In InGenius Prep's third and final installment of "Making Your App Stand Out", InGenius prep provides information on how admissions officers review applications, how you can emphasize your diverse factors, and how you can create an application persona, and use it to your advantage in the admissions process. Additionally, in the third part of the presentation, InGenius Prep provides answers to frequently asked questions about the college admissions process.
3. What We’ll Cover in This Lesson
Background – Data, Numbers and the Common Application
How Applications are Reviewed, Debated, and Decided
Standing Out: Find Your “Diverse Factors”
Using an Application Persona
4. Recap: In the Admissions Office
How Applications are Processed and Reviewed
You Submit Your
Application
The
Admissions
office adds it
to their pile of
thousands of
applications
The applications are
separated, each
admissions officer
get’s a pile of
applications
That admissions
officer reviews all of
the applications in
their pile, and selects
a handful of students
they would like to
accept
All the
admissions
officers meet
as a committee
and debate
whether to
admit selected
applicants
5. In the Admissions Office
How Applications are Processed and Reviewed
What things “make an impression”?
Unique (i.e., “diverse”) experiences,
achievements, interests, and backgrounds (more
on this later)
Engaging essays with lots of personality and
human-ness
Clear, powerful passions
Emotional and intellectual maturity
Recommendations from reputable individuals,
which say the right things (more later on recs)
6. In the Admissions Office
How Applications are Processed and Reviewed
What about GPA and SAT’s/ACT’s!?
GPA and test scores are only a
“threshold issue” – once you have
met a certain standard, they
become less important.
7. In the Admissions Office
How Applications are Processed and Reviewed
Example – Cindy and Frank both apply to Harvard.
Cindy has a perfect GPA (4.0) and a 2400 on her SATs.
She participates in several student groups.
Frank has a 3.9 and a 2280. He is a national debate
champion.
The Result?
Frank gets accepted, and Cindy gets rejected.
Admissions offices don’t actually care about the difference
between a 3.9 and a 4.0, or a 2280 and a 2400. Frank is
far more unique, and is likely to excel at Harvard (in class
and on campus).
8. In the Admissions Office
How Applications are Processed and Reviewed
Here’s a real-life example of two Harvard
applicants:
Ziggy, our student
His GPA was a 3.5 (he was not in the
top 30% of his class)
His SAT was 2300
He attended a public school
Ken (not our student)
His SAT was 2390
He attended a reputable private
boarding school
He was not a legacy
He was president of multiple school
groups, and competed in several
varsity sports (soccer, track)
BUT, Ziggy was unique: he grew up
speaking only Hebrew, was the first in
his family to attend college. He had
also traveled the world, and had
completed several serious pieces of
scholarship
His GPA was a 4.3 (4.0, unweighted)
Both of Kne’s parents and one of his
siblings attended a Harvard Graduate
School
9. In the Admissions Office
How Applications are Processed and Reviewed
The Result?
Ziggy was accepted to Harvard!
Ken was waitlisted, and then rejected
11. Contact us now for your
consultation!
Website: www.InGeniusPrep.com
Email: Info@ingeniusprep.com
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Twitter: @ingeniusprep
Notas del editor
Today we will discuss:
the essential background information regarding applications to U.S. Colleges and the Common app
The actual process by which applications are reviewed, debated over, and chosen for admission or rejection
The importance of diversity and identifying those factors which make you diverse
And the application persona – something which is essential if you want admissions officers to remember you, advocate for you, and ultimately, accept you
One of the reasons that so many chinese applicants fail to get into U.S. Schools is that they don’t understand the nature of the american admissions process.
Unlike admissions to Chinese universities, where grades and GaoKao scores are essentially the only factors which determine whether someone is admitted….in the U.S., admissions decisions are based on a holistic assessment of applicants.
In the U.S., grades and test scores are just one part of the whole equation. Applicants are not reject or accepted solely based on their grades and test scores. There are literally HUNDREDS of other variables.
Note: average GPA of students admitted to harvard is a 4.0
Why? Because Zalman had an interesting story, and he worked tirelessly with his counselors to craft essays which made him seem likable, intelligent, and mature. Although we didn’t work with Ke on his undergraduate application, we DID have a chance to look through his personal statement. It was completely bland. He seemed boring, robotic, and didn’t appear to have any clear passion that would propel him to success in college and beyond.