The current rapid pace of change and uncertainty in U.S. education and college admissions have significant implications for Ivy League college/university and direct BS/MD admissions. Decisions will not be simply based on your child having a high GPA, top SAT scores, numerous AP courses, multiple honors and awards, and varied extracurricular activities. THE ADMISSIONS PLAYBOOK HAS CHANGED!
When it comes to your child’s education, hiring the very best admissions advisor matters the most! Your child’s education is the biggest decision you will ever make! Parents who want the very best for their children hire an EXPERT!
Dr. Paul Lowe’s 29-years of admissions experience and ACCEPTANCES, insight and knowledge-intelligence, connections and networks empower his clients to successfully navigate the new shifts, trends, current sweeping changes and uncertainty in the college admissions landscape.
Unlike other educational consulting firms, where clients are assigned to different employees or consultants, Dr. Lowe, as lead consultant/admissions advisor, personally works with each of his clients so that they directly benefit from his expertise, experience, contacts and the collective knowledge of his educational team. Dr. Lowe’s exclusivity allows him to provide individualized attention, commitment and principal availability to each client through Skype/Zoom sessions.
Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe, founder/managing director and lead admissions advisor of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group, provides comprehensive counseling advice, exclusively for admissions to top private schools; Ivy League and highly-selective colleges/universities; BS/MD programs; graduate and medical schools and top visual and performing arts programs. The admissions affiliate: Ivy League Admissions Advisors specializes in admissions to Ivy League and highly selective colleges. Dr. Lowe also specializes in helping students gain admissions to BS/MD programs:| BS/MD Admissions Guru| BS/MD Admissions Advisors.
National Association for College Admission Counseling – State of College Admission 2023 Data Release – School Counseling: Caseloads and Responsibilities indicate the following:
During the 2021-22 academic year, each public-school counselor was responsible for overseeing 405 students, on average, which exceeds the 250-to-1 maximum ratio recommended by the American School Counselor Association.
School counselors at public schools spend 26% (at private schools: 51%) of their time on post-secondary (college admissions) counseling.
The Hechinger Report states that “many public high schools are scrambling to provide students with even basic information about college after years of belt tightening have drained them of counselors. As a result, “support is scant” for most students: “Counselors are overwhelmed, and college guidance often doesn’t begin until late in junior year.”
Inflated caseloads often translate to limited time to dedicate to each student, leading to reduced individual attention. With more students to handle, school counselors spend less time understanding their unique needs, offering individualized guidance, and developing tailored plans for academic and personal growth. In many cases, overworked and overwhelmed high school counselors simply have too many students to give individual attention needed in the competitive admissions environment.
While high school counselors provide college counseling, they often do not have the time to cater to the development or implementation of each student’s individual college plan and are usually not available on-call on the weekend and after school hours.
Dr. Lowe and his team complement school counselors’ efforts by working one-on-one with your child, customizing a winning admissions plan which will help your child get into their top choice colleges. Dr. Lowe is available not only during school hours, but after school, evenings and weekends via phone, email and remote consultations. By having one-on-one sessions, Dr. Lowe helps each individual client present their backgrounds and aspirations in the best positive light to admissions committees. The result – Acceptances!
In developing a winning college admissions plan, Dr. Lowe works with students and their parents carefully planning their courses and extracurricular activities (community service, employment, summer programs, internships, etc.), planning college visits, selecting the right teachers for the best letters of recommendations, developing a WOW factor, assisting with creating, brainstorming and advising personal statements and supplemental essays revisions; developing college social media profile and brand. Additionally, Dr. Lowe provides personalized, individualized attention and helps clients keep organized, stay motivated and meet deadlines throughout the application process.
Over the past 29 years, Dr. Lowe has complemented the college admissions tasks of school counselors and, at times, worked cooperatively and collaboratively with them to help his clients gain admissions into Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities and direct BS/MD programs!
It’s a WIN-WIN for students (his clients – international and U.S.) and their school counselors!
