Navigating the Waitlist Limbo (What Should I Do If I'm Placed on the WAITLIST!)

“I didn’t get rejected…but I didn’t get accepted either,” Joanna replied in a dazed voice when I asked about her admissions results. As we approach April 1st, the date by which most universities notify applicants of their admissions decisions, the majority of students are either celebrating acceptances or processing rejections. But what happens if a student is faced with neither outcome? What if he has been offered a place on the college’s waitlist like Joanna? This is not an uncommon phenomenon, and some schools, such as Case Western Reserve University, are known for placing a high percentage of applicants—up to 40% at Case—on waitlists. Every year, students struggle with how to understand this outcome and move forward, and every year we’re helping students unravel the waitlist ambiguity.

Why do schools have waitlists?

The answer to this question will depend on the specific college under discussion. Highly selective schools like the University of Pennsylvania might be using their waitlists as a courtesy, a way to gently let down an alumni family or a high school from which they didn’t accept any students. Eric Furda, the Dean of Admissions at Penn, admitted as much to the Daily Pennsylvanian in a 2015 article.

Most schools use waitlists to control their yield rate—the rate at which accepted students decide to enroll. If a school has a yield rate of around 50% (i.e., half of the accepted students decide to attend), they will need to admit twice as many students as the number of freshmen seats available. But if fewer than the expected number of students decide to attend, admissions offices will turn toward those waitlisted students who have accepted a place on the list and, in many cases, who have made their desire to attend clear.

How many students are accepted off of waitlists?

Again, this is highly school-specific, but in general, the more selective the school the lower the chance of being accepted off of the waitlist. For example, Stanford University, one of the most selective schools in the country, accepted a grand total of 0 waitlisted students in the summer of 2015. Similarly, no students were accepted off the waitlist in 2012 and 2013. Last year, however, Stanford accepted 55 students from the waitlist—this might seem like a hopeful number, but keep in mind that this is only an acceptance rate of 3.5% of students offered a place on the waitlist.

On the other hand, Stanford’s rival across the bay, Berkeley, accepted 35.6% of its waitlisted student in 2015. This 2016 Time article lists a few schools that had very high waitlist acceptance rates in 2014, including one school with a 100% acceptance rate off the waitlist.

What should I do if I am offered a place on a waitlist?

First of all, we advise that you assume being waitlisted at a very selective school is essentially receiving a soft “no.” Of course, students get off waitlists every year, and some of their efforts include elaborate YouTube videos, but you do not want to pin all of your hopes on such a slim possibility. It’s better to move on with your life and perhaps be happily surprised in a few months than to wait in anxiety and be unable to enjoy the end of your high school experience. With that being said, here are some steps you should take when you are waitlisted:

1. Do you really want to go to your waitlisted college? Is it a dream school? Would you regret not waiting out the waitlist? If so, accept a place on the waitlist.
    

2. Regardless of whether or not you’ve accepted a place on a waitlist, you should definitely make plans to attend a school at which you were accepted. Of course, this includes sending in a deposit and the Intent to Register form by May 1. If you have a well-constructed college list, you should have been accepted at a couple of schools that you would be happy to attend.
    

3. Send an update and/or another recommendation if allowed. Some admissions offices request that you do not send additional materials, but if allowable, you may want to update the school on any positive changes in your resume—for example, winning a regional science bowl, being selected for a lead role in the spring play, becoming the captain of the softball team, or securing an internship at a tech company over the summer. Be sure to write an email and include this information, along with brief affirmation of why college X is still your dream school.
   
   Note that waitlists are often not ranked, but they aren’t random. Maybe after looking at the incoming freshmen class, the school discovers that the orchestra still needs a harpist or that the lacrosse team is short a goalie or that there are no students hailing from the territory of Guam. Highlighting your talents and experiences may help you catch the eye of an admissions officer looking to balance the incoming class at a point when their admissions priorities may be shifting.
    

4. Stay in touch with the admissions representative for your area. You should make sure they know that you are still interested in attending their college. Additionally, since the need for financial aid may play a larger role in admissions decisions for students on the waitlist, your admissions representative should be aware of what you are able to contribute to your college education. Often, colleges need more students who will not need financial aid, as they award much of their financial aid money during Regular Decision acceptances.

While we always encourage students to be proactive in the admissions process, hounding the admissions office at a waitlist school is likely to make both you and the admissions officers a little crazy. We suggest that you take a deep breath, do what you can, and move forward with confidence that you are a qualified student (after all, you were waitlisted!) and will shine at the college in which you ultimately enroll.

