CNBC.com: How Coronavirus Will Impact College Admissions
March 3, 2020
Dear friends,
I open this month’s letter with a request: help us spread the word about Lakhani Scholars, our $10,000 scholarship of coaching services awarded to high achieving, low income high school sophomores. This scholarship is central to our mission to help bridge the gap of access; you can assist by encouraging strong candidates to apply, and by notifying those in your networks who work directly with eligible students. Applications are now open. The deadline is October 1st.
A number of our clients are generously supporting the mission of Lakhani Scholars. If you’d like to sponsor a scholar, you can do so here.
Meanwhile, our ongoing students continue to work toward tremendous results. This year we’ve congratulated candidates admitted to Brown, Michigan, Penn, Wake Forest, Miami, Wesleyan, Indiana, GW, a Master’s in Law and Diplomacy at Fletcher, specialized Master’s at Illinois, FSU, and Institute of World Politics, alongside MBA admissions to Harvard, Columbia, Berkeley Haas, UT McCombs, USC Marshall, and UVA Darden, among other superb places. We remain excited for those students awaiting decisions in the coming weeks as well.
For those who are in the thick of responsibilities, we are cheering you on. We’ve already seen juniors raise SAT scores by over 500 points, and a number of students putting in the work for excellence on SAT Subject Tests—particularly valuable for engineering and STEM candidates. For current sophomores, reservations for summer intensive SAT or ACT coaching are in full swing, plus planning for admissions preparation across the board—LSAT, GMAT, or GRE growth for grad school applications, and SSAT or ISEE planning for students preparing to apply to independent/boarding schools in fall. This is all alongside developing earnest character stories that lead to powerful personal statements and college essays, the writing process for which begins this summer. Every student’s ambitions are unique—feel free to contact us to schedule a more personalized discussion.
Finally, with coronavirus on all of our minds, I was pleased to contribute to a CNBC.com feature on how the virus will impact U.S. Admissions—in some ways a boost for those who will be applying this year. A standardized testing problem of the month below as well. Happy solving!
Hafeez Lakhani
Lakhani Scholars: Spread the Word!
On the heels of the life-changing Early acceptance to GW by our inaugural Lakhani Scholar, Lisa David , we are proud to announce that applications for the next class of Lakhani Scholars are now open. Students selected for Lakhani Scholars will receive 35 hours of free coaching during their sophomore, junior, and senior years including High School Career Coaching, College Admissions Coaching, and elite SAT/ACT Coaching—a $10,000 value.
Help us spread the word! We are seeking the most talented sophomores who demonstrate financial need. We welcome applications from students residing anywhere in the USA, including from DACA or undocumented students.
The deadline for applications is October 1st, 2020.
Resources:
High School Juniors: t-minus 8 months
We are just under eight months to November 1, which is when the vast majority of our students submit Early applications to college. A few upcoming priorities:
Subject Tests: May 2 and June 6 are prime dates given that these tests resemble final exams. Studying for an AP or IB exam? In many cases, Subject Test preparation overlaps quite well.
“Recommended but not required" - This is the tricky language students interested in the most competitive colleges have to decipher regarding Subject Tests. Our stance is, if you are interested in a college whose acceptance rate is under 15%, it is wise to set yourself apart at every turn, including by showing excellence on Subject Tests. These also nicely “signal” your most sincere academic interests, alongside a score that reflects your commitment to that subject.
“But they are hard..." - One of our students once raised a 430 diagnostic in Math2 to a perfect 800. That young man is at Dartmouth now. Sure, the gain took a remarkable effort—but it is also clear evidence of how “studyable” Subject Tests are. Contact us to discuss whether Subject Tests are right for you, and if so, to set out a plan for coaching.
Summer Planning: Our most successful rising seniors will take advantage of summer in three ways:
“Icing on the cake” testing: Some of you will be done with testing by the time summer begins. Congrats. Others will want just one more sitting to add a handful of points. As such, plan wisely for ACT dates on July 18 and September 12, and for SAT dates on August 29 and October 3. Every summer our most senior coaches get fully booked, so it's wise to reserve in advance.
