Undergraduate Admission Guide

When people discover our profession, they either love us or hate us. As part of our academic careers, we serve as admissions officers at Ivy League schools. Everyone has strong thoughts on the subject and specific questions for us. How do we choose candidates? Do we give an edge to minority students? Is the deck stacked against a low-income white applicant?

We're amazed at the many myths and misconceptions that surround the Ivy League admission mystique. Despite a strong public relations campaign to encourage applications, we repeatedly see qualified students hold back, while other less talented candidates feel entitled to admission for irrelevant reasons. We have the challenging job of assembling a talented, diverse class from an overwhelming number of candidates. Due to space limitations, we must reject 80-95% of all applicants, including many with perfect test scores and grade point averages. How do we do it? What gives an applicant an edge?

We have published comprehensive guides to enable potential students (undergraduate, medical school, business school and law school) to better approach the Ivy League admissions process. Our mission:

1. To encourage applicants who meet the stringent admissions criteria

2. To discourage non-competitive applicants whose needs are better served by less selective schools or alternative career paths

3. To dispel common myths about the relevance of minority status, socioeconomic background, GPA and employment history

4. To describe the relevance of SAT scores, including the mathematical formula used to determine admission "cutoffs"

5. To enable applicants to better prepare their curricula and outside activities to maximize their chances for Ivy League admission

6. To prepare candidates for their admissions interview

7. To help applicants solicit references that best support their application

8. To ultimately improve the quality and diversity of the applicant pool by disseminating useful, relevant inside information about the admissions process

For over 20 years, we have served on selection committees for Ivy League programs in business, medicine and law. We know the intricacies of the process and the fatal mistakes many applicants make. We've watched otherwise viable candidates lose their chances for admission because they didn't know how to present themselves to the committee. By sharing our perspective, we can help prospective candidates understand and optimize their admission chances.

Our publication on undergraduate admission discusses the following topics:

Admission Criteria:

1. Admission committee members: who we are and what we look for
2. How an application is handled in the admissions office
3. Proper preparation for Ivy League admission
4. Importance of your GPA and SAT scores
5. Mathematical formulas used to make acceptance decisions
6. Mitigating factors that can override poor a GPA and SAT score
7. The importance of application essays and recommendations
8. The personality traits we seek and how we identify them
9. Your chances with Early Decision plans
10. The best ways to demonstrate leadership skills
11. Special circumstances: recruited athletes, legacies and minorities
12. The truth about waitlisting
13. Our 20+ tips for optimizing your admission chances
14. The most common mistakes applicants make
15. Common questions and answers

Interview Strategies:

1. Interview Importance: it's weight in the admissions process
2. Typical interviewers & their individual styles
3. Interview etiquette: expected behaviors & absolute taboos
4. Profile of successful applicants
5. Tips to asking & answering questions
6. Crucial steps in interview preparation
7. Over 300 interview questions, grouped by category
8. WHY each question is asked
9. Tips for answering difficult questions with grace and style
10. The most crucial question you will be asked
11. Interview mistakes & disasters
12. Terrific questions to ask the interviewer
13. Interview rating forms: how we evaluate you
14. Interview follow-up & its importance

Recommendations:

1. How references are weighed in the admissions process
2. Who should write your letters (and who shouldn't)
3. Proper etiquette in obtaining great letters
4. Letters that we don't take seriously (this might surprise you!)
5. Essential traits we seek (what references should tell us)
6. Typical rating sheet: how we evaluate you
7. Crucial documents to provide your letter writers
8. Reference letter mistakes & disasters
9. Elements of a great letter of reference
10. Essential follow-up with recommendations
11. Write it yourself? How we can tell......

Few applicants realize the power (and responsibility) they have to project a polished, professional image. From our experience, few candidates are accepted by accident: their success is a culmination of hard work, initiative and strategic planning.

Optimize your chances of Ivy League admission with advice from actual committee members. Learn how you will be evaluated. Know your chances. At each step in the admissions process, convey exactly the attributes you want the committee to see. Our selection criteria and inside advice will probably surprise you!

Undergraduate Admissions Guide

$20

Our Best Tips for Gaining Admission:

Even if you don't order our guide, we would like to leave you with a quick, at-a-glance summary of our best tips for gaining admission:

1) Attend the best high school and get the highest grades possible

2) Take every honors and AP class available and ace them

3) Take the AP tests right after completing the coursework and ace them, too

4) Do whatever possible to get top scores on the SAT I & SAT II tests

5) Maintain a love of reading throughout your life; develop your vocabulary and reading comprehension skills

6) Do independent research and projects outside the classroom in your favorite subjects

7) Compete for national and local academic awards and titles

8) Choose one or two favorite extra-curriculars and advance to a leadership position in them

9) Demonstrate risk-taking and commitment in an area outside academia. This can be either a hobby, entrepreneurial venture, tutoring or volunteer work.

10) Cultivate a strong positive relationship with your teachers and guidance counselors

11) Devote at least 3 hours a week to a favorite cause or charity

12) Devote at least a day or two a week to a part-time job

13) Master a foreign language and travel for enrichment whenever possible

14) Keep abreast of current events on the national and international level

15) Develop your written and oral communication skills through writing and debate

16) Use the college's own application form

17) Write strong, compelling essays that show your unique personality

18) Use a proactive approach to obtaining the best references possible

19) Learn how your school reports your rank/class standing to colleges

20) Calculate your Academic Index, CRS and Academic Rank. Know your chances.

21) Determine if you fall into a "special case" category with a higher chance of admission

22) Try to interview with your top school to show your enthusiasm

23) Apply to a number of schools that differ in selectivity to ensure multiple acceptances

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