College Essay Brainstorming: Creating a Life Map

One of my classes for my Masters of Teaching program at BIOLA had us complete a “Life Map.” It was a framework and tool to help us identify significant moments in our life that helped inform our view of the world and ourselves. It was a really moving assignment that helped me to see in one big picture view everything that was important in my life. 

As I started teaching college essay writing, I realized that I needed a tool to help my students first identify the events that made them who they are. So I adapted the Life Map tool as a college essay brainstorming exercise. 

When we think about core memories, I want you to think of Inside Out. Riley, the main character, experiences a life event that gets logged as a memory. If it’s especially tinted with an emotion, that memory (signified by a little ball that records a short video of the event) becomes a Core Memory.

A Core Memory then becomes a part of Riley’s Long Term Memory and eventually fuels one of her “Personality Islands.” 

Here’s a clip of that whole process here.

I love that movie in so many different ways, but my favorite thing is how it’s a really creative (and fairly accurate) way to represent personality and memory to children. So with this life map, what I want you to do is ferret out your Core Memories. 

Use the following exercise to brainstorm out all the your important life moments and your “Core Memories.” 

1. List!
Grab a sticky note pad. For the next 15-20 minutes, as fast as you can go, fill out one life event or core memory per sticky note. Try to get through as many sticky notes as you can. 

What are some clear and important memories you have?
•    Times you moved
•    First day of ____
•    Last day of _____
•    Family vacations
•    Family troubles
•    Important classes
•    Important extracurricular
•    Start or end of a job or program or extracurricular activity
•    Start or end of a hobby
•    Successes and wins
•    Disappointments and hurts
•    Major changes or shifts in mood or relationships
•    Family or cultural traditions
•    A day when everything changed

2. Map!
- On a blank sheet of paper, create 3-4 columns to represent every 3 - 4 years of your life. For example, this student broke it up into these years:  0- 10, 11 - 17, 18 -22, 22+. 

- Place the sticky notes in chronological order. If you want to, you can rewrite your negative experiences in a different color, so you can see the frequency of negative events in your life or if one era of your life had more positive or negative experiences. 

- Circle the most important life events that have made some lasting impact today. These events will be the topics for your college essay. 

It’s important to begin first with the important stories you have to share and then figure out which prompt to answer—it’s a more organic and authentic way of writing a heartfelt and honest college essay.

Here’s an example (I know, she has more than 2 colors and her ages aren’t very clear, but you can get an idea of what the final product looks like):

3. Write! 
Now you will have a large sheet of paper with a ton of sticky notes on it—each one containing an important Core Memory. It’s these memories that will become the building blocks of your college essay! Pick one memory and start writing your first draft.

Congratulations - you've completed the most challenging part of the essay process and now you're well on your way to completing your essay! 

- John and Lynn Chen

If you have more questions about brainstorming college essays, or want to chat with an Ilumin Counselor about how to craft the perfect application please contact us here! 

THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO THE 2017 UC PERSONAL STATEMENTS

After over a decade of having the same personal statement prompts (I would know, it was the same ones I used when I applied over 10 years ago), the UCs have finally decided to update their prompts!

BUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTT……it’s not all great. The new “Personal Insight Questions” (gone are the days of “personal statements” when we have “personal insights” to explore) have a few caveats. And we're here to walk you through the changes, and help you get started on writing your UC personal statements with this “Unofficial Guide to the New 2017 UC Personal Statements.”

 This guide will help you:

1. Understand the major changes
2. Know what UC Readers actually want
3. Have a shortcut to really really knowing what each prompt is asking
4. Create a Life Map to ferret out your best stories to share
5. Choose which 4 UC Prompts you should answer
6. Start writing your “Personal Insight” essays

So, What Are The Major Changes?

I’m GLAD you asked!

For Incoming Freshmen of Fall of 2017, the UC Personal Statements have changed their format and questions. They now are asking EIGHT “personal insight questions” instead of two broad questions. You need to choose FOUR of those questions to answer. 

Because having more choices is never debilitating, right?

Oh yeah, and you have only 350 words per prompt. Max. Compared to the 650 max on common app, you’re really just writing four blurbs about yourself.

But not is all bad news!

The pros are the prompts are way better. Before, students wrote abstract ruminations about how the world they come from somehow shaped their aspirations. Students often sacrificed examples and details trying to cover the entire scope of the prompt. These updated questions are more genuine and are easier to answer because they’re more specific. Which means now, hopefully, your answers will be more specific too.

It’ll just be more laborious because you need to write more essays--short, pithy essays at that. Short essays are harder since it’s easier to data-dump rather than exercise judgment. But the prompts help ground you to one experience, so that’s nice.

So in sum:

So, What Do UC Readers Really Want in an Essay?

