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!
NEW National Association for College Admission Counseling – State of College Admission 2023 Data Release – School Counseling: Caseloads and Responsibilities indicate the following:
(1) 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.
(2) School counselors at public schools spend 26% (at private schools: 51%) of their time on post-secondary (college admissions) counseling.
Over the past 27 years, my team and I have complemented the college admissions tasks of school counselors and, at times, worked collaboratively with them to help our clients gain admissions into Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities and BS/MD programs!
It’s a WIN-WIN for students (our clients – international and U.S.) and their school counselors!
From time to time, I hear parents state that college acceptance to Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities is a “crapshoot”.
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 areREJECTED.
With our Admissions Data Analytics software, our proprietary knowledge, 27 years of experience and our vast network and contacts, we provide an ADMISSIONS ADVANTAGE for our clients resulting in acceptance letters!
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!
I am very pleased and happy to announce our final results for Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME): 9 of our clients were accepted to Brown PLME.
According to Brown University’s press release on March 31st, “..74 students were admitted to the Program in Liberal Medical Education an eight-year program leading to both a bachelor’s degree and an M.D. from Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School.”
What does this mean?
This year, 12% of the Brown PLME class are our clients!
My clients were accepted to one of the top BS/MD programs in the world and the only Ivy BS/MD program!
Dr. Lowe and his team understand that successful admissions results involve more than just a 3-page resume packed with achievements, a high GPA and a high SAT score. It’s about BS/MD Admissions Knowledge.
Dr. Paul Lowe and his team provide unparalleled, unrivaled and unmatched admissions advisory services!
Families who choose to retain me, recognize the value I will bring and WANT to experience my unique perspective and advice that will undoubtedly increase the chances of positive admissions results for their children.
Many people talk or write about how to get into Brown PLME.Year after year, we provide RESULTS!
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.
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.
Not all clients we advise are from public or private schools. Each year, we advise homeschoolers!
Our homeschooler clients are admitted to Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities and BS/MD programs because we encourage them to present clear documentation of their learning and unique experiences. Homeschoolers who are aiming at top schools are advised by Dr. Lowe and his team to think carefully about how they want to present themselves during admissions selection process.
We help our homeschool clients in creating their unique and meaningful narratives so that admissions committees want them to be accepted into their colleges and BS/MD programs!
Our understanding of home school curricula, class time and assignments and how to convey them appropriately to admissions officers helps our clients. Our home school clients are unique because they have individualized and personalized academic plans. As a result, year after year, they have been accepted to Ivy League and highly competitive colleges and universities and BS/MD programs – They stand out in the college admissions game!
Dr. Lowe successfully works with homeschool students and their parents to prepare for and during the college admissions process students.
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 home school clients stand out and are accepted into Ivy League and highly selective colleges/universities and BS/MD programs
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.
Our clients hail from public and private U.S. high schools as well as international schools and homeschools. Obviously, we won’t tell you the names of our clients, but we can tell you which high schools they attend or from which they graduated.
U.S. Private/Boarding Schools(partial list)
American Heritage Schools (FL)
Avenues The World School (NY)
Brookfield Academy (WI)
Brunswick School (CT)
Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (MA)
Cate School (CA)
Cheshire Academy (CT)
Choate Rosemary Hall (CT)
Collegiate School (NY)
Dana Hall School (MA)
Deerfield Academy (MA)
Durham Academy (NC)
Dwight School (NY)
Dwight-Englewood School (NJ)
Garrison Forest School (MD)
Georgetown Day School (DC)
Germantown Friends School (PA)
Greenwich Academy (CT)
Hackley School (NY)
Hamden Hall Country Day School (CT)
Harvard-Westlake School (CA)
Hawai’i Preparatory Academy (HI)
Hopkins School (CT)
Horace Mann School (NY)
Hotchkiss School (CT)
Iolani School (HI)
Lake Forest Academy (IL)
Lawrenceville School (NJ)
Middlesex School (MA)
Noble and Greenough School (MA)
Northfield Mount Hermon (MA)
Pingry School (NJ)
