Early Applications & More on the College Admissions Scandal
October 24, 2019
Dear Friends,
With application season upon us, and with a number of students having already submitted Early Decision, Early Action and Graduate school applications—and many more with incredible stories still in the works—I stand in awe of the remarkable effort these young people are putting in. Our students applying this year are thoroughly “excavating”, digging by means of the written word, unearthing earnest gems from their intellectual lives for college essays, supplements, and grad school personal statements. We see across the board a commitment not only to ambition, but to the hard work required to make ambitions a reality. For those not yet in high gear, don’t worry: you have time. See below for specific guidance to get moving.
It’s easy during application season to focus on candidates finalizing their stories, but so many of our students know that success is a product of long term work. I commend those planning from further out, cultivating fulfilling academic careers in character and problem solving ability, alongside the rigors of academic life. We see the full range: 5th graders or 8th graders preparing, slow and steady, for SSAT or ISEE ahead of independent school applications; graduate candidates somehow balancing full time work with GRE, LSAT or GMAT improvement; and perhaps most impressively, high school juniors—junior year is a monster —who are juggling their most rigorous year yet with Herculean efforts elevating SAT or ACT. Whether you have already cultivated a 500 point SAT improvement—the greatest we’ve ever coached is 600 points—or are just beginning to climb the S-curve, we are here to serve both as expert coaches and as earnest cheerleaders, knowing how difficult a pursuit skills growth is, be it as a pianist, baseball pitcher, figure skater, or student tester.
On the note of character, I continue to emphasize just what a difference maker it is, including in my interview on Al Roker’s BOLD TV last week, discussing how the college admissions cheating scandal will impact upcoming applicants. Take heed younger students: your character is developed not a few weeks before applying to college but by tending to earnest seeds over the course of a few years. This was the advice I shared with CNBC.com as well, in an article, To Get Into A Top College, Your Character Matters Too.
We’ve included another standardized testing problem of the month below, as well as some nuanced advice for students at various stages. As always, families are welcome to contact us if you’d like to speak in more detail about your specific situation.
Here’s to an incredible admissions season ahead—
Hafeez Lakhani
Seniors: Deadlines November 1 and January 1
For those hardworking seniors on track to apply Early: if you haven’t already done so, contact us to schedule a final review of your application materials, including your all important college essay and supplements.
For those still finalizing SAT, ACT, or Subject Tests, or just beginning to excavate college essays, we are here to help you move into high gear for Regular Decision applications, including focus on the following responsibilities:
Excavating powerful college essays: Our ultimate test for a strong application is as follows: imagine that we are admissions officers sitting around a table late in the afternoon. We must decide today on a pile of 500 student applications, all of which we reviewed on our iPads, in some haste, the previous week. The successful application will be one for which, when it’s time to discuss our student, someone at that table, even if tired, even after having discussed hundreds of candidates, will say: “Oh, Ella… She’s the one who…” It is our responsibility at Lakhani Coaching to help every one of our students uncover this absolutely memorable answer for herself—and to convey that answer through the college essay and essay supplements.
Wrap up testing: the following dates remain for this year’s applicants. No time to waste. Contact us to arrange some coaching to add icing to the cake.
SAT or Subject Tests: 11/2, 12/7
ACT: 10/26 (this weekend), 12/14
Finalizing your list: no two lists are alike because no two sets of preferences are identical. Contact us to discuss options for reach schools and best positioning to improve your chances.
Common App, or other application portals. I encourage a special focus on:
a) Drafting and editing one’s Activities List, and most crucially the 150 character descriptions of each activity. Focus on being earnest and specific rather than impressive.
b) Drafting and editing one’s Academic Honors, including descriptions.
c) Planning for Supplements, including ones that may be “hiding” in the Questions section.
d) Note: Several great universities are not on Common App, such as UC schools, MIT and Georgetown. Those require setting up respective application portals.
Recommendation Requests: if you haven’t already made requests, now is high time. Contact us to discuss potential options for your recommenders, whether you are a good candidate to request a non-academic letter, and ways to aid recommenders in writing the most impactful letter possible.
RD planning for Early applicants: It’s important to note that Early application notifications—which can result in “accepted”, “denied” or “deferred”—tend to be released between 12/7 and 12/15. With most Regular Decision deadlines on January 1, we strongly urge students not to “wait and see” about their ED before beginning to think about what may be vital Regular Decision applications. If an Early application don’t work out, that is just fine. All you need is one. In short, you should be ready, or close to ready, with supplements drafted for remaining schools should you need those applications. This is simply smart planning. If you are in such a boat, contact us to discuss the relative merits of various ED2 possibilities.
Resources:
New York Times: How to Write a College Essay
Parents: Everything You Need to Know to Get Your Kid into College
Juniors and Underclassmen
SAT/ACT: We are aware that, like any skill—a sport, a musical instrument—problem solving ability can be significantly advanced over time. No one would expect to “study all night” tonight and play a Beethoven symphony tomorrow. So why would anyone expect to give her best performance on a standardized test without a dedicated program of skills growth?