They want concrete examples. Specific details. Clear insights. They want visceral examples that will, in the words of the UC, “express who you are, what matters to you and what you want to share with UC.” Stories that will conjure your soul and spirit before the eyes of the reader, and help serve as proof that you meet their 14-Point criteria. Narratives that will ultimately inform their decision to admit you or not.

The UC Reader wants to know who you are and what matters to you. The reader will be asking questions about you, such as: “Are you curious? Courageous? Do you take initiative or are you a follower? Why did you choose the path you chose? What are you passionate about and why? How do you react to setbacks and failures?” And then the follow up question is: “How do I know that’s true?”

So you need two major parts of your essay. You need to tell a good story. And you need to explain what that means about who you are. You need to give clear-as-day specifics of what you’ve done. So that way the UC Reader can tell another: “This student is an impassioned leader. How do I know that? Well, he had this powerful and clear example of how he… [INSERT STORY HERE]”

See how that works? A strong example is now proof that you are who you say you are. A good story is now concrete evidence you belong to their campus. So give them one. Or four.

So, without further ado….

The Personal Insight Questions for 2017…..As Episode Titles

The prompts are pretty confusing since they’re one giant block of text. I figured they could each use a title. One of my favorite TV shows was FRIENDS growing up, and each episode is titled: “The One With…” or “The One Where..” Like “The One Where Nana Died Twice” or “The One With The Jellyfish.” You get the picture.

In that same vein, I decided to title each prompt like it was a TV episode. Hopefully it’ll help ground you in a clear, specific example of sorts. Enjoy.

Prompt 1: The Time I Led or Helped A Group: Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.  

Prompt 2: The Time I Created Something Cool or Solved That Hard Problem: Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.  

Prompt 3: The Time I Showcased My Special Skill: What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?  

Prompt 4: That Time I Learned, Did or Overcame Something Extraordinary Outside of School: Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

Prompt 5. That Time The Struggle Was Real And I Worked Through It: Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?

Prompt 6.  That Time My Favorite Subject Became My Favorite Subject: Describe your favorite academic subject and explain how it has influenced you.

Prompt 7. That Time I Helped My Community Become Better: What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?  

Prompt 8. That Time I Proved To The World I’m One-of-a-kind: What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California?

Annndddd, I bet a few of you are feeling like this now:

UC Essay Brainstorming Tool--Which Prompts Should I Choose?

Okay. Don’t panic. I know looking at the eight different prompts can be overwhelming. How do you know which four to choose?

 I have always found it more useful to help students approach the essay inside-out instead of outside in. What I mean by that is it’s more authentic when you begin with your memories and then match them to a prompt. When start outside of yourself and use the prompt to remember a story—it sometimes becomes forced, inauthentic, and false.

So, before you use this UC Essay Brainstorming Tool, you are going to need a list of significant memories or moments in your life.

Lucky for you, I’ve adapted a process called a Life Map to help you do that. It uses sticky notes and crafting, and it originally was a counseling tool that I’ve now adapted into an essay tool. Because that’s how teachers roll.

So. Stop Right Now.

Step 1: Complete your Life Map Exercise —then come back here.

Have Core Memory list handy? Okay, let’s move on.

College Essay Archetypes

To help narrow it down, we have three main college essay archetypes that show up either in the Common App Prompts or private college supplemental essay prompts.

1.       My Story-Significant life events that shape who you are. What makes you you?

2.       My Community-Significant times in which you led or helped a community become better or solve a problem. Your contributions to a group.

3.       My Future-Significant times in your life in which you began to discover your life’s purpose and calling in terms of a career. Think of classes you’ve taken, clubs you’ve participated in, programs you attended, and projects you did in one field of study.  Think about why this has led you to choose the major you want and why.

Almost all prompts can fit into one of those three categories. So remember, we are moving inside out. Take your memory list, and work with the next part.

Step 2: For the tool, under each section, list a significant Core Memory that could fall under that kind of prompt.

Step 3: Now you’ve organized your memories, you can finally choose your prompts. We have categorized the 2017 UC Personal Insight Questions under these three main college essay archetypes. Identify the prompts your memories best fit. Please note that some prompts show up in more than one category.

And there you have it—you have identified which prompts you want to answer (hopefully). 

How To Start Drafting:

Once you got your prompts, you can start drafting. My students’ least favorite part, but with this tool, I hope it’ll be easier.

Follow this format. Copy and paste the following into a separate document and free write from there. 

Prompt (copy and paste prompt here):

Memory (150-200 words): Ground us in what happened. Narrate dialogue, descriptions, and details.

Reflection (150-200 words): Reflect on what this memory says or shows about who you are and what your aspirations are. Answer the reflection questions listed below by the UC (and the ones in bolded are written by me). The UC Provided an additional worksheet here. 