Phillips Andover (MA)
Phillips Exeter (NH)
Ransome Everglades School (FL)
Rye Country Day School (NY)
Sidwell Friends School (DC)
St. Marks School of Texas (TX)
St. Paul’s School (NH)
Taft School (CT)
TASIS Dorado (PR)
Trevor Day School (NY)
The Awty International School (TX)
The Brearley School (NY)
The Chapin School (NY)
The Dalton School (NY)
The Ethel Walker School (CT)
The Frederick Gunn School (CT)
The Hewitt School (NY)
The Hill School (PA)
The Hockaday School (TX)
The Masters School (NY)
The Madeira School (VA)
The Overlake School (WA)
The Shipley School (PA)
The Spence School (NY)
The Thacher School (CA)
The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (IL)
The Westminster Schools (GA)
Trinity School (NY)
University School of Milwaukee (WI)
Westminster School (CT)
Wichita Collegiate School (KS)
Wilmington Friends School (DE)
U.S. Public High Schools(partial list)
Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (MA)
Advanced Math & Science Academy Charter School (MA)
Amity Regional High School (CT)
Bronx High School of Science (NY)
Bronxville High School (NY)
Chantilly High School (VA)
Darien High School (CT)
Dougherty Valley High School (CA)
Fairfax High School (VA)
Grassfield High School-Governor’s STEM Academy (VA)
Great Neck South High School (NY)
Great Valley High School (PA)
Greenwich High School (CT)
Guilford High School (CT)
Horace Greeley High School (NY)
Interlake High School (WA)
Jericho High School (NY)
Joel Barlow High School (CT)
Lawrence E. Elkins High School (TX)
Lexington High School (MA)
Longmeadow High School (MA)
Lovejoy High School (TX)
Mamaroneck High School (NY)
Manhasset Secondary School (NY)
New Canaan High School (CT)
Newport High School (WA)
New Providence High School (NJ)
New Rochelle High School (NY)
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NC)
Northside College Preparatory High School (IL)
Obra D. Tompkins High School (TX)
Plano East Senior High School (TX)
Princeton High School (NJ)
Rye High School (NY)
Roslyn High School (NY)
Scarsdale High School (NY)
School of Science and Engineering Magnet School (TX)
Seven Lakes High School (TX)
Shelton High School (CT)
Signature School (IN)
Staples High School (CT)
Syossett Senior High School (NY)
The Charter School of Wilmington (DE)
Thousand Oaks High School (CA)
Trumbull High School (CT)
Walter Johnson High School (MD)
Walter Payton College Preparatory High School (IL)
Walt Whitman High School (MD)
Westfield High School (NJ)
Westhampton Beach High School (NY)
Weston High School (CT)
Weston High School (MA)
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North (NJ)
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South (NJ)
Wilton High School (CT)
Union County Magnet High School (NJ)
University High School of Indiana (IN)
International High Schools(partial list)
Aiglon College (CH) – Switzerland
Akosombo International School (GH)
Ashbury College (ON) – Canada
Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil (CH) – Switzerland
Collège du Léman International School (CH) – Switzerland
Escola Graduada de Sao Paulo (BR)
École Jeannine Manuel (FR)
École Jeannine Manuel (UK)
Eton College (UK)
Ghana International School (GH)
Institut Auf Dem Rosenberg (CH) – Switzerland
Institut Le Rosey (CH) – Switzerland
Lincoln Community School (GH)
Notre-Dame International High School (FR)
Opoku Ware Senior High School (GH)
Ridley College (ON) Canada
St. George’s International School (CH) – Switzerland
St. Paul’s Girls’ School (UK)
TASIS England (UK)
TASIS The American School Switzerland (CH)
The Latymer School (UK)
Westminster School (UK)
Wilson’s School, Sutton (UK)
Wolmers Girls’ School (JM)
Wycombe Abbey School (UK)
Homeschool (Throughout the U.S.)
Consider Dr. Paul Lowe an additional team member, as other parents do, in your child’s journey for successful admissions to an Ivy League and highly selective college or university or BS/MD program!
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.
As students fill out their college and BS/MD applications, they work meticulously on them to do everything right and impress the admissions offices and committees. However, as prospective students are trying to make their applications perfect, they may overlook certain aspects of their profiles, admission journeys and applications which could lead to rejections.
In the hypercompetitive BS/MD Admissions universe, having perfect grades, high SAT/ACT scores, while doing research and shadowing may help, but it won’t necessarily increase your chances to have a spot at BS/MD programs. I receive calls and emails from parents who really believe and want to confirm that they have done the right things the right way and haven taken all the steps to ensure that their children have a shot at BS/MD programs. They are usually mistaken!
I discover that they have made bad assumptions and egregious mistakes when they call me later that their children were: (1) Rejected from all BS/MD programs as well as Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities, (2) They were invited for BS/MD interviews but were later rejected. (3) They call us in the fall as their child is entering a super-safety school (because they were rejected from all, but that school).
