Elevating Your Extracurriculars for Summer 2024

Elevating Your Extracurriculars for Summer 2024

By Brittany MaschalFeb 22, 2024

The strength of your curriculum (rigor), the grades you receive in academic courses (core academic GPA), and your extracurricular activities (ECs) are what matter most in the evaluation of a college application. 

College counselors can help students choose the right courses and connect them with the learning support they might need to achieve excellent grades, but advising on the extracurricular activities that will help students stand out is much more complicated!

It’s getting harder and harder to stand out extracurricularly; a lot has been done before, and it can be tough to come up with original ideas when the internet provides conflicting information. It is easy to pay to undertake research or get published; spend time on a college campus taking a course alongside peers; or travel the world serving communities you don’t have an intimate connection to but that are exciting to visit and experience. For some applicants, these ECs do the trick—really! 

However, if you are targeting selective schools, you’ll benefit from not taking the easy path when it comes to ECs. 

Your ECs will need to not only support a clear academic narrative and demonstrate your intellectual curiosity but also highlight what matters most to you and what you care about in your world. You will benefit from getting creative! 

We understand not everyone needs or wants full-blown college counseling, but we also want to make sure students really understand the role of extracurriculars in the college admissions process and spend their time wisely. If you are interested in a standalone extracurricular planning session to maximize the summer of 2024, reach out!

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Class of 2024 Admission Results – Updated w/ED 2

Class of 2024 Admission Results – Updated w/ED 2

By Brittany MaschalJan 29, 2024

Congrats to all of our seniors! This post includes results released at the end of January. ED 2 tends to be released in February; we will update this post or post a fresh list at that time.

Alabama*
American
Arizona State*
Bard*
Baylor
Boise State
Boston U
Bowdoin
Brooklyn College
Claremont McKenna
Clemson + Business*
College of Charleston*
Colorado College*
Cornell*
Drexel*
Duke
Elon*
Emory
Fairfield*
Fordham*
George Mason
Georgia Tech*
Iowa
Indiana University + Kelley School of Business*
James Madison
Kenyon
Lehigh
Loyola MD*
Lynn
McGill*
Miami Ohio
Michigan State*
Montclair*
Northeastern*
Northwestern*
NYU*
Ohio State*
Ole Miss*
Penn State + Business and Engineering*
Providence College*
Purdue Engineering*
Roger Williams
Rowan*
Santa Clara*
Seton Hall*
South Carolina*
SMU*
St. Andrews
St. John’s
Stevens Institute of Technology*
SUNY Binghamton*
SUNY New Paltz
SUNY Poly
TCU
Tulane*
University of Central Florida*
University of Colorado, Boulder + Engineering*
University of Delaware*
University of Denver
University of Georgia*
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign + Engineering*
University of Maryland + Business*
University of Massachusetts, Amherst*
University of Miami + Business*
University of Michigan*
University of Nevada
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill*
University of North Carolina, Wilmington
University of Oregon*
University of Pittsburgh*
University of Rhode Island*
University of Richmond*
University of South Carolina*
University of Southern California + Engineering*
University of Texas, Austin + Business*
University of Virginia*
University of Wisconsin + Engineering and Business*
Vanderbilt
Virginia Tech*
Wake Forest
WVU

*multiple students admitted

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Best Summer Programs for High School Students: Engineering

Best Summer Programs for High School Students: Engineering

By BMC BloggerJan 12, 2024

The following are some of our favorites for students interested in exploring engineering.

Lincoln Laboratory Radar Introduction for Student Engineers (LLRISE)

The LLRISE program is a two-week summer institute for rising seniors that teaches students how to build small radar systems. The project-based enrichment program challenges students to build a Doppler and range radar.

COSMOS UCSD, US Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis

The COSMOS program is a four-week residential program designed by the UC schools. Each campus focuses on different subject areas, all admitting their own “cluster” of students. The courses are taught by UC faculty and researchers. Students choose from nine different clusters, which include engineering design, biodiesel from renewable sources, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, and more.

MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute

The MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI) is a rigorous, world-class STEM program for talented students who will be entering their senior year in high school. The four-week program teaches STEM skills through project-based, workshop-style courses. BWSI began in 2016 with a single course offered to 46 students, a mix of local daytime students and out-of-state residential students. It is typically a 4-week residential program for rising high school seniors and the program is free. They also offer online courses.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Summer High School Intern Program Research

NIST research is subdivided into six organizational NIST laboratories that conduct research in a wide variety of physical and engineering sciences. The labs respond to industry needs for measurement methods, tools, data, and technology. Six laboratories participate in the SHIP program.

Due to the multi-disciplinary nature of NIST’s research, students should look through the different websites above to discover a best-fit project area. The following information describes the types of research performed by each laboratory. See research projects done in previous years.