Reflection Questions

Prompt 1: Leadership

1. The Time I Led or Helped A Group: Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.  

Things to consider: A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or a taking lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about your accomplishments and what you learned from the experience.  What were your responsibilities?

Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities.  For example, do you help out or take care of your family?

My questions: How did you manage conflict or communicate clearly? How did you practice perspective taking and empathy? How did you foster kindness, harmony, forgiveness, unity and teamwork?

Prompt 2: Creativity

2. The Time I Created Something Cool or Solved That Hard Problem: “Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.  

Things to consider:  What does creativity mean to you? Do you have a creative skill that is important to you? What have you been able to do with that skill? If you used creativity to solve a problem, what was your solution? What are the steps you took to solve the problem?

How does your creativity influence your decisions inside or outside the classroom? Does your creativity relate to your major or a future career?

My questions: What inspired you to create something new? How did you go about it? Was it successful-why or why not?

What problem did you identify? Why was this problem significant? What was your process to try and come up with a solution? Was the solution successful-why or why not? What does this process showcase about your passion, your intellect, and your heart?

Prompt 3: Talent or Skill

3. The Time I Showcased My Special Skill: What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?

Things to consider: If there’s a talent or skill that you’re proud of, this is the time to share it. You don’t necessarily have to be recognized or have received awards for your talent (although if you did and you want to talk about, feel free to do so). Why is this talent or skill meaningful to you?

Does the talent come naturally or have you worked hard to develop this skill or talent? Does your talent or skill allow you opportunities in or outside the classroom? If so, what are they and how do they fit into your schedule?

My questions: What started your interest in this skill and why did you keep on doing it? How did this skill begin to shape and inform other areas of your life? What has this skill taught you? How has it changed your outlook on yourself, others, and the world?

Prompt 4: Educational Opportunity or Barrier

4. That Time I Learned or Did Something Extraordinary Outside of School: Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

Things to consider: An educational opportunity can be anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for college. For example, participation in an honors or academic enrichment program, or enrollment in an academy that’s geared toward an occupation or a major, or taking advanced courses that interest you — just to name a few.

If you choose to write about educational barriers you’ve faced, how did you overcome or strived to overcome them? What personal characteristics or skills did you call on to overcome this challenge? How did overcoming this barrier help shape who are you today?

My questions: What was especially thought-provoking about this experience? How did it confirm one way or the other your career goals? How did you showcase your passion or interest in this certain area of study?

Prompt 5: Significant Challenge

5. That Time The Struggle Was Real And I Worked Through It: Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?

Things to consider: A challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. Why was the challenge significant to you? This is a good opportunity to talk about any obstacles you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from the experience. Did you have support from someone else or did you handle it alone?

If you’re currently working your way through a challenge, what are you doing now, and does that affect different aspects of your life? For example, ask yourself, “How has my life changed at home, at my school, with my friends, or with my family?

My notes: Reserve answering this question ONLY for truly significant life experiences. You can’t write about failing a test or getting a low grade in class. The topic here applies more to some truly traumatic life experience that few teenagers have to go through—to the point that it actually impeded on other areas of your life. Give this topic the gravitas and respect it deserves.

My questions: What were your beliefs about yourself and the world before this event happened? What was lost or gained because of this episode? How did you heal or work through this difficult life circumstance? Who are you now because of it and how does it inform your beliefs about others and the world? Because of this, what hopes do you have for yourself and others?

Prompt 6: Favorite Subject

6.  That Time My Favorite Subject Became My Favorite Subject: Describe your favorite academic subject and explain how it has influenced you.

Things to consider: Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had inside and outside the classroom — such as volunteer work, summer programs, participation in student organizations and/or activities — and what you have gained from your involvement.

Has your interest in the subject influenced you in choosing a major and/or career? Have you been able to pursue coursework at a higher level in this subject (honors, AP, IB, college or university work)?

My questions: What was especially thought-provoking about this class? How did it confirm one way or the other your career goals? How did your part in the class showcase your passion or interest in this certain area of study?

Prompt 7: Community

7. That Time I Helped My Community Become Better: What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?  

Things to consider: Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team or a place – like your high school, hometown, or home. You can define community as you see fit, just make sure you talk about your role in that community. Was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community?

Why were you inspired to act?  What did you learn from your effort? How did your actions benefit others, the wider community or both? Did you work alone or with others to initiate change in your community?

My questions: What problem did you identify that this community was facing? What was your process to try and come up with a solution? Was the solution successful-why or why not? What does this process showcase about your passion, your intellect, and your heart?

How did you manage conflict or communicate clearly? How did you practice perspective taking and empathy? How did you foster kindness, harmony, forgiveness, unity and teamwork?