****Working Directly with Dr. Paul Lowe, Admissions Expert: Unlike other educational consulting firms, where clients are assigned to different employees or consultants, Dr. Lowe, as lead consultant/admissions advisor, personally works with each of his clients so that they directly benefit from his expertise, experience, contacts and the collective knowledge of his educational team. Dr. Lowe’s exclusivity allows him to provide individualized attention, commitment and principal availability to each client through Skype/Zoom sessions.****
Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe, founder and managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group, provides comprehensive counseling advice, exclusively for admissions to top private schools; Ivy League and highly-selective colleges/universities; BS/MD programs; graduate and medical schools and top visual and performing arts programs. The admissions affiliate: Ivy League Admissions Advisors specializes in admissions to Ivy League and highly selective colleges. Dr. Lowe also specializes in helping students gain admissions to BS/MD programs:| BS/MD Admissions Guru| BS/MD Admissions Advisors.
In high school, your child has (or will have) worked very hard to attain a very high GPA (around 4.0 or higher and 6-12 or more AP classes), excellent standardized test SAT/ACT scores, and meaningful extracurricular activities. After this daunting journey, they DESERVE the very best in college admissions – acceptance into an Ivy League or highly selective college or university!
As an admissions expert for 29 years, with an unmatched and peerless Ivy League and combined BS/MD program acceptance track record, my clients, after following my advice and recommendations, get what they DESERVE – It’s that simple!
Parents who want the very best for their children hire the very best!
****Working Directly with Dr. Paul Lowe, Admissions Expert: Unlike other educational consulting firms, where clients are assigned to different employees or consultants, Dr. Lowe, as lead consultant/admissions advisor, personally works with each of his clients so that they directly benefit from his expertise, experience, contacts and the collective knowledge of his educational team. Dr. Lowe’s exclusivity allows him to provide individualized attention, commitment and principal availability to each client through Skype/Zoom sessions.****
By having Admissions Strategy Skype/Zoom sessions directly with Dr. Paul Lowe, brainstorming ideas, developing admissions strategies, essay review, and mock interview sessions to develop amazing student profiles, our clients stand out and are accepted into Ivy League and highly selective colleges/universities and BS/MD programs
Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe, founder/managing director and lead admissions advisor of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group, provides comprehensive counseling advice, exclusively for admissions to top private schools; Ivy League and highly-selective colleges/universities; BS/MD programs; graduate and medical schools and top visual and performing arts programs. The admissions affiliate: Ivy League Admissions Advisors specializes in admissions to Ivy League and highly selective colleges. Dr. Lowe also specializes in helping students gain admissions to BS/MD programs:| BS/MD Admissions Guru| BS/MD Admissions Advisors.
At BS/MD Admissions, Dr. Paul Lowe and his team of advisors discern that many students and parents are clueless about what to do, when to do it, where to do it, who to contact, and why do it. They fail to discover what they are doing that’s wrong, or they discover what they’ve been doing is wrong when it’s too late!
If you are a high school junior or your son or daughter is a high school junior and you are thinking about applying to direct BS/MD programs, it’s time to get really serious about either planning or implementing your plans.
Most students (even with the help of their parents) read books, look at videos or visit college forum-type websites which they believe may provide personalized answers for them.
Many parents who call us (and whose children are performing the above and have the below profile profile) then believe that their child is a shoo-in for BS/MD programs and just need “some” advice.
Here is the typical BS/MD applicant-student profile of students when parents contact us:
GPA: 3.9 (UW) 4.6
ACT: 35
SAT: 1580
APs: usually 10 -14 classes
Honors/Awards: several
Teacher/Counselor Recommendations: Excellent
Resume: 2-3 pages
Volunteer: Several organizations
Shadowed Doctors: 2-3
Extracurricular Activities: Several
Published a paper: 1-2
Laboratory Research: Participated and/or possibly published
With all of the above you would believe that this student will definitely be accepted – WRONG! This is only half of the equation!
Here’s a list of factors by admissions expert, Dr. Paul Lowe that you should consider if you are a junior seriously thinking about applying to BS/MD programs.
Student CHARACTER – Personality counts! What’s your “je ne sais quoi”?
The HOOK – If you don’t have a hook, the admissions committee will not grab you!
The STORY – It’s all about the story and how it’s framed and presented! No good story, no acceptance! Certain rejection!
Common Application: PERSONAL STATEMENT – Meaningful, well-written and convincing personal statement needed. No flow, harmony, tone combined with gravitas – rejection!
COLLEGE-SPECIFIC SUPPLEMENTALS – You must complement and synergize your supplementals with your personal statement. All the school-specific essays are important, even the 50 word-count answers! Students have been rejected because of mistakenly using one word or a sentence in 50 word-count essays!
