College Planning

By Kimberly, IvyWise College Admissions Counselor The decision as to where and how a student continues their post-secondary education is not one to be made lightly and requires a lot of self-reflection and consideration. At IvyWise, we recommend that students spend significant time learning as much as they can about their college options. While the best source of information is to visit campus to see the institution in action, this is not always possible due to time, cost, transportation, or other factors.

By Indhika, IvyWise Graduate Admissions Counselor Having committed mentors in college goes beyond gaining advice on courses and securing strong letters of recommendation. Cultivating mentors who support your goals, identify opportunities, and advocate for your success will help you make the most of your college experience and solidify the foundation for your future pursuits. Moreover, a strong mentor will support and inspire you, facilitating reflection and personal growth and helping you navigate challenges.

When it comes to researching colleges, there is certainly not a lack of information available — so much so that it can be overwhelming to figure out which data points are most useful. Numerous ranked lists are published annually, there are websites that provide students’ reviews of colleges, and then there’s my personal favorite, the thick, desktop Bound-For-College Guidebook. If anything, with so much information available, one might even experience analysis paralysis while sifting through all the data points and statistics.

By Indhika, IvyWise Academic Advisor Whether you are an international relations or biology major, meaningful global experiences can have a positive impact on your academic and personal growth. Going abroad can broaden your perspectives, deepen your understanding of your chosen discipline, bolster your professional development, and strengthen your resume for graduate school and job applications. When exploring different options to go abroad, reflect on how opportunities connect to your academic training, career goals, and co-curricular profile.

The Price Is Right is iconic, having graced TV screens since 1972. Plinko, the Showcase Showdown, and of course the excitement as they call your name to come on down to contestant’s row is familiar to a lot of people, so I was thrilled when I appeared as a contestant in 2017. Becoming one of the nine players that are plucked out from an audience of 300 (that's a 3% “acceptance rate") is not as simple as just showing up and hoping for some good luck.

Preparing for college is a lot like growing a beautiful garden. It takes time, patience, and the right combination of nurturing and independence to help the seeds of college ideas grow into bountiful plans. Ninth grade is the ideal time to start cultivating those sprouts of college dreams, as it gives students time to mature and explore subjects and activities that interest them and will eventually grow into education and career goals.

By Tasha, IvyWise College Admissions Counselor If you’re wrapping up junior year of high school, there’s a lot to think about: college tours, signing up for standardized tests, applying to summer programs – the list goes on. There is one more thing you should be prioritizing as you look toward your senior year: developing your writing skills. Your personal statement and writing supplements are a chance for you to showcase your best writing—the kind of writing you would do in classes and on campus.

Executive functioning is our brain’s management system, consisting of a group of skills that allow us to set goals, plan ahead, and get things done. These skills are crucial, not only in the context of academics but also in our everyday lives. These skills are learnable and can be improved with consistent practice, much like a runner training for a race, and summer can be a great time to build those skills and set up a successful school year in the fall.

When it comes to Greek life, students are pretty divided about joining a fraternity or sorority. Some students know they're going to pledge, others are sure they want to skip it, and the rest haven't made up their minds yet. For many, it's a matter of personal preference.

By McGreggor, M.D., IvyWise College Admissions Counselor and Sarah Papp Crowley, M.

One of the most important aspects of the college admissions process is identifying the schools that are good academic and social fits for you. To ensure that you are applying to a balanced list of reach, target, and likely schools where you will be happy and successful, extensively research each school before adding it to your list. In addition to helping you narrow down your choices now, down the road this research will also enable you to personalize your applications and communicate to an admissions committee why you want to attend that school.

As we finished crafting her final college list and were poised to begin working on her applications, a student sat across the table from me and asked, “how will I stand out?” What might have been a simple question was made more complex by the schools on her list. While many students will apply to a wide range of schools, it’s important to remember that when applying to both smaller and larger schools all the same information is considered, just in different ways.

Legacy Admissions: Does Legacy Status Improve Your Chances in College Admissions? There are many nuances to the college admissions process, and one of the aspects that can be hard for students to navigate is whether or not applying to their parents’ alma mater will impact their chances of admission. Legacy status in college admissions can be a confusing avenue to travel, but there can be some benefits – and drawbacks – to applying to college as a legacy.

A Premier College Admissions Counselor at IvyWise, Christine relishes the opportunity to work with students and their families. She previously served as an Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Yale University and at Georgetown University. Christine has an undergraduate degree in history from Yale University and a Master's Degree in public policy from Georgetown, where she is currently a PhD candidate in political science.

A Master College Admissions Counselor at IvyWise, Scott has been helping IvyWise students learn about and apply to schools all over the US. He previously served as an Assistant Director of Admissions at Yale University. Scott has an undergraduate degree from Yale University and an MPA in Nonprofit Management and Policy Analysis from New York University.

Despite the current economy, a business education is still a hot commodity—and if you’ve found yourself glued to MarketWatch.com, thinking about how to launch your great business idea, or wowed by the impact of Twitter and Facebook on customer service, you might want to consider a school with an undergraduate business program. There are many undergraduate business programs in the country, offering a wide range of opportunities for students interested in fields such as finance, accounting, international business, real estate, marketing, information technology and entrepreneurship.

Early decision and early action deadlines are quickly approaching, and as we enter the homestretch of the college application process, anxiety will continue to build. Stressed out students can lead to stressed out parents – and that can make for a tense household. It’s only natural for students to experience some stress and anxiety when applying to college.

As fans of TLC’s series know far too well, every child is unique – even if you have twins and sextuplets! As the fall provides you with an opportunity to reflect on how much your children have grown and developed into young adults, you may be dealing with the dynamic of sibling rivalry. I hope the following provides a quick guide to help you manage your role as parent when your children apply to college.

Is the study of history – history? In recent years, only about 1% of college students graduate with a degree in history. In fact, between 2008 and 2017, the latest year with available data, the number of history majors has plummeted by nearly 30%.

When watching the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, I was in awe of the high school-aged kids like Chloe Kim and Red Gerard on Team USA. How do they balance their intensive training and extensive travel schedules with homework and school commitments? Surely being an Olympic athlete is impressive, but how do sports affect the college admissions process for regular students?

Whether you’re a freshman still adjusting to your first year of high school, or a college-bound junior ready to hit the ground running, it’s important to set academic and college prep goals for the fall as soon as school starts back up. Goals not only help keep students on track with their college prep, they also help students learn more about who they are, what they’re interested in, and how they can better pursue those interests. Goals can also help students stay motivated during a particularly busy or stressful time.