Prompt 8: Unique

8. That Time I Proved To The World I’m One-of-a-kind: What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California?

Things to consider: Don’t be afraid to brag a little. Even if you don’t think you’re unique, you are — remember, there’s only one of you in the world. From your point of view, what do you feel makes you belong on one of UC’s campuses? When looking at your life, what does a stranger need to understand in order to know you?

What have you not shared with us that will highlight a skill, talent, challenge, or opportunity that you think will help us know you better? We’re not necessarily looking for what makes you unique compared to others, but what makes you, YOU.

My questions: What is an experience or quality that really sets you apart and why? What values does this event or quality showcase about you? Who are you now because of it and how does it inform your beliefs about others and the world? Because of this, what hopes do you have for yourself and others?

And there you have it! Hopefully you have at least some drafts and ideas to begin tackling the 2017 UC Personal Insight Questions! Writing is a process, and so give yourself plenty of time to revisit these steps and revisit your essays.

I know there’s still a lot of panicking going on, but hopefully after this Unofficial Guide to the 2017 UC Personal Statements, these new essays won’t be something you’re panicking about. 

Update: If you wanted these brainstorming exercises in a word document so it's easier to work through--you can access the file here. Also in there is some insights on how to best structure a college essay as well. Enjoy!

- John and Lynn Chen

If you have more questions about the new UC application essays, or want to chat with an Ilumin Counselor about how to craft the perfect application please contact us here! 

5 Tips For Writing Your College Personal Statement Essay

Are you getting overwhelmed with even the idea of writing your college essay? I understand, because when I was in your shoes, I was too. I remember sitting in my senior year AP Lit class one day, and feeling like I just walked out of a rabbit hole with no idea what just happened the last 45 minutes. And Lit was my favorite class! All I could think about was the fact that it was October, and still had nothing to submit for any of my early action schools. Sure, I had gotten advice from my guidance counselor, older friends who were already in college, my genius of a cousin who got into Hahvad and Yale, and even my immigrant parents who didn’t know the first thing about writing a college essay. I borrowed books, scoured the Internet and got my hands on whatever I could. But in the end, I still felt overwhelmed with all of the different information and advice that I was getting, I became paralyzed out of fear that my essay wouldn’t be good enough (spoiler: it ended up great).

Here are my top 5 college essay writing tips you should keep in mind before starting your college essay. So, put down that book full of essays and read this instead!

Tip #1- Be Honest and Remember Why It’s Called a “Personal” Statement

Fear makes people do funny things. Students often get so paranoid about writing the “right” things in a college essay, that they end up writing very average and uninteresting essays. I once worked with a student who had a perfect GPA, near perfect test scores, was the Editor-In-Chief of their high school newspaper, and wanted to be a journalism major, but when it came to their college essay, their first draft read like a resume (one of the most common mistakes that students make when writing their college essays). Don’t be tempted to write what you think an admissions officer wants to read – it’ll be both boring and disingenuous.

My advice? Start with your laptop, get comfortable, and just let the words flow. Pretend it’s your own private blog that no one else gets to read. Back in my day, it used to be called a “diary.” I used to keep one and write down inane things like how my Lucky Charms that morning turned my milk into a delicious cereal smoothie that I wanted to bottle and sell to the kids at school or how I couldn’t decide between wearing a pink polka dot scrunchie or the one with neon green zigzags. Thoroughly exciting details from my 80’s childhood. But, every so often, I would write down things about my dreams, my struggles and my life that surprised me. And that’s when it got interesting. Because I didn’t take writing in a diary seriously, I didn’t feel the pressure. And when you don’t feel the pressure, it becomes real and something worth sharing.

Tip #2- Show One or Two Important Stories, Instead of Telling Twenty Three Different Things in Your Essay

Show, don’t tell.

I can’t stress this point enough to my students: describing yourself or your life through one or two descriptive stories does more for your essay than a whole bunch of statements ever could.

Case in point: If you’re writing your college essay about your love for Nutella, don’t start off by describing the origin of Nutella, all the reasons you love Nutella and why it’s your “cannot-live-without-it” food. Instead, tell a story about the first time you ate Nutella, that delicious, sweet, creamy, hazelnut chocolatey goodness. Straight out of the jar, from your spoon to your mouth. See how much better that sounds? How that feels? Show, don’t tell.

Tip #3- Start Your College Essay Early, Like, Summer Early

You can’t rush perfection. You can’t even rush above average. If you’re reading this in your junior year, it’s a little early to start writing, but not early enough to start thinking about your college essay. If you’re reading this in your senior year, and it’s not yet September, then you’re golden. If you’re a senior, and it’s past September, start NOW.

