Dr. Paul Lowe discussed on News 12 Connecticut “Our Lives”: The Three Major Changes in College Admissions: 2019-2020. These include: (1) The effects of the admissions scandal, Varsity Blues, on college admissions, (2) Landscape metric on college admissions, (3) The effect of technology on college applications and decisions.
According to Dr. Lowe, this means that college decisions is not based on a simple formula of grades and standardized test scores and a great essay. Instead, Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities consider a variety of factors: the student’s academic record, extracurricular interests, intellectual achievements, personal background, intangible characteristics and ethnicity to decide who will be rejected or accepted. Dr. Lowe also discussed his “WOW Factor Concept” and why it works in influencing positive college admissions decisions.
“Our Lives”, a national award-winning talk show, is hosted by Gwen Edwards, a senior producer at News 12 Connecticut.
“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe
“We provide our clients access to our specialized knowledge!” – Dr. Paul Lowe
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 who have been wait-listed, deferred or rejected gain admission into their top-choice schools: College Application Rejected. and student who wish to transfer to another college: College Transfer Admissions Advisors.
Parents always ask me: What are the most important factors in college admissions? What do admissions officers look for?
To answer these questions, I will first start with what the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) in a survey to admissions officers trend survey:
I. NACAC factors:
Grades in All Courses
Grades in College Prep Courses
Admissions Test Scores (SAT, ACT)
Strength of Cirriculum
Essay or Writing Sample
Counselor Letters of Recommendations
Students Demonstrated Interest
Teacher Letters of Recommendations
Class Rank
Extracirricular Activities
Subject Test Scores (AP, IB)
Portfolio
Interview
Work Experience
SAT II Scores
State Gradation Exam Scores
II. Intangibles
Based on my professional experience and continually visiting colleges, and discussions with directors of admissions, there are other factors which we know are just as important and/or more important than the NACAC Admissions Survey Factors.
College application
Personal Statement
Supplemental essays
Collective interrelationship of all essays
WOW Factor
Attitude
Likability
Etiquette
Character
Grit/Challenge
Confidence
Charisma
Sense of self
Sense of others
Engagement
Unsaid
Conversational Intelligence
Cadence
Transparency
Civic Engagement
Cultural Intelligence
Cultural Agility
Emotional Intelligence
Originality
Uniqueness
Diversity/Inclusion
Family background
Comparative Student Profile Analysis
So you think that getting into your top-choice college is about having a high GPA, top SAT scores, high grades and a manufactured application and personal statement….THINK AGAIN! If you think that’s all you need, then we are certain that your child will be among the students who will be REJECTED!
Year after year, I hear the horror stories from parents whose kids got in nowhere because they thought the college admissions race was just about grades, SAT scores, their perceived ‘unique’ applications, generic essays and perfect connections.”
Ivy League and highly selective colleges use a holistic approach and review process and a committee review approach process when evaluating applicants for admission. That means admission to these colleges is not based on a simple formula of grades and test scores and what may parents may believe. Instead, admissions officers/committees consider a variety of factors: the student’s academic record, extracurricular interests, intellectual achievements and personal background and what I call “PERSONAL VIBE” to decide who will be rejected or accepted.
“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe
“We provide our clients access to our specialized knowledge!”– Dr. Paul Lowe
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 who have been wait-listed, deferred or rejected gain admission into their top-choice schools: College Application Rejected. and student who wish to transfer to another college: College Transfer Admissions Advisors.
It’s summer, and parents are calling us about BS/MD admissions for their children. But the children are rising seniors!
Many parents wait until the rising senior year, or senior year to inquire about BS/MD programs and application help. Some have already hired independent educational consultants who are generalist and have discovered that they now need to hire a BS/MD Admissions specialist. Some have attempted the process without guidance.
In our initial discussion, these parents reveal that their child usually has a 4.5/4.0 weighted GPA (indicating that they aced several AP classes), shadowed multiple doctors, are involved in research, volunteered to help the poor, plays violin or piano, dance, achieved high SAT or ACT scores and have a 2-3 page resume.
On paper, the child sounds astonishing and amazing, and they are….on paper! But in reality, the applicant sounds just like the 97% of students who have a high probability of being rejected! Yes! It’s that competitive. In our experience (we have been BS/MD Admissions experts for 21 years), many of the parents inquiring are from similar cultural and ethnic backgrounds. At this point, since BS/MD programs are seeking socio-economical and ethnic diversity – this further adds to the hyper-competition.
