College Admissions: Now Is the Time To Consider Transferring

January 13, 2022 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

In our practice, we are increasingly seeing students who are making the decision to transfer while in their freshman and sophomore years. 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) $200,000 – $250,000.
Fresh start: From time to time, a student may have faced unexpected challenges and they desire a new college environment.
Institutional prestige: You may be attending your safety school and you want a second chance for your preferred school 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.

Upgrade_transfer_college-admissions_Dr_Paul_Lowe_Admissions_Advisor — **College Transfer: Time to *UPGRADE* to a different college!**

Whatever the reason for transferring, the bottom line is that you need to develop an effective action plan to transfer. Consider seeking professional, expert advice: Why? In my professional experience, I find that prospective transfer students need to develop individualized, effective transfer plans and implement them. As a transfer student, you no longer have the assistance of your public high school or private high school college counselor. You will need an educational consultant who specializes in college transfer admissions. You’re basically on your own in the transfer process that is even more competitive than when you applied to college the first time!

Dr_Paul_Lowe_Educational_Consultant_Admissions_Advisor_BS_MD_programs_IECA_HECA_Harvard_Yale-Princeton — **Dr. Paul Lowe, Admissions Expert**

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.

College Admissions: What’s Your WOW FACTOR?

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September 23, 2021September 29, 2021 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Over the past 10 years, I have been talking in my webinars/seminars and writing in my blogs about the WOW factor and its importance in successful college admissions acceptance!

As college admissions becomes increasingly more competitive, admissions officers and committees look beyond high GPAs, high standardized test scores, ESEs (expensive summer experiences), tailored resumes and achievements and seemingly amazing, but generic essays. Dr. Lowe and his team continue to use the Wow Factor Admissions Concept with their clients.

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What’s your personal “Wow Factor” that will make you stand out and get accepted to the college of your choice? It’s a factor that your admissions officer will look for as well as discuss with the other admissions committee members as to the reason you should be accepted.

What is a personal “Wow Factor”? Your charisma, confidence, motivation, initial impression, appearance, communication skills, attitude, self-esteem, authenticity, presence, etiquette, manners, harmony, rhythm and vibe all contribute to your wow factor. Your wow factor is what makes you different! It’s your distinguishing trademark, your personal brand that must be placed in a positive light to a committee of six to ten diverse people to get accepted. It’s the kind of aura that is genuine, authentic and resonates. To truly identify your WOW factor, you need an outside perspective, a third party, that understands how admissions committees will review your character.

It takes Dr. Lowe and his team hours to weeks discover and months to cultivate a client’s WOW factor. After that, we develop strategies to convey that brand to Ivy League and highly selective colleges and BS/MD programs.

Our admissions strategies help applicants spotlight their unique characteristic(s) that make admissions officers say “Wow! We want this student!”

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Dr. Paul Lowe’s Admissions Advice – Priceless

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March 10, 2021 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

My clients have been stating that my admissions advice is priceless. I never truly equated my services with a price. I have always considered it as an investment in a child’s education.

Future_Dr_Paul_Lowe_Admissions_Advisors_Independent_Educational_Consultant_IEC — **Investing in your child’s future!**

This week, I received a phone call from a mom who is a lawyer and partner of a major international investment banking firm. She eventually disclosed that she was my client 19 years ago when her parents hired me for private school admissions (she was admitted to Andover) and for college admissions (she was admitted to Harvard). She needed help with her son for Kindergarten placement in a prestigious private day school (By the way, she met her husband while they were both sophomores at Harvard).

I believe she recognized the potential generational effect of such an investment in her child’s educational future…PRICELESS!

**Every parent wants the best for their child!**

**Dr. Lowe helps you invest in your child’s educational future!**

Legacy_Family_Graduation_Dr_Paul_Lowe_Educational_Consultant_Admissions_Advisor — **Dr. Lowe helps you invest in your child’s educational future!**

“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 A New Admissions Year – 2021

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January 20, 2021January 20, 2021 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Happy New Year! Welcome to Dr. Paul Lowe Admissions Expert Blog – 2021

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The past year has been full of uncertainty. As a consequence of the myriad of transitions, changes, adjustments and adaptations, now there’s a whole new admissions world. Education has moved from in-person to online learning and there has been an increase in the number of applications to top private day and boarding schools, Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities and BS/MD programs! The College Board recently announced that it is eliminating the SAT subject tests and optional essay-writing section!

The one constant we have observed last year and the beginning of this year, is that parents want the best education for their children whether it’s K-12, college or graduate school.

