Harvard Business School & Early Acceptances for Lakhani Coaching Students
December 17, 2019
Dear friends,
We are in the important home stretch of admissions season for college applicants. Whether you’re a senior hearing back from EA/ED, a junior in the thick of SAT/ACT work, or a candidate to business school, law school, or other graduate program, we’ve listed below some important steps you can take to make the most of your time right now.
My warm congratulations to our seniors who’ve been accepted Early, including to such special places as Brown, Wake Forest, and Penn, alongside our MBA candidates accepted Round 1 to Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, USC Marshall, and UVA Darden. Bravo.
If you were denied or deferred, note that there is absolutely no shame in that. We are merely at a first step—numerous opportunities await you. This time of year I’m reminded of a brilliant young man with whom we worked a few years ago. He worked his tail off to be a great candidate, carefully chose Brown (7% acceptance rate) as his top choice and put in an ED application. Unfortunately, that application didn’t work out. For his Regular list, sure he included safeties, but also kept his reaches, including Stanford (4% acceptance). Guess where he is thriving now? Stanford.
An interesting analogy from my writing life: I’ve published eight short pieces in literary journals. Two have been cited as Notable Essays in Best American Essays. How many times have I submitted those pieces? Over 350. Bonus points for anyone who can figure out how many rejections that is.
For our juniors and sophomores receiving PSAT results, we’ve included recommendations below about what to make of those scores, including potential qualification for National Merit Scholars. Alongside Academics and Testing, we hope sophomores and juniors especially are thinking about how their character stories are progressing. I always say, your grades and scores get you into the good pile, but it’s your character that helps you stand out from the good pile.
For juniors who will be applying to college in just 10 months, I’ve shared a few words below regarding standardized testing growth, which like any skill—playing basketball or playing the piano—requires careful instruction and focused practice. This all takes time, 3 months at the minimum. I've also included a standardized testing problem of the month below.
If any family would like to discuss a scenario in detail, feel free to contact us.
Full speed ahead—
Hafeez Lakhani
Regular Decision: Crunch Time
Important tips for high school seniors completing applications:
Finalize your list: Roughly twelve schools is appropriate, depending on the amount of risk you are comfortable with. Be sure to pay adequate attention to moderates and safeties alongside reaches. Feel free to contact us to discuss strategy.
ED2—is it right for you? A number of tremendous colleges offer ED2, a binding application due around January 1, with notification around February 15. Some schools that offer it: University of Chicago, Tufts, Emory, Middlebury, and many more. But ED2 is not for everyone. Now is the time to consider the risk/reward, including the schools—all of the Ivies, for instance—that it may exclude you from. Contact us to discuss your unique situation.
Writing is Rewriting:
Beyond recommendations and your counselor report—which ought to be requested by now—key application pieces include:
Activities and Honors, including the all important 150-character descriptions
Common App essay
Supplemental Essays
The holidays are a perfect time for self-reflection—and action. Remember what Hemingway said: Every writer should burn his first novel. In other words, spend the time writing and re-writing to "excavate" true gems from your experiences. Whether you are drafting from the blank page or taking a piece from good to great, our expert coaches are on call to guide you through this process.
Resources:
New York Times: How To Write A Good College Application Essay
Our Philosophy on College Essays
CNBC.com: To Get Into A Top College, Your Character Matters, Too
PSAT Results: A Starting Point
With our students who have raised SAT scores by as many as 600 points, and ACTs by as many as 12 points, we emphasize that standardized testing is a skill. Like any skill, it can be improved. So if I’m a decent athlete but have never had a chance to play tennis, could I study all night tonight and be a great tennis player tomorrow? Of course not. If I played tennis for the first time and had a humbling day out, does that mean I’m doomed? No. I just have work ahead of me. If I’m a natural, does that mean my work is done? Certainly not. But this depends on one’s ambition, and one’s work ethic.
After PSAT results, we recommend you:
Take a deep breath: There’s opportunity for improvement but don’t rush into practice tests. They are finite and will serve you better later. If I’m setting out on a long term plan to become a great tennis player, do I want to enter tournaments right away? I’d do better working with a coach first to focus on specific skills, then enter tournaments once I’m seeing traction.