“Waiting until the senior year for help is counterproductive and increases the probability of rejection in BS/MD Admissions.” Dr. Paul Lowe
In our experience, the fact that these parents have intentionally procrastinated to seek an expert increases the probability of rejection or in other words increase their chances of NOT standing out.
As a physician-scientist who understands and has studied statistics and probability, I wonder why these highly-educated parents who are scientists, doctors, engineers, bankers, entrepreneurs, accountants, financial advisors, technologist (after their hard work and their child’s sacrifice) would wait until the last minute to hire an admissions specialist, thereby increasing the risk of rejection. Scientifically and “parentally” it’s illogical.
Here are my 5 assumptions as to why these highly educated parents make the mistake of waiting until the senior year to hire a BS/MD admissions expert/specialist:
Parents assume that they understand the BS/MD admissions process.
Parents who call us, at that time, believe that that have the same collective expertise as a team of full-time BS MD advisors with 21 years of experience.
Parents believe that their professional skill sets make them experts. After all, anyone can be a BS/MD admissions advisor!
Parents honestly believe that their children standout (with the above-mentioned criteria) after they review the same information as everyone else.
Parents honestly believe that by waiting until the senior year, a BS/MD advisor will charge less. There is a cost to unravel mistakes and to help a student who sounds just like everyone else to stand out – in 2-4 months!
We hear about the disasters from many of these parents in the Spring: BS/MD applicants who were rejected from BS/MD programs, Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities and yes, their perceived “safety schools”. A common statement that we hear: “Our daughter (or son) is a gifted and talented student. We can’t understand why they were rejected from most of their top-choice colleges and all BS/MD programs”
If you are considering hiring a team of BS/MD Admissions Advisors for your child, don’t wait until the last minute. Your timely decision statistically and mathematically INCREASES the probability of acceptance by having time to avoid costly mistakes that will result in rejections.
Of course, there are many roads to obtaining an MD. But with a BS/MD application, you have just one chance to achieve this goal. It seems logical and prudent to receive the best guidance to achieve that goal.
“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe
“We provide our clients access to our specialized knowledge!”– Dr. Paul Lowe
It’s college admissions time for rising seniors and I am now hearing from parents, high school guidance counselors and independent educational counselors state that it doesn’t matter where you attend college, as long as where you attend is a “good fit”.
According to The University Ultra High Net Worth Alumni Rankings 2019, a recent study by Wealth-X, a leading global wealth information, research-intelligence and insight firm that tracks global wealth, there is a direct relationship between where you attended college and wealth. The study is based on research on wealth estimated wealth of (Ultra-High-Net-Worth (UHNW) alumni by alma mater.
Six out of eight Ivy League universities were featured in the top 20 list of U.S. universities for UHNW alumni. Each of the top 20 global universities on the ranking had at least 2,000 UHNW alumni, and the top five had more than 3,000. Ultra-high-net-worth is defined by Wealth-X as those with a net worth of greater than $30 million.
According to the most recent rankings, Harvard has more than 13,650 estimated UHNW alumni worth $4.769 trillion.
“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe
“We provide our clients access to our specialized knowledge!”– Dr. Paul Lowe
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 who have been wait-listed, deferred or rejected gain admission into their top-choice schools: College Application Rejected. and student who wish to transfer to another college: College Transfer Admissions Advisors.
From time to time, parents who inquire about our services first ask: “What’s your price?” before even asking what we do and our success rate.
It’s obvious from this question that they are shopping for the cheapest price, not the best service. I imagine that these parents would ask the same question, considering the cheapest price and not quality service, to a pediatric surgeon, a tax attorney, a financial advisor or perhaps a vendor in an open market place.
Hiring an independent private admissions advisor is an academic investment in a child’s future, not an expense – It’s priceless.
If a parent is willing to make the choice to shop for the cheapest price then they should be willing to accept that this choice is the reason why their child was REJECTED from their top choice private/boarding school or college. Remember the adage: “You get what you pay for”.
“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe
“We provide our clients access to our specialized knowledge!”– Dr. Paul Lowe
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 College Board, the New York based nonprofit that oversees the SAT, plans to assign an adversity score to every student who takes the SAT to try to capture their social and economic backgrounds. This fall, 100 colleges and universities will join the 50 colleges (which include Harvard, Yale, Cornell and University of Michigan) already utilizing this new metric designed to place students’ SAT scores in the context of their socioeconomic advantages or disadvantages.