Don’t try to write a masterpiece on your first try. If you’re a perfectionist like me, that’s hard to swallow. But the more time you have to work with, the better your essay will be. It’s not about the quantity of drafts, but the quality of the drafts. Word length, topic, structure—throw all of that out the window the first couple times. You’ll get to it later. When you give yourself time to let your essay rest, you give yourself the opportunity to churn milk into butter.

Tip #4- Start Strong and Take Some Risks

Don’t be afraid to sound a little crazy in your first line. Just as you eat with your eyes first, the first few sentences of your college essay are what grabs the reader, and can help turn a common essay into an uncommon one.

This is one of my favorite college essay articles, because most of these one-liners are just so cool and fun to read. Of course, you’ll need to back up a great one-liner with stories later in your essay in order for it to make sense and lend itself with maximum credibility.

Some risk can pay off, but not so much that you run the risk of turning off an admissions reader (for more on how to help figure out if something is too risky, read on to the next tip). 

Tip #5- Get Feedback From Someone You Trust, But Not From More Than Two People

The worst thing that can happen to your college essay is that it becomes someone else’s essay, not yours. Remember that the best way to preserve your own voice is to really believe in your written product. Because if you start asking too many people for feedback, your head spins and suddenly, everything you once thought was right, now just sounds wrong. Limit the amount of people who read your essay to two at most three people.

So who do you ask? Whether it’s your older sister, best friend, English teacher or college counselor, pick people that you trust and aren’t afraid to give constructive criticism. Don’t take feedback personally, because something that sounded like an epiphany to you at 2 am the night before, may not have translated well on paper to your reader.

I get it, writing well is hard. Especially when so much is at stake. But it doesn’t mean that you should fear it, because we all know that saying, starting is the hardest part. But, starting is often the best part because it only gets easier from here! So, what are you waiting for?!­

Introducing: the ILUMIN College Application Bootcamp

This year we're going to introduce a new workshop that will improve the quality of a student's college application and help him or her finish well before the deadlines. 

Introducing... the ILUMIN College Application Bootcamp! It sounds scary, but our goal is to help students get a head start - the students who start early, ALWAYS write better essays. In the span of four days, students will:

1. Learn what admissions officers are looking for and how to write effective college essays.

2. Complete multiple drafts of the two University of California application essays and the main Common Application personal statement (private schools).

3. Complete a resume they can submit with most college applications.

4. Enter in all the required information for both the University of California application and the Common Application.

5. Have a plan for how to complete the "Why Us?" essay which is required for most private school admissions.

6. Have access to experienced consultants who will provide feedback on all their work.

This is an exclusive workshop for our students and will help them SUBMIT BETTER APPLICATIONS and REDUCE STRESS during of the college admissions season. After the bootcamp, students will continue working one-on-one with our consultants to further develop and polish their essays and submit their application on-time. 

The workshops are tentatively scheduled for:

June 8-11
August 10-13

Contact us if you have any questions! Looking forward to the coming application season! 

Top-Tier Colleges: What do they really want? (Part 3)

Please note that this is a three part series on what traits colleges are looking for in competitive applicants. Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2.

Ivy Leagues seek students who develop and pursue their passion

When Drew Faust, the President of Harvard, was asked for her best advice to parents she remarked “Make your children interesting!” Easier said than done—but interesting students only emerge when they pursue their passion.

Many parents dismiss their children’s area of passion as a childish waste of time. Unfortunately, this dismissal develops in students a sense of directionlessness--and may even curtail their success later in life.

For example, a friend of mine was raised in a typical “Tiger parent” household. She was prodded into academic excellence and was finally admitted to Berkeley as a pre-med student. She later attended UCLA for medical school and graduated as an M.D. Yet only a few years into her medical practice, she dropped out completely to pursue a career in graphic design.

In our most recent conversation, she admitted bitterly to me, “I was the perfect child, always doing what was asked of me. But I kept wondering if happiness was real, and why, if it was, I missed it. It wasn’t until I finally left medicine that I realized happiness was real--but that’s after I wasted eight years of my life and racked up $300,000 in debt." 

Unfortunately, my friend is not alone. We see many students who do not pursue a genuine interest, and end up with a resume that blends facelessly in with all the others. However, parents who encourage the pursuit of a passion--any passion--enable their children to shine.

Mary’s mother dreamed of her daughter becoming a savvy business woman--but Mary, an introvert, had other plans. Much to her mother’s dismay, Mary became obsessed with science. She lived and breathed it. She spent her Freshman summer at the UC Davis COSMOS program, and immediately emailed her professor begging that he let her work in his lab for the rest of her summers in high school. She spent three years helping him research the effect of second-hand smoke on rat lungs, and later went to Harvard where she is currently studying Biology.