As families navigate through these extraordinary and unparalleled admissions times, having an expert who can help make objective decisions is invaluable. As experts, we understand the fluctuating landscape and degrees of complexity in the current admissions scenarios so that students can avoid mistakes, stay focused and attain successful admissions decisions. Our knowledge-intelligence that results in our admissions success involves our ability to plan, to know how to adjust and when to change effectively.

Following last year’s admissions season, we heard from many parents and school counselors whose students applied ED to the Ivies and were rejected, yet we have clients who were accepted ED to Harvard, Yale, Brown, UPenn, Columbia and Cornell. And our Brown PLME acceptance rate was just amazing! Brown PLME: Early Decision Results

Year after year, parents and fellow consultants ask us, what’s your secret? How do you provide stellar admissions results? It’s actually quite simple and conspicuously obvious….We are DIFFERENT!

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Dr. Lowe and his team collectively, through their insight, foresight, proprietary- knowledge, wisdom and confidence, choose the best admissions strategies to be applied prudently for the best decision results – That’s our secret!

This year, many parents will be extremely happy because they will use our SECRET!

Each year, admissions policies and strategies change, so stay tuned for my upcoming, informative, helpful and thought-provoking admissions blogs!

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“Being different and understanding differences allow me to help our clients stand out and be accepted!” – Dr. Paul Lowe

“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe

“Parents hire us because they choose to pay an admissions expert who will help them avoid making mistakes.” – Dr. Paul Lowe

Dr_Paul_Lowe_Admissions_Advisor_Educational_Consultant — **Dr. Paul Lowe, Admissions Expert**

Coronavirus Effect on Back to College

Coronavirus_Back-to-college_Dr_Paul_Lowe_Admissions_Expert_Independent_Educational-Consultant

August 28, 2020August 29, 2020 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

As students return to campus this fall there has been increased reporting of COVID-19 outbreaks on campus. Whatever the reasons, the reality is that outbreaks are occurring.

A recent study published in the JAMA Network Open, a monthly open access medical journal published by the American Medical Association stated: “In the midst of the deadliest pandemic since 1918, the question of how to reopen colleges safely after months of lockdown is of great concern. First and foremost, the strategy cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, the best-prepared colleges will use a multifaceted approach that leverages a range of public health strategies best suited to each institution’s resources, location, and culture. Containing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) requires testing; behavioral interventions to reduce the reproductive number (R_t), such as social distancing, masking, and contact tracing; and limiting the influx of new infections from outside campus.”

A Cornell University study, The Small-World Network of College Classes: Implications for Epidemic Spread on a University Campus revealed “how quickly COVID-19 could spread through ‘small-world’ campus networks if no precautions were taken. Course enrollment networks do not capture the many ways that students are connected outside of the classroom through advisors, friends, parties, athletics and other extra-curricular activities, or living situations.”

Here is a partial list of colleges/universities where significant coronavirus cases have surfaced after classes have recently resumed:

University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
University of Alabama – Tuscaloosa Campus
Central Michigan University – Mt. Pleasant Campus
Ohio State University
University of Iowa
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Texas at Austin
Texas Christian University
Baylor University
University of Michigan

As a result of the increases, many concerned students and their parents are contacting us to inquire about transferring to colleges. They have safety concerns where there has been documented outbreaks or where student on-campus and off-campus behavior ignores safety measures like mask-wearing and social distancing. Some are seeking an opportunity to transfer to ivy league and highly selective college and universities (even though they may have online classes) because of their prestigious brands.

Students applying during the 2020-2021 application season and their parents are also considering the consequences of COVID-19, previously accepted students have deferred admission or students may be taking a gap year prior to applying, thus increasing the applicant pool.

“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe

“Parents hire us because they choose to pay an admissions expert who will help them avoid making mistakes.” – Dr. Paul Lowe

Coronavirus Effect on College Admissions: What You Need to Know

coronovirus effect on college admissions what you need to know Dr Paul Lowe

March 19, 2020April 24, 2020 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

“To see the world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower;

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.”

– William Blake

Understanding facts of any situation is essential to one’s ability to analyze that situation for a positive outcome. So before getting into the ramifications of “the coronavirus” in college admissions, we’ll look at the pertinent facts. Let’s first define the name of the virus: The new virus is called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 or SARS-CoV-2. The disease caused by the new virus has been designated COVID -19 (COrona VIrus Disease 19 – because the year it emerged was 2019). It’s known to infect humans causing respiratory tract illness (upper respiratory, as well as lower respiratory illness which could be fatal), and to date there is no vaccine to protect people from COVID-19.