This adversity score is calculated using 15 environmental factors that influence a student’s home and school life – including the neighborhood’s crime rate and poverty levels, the community’s average educational attainment, housing values, and vacancies. While students won’t see, know or be told their scores, colleges will see the numbers when reviewing their applications.
What does this mean for rising seniors? The college admissions landscape has changed again. Colleges will have an objective tool that will not just consider a student’s race, but their socio-economic class in making admissions decisions. To be clear, colleges and universities have considered socioeconomic factors previously; but the pilot study of this method using the adversity score has accelerated the inclusion of lower income and minority students. Admissions will be even more competitive!
“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe
“We provide our clients access to our specialized knowledge!” – Dr. Paul Lowe
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 who have been wait-listed, deferred or rejected gain admission into their top-choice schools: College Application Rejected. and student who wish to transfer to another college: College Transfer Admissions Advisors.
In June, Dr. Lowe visited The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Dr. Lowe and his team of admissions advisors visit Ivy League, prestigious and elite colleges several times annually, where they have the unique opportunity of interacting one-on-one with directors of admissions and senior admissions personnel.
Dr. Lowe with Katherine Sharkey, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Women In Medicine and Science at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
At BS/MD Admissions Advisors, our co-managing director, Dr. Nadine Cartwright-Lowe is a graduate of the Brown PLME program and a licensed internist.
Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME): Of the 2,641 applicants, 94 students were admitted to PLME, an eight-year program leading to both a bachelor’s degree and an M.D. from Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School.
Dr. Lowe in the lobby of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe
From time to time, I hear parents state that college acceptance to Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities is a “crapshoot”. Our clients enjoy a different experience with positive outcomes!
My team and I know that our knowledge, insight, experience, forward-thinking and our ability to understand our clients, as well as the intricate expectations of each school and their admissions committees in real-time and forward-time contribute to “beating the odds”.
Students (and their parents) who attempt to formulaically systematize the admissions process based on generic or ill advice generally end up among the 90% or more of applicants who are REJECTED.
Dr. Paul Lowe demonstrating that college admissions is not about rolling dice.
“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe
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 who have been wait-listed, deferred or rejected gain admission into their top-choice schools: College Application Rejected. and student who wish to transfer to another college: College Transfer Admissions Advisors.
I am often asked the question by parents during my seminars how can my child differentiate themselves in the competitive admissions process to get admitted to their dream school.
There are 7 factors that you can control to this end:
Common Application
Personal Statement
Supplemental Essays
Letters of Recommendations
Extracurricular Activities
WOW Factor
Hire a college admissions expert who knows the changing policies, politics and diplomacy in admissions.
If you don’t differentiate yourself from the crowd, you will be among 41,350 students who were rejected from Harvard (43,330 applied, 1950 accepted), or, the 36, 123 students rejected from Brown (38,674 applied, 2,551 accepted) or rejected (34,665 rejected from Yale (36,843 applied, 2,178 accepted.
It’s actually that simple!
You need to hire a high-end college admissions expert who understands the holistic approach and review process and the committee-based review process when evaluating applicants for admissions. And an expert who knows the changing policies, politics and diplomacy in admissions.
“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe
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 who have been wait-listed, deferred or rejected gain admission into their top-choice schools: College Application Rejected. and student who wish to transfer to another college: College Transfer Admissions Advisors.
Dr. Lowe and his team of admissions advisors visit Ivy League, prestigious and elite colleges several times annually, where they have the unique opportunity of interacting one-on-one with directors of admissions and senior admissions personnel.
In May, I visited Barnard College on a beautiful spring day. Barnard is a small liberal arts college located in the Upper west side, in New York City. It is directly across the street from Columbia University. I spoke with several students and the consensus was that Barnard is a tight knit community where most people know others in their class, or at least know who you are.
Dr. Lowe at Barnard College – Broadway main gates.
Barnard is the best of both worlds; it has a small college feeling, but is also within a large university.
Dr. Lowe within Barnard College campus – Barnard Greek Games statue
I consider Barnard the ninth Ivy League. Barnard College graduates receive Columbia University degrees! Year after year, we have clients who have been accepted to Barnard. I met 3 of my clients who are currently students at Barnard. They just love it!
“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe
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 who have been wait-listed, deferred or rejected gain admission into their top-choice schools: College Application Rejected. and student who wish to transfer to another college: College Transfer Admissions Advisors.
Dr. Paul Lowe - Admissions Expert 