Our students’ story and the growing voices from Ivy League schools all send the same message: give us students who are driven, passionate risk-takers.

So what can you do to help?

First, empower your child to make his own decisions. Give him choices, and walk him through (without lecturing) each decision’s consequences. Ask good, meaningful questions and leave the ultimate decision up to him. Each decision is an opportunity for growth for your child--if you let it be.

Second, let your child fail. Sit with him as he faces the consequences of his own choices, and support him no matter what. Give him the tools to think logically about how he will do things differently in the future. Let him learn that taking risks is the key to success, and quite possibly, the key to Harvard.

Finally, foster your child’s passions. When they’re young, help them explore all their interests--don’t weed out the ones that you don’t approve of. Look a little deeper. Does your child spend time playing video games? Maybe encourage him to join a video game camp that teaches him how to code and create his own game. Does your daughter love fashion? Consider teaching her how to create goods to sell online. Many parents complain that their child isn’t motivated--but we believe all students are motivated--it’s leveraging what they’re passionate about with a direction for their future.

Top-Tier Colleges: What do they really want? (Part 2)

Please note that this is a three part blog on what traits colleges are looking for in competitive applicants. Click here for Part 1.

Ivy Leagues seek students who are risk-takers

Parents need to help nurture strong decision making skills. This also means allowing children to taste failure. Time and time again. Ivy Leagues often seek students who take risks and aren’t afraid to fail. In fact, one of the Common App prompts reads: “Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?”

MIT is even clearer about it. Their admission criteria of MIT states: “MIT wants to admit people who are not only planning to succeed, but who are not afraid to fail. When people take risks in life, they learn resilience as a result - because risk leads to failure as often as it leads to success.” 

Take Jeff for example. Like Tim, he wanted to help students from a low income community. But his idea was to teach “easy” Calculus to 5th and 6th graders. Though his parents confessed their concerns to us that this program wouldn’t work, and (possibly distract Jeff from his studies), they wanted their son to try. Jeff was certain his passion for math would be infectious, but his program of 15 kids dwindled to a class of four. It was a painful, yet even in his apparent failure, Jeff realized that what were more important weren’t his math lesson plans—it was simply that he showed up each week. He was the only stable adult in the lives of these inner city kids. With that fresh perspective, Jeff brought in math games into his program and slowly built it up again to 13 students. Their teacher later thanked Jeff, since she saw a whole grade level improvement in their math abilities by the end of the year. Jeff took his experience of failure and leveraged it to gain admission to Cornell University.

Unlike Jeff, Cindy didn’t reach her goal. She was aiming to study pre-med. She did hospital volunteering and a bio research summer camp. When we asked if she wanted to try to start a pre-med club at school or do research in a lab she hesitated. She had never done these things before and they seemed outside of her comfort zone. Cindy wanted to stick with what she was already doing--and take no risks.  While she become a lead volunteer and went to two more summer camps--these actions weren’t enough. Even with her perfect 4.00 GPA and 34 ACT score, she was rejected from all Ivy Leagues.

Ivy Leagues look for students who push the boundary, take chances, and demonstrate “grit” in the face of failure. Yet, this level of dedication and direction only happens when the student is truly passionate about the project.

Stay tuned for our final post describing the last and most critical trait colleges are looking for! 

Top-Tier Colleges: What do they really want? (Part 1)

34,000. That’s how many earnest high school seniors applied to Harvard University last year. Only about 2023 of them were admitted. In 2011, Harvard had a 6.17% admittance rate. In 2012, it decreased to 5.92%. By 2013, it dropped to an all time dismal low of 5.79%. In 2014, it went back up to 5.9%.

So what can parents do to help their child enter the ultra-competitive Ivy Leagues? Particularly, what can Asian parents do when every Asian student looks identical: a top violinist who is also the president of the debate club and captain of the robotics club, graduating top of her class with a 2400 SAT score. 

From our experience as college admissions consultants, we’ve discovered a few key parenting trends that help raise an Ivy-League ready child.

Ivy Leagues seek students who are their own masters.

The Stanford admissions website states that “We want to see the initiative with which [students] to seek out opportunities that expand [their] perspective and that will allow [them] to participate in creating new knowledge. These traits of self-trust and drive are often rarely found among Asian students. We coach mostly Asian students, and we’ve discovered how our collectivist values (which stress service, thoughtfulness, and submission) leave many Asian students immobilized.