COLLEGE-SPECIFIC-BS/MD ESSAYS – The “Why doctor essay?” “I want to help people”. Everyone in the service industry does that!
COLLEGE APPLICATION VIDEO ESSAY – Schools are seriously viewing these videos. Brown PLME application includes an optional video.
The effective and bold RESUME – It’s not just about a 2–3-page resume with lots of research and extracurricular activities which is just a list. It has to be framed correctly or it looks boring and generic!
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES – Are your extracurricular activities meaningless or meaningful? Do they really interconnect to your student profile in a meaningful way? Have you become the jack-of-all extracurricular activities? The master of none? Are you a drive-by extracurricular activities person?
VOLUNTEERISM – It’s not just about tutoring underprivileged children, participating in an ESVE (Expensive Summer Volunteer Activity) or starting your own nonprofit organization. There is more to volunteering than just volunteering!!!
WOW FACTOR – What’s your WOW Factor? How and when can you use it to WOW admissions? You want the admissions committee to say “WOW! We want this applicant on our campus.”
INTERVIEWS – You may seemingly be all that on paper; grades, SATs recommendations, volunteering to save the world, 1000 hours of shadowing, however, one incorrect word or statement in an interview results in a rejection – That’s right, just one!
ETIQUETTE – Think that doesn’t matter? Think that’s old-school? Think again! Are you mindful of how you present yourself and how people perceive you? It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it! Etiquette matters! We provide personalized etiquette strategies for our clients.
MANNERS– When you say something (or write something) what counts is not what you mean but how you are heard and perceived. Are you mindful of your manners? Manners matters! Do you know when or if you sound rude, pretentious, impolite, disrespectful, unrefined or uncultured?
WHO ARE YOU? – What are your values? What do you stand for? Can you define you? Why are you different?
DIVERSITY – What’s your diversity intelligence? What’s the meaning of diversity to you? It’s not just a word to be used throughout an essay. It’s not just about being a member of your school’s diversity club. Colleges seek students who truly understand the meaning of diversity. Diversity matters!
UNCONSCIOUS BIAS – It may occur at any time, at any level or at any stage during your admissions process. Can you identify it? How must you successfully deal with it? How do you overcome it for successful admissions decisions?
UNIVERSITY PRIORITIES – Colleges are not accepting applicants for just top grades and their perceived amazing resumes and achievements; they are continually adjusting and building diverse campus communities and future global networks based on geopolitics, geo-economics and their financials. School admissions policies and institutional priorities change year to year and region to region to match their goals. What makes you believe that you know these policies and priorities better than a boutique admissions firm that has superior access to current information and admissions trends?
The KNOW-HOW. So, you really believe it’s just (1-18)? You need the Know How: How do you do the right-things the right-way and with the right-people at the right-time? Our proprietary-knowledge, unmatched experience, admissions success and years of close working relationships with admissions professionals ensures that you do it right!
So, you really believe that factors 13-18 are unimportant? Think again!
If you know how to plan, develop and implement (1-19) and how they are used in BS/MD admissions – that’s wonderful!!! But if you don’t, there is an increased probability that you (and your child) will make irrevocable mistakes that will cause instant rejections to all schools. Would you want this to happen after your years of planning as a parent and your child’s hard work?
The parents who retain Dr. Paul Lowe and his team of consultants may take risks in business and investments, but not risks in their children’s educational future – to become a medical doctor. The ones who do take risks in their children’s education – 95% of them bet WRONG!
For almost 27 years, I have been writing about the changes and nuances in college admissions.
The Supreme Court’s ruling against Harvard University and University of North Carolina could lead to an admissions system that is even more subjective and mysterious, as colleges try to follow the law but also admit a diverse class of students. The Ivy League colleges and universities and BS/MD programs are aware that a diverse class leads the enhanced learning for alumni and future medical doctors.
Officials at some selective institutions have predicted that there would be less emphasis on standardized metrics like test scores and class rank, and more emphasis on personal qualities, told through recommendations and the application essay — the opposite of what many opponents of affirmative action had hoped for.
It would be nearly impossible, however, to eliminate any mention or suggestion of race in the admissions process — starting with applicants’ names. What is certain is that admissions committees can surmise in many cases based on years of reviewing applications and technology, an applicant’s race, cultural background and socio-economic caste.
Additionally, “Landscape”, developed by the College Board, is a tool meant to help admissions offices go beyond test scores and GPAs and considers what applicant have achieved in the context of where they’ve learned and lived.