MIT Women’s Technology Program (WTP)

The MIT Women’s Technology Program (WTP) is a rigorous four-week summer academic experience to introduce high school students to engineering through hands-on classes, labs, and team-based projects in the summer after 11th grade. WTP is a women-focused, collaborative community aimed at empowering students from groups historically underrepresented and underserved in engineering. They especially encourage students to apply who will be the first family member to attend college, who come from high schools with limited access to STEM classes and activities, or who are African American, Hispanic, or Native American.

Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES)

The MITES program is a six-week-long residential program geared toward rising seniors from underrepresented or underserved communities. The program aims to provide the skills and knowledge necessary for pursuing a career in the STEM fields. Students take one math course, one life sciences course, one physics course, one humanities course and an elective course. Placement is determined by diagnostic tests that are administered to all students during the orientation period of the program.

AI Scholars

AI Scholars Live Online is a 10 session (25-hour) artificial intelligence bootcamp that exposes high school students to fundamental AI concepts and guides them to build a socially impactful project. Taught by a team of graduate students from Stanford, MIT, and more, students receive a personalized learning experience in small groups with a student-teacher ratio of 5:1.

HK Maker Lab, Columbia

The Hk Maker Lab is a summer engineering design program at Columbia Engineering that places high school juniors and seniors in pre-college, project-based courses with Columbia University faculty. This program is designed for students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in STEM and who have financial needs.

CATALYST Academy

CATALYST Academy is a one-week residential program for rising high school juniors and seniors from underrepresented backgrounds who desire to learn about engineering and careers within an interactive milieu.

Cooper Union Summer STEM

Summer STEM is an opportunity to try engineering for the first time or to dive deeper into engineering teamwork. Each 3- or 6-week class covers college-level topics and activities completed by The Cooper Union undergraduates in their first or second year or explores student and faculty research projects. Current high school students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 can apply.  This selective program encourages all curious, compassionate, and college-interested students to apply regardless of prior experience.

Manhattan College

The School of Engineering offers several programs throughout the year to introduce high school students to the field of engineering. Free or low cost.

Google Computer Science Institute (Summer Before COLLEGE!)

Google’s Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) is a three-week introduction to computer science (CS) for graduating high school seniors with a passion for technology — especially students from historically underrepresented groups in the field. CSSI is not your average summer camp. It’s an intensive, interactive, hands-on, and fun program that seeks to inspire the tech leaders and innovators of tomorrow by supporting the study of computer science, software engineering, and other closely related subjects. It is a 3-week program, and it is free.

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Best Summer Programs (+Other Extracurriculars) for High School Students: Business

Best Summer Programs (+Other Extracurriculars) for High School Students: Business

By BMC BloggerJan 11, 2024

The following programs and other ECs are some of our favorites for students interested in business.

LEAD

Morgan Stanley JumpStart Scholars in Finance is a 5-month virtual, immersive learning experience designed to develop a pipeline of ambitious high-school seniors into the world of finance.

LEADing for Life GSLI REEX  is a residential program that will focus on developing a Pipeline of high-achieving, students (current high school juniors) by providing an immersive learning opportunity and preparation in Commercial Real Estate.

Fordham University, Various Programs

Young Women’s Business Institute (Kelley)

The Young Women’s Institute (free!) introduces young women to the college experience and business career opportunities. Students are selected from around the country to spend a week at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. While at IU, students:

  • Participate in workshops with top Kelley School of Business faculty
  • Interact with Kelley alumni and current students
  • Prepare a real-world business case project
  • Build leadership and communication skills
  • Connect with like-minded women interested in business

TCU Investor Challenge

Are you a high school student entering your senior year? Apply for the TCU High School Investor Challenge®. [not yet updated for 2024; keep checking back at their site!]
The McCombs Summer High School Programs 
Free, six-day experiences focused on business and leadership that offer rising junior and senior high school students the chance to learn and interact with McCombs students, faculty, and corporate representatives. Outstanding African-American, Latino and Native American students, first-generation students, and students who have overcome social or economic hardship are strongly encouraged to apply. However, all students are welcome to apply.
Business Opportunities Summer Session (BOSS)
BOSS is a two-week in-person program held on Penn State’s University Park campus for high school students interested in pursuing a business education in college. It’s an opportunity for these students to take college prep and business fundamentals courses taught by Penn State faculty.  Sample schedule of what the two weeks would be like.
The University of Pennsylvania, Wharton
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania hosts tons of paid programs and they are NOT posted here. Many of Penn’s past “selective” programs, like LBW, are now run by Summer Discovery and are not selective. We suggest these lower-cost and free options!

Wharton Global High School Investment CompetitionWharton Connect

Wharton Explore Business Mini-sites

Our Explore Business mini-sites are gateways to conversations, readings and activities that inspire high school students to think more deeply about issues affecting business and society. Dig into these Wharton-powered learning opportunities wherever and whenever you want to explore timely and compelling topics. Our mini-sites include:

Understanding Your Money

Understanding Your Money is a self-paced online course for high school students. This course offers an introduction to fundamental economic concepts, investing, and basic money management to help you make smarter financial decisions. In addition to online video lessons delivered by Wharton faculty, the course includes links to related readings, activities and glossary terms, as well as quizzes to test students on what they have learned.