Three examples (they were not my clients) last year: (1) A valedictorian who applied to 19 schools (Ivy and BS/MD programs) and 2 safety schools was accepted to only 2 schools – her safety schools and now attends a safety. Result: Parents have now hired us for college admissions transfer. (2) A student (I must say here from Texas area) whose parents thought that she was a shoo-in to BS/MD programs, was rejected from all BS/MD programs and all colleges and decided to take a gap year! (3) A student applying to BS/MD programs – parents assured us that he shadowed with top physicians and had published. However, upon review of “Why Doctor” essays AND interviews major errors were found. The student was rejected from all BS/MD programs! In addition, the student was also rejected from Ivy League and highly selective schools because there were major errors on his Common Application!
Here are 30 ways how high school students and BS/MD applicants (and their parents) cause their own rejections!
Follow what other students did the previous year.
Follow advice from online platforms.
Read books with obsolete advice.
Hire an educational consultant who has no experience in BS/MD admissions.
Assume that because you have great standardized test scores you have great shot.
Assume that your school college counselor understands the nuances of BS/MD programs and medical school admissions.
Hire multiple educational consultants in an attempt to get the lowest price.
Have your parents or relatives write your Common Application and BS/MD supplemental essays.
Your Common Application, essays, letters of recommendations and profile are disconnected.
Your high school college counselor and/or teachers were unsupportive or did not write a strong letter of recommendation.
Your applications are vague and generic.
Your supplemental essays are disjointed and don’t answer the questions.
Your application sounds just like ones on the internet (and therefore everyone else).
You assume that admissions officers will not find errors in your application and narrative.
You made mistakes during the undergraduate interview.
You made mistakes during the alumnus/a interview
You made mistakes during the medical school interview.
You assume that other students in your class are not applying to BS/MD programs.
You assume that the narrative you and/or your parents created will be believable by admissions officers.
Your “Why Doctor Essay” was filled with why you can’t be a doctor or should not be a doctor.
Your “connections” actually are the reasons why you will be rejected.
You assume that because your parent or parents are physicians that they understand BS/MD admissions.
You assume that you can game BS/MD admissions.
You assume that there is no bias in college admissions.
You assume that by talking with a student who is currently enrolled in a BS/MD program that you are in!
You make mistakes involving etiquette, manners and attitude.
You assume that winning multiple awards will get you in.
You lack meaningful extracurricular activities.
You underestimate consequences of the closings of BS/MD programs.
You decide not to hire an expert with years of experience, contacts and proven acceptance rates – A BS/MD Admissions Guru because you believe it’s not worth it!
Congratulations! After following all the steps, you (or your parents) will be instrumental in causing your rejection from BS/MD programs as well as Ivy League colleges and universities and colleges with excellent pre-med programs.
Many parents gamble on their children’s futures. They underestimate the risks that will lead to rejections and overestimate the chances of success using antiquated generic strategies.
After years of preparation, intense studying, taking all those AP courses, hours of shadowing, writing papers (possibly publishing), violin recitals, dance competitions, team sports, volunteering, traveling, visiting hundreds of “how-to websites” and your parents saying that you wanted to be a doctor since you were 5 years old – you use one or several or all the above steps and are outright rejected! My questions are always: Why would you? How could you? What were you thinking? The reason or answer to these questions: Students (and parents) actually believe that they know more than BS/MD Admissions Guru!
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.
At Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group, we add COLOR to our clients’ profiles. It’s what makes our boutique admissions advisory firm different! COLOR makes you more visually appealing; it adds an attractive vitality and magnetic quality. It gives you a more dynamic and harmonious appearance.
As a physician-scientist, admissions advisor and artist-COLORist, to me, COLOR is everything. It’s characteristics: hue, value and intensity make our clients’ profiles, applications and essays more interesting! Adding COLOR, gives our clients a competitive admissions edge and makes them standout! What do you need to be more COLORful? It’s not just about ROYGBIV. By adding COLOR, we make college and BS/MD applications and student-profiles more enjoyable to admissions officers and committees.
Isn’t that what you want? COLOR
Color is one of the chief properties that gives objects their own individual visual characteristics. It makes a unique contribution to the appearance. The different hues, tones, shades, tints and value demonstrated in your essay allows our clients’ applications and essays to shine!
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.
Dr. Paul Lowe - Admissions Expert 