Elevating one’s character story. By now, you hopefully have an idea of your contribution to the dinner table conversation; this summer is your chance to take it to the next level. We’re always fans of independent work: contributing to independent research, coding an app, elevating your level of responsibility in whatever pursuit you’ve been cultivating over many months. Every story is unique. Contact us if you’d like to discuss how you might put an exclamation point on your most sincere interests.
Early drafts of college essays: Hemingway famously said that every writer should burn his first novel. That is, we must forge past first drafts to get to the really good stuff. Our Overall Narrative curriculum—how we help students identify the “he’s the one who…”—centers on the adage that “writing is re-writing." Our most successful students set a deadline of September 1 to have college essay drafts at 90%, and to reach such a goal, it’s wise to set aside 3 to 4 weeks of summer to focus on college essays. Contact us to book one of our expert college essay coaches.
Resources:
Santa Fe New Mexican: Successful College Campus Visit Requires Preparation
Grown & Flown: How Your Teen Can Snag a Powerful Letter of Recommendation for College Applications
New York Times: How to Write a Good College Application Essay
Sophomores: Halfway Point of High School
Sophomores: Do you realize you’re at the halfway point of high school? Half the story is written, and over this next year and half, you’ll continue to cultivate a fulfilling high school career while, one step at a time, you begin to tackle college responsibilities. It is wise, then, to have a customized timeline in place, the most important takeaway from our famous goal-setting meeting.
Summer 2020:
SAT/ACT intensive: Students who are able to forge the most significant SAT/ACT increases—we’ve coached SAT gains as large as 600 points—are those who are able to dedicate intensive time over summer. These are skills based tests, not so different than building a skill like tennis. Can I study all night tonight and be a great tennis player tomorrow? No way. But if I put in 50 to 100 hours of preparation when school is not competing for my attention, I can grow my skills tremendously. Our most senior instructors get fully booked every summer so reserve your expert coach in advance.
Defining one’s character story: Through sophomore year, I’m a big fan of “breadth,” investing oneself in a variety of interests, through school and independently. Then, summer before junior year, I want to see a student begin to focus on “depth”. Sophomores, this is your summer. Begin to think about the character pursuits that have most mattered to you, and ask yourself how you might achieve that next level of depth. Contact us if you’d like to hear examples of how we’ve helped other students cultivate new layers to their character stories.
Resources:
Redbook: Here's How To Help Your Kid Rock the SAT/ACT
New York Times: Considering College? Maybe You Should Invest in a Coach
Graduate School Candidates: Know Your Timeline
Law School: Rolling applications open in early to mid September. If you are thinking about applying this fall, you should be moving 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, or to book one of our expert test coaches.
Business school: First round applications are due in early September, so a plan of action needs to be in place from now to reach GMAT or GRE goals, and to then formulate a school list and excavate intriguing personal statements.
Medical school: AMCAS applications for following year admissions open in early May. If your MCAT journey is still in progress, feel free to contact us to discuss how we can help you reach your goal scores.
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. Contact us to create a customized plan to reach your desired program.
Resources:
Crain's New York: Hafeez Lakhani is Helping Students Apply Themselves
Transfer Applicants
For current college students who do not feel settled, a short window remains to complete transfer applications, with some deadlines March 15 and others rolling into late spring. Contact us to discuss if a transfer application is right for you.
Resources:
New York Times: How to Write a Good College Application Essay
Boarding School and Independent School
The most successful candidates take care of SSAT or ISEE improvement over summer, then approach coaching for personal statements, applications, and interviews in the fall, ahead of application deadlines between November 1 and February 15. Contact us to discuss a school list and a plan of action.
Resources:
New York Times: Considering College? Maybe You Should Invest in a Coach
Problem of the Month: Physics SAT Subject Test
Question:
The half-life of one isotope of radium is about 1,600 years. In a given sample of this isotope, 15/16 of the radium atoms will decay in a time most nearly equal to:
A) 1000 years
B) 1500 years
C) 1600 years
D) 3200 years
E) 6400 years
Source: collegeboard.org
Click here to see the answer.