deferral letter.

-Connect with your regional rep and consider sending a deferral letter (aka an update letter). You should have connected with them prior to applying, so this email won’t be out of the blue. Most schools value an update on grades, test scores, impact/leadership activities, and sometimes more information on why them specifically. A deferral letter should be both intentional and very specific to the school and what was contained within your initial application. It should not be a list of your accomplishments or an essay that re-hashes information already shared in the initial application. You don’t need to label this update a “love letter” or “letter of continued interest”—try to think of a more thought-provoking and less common subject line if you are sending the update via email, or skip it altogether if you are sending a portal update.

-If you had an interview and established a good relationship with your interviewer, you can also reach out to them to see if they have any tips.

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

January Executive Function Intensive in NYC + 1:1 Offerings

For college students and soon-to-be college students based in NYC!

This intensive, two-day program will be in person in a small-group format and cover general planning, time management, study skills, reducing procrastination, accomplishing long-term assignments, routine building, self-care, and resilience. Dr. Josephson also offers individualized 1:1 support both in person and virtually. 

Please see the flyer below and learn more about Dr. Josephson’s practice here

Perfectionism and the College Application Process

Perfectionism and the College Application Process

Perfectionism and applying to college don’t mix! 

A quote from Angela Duckworth exemplifies precisely why:

Perfectionistic people work hard but unsustainably so. They often find themselves in the sapping zone of diminishing and inverse returns to their efforts.

We work with many students who have perfectionist tendencies. These students spend extreme amounts of time focusing on aspects of the college process that have little to no ROI. We see this in parents, too! 

There is no such thing as a perfect college application because there is no such thing as a perfect applicant. 

Our work also highlights another one of her sentiments: perfectionists tend to self-sabotage because they retreat when things get tough or they sense imminent “failure” instead of reaching out for help. This one always gets us because we exist to help. 

Perfectionists are world champions at self-sabotage. When things get tough, when it looks like failure is heading their way, the anticipated shame and embarrassment are so fierce that perfectionistic people are reluctant to put forth any further effort that might allow others to discover their shortcomings. So, they procrastinate or simply give up to ward off fears of failure.

Perfectionism doesn’t lead to success. It’s also exhausting. If you struggle with it, seek out help before you get too deep into your college app journey—students and parents! 

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Alumni Interviews

Alumni Interviews

Alumni interview season is here!

For many students, college admissions interviews are fear-inducing. Although there is some decent prep material online, you can often go right to the source for clarity on what the process entails. There is no reason to fear your alumni interview because many schools have their protocols and the guidance/instructions they give your interviewer available for you to review online—including possible interview questions.

You do not need to spend hours preparing answers to hundreds of questions to prepare for alumni or any other college admissions interview thoroughly. Canned responses sound unnatural. In my experience, taking the less stressful approach bodes well for students: they do not waste hours preparing, which can detract from other important tasks (homework, community engagement, application essays, sleep), and because they have not overprepared, they will sound far more natural and “themselves”—a goal for the IV process. 

Remember, so much of a college admissions interview (and this entire process!) is about likeability—rehashing your resume word-for-word does not make you likable, but being able to hold a conversation and do so with ease does! You’ll find some alumni IV resources below:

You can find a general list of potential interview questions in older posts, but contact us if you want individualized help preparing for your college interviews—alumni or otherwise—or want access to additional materials. We’ve helped hundreds of students ace their interviews and gain acceptance to their first-choice colleges and universities—don’t miss an opportunity to shine live!

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Storytelling Matters

Storytelling Matters

One of the reasons we place so much emphasis on essay work? The ability to tell a story — especially your story — matters. And not just in the college application process.

There is little that can match good storytelling for strongly connecting us to one another, influencing us to make decisions, and making us believe in the products that we depend on in our everyday lives. Sharing stories strengthens and bonds us to each other, our workplaces, our relationships, our communities, and the world around us. All great speakers have discovered that telling stories has a much greater influence on their audience than simply spewing out data.

Read more here!

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Upcoming Merit Deadlines

Upcoming Merit Deadlines

Some colleges have merit deadlines that are earlier than posted deadlines. For example, if you are applying to BU in RD, the merit deadline is 12/1. Same with UConn, Pitt, Vandy, and others. You’ll find a list below via College Kickstart, but keep in mind this list might not be exhaustive. Please check the application instructions for every single school on your list if you want to apply by merit deadlines. 
 
 
*Stay in the know! Subscribe*