This virus has not been seen in humans before and scientists are still learning specifics about the disease. It has been found to be highly contagious, spreading by small droplets and contact, and is potentially particularly virulent in certain demographics. Thus, the reactions we see in the news regarding the attempts to control the spread the disease. We find ourselves in a place where the world is attempting to slow the spread of the disease as scientists attempt to develop vaccines and treatments. Current efforts in effect in the United States and other parts of the world are an attempt to control community spread. Because of these attempts, educational institutions and facilities have taken drastic steps in order to help control of the spread.

Current effects:

Public high schools as well as private high schools are closed, making it difficult for students to meet with guidance counselors for college planning.
For students applying to BS/MD programs, it’s a whole NEW competitive admissions environment! Books about BS/MD process and BS/MD programs do not show you how to navigate the BS/MD admissions process during the current coronovirus pandemic!
Colleges are cancelling in-person classes and shifting to online platforms or learning management systems.
Students are being asked to leave campuses and dormitories are being closed. Some colleges have already cancelled or postponed graduation ceremonies.
Many colleges have moved classes online and some have directed students not to return after spring break.
Most institutions have barred staff from college-related travel as the coronavirus spreads.
May 1, the national deposit deadline for applicants, has been pushed back by a month.
SAT’s (Scholastic Assessment Tests) are cancelled through May.
National Association of College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) has made the decision to cancel all Spring National College Fairs.
International high school students who wish to study in the U.S. are facing numerous challenges regarding school closures, cancellation of testing dates, and more. The biggest impact may be on students’ abilities to get a visa for the fall semester because of delays in visa interviews or border closures.
TOEFL testing dates have been canceled or postponed in several countries.

Despite these drastic changes, it should be understood that colleges and universities plan to continue their missions to provide the best education possible for their students. Furthermore, even in the face of a pandemic, college admissions will continue. Based on my experience, extensive historical research, along with emails and Skype discussions with admissions officers, the college admissions process is continuing. High school seniors are and will still be receiving decisions throughout March and early April.

Many of my clients have emailed us to request additional advice in this environment of online classes, extended school vacations and online test assessments. We advise our clients accordingly as they continue their college admission preparation. For many students (and parents), there is uncertainty, anxiety and fear as they shift to distance learning. Evaluation of scholastic achievements through distance learning is not a novel experience for college admissions personnel or my firm. We have advised and continue to advise international as well as U.S. home-schooled clients. I can assure you, with certainty, that there are unique opportunities, educational benefits and admissions advantages to online learning. All of our home-schooled clients have been admitted to their top-choices colleges, including the Ivies and highly selective colleges and universities.

For our current clients, we continue to develop new strategies.

For high school seniors, no senioritis – schools can still rescind your decisions, so even with online courses, you must continue to do well.
For juniors, most in their third quarter or beginning their third trimester, with regard to your college admissions profile, you must still develop ways to stand out.

In addition to home consultations, we have always complemented our personalized service by communicating with our clients remotely via Skype or Zoom. COVID-19 has not disrupted our long-standing routine. For our international as well as U.S. families, it’s business as usual. We continue to communicate remotely.

This new situation makes high school students and their parents anxious or unnerved. The reality still exists that you are still COMPETING with other students for those coveted spots at Ivies and highly selective colleges and universities.

For our part, we will continue to use our experience, admissions strategies and analytics to review all the nuances and consequences of COVID-19 in the college admissions process. Given the ever-changing nature of the conditions surrounding the virus, we prepare our clients for all possible scenarios. We focus on positive results and outcomes. We continue, as we always have, to plan for the unexpected. We use our team’s diverse background and collective effort to navigate uncertainties. We problem-search as well as problem-solve.

We advise our clients that COVID-19 has not stopped college admissions, especially to the Ivies and highly competitive college and universities. Understanding that school closures may impact college counseling and support (at public as well as private boarding and day high schools) during the application process, we have implemented more college counseling support services to help our students. By doing all of the above, students will be successfully prepared for the college admissions process as we overcome the COVID-19.

