Applicant E’s Background
Geographic Location: Sydney, Australia
Citizenship/Residence: Australia
SAT: 1550+
School Ranking: Top 3
First meeting: Year 9
Case Detail
We started mentoring Applicant E at the end of Year 9. At that time, E already showcased a strong academic foundation and interests in many areas ranging from Latin and debating to mathematics and computer sciences. After initial brainstorming and follow-up discussions, we introduced computational linguistics to E and assisted him in exploring fields through studies and activities.
While he proceeded steadily through the Computational Linguistics Olympiad and other relevant competitions, we faced difficulty securing activities, as it was a field that was largely limited to college students and scholars at that time. By the end of Year 10, we advised E to pivot from linguistics to Latin so that he could have more leeway to bring up his own activities to prove his interest. This strategic change gradually enabled him to form the main voice in his application.
Because E was aiming for medical schools as his backup plan if he ended up staying in Australia, his schedule was very much packed throughout the HSC. This demanded us to give him more precise suggestions on activities. Instead of branching out aimlessly and scoring a large number of activities, we recommend E only focus on his own initiative and highly relevant activities at school. Meanwhile, we encouraged him to try out more on general school leadership and make continuous and concrete contributions without worrying too much about the title.
In the application year, the long-term strategy and focus played out well in presenting E’s case. His supplement essays were clear and powerful in showcasing his passion while depicting a picture of a well-balanced and caring high school student. On the other hand, the personal essay was genuinely focused on a very soft and moving anecdote, completing a fuller image. With his years of debating experience, E was confident about sharing his experiences. Through the preparation, Elite Admission team helped him identify the missing pieces that his essays, due to the word limit, were unable to cover, allowing the interviewer to report an even more convincing and comprehensive profile, which supported his admission to Harvard University – Class of 2028.
Summary
One of the benefits of starting the college admission preparation early is to have the room to handle issues and then make adjustments. Meanwhile, the professional and detailed planning based on in-depth understanding of the applicant could enhance the efficiency of college preparation work and ultimately improve the quality of application materials. Though E’s profile was not typical for Harvard admits, we still managed to help him achieve this outstanding result.
Click here to read more of our successful college application cases
Click here to learn more about our college admission consulting service
Click here to get information about our SAT Prep service
We prioritize our clients’ privacy. Please be aware that we cannot share all the details of our services in the article above. If you are interested in knowing the full scope of our services, please contact us.
