• May 7, 2023

Red flags

When the admissions staff at elite colleges have to examine an ever increasing number of applications without the benefit of more time, it comes as no surprise that applications are rejected more quickly. With that in mind, here are some items that can be perceived as red flags when they review applications:

  • April 30, 2023

Early vs. regular acceptance rates (class of 2026)

As a follow-up to the previous post, here are examples of the difference in acceptance rates between the two application phases.

Early acceptance rateRegular acceptance rate
Brown University14.6%3.6%
Columbia University10.3%3%
Dartmouth College21.3%4.7%
Duke University21%4.6%
Harvard University7.9%2.3%
Yale University12.1%3.2%
  • April 16, 2023

Admission interview

The admission interview is not a decisive factor in determining the outcome, but in a hyper-competitive environment, it can put an applicant over the top when handled exceptionally well. This is where an applicant can enhance his/her profile by sharing information beyond submitted materials.

  • April 8, 2023

Extracurricular activities

In order for an applicant’s extracurricular activities to impress admissions committees, he/she should show spike(s), activities where the achievement level is undoubtedly excellent. Such level shows not only passion but also discipline. A spike that carries national/international recognition or in some cases regional/state recognition (e.g. ranked in national competitions or state champion) would boost the applicant. In the absence of very distinctive spikes, the next best thing would be to combine spikes of lesser significance. For admissions purposes, activities are not created equal. The following are our observations: