Getting a Headstart on Your College Applications
April 30, 2020
Dear Friends,
With summer approaching we’ve quickly moved from congratulating this year’s admits—students accepted to Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, UCLA Law, and Georgetown Law, alongside such selective colleges as Penn, Cornell, USC, Brown, UC Berkeley and Johns Hopkins—to laying out detailed plans of action for 2020 applicants. Despite ongoing turbulence from COVID19, it is essential to know your fall deadlines from now, including early application dates as soon as May 30 for Medical school candidates, September for Business and Law school candidates, and November 1—just six months away—for undergraduate candidates. As always, summer is a valuable time to nurture leaps in standardized testing, be it in SAT/ACT, Subject Tests, GMAT, LSAT, GRE, MCAT, SSAT or ISEE. There is no more powerful tool for planning than a customized timeline of detailed responsibilities— contact us to craft one today.
Juniors have an especially important summer ahead: some of you already have elite SAT or ACT scores secured—an asset in standing out when so many colleges are going temporarily test optional—alongside a focused plan to excavate brilliant college essays this summer. However, a great many juniors have been derailed from maximizing SAT or ACT results thus far. Focused prep for the remaining test dates, including fitting in Subject Tests if possible, will be a key in selective admissions, as applying test optional historically yields lower acceptance rates. The all-important process of excavating one’s college essays also needs time—ideally during summer, when school is not competing for a student’s attention. Read below for our nuanced guidance on preparing for November 1 Early deadlines.
For current sophomores who are working hard to cultivate their fulfilling high school careers , this summer offers important opportunities to further one’s story in problem solving and character. Many of you have fruitful plans in place (COVID dependent)—brilliant character projects and summer intensives for SAT or ACT, a pillar to our nurturing SAT increases for example as large as 600 points. See our recommendations below for ways to plan if you haven’t already.
Seniors: though you have acceptances in hand, a number of you have hard decisions to make before May 1 commitment deadlines. Note that many schools have officially extended decision deadlines to June 1, and schools that haven’t are generally amenable on a case by case basis. As I spoke about on FOX5-NY , I always want seniors to be able to revisit their admitted schools as a “test drive” ahead of final commitments, but this year you’ll have to make choices based on virtual tours and genuine conversations. Note: schools such as Yale have pegged July 1 as a date by which they’ll hope to have clarity on the format of the fall semester. Contact us if you’d like to discuss a tough decision you are weighing.
Finally, Lakhani Coaching was pleased to contribute these past weeks to Voice of America , FOX5-NY , and The New York Times . With so many variables at play between cancelled test dates, international student enrollment, poor yield at colleges, and wait list opportunities, we are pleased to add to the national conversation.
A reminder that given the COVID-19 situation, we have extended our Lakhani Scholars application deadline to October 1, still targeting the high school class of 2022. Keep spreading the word to high achieving low income rising juniors to apply to receive $10,000 of our one-on-one coaching services at no cost to them.
Another standardized testing problem of the month below. Happy solving!
Wishing everyone good health—
Hafeez Lakhani
Juniors: t-minus six months
A plan from now is paramount if a student intends to apply ED or EA—which I support, if the application is ready, for stronger acceptance rates. For November 1 application deadlines, remaining SATs and Subject Test dates include 8/29, 9/26 (just added, SAT only) and 10/3. Remaining ACT dates include 6/13 (still currently scheduled), 7/18, 9/12, and 10/24 (10/10 for International students). As I discussed with The New York Times, though the obstacles are many for this year’s junior class, there is a silver lining out there in reduced enrollment numbers, i.e. a slight uptick in acceptance rates at the most selective schools.
Remaining SAT or ACT work: The key at this point is to mark possible test dates on your calendar, and set aside concerted time to work on skill growth. For students who have yet to record any official results, we encourage ACT at this point. Though the June 13 date may still get canceled, the July 18 date is available behind it, while August 29 is the next opportunity to test for the SAT. Long term skills growth remains important on either test: just as one cannot become a great tennis player overnight, one needs diligent practice to grow problem solving skills. All the better if this practice can be guided by an expert coach.
Subject Tests: These “recommended but not required” tests remain a priority for our juniors interested in the most selective colleges—the trick is fitting in Subject Tests on separate dates from SATs (8/29 being the soonest), and juggling time over summer for college essay work. The 1 hour tests are extremely challenging, and focused prep for new or rusty topics is a must. Contact us if you have not yet crafted a plan to reach your goals.
