IvyWise KnowledgeBase

You made it through the first half of junior year, which means you’re on your way to being a senior and ruling the school! Although college may seem far away, it’s much closer than you think. Now’s the time to develop concrete ideas about where you want to go to college, and make sure that your course load, test scores, and extracurricular activities will help your application stand out. Follow these tips from the IvyWise team of counselors to get the most out of the next six months and have a less stressful and more enjoyable senior year.

In today’s college admissions landscape, it’s easy to get swept up in rankings, name recognition, and prestige. National lists and top 20 roundups dominate the conversation, leading many students to believe their success hinges on attending one of these widely recognized institutions. But in truth, some of the best college experiences happen at schools that don’t always make the headlines.

The word “networking” might conjure up images of professional adults shaking hands and exchanging business cards at industry conferences. Sounds like a rather transactional interaction, doesn’t it? Networking, however, isn’t just about career advancement — it’s about forming connections that support your goals and personal growth. Developing this skill early on can help you build meaningful relationships that can lead to incredible opportunities.

Ok, maybe not everyone loves the thrill of crafting the perfect Tuesday/Thursday class lineup with no Friday classes and nothing before 10am, but planning for your four years is essential. After all, what you do in college will impact what you do after college.

For many students applying to college, writing about extracurricular activities can feel like an afterthought — secondary to essays, test scores, and recommendations. But your activity list is one of the most important parts of your application.

Choosing a college major can feel like a life-altering decision, especially when your interests span multiple fields. What if you’re fascinated by arts and computer science or engineering and business management? For students whose interests defy traditional academic boundaries, dual degree programs offer an exciting and enriching path. If you’re a truly interdisciplinary thinker, these programs allow you to dive deep into two distinct areas without choosing just one.

Families who scan only the marquee names when looking for colleges and universities risk missing campuses that deliver academic depth and lively communities in more intimate settings. Just because an institution isn’t listed in the best college rankings, that doesn’t mean it should be overlooked — it is often these underrated schools that offer the most opportunities for students to thrive and be successful.

Though the visual arts require talent and skill, they also require knowledge and critical thinking. Students who want to study art in college should consider beefing up their knowledge outside of the classroom. One way to become a “pointy” student in the visual arts is through extracurricular reading.

I recently asked ChatGPT to generate a 650-word college essay based on a hypothetical high school flag football captain with a budding interest in kinesiology. The result? It was predictably contrived and full of cliches.

For students who have spent countless hours coding apps, building robots, designing aeronautical models, or crafting engineering projects, the traditional college application doesn’t always do justice to their work. While essays and activities lists can provide context, there’s often no space to fully showcase hands-on projects. That’s where a STEM portfolio, also known as a maker portfolio, comes in.