Applicant S’s Background
Geographic Location: Sydney, Australia
Citizenship/Residency: Chinese
When They Started Using Our Admission Service: in Year 9
SAT: 1560 out of 1600
School Ranking: Top 10%
Significant Awards: Australian Informatics Olympiad Gold Medal
Intended Major: Computer Science
Admissions: Washington University in St. Louis (Early Decision II), Imperial College London
Case Detail
Applicant S is very smart and quite a character. As such, she preferred to do things in her own way. She only accepted suggestions once she was completely convinced, and never hesitated to say no. When she first came to use our services in Year 9, our focus was to introduce her to the whole rationale behind the US college admission system. We let her know what was truly important, and led her to make changes. For instance, she used to neglect the school units that she felt bored with, which resulted in a questionable school report. We informed her of the importance and priority of maintaining a solid school performance. Meanwhile, because she was an international student living away from her family, we spent more energy helping her find ways to improve her marks quickly in certain subjects and monitored her progress. This work demanded time and patience and was not usually included in our college admission service. In any case, we delivered it and helped to bolster S’ academic foundation for her college applications.
Impressed by her mathematical talent and interest in computation, we recommended S join the Informatics Olympiad. Her excellent performance in the competition in Year 10 became an integral part of her application profile. After her achievement in the Olympiad, we encouraged S to promote informatics and programming learning at her school, whose academic focus is on humanities and social sciences. Seeing her reluctance in the beginning, we tried to provide her clear guidance on what to do and contacted her parents to give her more motivation. She eventually started a study group in Year 11 which became a great place for girls in her school to have exposure to computer science.
At the same time, we also encouraged S to get involved in other academic areas. She gradually found she was also very interested in philosophy and psychology. After confirming her interests, we planned relevant activities for her, such as more extensive reading in these areas and discussing her ideas. We also helped her apply to a summer program to explore psychology in greater depth. These two areas, in the end, became great supplements to S’ main focus on computer science and helped differentiate her from other computer science applicants through her essays.
There was a twist that happened in S’ application year. She was not able to achieve her targeted ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank), the result of the Australian high school leaving exam. As soon as she received her score in the middle of December, we quickly adjusted her university selection plan and applied to Washington University in St. Louis via Early Decision II rather than Regular Decision. The adjustment proved to be a significant last-minute decision.
Summary
At Elite Admission Consulting, we respect the fact that applicants are different and provide our services accordingly to highlight their strengths and downplay their problem areas. Meanwhile, long-term planning and cooperation and quick decision-making are both essential, and we aim to excel in both aspects.
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