College Essays: Our clients know the analogy for one’s character story: if we imagine that Harvard is a dinner table with a limited number of seats, and there is one place left, we must ask: what makes our student the most interesting contributor to that dinner table conversation? What makes him deserving of that last seat? Rising seniors: you will soon be shaping your character story for your applications, and that story will be told largely through your college essays. This is where it pays off to have testing complete: our “fast track” students are in great position this summer to begin excavating the most intriguing anecdotes from their experiences. Hemingway famously said that every writer should burn his first novel—and as such, our college essay process is designed to give a student pointed prompts to free-write, so a student can confidently set aside “preliminary” threads and turn full attention to anecdotes that speak to one’s contribution to the dinner table conversation. The key to the most poignant essays we’ve coached is simple: time to process. Contact us to reserve time with one of our college essay coaches before they become fully booked for summer.
Resources:
New York Times: After Coronavirus, Colleges Worry: Will Students Come Back?
New York Times: How to Write a Good College Application Essay
Underclassmen
Our students know the analogy: we cannot study all night tonight and be a great tennis player tomorrow. But with several weeks of focus—working with one of our coaches to identify evidence strategies in Reading Comp, grammar rules for English sections, and not only formulas for Math, but recurring practice at finding the “ah-ha” moment across a full range of challenging problems—can yield dramatic results.
Summer Intensive SAT/ACT: There is no better head start to the college process than investing in SAT/ACT skills growth the summer before junior year. It alleviates a huge amount of pressure from the toughest year of high school, and in best case scenarios allows juniors to cross off SAT/ACT by December, opening up time to focus on coursework, Subject Tests, AP or IB responsibilities, and one’s blossoming character story . As we discuss above, having testing complete junior year also frees up brainspace for finalizing one’s Early school and excavating brilliant college essays summer before senior year. Our students who see the greatest gains are those who are able to devote 50 to 100 hours summer before junior year. Contact us to reserve your SAT or ACT coach if you haven’t already—availability, especially at the most senior levels, is limited.
Resources:
Redbook: Here's How to Help Your Kid Rock the SAT and ACT
FOX5-NY: College Prep Coach: Homeschooling Students Shouldn't Slack Off
Voice of America News: Frustration Continues With Online Classes
Graduate School Candidates: t-minus 4 months
Law School: Rolling applications open as early as August. If you are thinking about applying this fall, you should already be working hard on LSAT or GRE, to leave 1-2 months for work on your personal statements. Contact us for guidance on deciding between LSAT and GRE, and to book one of our expert coaches to help you reach your desired scores.
Business school: First round deadlines are in early September, so a plan of action needs to be in place from now to reach GMAT or GRE goals through focused coaching, and to then formulate an appropriate school list and excavate intriguing personal statements for applications. If you plan to apply in Round 1, we recommend having testing—which often entails multiple sittings—complete by July 15, just 2.5 months away. This year will inevitably see a jump in applicants, which makes careful preparation all the more important.
Medical school: AMCAS applications for following year admissions can be submitted as soon as May 30. Our med school coaches are on call to help students take personal statements from good to great, or to guide students at various stages of their MCAT journey.
Other graduate study: As with any admissions goal, it’s wise to get testing out of the way before finalizing a program list, making note of deadlines, and working on personal statements and other components such as recommendation requests. In many cases candidates will also dedicate time to elevating a writing sample or portfolio. Contact us to create a customized plan to reach your desired program.
Resources:
CNBC.COM: Stemming the Flow of International Students Could Cost US Colleges $41 Billion
Boarding School and Independent School
A number of families who will apply to change schools in the fall have already booked summer SSAT or ISEE coaching. Independent and boarding school applications can be due anywhere from November 1 to February 15. As with any process, we recommend separating responsibilities—taking care of testing first, followed by coaching for personal statements, applications, and interviews in the fall. Contact us to discuss test preparation, a school list, visits, and a plan of action, beginning with a concerted push for the best possible grades this spring.
Resources:
New York Times: Considering College? Maybe You Should Invest in a Coach
Problem of the Month: ACT English
Choose the alternative you consider best to replace the bold portion.
By re-creating snowflake formation, a discovery has revealed to scientists Kenneth Libbrecht and Hannah Arnold the cause of this apparent variation.
A) NO CHANGE
B) the discovery of the cause of this apparent variation has been made by scientists Kenneth Libbrecht and Hannah Arnold.
C) scientists Kenneth Libbrecht and Hannah Arnold have discovered the cause of this apparent variation.
D) the cause of this apparent variation has been dis- covered by scientists Kenneth Libbrecht and Hannah Arnold.
Source: ACT.org
Click here to see the answer.