Applicant L’s Background
Geographic Location: Australia
Citizenship/Residence: Australia
SAT: 1550+
School Ranking: Top 1
First meeting: Year 10
Case Detail
When we met Applicant L for the first time, when he was in Year 10, he and his family were not very confident about his chances of getting into a top college in the States. They have met other admission consultants, and all of them say that Applicant L was much better suited to colleges in the UK. Indeed, Applicant L had demonstrated strong academic skills, topping his cohort, but he was not the type of textbook student who thrives in leadership, organisational skills, and activities. But in our first meeting, Ray, our cofounder and admission director, was impressed by Applicant L’s academic strength and, more importantly, his intellectual curiosity. We encouraged Applicant L to give the most selective colleges in the US a go, which, according to his parents, turned out to be “a remarkable suggestion”.
In the early stage of our collaboration, we spent time digging into Applicant L’s academic interests and helping him clarify them through a variety of explorative projects. Gradually, we narrowed his interests to mathematics and philosophy and began to build activities accordingly. In fact, we also found that although Applicant L didn’t have many activities, he completed a few classroom projects that were actually engaging. Therefore, we help him reorganise these projects into a more presentable format. We also mentor him in his summer programme applications, allowing him to develop his passion beyond the high school curriculum.
At the same time, Applicant L did a fantastic job of maintaining an impeccable academic record at school. Such an achievement was time-consuming. Therefore, we came up with more efficient and feasible suggestions for him to develop and showcase leadership. Additionally, we provided him with specific advice on how to use fragmented time to develop his own initiative and, simultaneously, form a more in-depth understanding of his own interests.
In the application year, we developed a highly personal timetable so that Applicant L could fit application work into his hectic HSC schedule. We also gave him very detailed suggestions regarding how to communicate with his teachers and school for recommendations to ensure his intellectual ability and community impact could be delivered through these letters. In terms of the application essays, we supported Applicant L in courageously expressing his passion for academic learning, as well as his impressive knowledge in the field he had investigated, with a personal, genuine voice. Multiple mock interviews, including those with our previous students currently studying at those universities, were arranged.
Summary
While applicant L did not have any stereotypical activities for top colleges in the United States, such as school leadership, debating, or robotics, we respected his personality and strengths and helped him develop activities and community impact based on his outstanding academic skills. Through detailed work, communication and mentoring, we assisted him in optimising his application materials and best presenting himself as a unique candidate. His case of admission to both Harvard Unviersity and Stanford University proves that there is a lot of misinformation about what kind of applicants the most selective colleges look for. At the end of the day, every applicant should focus on how to become the best version of themselves.
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