Non-“Program” Ideas We Love

Get a job!!! Wait tables, scoop ice cream, clean pools, landscape, construction, clean changeovers at hotels, grab a paper route — not glamorous, not always fun, but highly valuable.

Khan Academy Modules

Free Online Classes from Top Colleges & Universities

JUV Consulting

  • Gain experience with prototype testing and feedback, give your opinions and perspectives on trends, be a part of potential focus groups, contribute to school outreach programs, and participate in brand ambassadorship opportunities. Learn more here.

Learn Bloomberg and Financial Modeling via Excel

Internships and Shadows

  • Just about anything goes here, but getting one on your own might be preferred by some schools over shadowing a parent; getting a real job instead can also help balance this out!

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Understanding the Relationship Between Parent and Teen Mental Health

Understanding the Relationship Between Parent and Teen Mental Health

By BMC BloggerJan 03, 2024

The medical community declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, new research is helping to shine a light on another important aspect of the story — the mental health of parents and the influence of their health on teens. We see this influence make a difference during the college admissions process. 

Head over to the Harvard GSE website to watch a short video that discusses strategies to better support the mental well-being of parents and caregivers with a view to preventing anxiety and depression in adolescents.

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Jeff Selingo – Upcoming College Admissions Book

Jeff Selingo – Upcoming College Admissions Book

By Brittany MaschalDec 19, 2023

I’m excited for Jeff Selingo’s upcoming book and its emphasis on considering the vastness of higher education beyond a handful of selective schools—much needed. Read more about it below.

—

Lots of people have been asking me what I’ve found so far in the research and how they might help, so I wanted to give a quick update before the calendar turns to 2024.

First, as I’ve talked to parents and college counselors in recent months, I’ve been thinking about what this book needs to do. In much the same way as Atomic Habits and The Power of Habit tried to shift our mindset about developing better habits, my belief is that this book must help us reexamine what makes a “good” college. The goal is not for students and parents to settle for a second choice, but to consider the vastness of higher education beyond a handful of selective schools.

As I map out the book, the first half will be focused on explaining to readers why they need to reevaluate their college strategy in the first place. If you’ve been through the process recently, you’re probably thinking duh, of course they do. But everyone approaches this process as newbies, thinking their experience will be different. And as my editor reminds me, we live in an aspirational society: we want to aim for what we’re told is the top.

In the first half, I plan to illustrate how the admissions landscape has shifted in just the last few years by following the college-going experiences of recent graduating classes at three or four high schools that I’m in the process of identifying now (if you’re at a high school and want to be considered, reach out). For that section, I’m often reminded of this scene from Jeff Makris, director of college counseling at Stuyvesant High School, for a piece I wrote in New York magazine last year:

While we spoke, Makris pulled up the admissions results for his students going back to 2016. He rattled off a bunch of college names. About the same number of his students get accepted at the usual suspects in the Ivy League now as six years ago, though many more apply too. What might surprise students and parents from a few years ago, however, is the next set of colleges Makris mentioned: Northeastern, Case Western, Boston University, and Binghamton University. In 2016, 298 students applied to Northeastern, and 91 were admitted; last year, applications to the Boston school jumped to 422, but only 49 were admitted. Last year, 129 Stuy students applied to Case Western, about the same number as in 2017, but admits were almost cut in half to 36. In 2016, the acceptance rate for Stuy’s students who applied to Boston University was 43 percent; last year, it was 14 percent. Normally, Makris said, about 50 to 75 graduates enroll at Binghamton University, one of the state’s top public universities but a safety school among many Stuy students. This fall, 124 students went there.”

So how can you help? He says:

I’m always on the lookout for families who’ve been through the process at least once and have a kid in college (or recently out) and might have a story to tell about how they were on the path for Plan A and it didn’t work out—they didn’t get in, they couldn’t afford it, or for some other reason it wasn’t the right fit—and they turned to Plan B, which in the end turned out better.

If you can help in any way as a potential source, please complete this short form. I won’t be able to respond to everyone, but I will reach out if you fit what I’m looking for to illustrate the research.

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Welcome to the Admissions ‘Luckocracy’

Welcome to the Admissions ‘Luckocracy’

By Brittany MaschalDec 18, 2023

A great blog by Jim Jump. A teaser:

There is an ongoing debate within the college admissions world about whether the admission process is, or should be, a meritocracy. That debate encompasses a subdebate about whether merit is real, or merely a code word for privilege. Is meritocracy really “privilegeocracy”?

It’s worth the quick read! 

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College Rejections Aren’t Personal

College Rejections Aren’t Personal

By Brittany MaschalDec 13, 2023

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.

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Business Bound Workshop for High School Students

Business Bound Workshop for High School Students

By BMC BloggerDec 12, 2023

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. 

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Students Admitted Early Decision as a Percentage of Enrolled Freshmen

Students Admitted Early Decision as a Percentage of Enrolled Freshmen

By Brittany MaschalDec 11, 2023

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. 
 
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