services

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COLLEGE SELECTION RECOMMENDATIONS

Through a College Finder exercise, we will discuss must-have/must-not-have and nice-to-have college selection preferences with students and parents. Then, we will provide a list of recommended colleges that meet the student's and parent's criteria and are a good fit. We will discuss these college choices and review recommended options based on the student’s academic and activity performance or change in preferences.  Special Note: Although there is no limit on the number of colleges students can apply to, we do give a deadline (usually before the start of senior year) when the final college list has to be submitted by students/parents.

ADMISSION PLAN ASSISTANCE

After the final college list has been determined, in collaboration with the student, we will discuss Early Decision/Early Action/Regular Decision admission plans and guide the student in helping them to make the ED/EA decision. We will not tell the student which school to pick as it should be their decision, not ours. We will only  tell them if we think they are over-reaching(meaning the college is out of their reach admission-wise.) There is no “secret” or “strategy” to picking the ED/EA schools. If you are a weak applicant or do not have the necessary basic qualifications/achievements, applying early will not increase your chances of admission – it will only give you the opportunity to receive your rejection notification early. Although we cannot (no one can) “predict” a student’s chances of getting admitted, we are  98% accurate in over 27 years in predicting your chances of not getting admitted. 

MARKETING PLAN DEVELOPMENT

The admission process is a sales presentation, where the student becomes the product and the college becomes the customer. An admission applicant’s entire goal is to SELL themselves (the product) to the college/admission officers (the customer). With this idea in mind, we will show students how to S.P.A.M. (Sell, Promote, And Market) themselves successfully. One of the first rules of selling is to know the product(student) and customer(college). A second rule is that you cannot sell something you know nothing about.  Therefore, through the student’s completion of multiple assessments and personal inventories, we will help them identify their marketable qualities. The student will continuously work on their “Marketing Plan” (over months), which we will use for essay brainstorming, brag sheet preparation, interview prep, and other purposes. With an effective and unique marketing plan, students will  communicate the information colleges want to know to get the desired letter of acceptance. 

Part of this process also involves getting the know the colleges (the customer). we tell students that in order to sell what you have to offer, you have to research the colleges extensively. To demonstrate “fit,” students will have to become walking encyclopedias of knowledge about their chosen colleges, which is why, by the end of this process, students will know their colleges, inside and out, outside of just knowing Wikipedia facts like reputation, ranking, location, size, etc. With this information, they will be able to sell (through the essay and interview) why they think the college is the best fit for their own personal goals, and the college’s own business and institutional goals.

RESUME DEVELOPMENT

Resumes should sell activity achievements and impact, not describe clubs or list duties and responsibilities, or how hard you worked. We will guide the student into preparing a high-impact, achievement-oriented resume.

ESSAY BRAINSTORMING/ROUGH DRAFT CRITIQUE & FEEDBACK

The essay is one of the strongest marketing tools to sell the student on paper. Essays are not writing contests and the student’s goal is not to write “good or unique” essays but “revealing” essays that sell the student’s achievements, impact, uniqueness, fit, passions/interests, and hook factors.  Many students and parents erroneously think colleges are looking at how students write the essay instead of what the essay actually says, so they consult the essay guides and websites or “50 Essays That Got Kids Into Harvard” books that set up unrealistic expectations for students (these guides use one great example of a student’s writing but never more than that because it is almost impossible for a student to write 10+ great essays.) We typically discourage students and parents from reading essay examples because instead of using them for inspiration; they focus on replication, imitation, and duplication of the essays and as soon as the student does this, they are on the wrong track and are focusing on the wrong things. 

We educate students on what brainstorming really is – which is figuring out who they really are.  We often have to remind students that - They are the “essay topic”! They are the “answer” to the essay question! Our strategy for helping students come up with “essay topics or answers to essay questions” is something we call “reverse-brainstorming” which involves figuring out their achievements, impact, uniqueness, fit, passions/interests, and hook factors FIRST (if possible) and then having students write about those marketable qualities/traits in the essays. Note: Students may have to write approximately 10-20+ essays and short answer questions (SAQ) (depending on the number of colleges student will apply to), which is why we like to start at the beginning of the junior year on the essay writing process. 

ESSAY EDITING AND REVISIONS

After the student completes the rough draft, we will provide constructive critique and feedback that points out flaws, weaknesses, and areas for improvement within their writing. Once essays are complete and before submission, we will perform a “final review” which entails a final grammar check and cutting the essay down to the word limit. 

BRAG SHEET PREPARATION FOR TEACHER/COUNSELOR/OTHER RECOMMENDERS

The recommendation letters are opportunities for teachers, counselors, and others to sell the student. Think of recommendations as third-party verifications or a referral someone gives to a friend or family members about how great someone is and the recommendation to hire or use them. To persuade recommenders to write strong and flattering recommendations, it is imperative that students refresh their teachers, counselor, sponsors, bosses, etc. memory of what they observed (or not did witness) the student doing in and out of the classroom or through the activity/job/leadership role. Sometimes, teachers will provide students with questionnaires to fill out or ask students to provide a resume of activities (which they are not supposed to write about!) or the counselor may provide a data sheet. In our opinion, these documents and requests are sadly lacking and are not comprehensive enough.  Therefore, we will provide guidance and an outline on preparing appropriate brag sheets for recommenders. We will also help students pick the right people to write the letters of reference.

INTERVIEW PREPARATION/PRACTICE INTERVIEW

The secret to a great admission interview is having a great message and a great delivery. The interview is the opportunity to sell the student in person (or video chat). With this in mind, we will direct the student to complete a Pre-Interview Prep Worksheet and Assessment to help them figure out the right message(s) to convey to the interviewer or use their previously identified marketable qualities from the Marketing Plan. Then, to ensure a great delivery, we will conduct a practice/mock interview session.

APPLICATION REVIEW

The application is not a data collection document; instead, it provides important contextual information that allows colleges to determine an applicant’s background – more specifically, if you come an advantaged or disadvantaged school or family situation, and if you come from an underprivileged versus a privileged background. It also a place to showcase your activity accomplishments and impact and allows students to show the significance of formal awards and honors. Equally important, it identifies students who have hook factors such as legacy status, first generation applicant, underrepresented minorities, etc. With this information, colleges will evaluate your academic and activity interests in the context of the background you come from. They will be able to place you in certain categories –positive or negative. Considering this, we will review admission applications to ensure they are completed accurately.

Email us at collegeplanning@hotmail.com to set up a free initial consultation or send us a Wechat message  (Wechat ID: vca800) or call us at 713-423-0951