“Admissions is a competitive sport! Why gamble with uncertainty?” – Dr. Paul Lowe

“We provide our clients access to our specialized knowledge!” – Dr. Paul Lowe

Transfer Acceptance Rates at Top Colleges

February 23, 2020March 2, 2020 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

As the college application season begins to draw to a close (decisions for competitive schools will be released in late March), one would believe that everything is slowing down. But actually, we are in the throes of the college transfer season! Many college freshmen and sophomores, after a semester or so, have already decided that they need to transfer to another college. Throughout the years, I have encountered many students who wish to transfer. It is now becoming a growing trend. In our practice, we are increasingly seeing students who are making the decision to transfer while in their first semester, freshman year. Here are some of the main reasons why the students I encounter 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) $200,000 – $250,000?
Fresh start: From time to time, a student may have faced unexpected challenges, disciplinary actions at a college and they need a new college environment.
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 curriculum needed for graduate school admissions preparation or employment.

Most of the parents who call us are calling for an upgrade! There are fewer spots available especially in the Ivies and highly competitive colleges.

Students are on their own during the transfer process: No college counseling support will be available from their current guidance counselors or private high school college advisors and there is no transfer help from the college which they are currently attending.

Here is a list of acceptance rates at top colleges:

Barnard College – 21.8%
Brown University – 7.7%
California Institute of Technology – 1.9%
Carnegie Mellon University – 7.3%
Columbia University – 6.1%
Cornell University – 17.1%
Dartmouth College – 1.5%
Duke University – 6.6%
Georgetown University – 6.6%

“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.” – Dr. Paul Lowe

“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. Its medical school admissions affiliate: Medical School Admissions Advisors. 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.

GUARANTEE – What This Really Means!

January 18, 2020January 31, 2020 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

There can be confusion and assumptions with the use of the word guarantee. This can be particularly true when one associates the word “guarantee” with the word “admission”. In the college admissions industry, no one can guarantee admissions to any college or university.

As an active member of several professional trade associations, including the National Association for College Admission Counseling, (NACAC), Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA), the New York State Association for College Admission Counseling (NYSACAC), the New Jersey Association for College Admission Counseling (NJACAC), the International Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC), according to their Standard, Practices and Ethics, it is a clear and accepted directive that one cannot guarantee admissions to universities.

NACAC, in its Statement of Principles of Good Practice Mandatory Practices states: “All members agree they will not guarantee admission or specific college placement”. HECA, in its statement of Standards and Ethics (Code of Conduct for Individual Consultants) states: “In the conduct of their practice, HECA members shall: Not make any written or verbal guarantee of college admission or placement.”

HOWEVER…..let’s tell you what our GUARANTEE would mean to you.

We GUARANTEE:

That you will work directly with admissions expert and independent educational consultant, Dr. Paul Lowe.
That we abide by professional and ethical standards of membership organizations in college admissions.
That we provide our concierge-type admissions advisory service.
That we will develop winning admissions advisory strategies personalized for our clients.
For international students, that we know and understand how international students are assessed and evaluated, given a potentially divergent secondary school curriculum.
That we continually visit Ivy League and highly selective schools and understand their changing admissions policies and missions.
That we will work efficiently, rapidly, efficiently, and diligently with our clients.
That we continually communicate with our clients and provide unlimited correspondence throughout our admissions advisory assignments.
That we supplement, complement and add value to the efforts of public high school counselors and private high school college counselors because we work one-on-one with students.
That our strategic vision allows us to create, design and develop a compelling, authentic and distinctive personal brand for each of our clients. This vision elevates and differentiates our clients in the competitive admissions environment.
That we add soul, pizazz, jazz, hip-hop, rhythm, groove, vibe, funk and collaborative syncopation to your application so that it stands out – that’s how we roll!
That we understand the dynamics of proper etiquette, manners and body language in successful college admissions.
That we identify details that may be overlooked and help you find and avoid irreparable mistakes that would cause you (your application) to be rejected.
That the cultural, intellectual, racial, and professional diversity within our firm helps us identify what makes our clients stand out! The DIVERSITY COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE of our firm adds amazing colorfulness, tone, hue, shade, enthusiasm, creativity and energy to our client’s and their applications!…That’s why they are different and can stand out far above other applicants!

Our foresight, insight, research, admissions experience and proprietary approach GUARANTEES our high quality and advice which results in the year-to-year admissions success of our clients.

Simply put, our enviable and unparalleled admissions experience is your GUARANTEE for quality and results.

“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. Its medical school admissions affiliate: Medical School Admissions Advisors. 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.

Hiring An Educational Consultant: What’s Your Price?

July 11, 2019July 11, 2019 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

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

The College Admissions Landscape Has Changed Again: Adversity Score

July 1, 2019August 6, 2019 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

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