For example, Paul was one such student. He received his two B’s in sophomore year and his mom was furious.  The next year, she sat next to him for up to six hours a day watching him study and complete his homework. She also cancelled most of his extracurriculars and scheduled him with as much tutoring and SAT test preparation as possible. The result? He never learned to take control of his own learning. He never learned how to make his own decisions and manage his own time. His GPA began to slip, and his lack of extracurriculars and apparent lack of initiative hampered his future. He had barely made it into UCSD after being waitlisted for a few months.

Often these students, who have the raw talent to do well at an Ivy League, do not make it to one if they lack initiative. However, we’ve found that parents who foster a sense of independence and self-trust enable their students to thrive.

One of our students from 2012 comes to mind. Fred and Nina often asked their son, Tim, “Well, what do you think? You decide.” Tim learned to identify a problem and figure out how to solve it on his own.  As we worked with Tim, he was bothered that many students from low-income neighborhoods were not college-bound. Tim started a college-admissions workshop for inner city high school students. Tim planned an entire semester’s worth of curriculum and met with high school students each week to provide academic counseling. Tim was the commander of this project, and owned the process from start to finish. Tim later began his freshman year at Yale University--a place in which the president wrote, “In selecting future Yale students, “I am inclined to believe that the person who gives every ounce to do something superbly has an advantage over the person whose capacities may be great but who seems to have no desire to stretch them to their limit.” “We look for that desire and ability to stretch one’s limits” states another Yale admission officer. That motivation can only come from students who have learned how to think--and act--for themselves.  

Come back tomorrow to learn the second trait top-tier colleges are looking for! 

I'm on the WAITLIST! WHAT DO I DO?

Applications have skyrocketed for almost every school. Cornell went up 7%, UC San Diego went up almost 9% (90,000 applications!) and Colorado-Boulder went up a whopping 33% (legalization of marijuana or the Denver Broncos... you decide).  All that being said, it's getting more and more competitive. 

It also means more schools are using the waitlist. Why? With an increase in applicants (internationals!), an increase in the number of applications each student is submitting and no increase in the number of seats in a freshman class (for most schools), it's more and more difficult to predict whether an accepted student will actually come to the school.

Simply said, being on the waitlist means you'll be considered if there are open seats after the accepted regular decision students have responded. What are your odds of getting picked? Not great. Last year Yale took ten percent (10%) off the waitlist (not bad actually). Notre Dame took seven percent (7%). How many did Stanford take off their waitlist? Zero. Zero percent or zero people... either way it's a big donut. The moral of the story is don't put too much hope in the magic waitlist. With schools using the waitlist more and more, the percentage will likely go down (thankfully Stanford's percentage won't be going down any further).

So what should you do? How do you improve your chances of being selected off the waitlist? Here are a few tips:

1. CONSIDER YOUR OPTIONS - Don't wait on hearing whether you get off the waitlist. Make a decision and go with your 2nd choice. Go ahead and secure your spot (do it before the May 1st deadline of course). It's also good to take yourself off the waitlist of any school you really don't intend to go to. It'll give others a better shot. 

2. WRITE THEM A LETTER - Well before May 1st (ie. ASAP), write a letter to your admissions representative (the person in charge of evaluating apps in your region). Send a copy to the main admissions office too. Don't get super mad, but be positive. You're NOT a loser for not getting into their school, so don't come off as one. In your letter, talk about how you see yourself fitting in (classes, professors, activities) and how you would contribute to the academic community. Also talk about how you remained committed in your classes and activities in this last semester of high school. Share any new awards, improved grades, updated test scores. Lastly, if the school is your first choice, then say so. They'll more likely select you if they can count on you coming.

3. ADDITIONAL REC LETTER - You might consider also sending a letter of recommendation from someone who can shed a different light on you (other than the ones you already submitted). It might be a community leader, a pastor, an employer, or even senior year teacher who has gotten to know you. But only send one... too much stuff is too much (some schools explicitly say not to send additional recommendations - if so, do NOT send recs).

4. DON'T SLACK OFF - Technically the entire year is up for review when they consider you. So don't slack off. Study for those AP tests. Finish off the year strong. Schools don't want slackers... so don't be one.

Lastly, don't get too sad. You make the school, the school does NOT make you. If you work hard, take advantage of opportunities and have a great attitude, you will be successful no matter what. Harvard doesn't assure happiness. Yale doesn't promise a big paycheck. It still comes down to you. And that's a good thing.

Need further advice? Help? Guidance? Don't hesitate to contact us! Good luck!

Ilumin Blog Coming Soon!

We have a lot of helpful insight to share on the confusing world of college admissions. We're getting it organized and ready to share with you soon! We know you'll find it super helpful. In the mean time, feel free to share with us topics you'd like us to cover in our blog. Suggest a few topics in the comment box below and we'll get right on it. Thanks!