Another factor (caused indirectly by SCOTUS) that will affect admissions – review of legacy admissions. Applicants whose siblings were admitted will now face admissions committees that will not factor in the legacy component.
What do the above changes mean for the college admissions environment for high school classes: 2024, 2025 and 2026?
My firm, in predicting the outcome, has already developed strategies and an admissions network and contacts to further increase our clients’ chances of admissions!…If you believe that your child’s chances will not be affected by the SCOTUS decision, think again!We have had meetings with BS/MD program and Ivy League admissions officers and understand how the decision will affect student applications!
IS YOUR CURRENT COLLEGE JUST A “GOOD FIT” OR IS IT FABULOUS?
DO YOU WISH TO TRANSFER TO AN IVY LEAGUE UNIVERSITY?
As an experienced admissions advisor, I have successfully helped students transfer to Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities.
Here are some of the main reasons I see why students decide to transfer:
They are unhappy: Why remain in an environment for four years where you will be unhappy and miserable – and pay tuition, room and board that will cost you (or your parents) $250,000 – $300,000.
Institutional prestige: You may be attending your safety school and you want a second shot or you were discouraged from applying to your dream school. In any case, you desire what we call an UPGRADE.
Pre-graduate school preparation: Your current college may not have a strong pre-law, pre-med or pre-business program needed for graduate school admissions preparation or employment.
Whatever reason you may have for transferring, the bottom line is that you need to develop an effective action plan to transfer. and have a second shot!
Our Admissions Data Analytic software (Admissions DA), proprietary knowledge, 27 years of experience, simulated admissions committee interview meetings, Continuous-weekly client sessions and our vast network and contacts provide an ADMISSIONS ADVANTAGE for our clients resulting in acceptance letters! Our clients, therefore successfully navigate the college transfer admissions process and have positive outcome and results!
No other educational consulting firm can provide this type of collective ADMISSION ADVANTAGE!
According to Burning Glass Institute, a nonprofit that researches employment trends, graduates from top universities who go into finance earn higher salaries than other schools’ graduates in the field.
Six of the eight Ivy League schools are ranked in the top 100 private schools for finance salaries.
Here is the list of top 10 private universities/colleges.
Based on our research and discussions with directors/deans of admissions and admissions officers, regular decision applicants (for the 2022-2023 admissions season) will be receiving their decision notifications in March and early April and it will be another highly competitive year!
Here are regular decision notification dates (and approximate times) for Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities:
Barnard College: March 31, 2023
Boston College: April 1, 2023
Boston University: Late March 2023
Brown University: March 31, 2023
Bucknell University: April 1, 2023
California Institute of Technology: Mid-March 2023
Carnegie Mellon University: April 1, 2023
Colgate University: Late-March 2023
Columbia University: Late March 2023
Cornell University: Late March 2023
Dartmouth College: Late March 2023
Duke University: Late March 2023
Georgetown University: April 1, 2023
Georgia Institute of Technology: Early-March 2023
Hamilton College: Mid-March 2023
Harvard University: Late March 2023
Johns Hopkins University: Late March 2023
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Mid-March 2023
New York University: Late March 2023
Northeastern University: April 1, 2023
Northwestern University: Late March 2023
Princeton University: Late March 2023
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: March 11, 2023
Stanford University: Early April 2023
Swarthmore College: Late March 2023
Tufts University: April 1, 2023
University of Chicago: Mid-March 2023
University of Michigan: Early April 2023
University of Notre Dame: Late March 2023
University of Pennsylvania: Late March 2023
University of Virginia: April 1, 2023
Vanderbilt University: April 1, 2023
Vassar College: April 5, 2023
Villanova University: April 1, 2023
Wesleyan University: Late March 2023
Yale University: Late March 2023
WHAT CAN YOU DO? For seniors, if you are rejected, you may want to begin to consider transferring (College Transfer Admissions Advisors). For current juniors, you may need to consider hiring an admissions expert who specializes in Ivy League admissions (Ivy League Admissions Advisors). Year after year, our clients are accepted to Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities and BS/MD programs because they recognize the importance and the value that we add to their student profile. We are DIFFERENT and that makes us the BEST!
Several of our clients who applied early to the above schools have already been accepted!!!!
For parents of high school juniors, you should consider hiring Dr. Paul Lowe. Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities and BS/MD programs are not seeking perfect students, but applicants who have unique and unmatched profiles to be members of their incoming classes.