Amazingly, we have juniors who are already done with testing, sealing up scores in the 99th percentile and moving on to focus on academics and character. This takes nothing away from those still hard at work. To me, standardized testing is not about competing against others; it is about raising the bar for yourself, and having a plan in place to get there.
For those who intend to apply ED or EA as seniors, we aspire for SAT or ACT, and Subject Tests, where applicable, to ideally be complete junior year, so as to save fall senior year testing for icing on the cake. Even better would be to have summer and fall before senior year to dedicate to one’s character pursuits and early drafts of college essays.
National SAT dates this school year: 11/2, 12/7, 3/14, 5/2, 6/6
National ACT dates this school year: 10/26, 12/14, 2/8, 4/4, 6/13
PSAT/NMSQT:
For juniors, this is a great opportunity to take a “live” practice test, and for those who are already elevating SAT skills, to qualify as National Merit Scholars.
For sophomores, this is a fantastic “cold turkey” opportunity. Remember that your score—released in early December—is simply a starting point. The key to becoming great at basketball, for instance, is not focusing on how bad you were the first time you picked up a ball; it is committing the continued effort to become great.
The Long List meeting: We encourage a goal setting meeting at the start of junior year to calibrate two important priorities:
A student’s ongoing efforts to cultivate a fulfilling high school career, including specific targets in Academics, Problem Solving ability, and Character.
Cultivating a tentative long list, which allows a student to:
Begin to evaluate preferences for region, size of school, public vs. private, offerings of majors, etc.
Consider target GPAs and SAT/ACT ranges for schools of interest—and move oneself in the direction of these goals
Begin planning for impactful college visits, which by Lakhani Coaching philosophy will be during the school year, during the week. Fall school holidays, February break, and spring break are wise to see a campus “in action”, including speak to students, visit classes, maybe even attend a varsity sporting event. The key is to go beyond the information session and tour.
Resources:
Seventeen: Here's Exactly How to Slay the SAT and ACT
New York Times: Considering College? Maybe You Should Invest in a Coach
Graduate School Candidates: Applications are Open
Business school: first round deadlines are closing this month and Round 2 deadlines hover around 1/1. So there is time if you are still working on GMAT or GRE—plan accordingly for skills growth, then set aside enough time to focus on personal statements. Note that a number of schools take later round applications into March/April as well.
Law School: rolling applications are open, with final deadlines just after the new year. If you are thinking about applying this fall, you should be moving toward completion of LSAT or GRE, to leave 1-2 months for work on personal statements and recommendation requests. Upcoming LSAT dates: 10/28, 11/25, 1/13. Contact us to discuss coaching to reach your goals.
Other graduate study: it’s wise to get testing out of the way before finalizing a program list, making note of deadlines—which can vary from September to March, but often cluster around January 1—and working on personal statements and other components such as recommendation requests.
College Students: Have a Plan in Place
Our philosophy around a fulfilling academic career applies to college students as well, including concerted focus around academics, problem solving ability, and character:
Character pursuits: contact us to discuss topics from summer planning, internships and research initiatives, to maximize one’s character impact on campus.
Employment planning: For those interested in consulting, investment banking, and other competitive tracks, we are here to serve as experienced interview coaches. Landing positions in these coveted fields doesn’t happen overnight. Our students plan ahead, including relevant research and internship roles in earlier summers to build one’s candidacy.
Mock Interview Prep: there is no better way to practice for an interview than by running through mocks and receiving feedback.
Consulting Case interviews: These require refined technique, including practice with mental math, estimation and process driven answers. Contact us to discuss a routine of practice with our expert coach.
Graduate school planning: It’s wise to have a plan in place well ahead of time, including relevant research, a timeline for standardized test preparation, and careful formation of target field types as well as ideal programs.
Early planning for GMAT, GRE and LSAT: a brilliant strategy we’ve seen is 2nd semester seniors who intend to work after college using part of senior year to tackle GMAT, GRE, or LSAT, the scores for which are valid in most cases for five years. It is much harder while working full time to dedicate effort to testing; why not tackle it while you are still in student mode?
Academics: College is a time to build independence, but for those who may be frustrated by grades below their goals, or understanding not quite at 100%, we are here as a resource, with MD/PhD level coaches for undergrad chemistry or physics; former Wall Street bankers as coaches in Economics and Math; and published writers as academic writing coaches.
Resources:
CNBC.COM: 4 On-Campus Jobs That Can Set You Up For Success After Graduation
Boarding School and Independent School
Most competitive schools require SSAT or ISEE test scores to be submitted with applications. It’s wise to schedule a test date from now, because as with any standardized test, skills growth requires persistence. A number of our students are already in full swing with coaching, nicely separating the task of testing from applications, essays, visits and interviews, which are now in motion. Independent and boarding school applications can be due anywhere from November 1 to February 15. Contact us to discuss test preparation, a school list, visits, and a detailed plan of action.
Problem of the Month: SAT Math Grid-In (Calculator permitted)
This is a “Grid In” question, meaning the student must produce his or her own numerical response and bubble it in. Click here to see the answer.
Source: College Board practice tests