Create a timeline: Contact us to craft a specific timeline for growth based on strengths and improvement areas on a diagnostic SAT or ACT. Returning to the tennis analogy, if I’m working with that tennis pro twice a week for two hours each, does that mean I do nothing between the meetings? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to hit some balls on my own too? Indeed, practice is a crucial part to anyone’s growth plan.
Be strategic: Standardized tests are difficult in part because you are not only solving difficult problems but you are doing so under strict time constraints. Early in coaching, it’s important to separate these challenges. Tackle accuracy first. Build the muscles. Then we will phase in time as we return to practice tests.
For Juniors wondering about National Merit qualifying, NMSC uses Selection Index scores (2 x Verbal + Math) to determine 50,000 qualifiers. We’ll know numbers for the semi-finalist round in September—these vary by state with 221-223 being recent cutoffs in New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The bar is high but if your PSAT coincided with finding your stride in SAT growth then you may have a shot.
Resources:
Redbook: Here's How To Help Your Kid Rock the SAT and ACT
Our Philosophy on Standardized Testing
Current Juniors: t-minus 10 Months
With seniors in the thick of applications and decisions, juniors have an opportunity to take notes, with your first applications due in just over 10 months.
National SAT dates this school year: 3/14, 5/2, 6/6
National ACT dates this school year: 2/8, 4/4, 6/13
Long List and Short List meetings: Juniors, if you haven’t already done so, these meetings will be important to:
Begin to evaluate college preferences around 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." You can speak to students, visit classes, and maybe even attend a varsity sporting event. The key is to go beyond the information session and tour.
Discuss ongoing efforts to cultivate a fulfilling high school career, including specific targets in Academics, Problem Solving ability, and Character—our clients will attest that these are the keys to success in admissions.
Contact us to schedule one of these meetings.
Resources:
CNBC.com: To Get Into A Top College, Your Character Matters, Too
Graduate Candidates: Know Your Deadlines
Depending on the graduate program, there may be 2 months remaining to get applications submitted. Contact us to research target programs.
Business school: Round 2 deadlines hover around 1/1 and Round 3’s around 4/1. So there is time if you're still working on GMAT or GRE—plan accordingly for skills growth, then make a plan with enough time to focus on personal statements.
Law School: rolling applications are open, with final deadlines just after the new year. If you are thinking about applying this year, you should be moving toward completion of personal statements with recommendations already requested. Upcoming LSAT dates: 1/13, 2/22.
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.
For those who will apply next fall:
Testing growth: be it for GRE, GMAT, LSAT or MCAT, growth takes time. Contact us to create a timeline, allowing extra room if you will be working full time while cultivating testing growth.
Character: perhaps even more so for graduate school, what you bring to the dinner table conversation matters enormously. In many cases, coaching helps uncover early seeds of a narrative that merits exploration. We can then work toward telling the story of that narrative on your applications.
College Students: Have a Plan in Place
Character pursuits: Contact us to discuss topics from summer planning, internships and research initiatives, to maximize one’s 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. Our students who land positions in these coveted fields plan ahead, often through relevant research and internship roles in earlier summers to build their 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 coaches.
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.
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, 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?
MCAT: timing varies widely for when pre-med students are ready for the MCAT, but consider early junior year an important time to set a plan in place for preparation. Contact us to discuss a timeline as well as coaching options to reach your goal score.
Academics: For those who may be frustrated by grades below their goals, we are here as a resource, with MD/PhD level coaches for undergrad chemistry or physics; former Wall Street traders as coaches in Economics and Math; and published writers as academic writing coaches.
Boarding School and Independent School
Independent and boarding school applications, including NYC private school applications, can be due anywhere from November 1 to February 15. Most require SSAT or ISEE test scores, so it’s wise to schedule a test date now, because as with any standardized test, skills growth requires persistence. A number of our students are already in full swing with coaching, alongside applications, essays, visits and interviews, which are now in motion. Contact us to discuss test preparation, a school list, visits, and a detailed plan of action.
Resources:
New York Times: Considering College? Maybe You Should Invest in a Coach
Problem of the Month: SAT Writing and Language
Question:
Most people are not looking for contracted eye muscles when trying to detect genuine happiness in another person, but many seem involuntarily capable of making the distinction between an enjoyment smile and a nonenjoyment smile.
A) NO CHANGE
B) spontaneously
C) mechanically
D) intuitively
Source: SAT.org
Click here to see the answer.