Dr. Lowe and his team of diverse admissions experts provide unrivaled, unmatched and unparalleledadmissions advisory and educational research services for their clients. Most importantly, you work DIRECTLY with Dr. Lowe and get the benefits of his entire team. By working with Dr. Lowe, one-on-one, you work with his reputation, his expertise, his experience and his success!
Dr. Lowe through his Continuous Weekly Student-Parent SkypeMeetings to help students honestly assess their strength to get into these schools, where admissions officers often make split-second decisions, based minute details in an applicant’s profile.
Fairfax County Public High Schools (Virginia) contains 28 high schools. Over the past 4 years, MANY parents of high school students have contacted us regarding our college and BS/MD admissions advisory services. Dr. Paul Lowe and his team have worked with students from:
Chantilly High School
Langley High School
Madison High School
Marshall High School
Oakton High School
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
West Springfield High School
W.T. Woodson High School
Despite the fact that they are all excellent high schools, MANY parents contact Dr. Lowe because they mentioned that because of the size of the school, school counselors are either unable to provide continuous weekly or biweekly individualized college and/or BS/MD admissions services to each student. The senior class size for some of these schools exceed 600 students.
We are happy to report that our clients from these schools were accepted to their top-choice colleges and universities!
Please review Dr. Lowe’s blogs as to why parents contact him re: college and BS/MD admissions:
Each year, Dr. Paul Lowe, BS/MD Admissions Guru works with four or five clients that don’t have perfect transcripts. They may have a couple B’s and even C’s. Last year, Dr. Lowe worked with five clients whose GPA weighted were below 3.5 and their SATs were below 1500 and they were accepted to BS/MD programs. Here are stats on one client: Female. South Asian descent (Indian American). Texas. GPA: 3.5 weighted. SAT scores: 1420. Result: She was admitted to two BS/MD programs.
So, what happened? How was she selected over other students who had nearly perfect SAT’s, high GPAs and shadowed multiple doctors and lots of community service? In her high school, the valedictorian, salutatorian and top 5 other students were rejected from all BS/MD programs and Ivies and several highly selective universities.
BS/MD programs are not seeking just extraordinary students or superstars. They are seeking students who are going to be great doctors. They are not seeking students who sound like everyone else! They value individuals with desirable characteristics in addition to your goals and achievements.
BS/MD program admissions officers evaluate applications with a fine-tooth comb which means that your entire student profile (freshman year to senior year) is reviewed. They seek to know your originality, cultural competence, deviations from the perceived norm/traditions, self-definition, honesty, attitude and other character attributes. In short, they seek to know who YOU are.
Getting into BS/MD programs, however, is not just about who you are (or what your parents perceive that you should be) but about how you effectively tell your story (conveying your character and narrative). What it all comes down to is how you demonstrate your personal qualities, leadership, and commitment to your community through the application. This takes the form of the collective expression of honest and meaningful personal statements and essays, involved extracurricular activities, and descriptive recommendation letters that help the admissions officers determine whether to accept or reject you. High-achieving students (and their parents) tend to mistakenly believe that their scores and grades are enough to win admissions to their desired schools.
While it’s rare for someone with a 3.5 weighted GPA to get into a BS/MD program, it’s not impossible. Dr. Lowe spends weekly Skype sessions in helping his clients develop and demonstrate their personal trademark to admissions officers. While the odds are against you with a weak academic profile, over the years. Dr. Lowe has helped many students with poor GPA’s/grades and low SAT scores get into BS/MD programs.
By having continuous Weekly Skype/Zoom sessions directly with Dr. Paul Lowe, brainstorming ideas, developing admissions strategies, essay review, and mock interview sessions to develop amazing student profiles, our clients stand out and are accepted into Ivy League and highly selective colleges/universities and BS/MD programs
Our BS/MD Admissions practice is specialized: Dr. Lowe and his team ONLY work with parents who understand that the BS/MD admissions process is highly competitive and thus desire help from an admissions expert. They appreciate the value and investment in paying for expert advice consisting of a detailed and ongoing comprehensive admissions advisory service for their child’s dream of becoming a doctor. He also specializes in helping international students in the BS/MD process. Parents who chose to use our services want to call their son or daughter – “Doctor” when they are seniors in high school.
Dr. Paul Lowe - Admissions Expert 