College Admissions: What’s Your WOW FACTOR?

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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 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.

Popular BS/MD Programs

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As we review BS/MD programs, where our clients have applied and have been accepted (and enjoyed the academic and campus experience), we have developed a list of “Popular BS/MD programs”

Here is our list of popular BS/MD programs based on our survey:

  1. Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME)
  2. Boston University – Seven-Year Liberal Arts/Medical Education Program
  3. Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars Program
  4. Baylor2 Medical Track Program
  5. Case Western – Pre-Professional Scholars Program in Medicine
  6. Penn State’s Accelerated Premedical-Medical Program
  7. University of Rochester – Rochester Early Medical Scholars
  8. RPI/Albany Medical College – Physician-Scientist Program
  9. Virginia Commonwealth University – Guaranteed Admission Program
  10. University of the Pittsburgh – School of Medicine Guaranteed Admissions Program (GAP)
  11. Rutgers University – 7-Year BA/MD Joint Degree Program
  12. New Jersey Institute of Technology – New Jersey Medical School
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Dr. Lowe congratulates parents who support their children’s dreams


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“Valuable and trusted advice is needed to avoid mistakes” – Dr. Lowe

Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network.  He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliate, BS/MD Admissions Advisors, help high school students get accepted to 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 competitive, who desire help from an admissions expert and who see the value and investment in paying for expert advice through 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.

U.S. News & World Report Best College Ranking: Top 20 in 2022

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The 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best College Ranking is out!  So many people say that it doesn’t matter where a student attends college as long as it’s a “good fit”. Really !!!!! Why are rankings used? Why are they so important? Because as a consumer-based society a college’s vision, supportive amenities, facilities, reputation, prestige and brand must meet our expectations. Since it is impossible for an applicant to experience everything a college has to offer prior to acceptance and enrollment, it is prudent to “kick the tires” by reviewing how colleges rank according to various criteria such as those provided by US News and other ranking services.

U.S. News rankings system rests on two pillar (1) Quantitative and qualitative measures that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality and (2) U.S. News’ view of what matters in education.

Here are the top 20 colleges and universities.

1. Princeton University

2. Columbia University, Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology

5. Yale University

6. Stanford University and University of Chicago

8. University of Pennsylvania

9. California Institute of Technology, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University and Northwestern University

13. Dartmouth College

14. Brown University and Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis

17. Cornell University and Rice University

19. University of Notre Dame

20. University of California – Los Angeles

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

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.

Seeking BS/MD Admissions Help For Seniors In September? It’s Too Late

It’s mid-September, and we are currently receiving calls and emails from anxious parent of high school seniors requesting BS/MD Admissions help. Here is the problem for these parents (and students). It’s too late!

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Successful admissions – It’s all about timing and time management.

Valuable and trusted BS/MD help starts as early as middle school prior to high school. The optimum time to hire an educational consultant, who specializes in BS/MD admissions, is sophomore or junior year (when you see that the student is committed to being a doctor), they have at least one year of high school grades.

Not surprisingly, when we receive these calls, students sound exactly alike: high SAT/ACT scores, 4.3 and above weighted GPA, shadowing, published research paper (or two), a website indicating that they have helped socio-economically disadvantaged students.  Their achievements sound exactly alike; it is as though they have been reading the same books, visiting the same websites and talking with the same people.  Although these parents have yet to experience the outcome of this practice, it generally means they have prepared their children to be rejected from BS/MD programs and ivy league and highly selective colleges and universities.  By simply procrastinating, their mistakes are irreversible and irrevocable.  It is simply too late for our firm to correct their mistakes or make recommendations to enhance their student profiles.

BS/MD admissions is super-competitive.  We find ways through our experience and knowledge to help our clients stand out.  We know that our clients who have retained us from the sophomore or junior year will look and sound superior to other students. Our acceptance results speak to this!

Only first place wins in admissions!

My team and I prepare our clients to win first place (because there are no second or third place seats in competitive college and BS/MD admissions).

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In the admissions race, our clients are winners!

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Dr. Lowe congratulates parents who support their children’s dreams!
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“Valuable and trusted advice is needed to avoid mistakes” – Dr. Lowe

Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network.  He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliate, BS/MD Admissions Advisors, help high school students get accepted to BS/MD programs.

It’s Possible to Get into An Ivy League with a Low GPA

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Each year we work with several clients who are admitted to Ivy League and BS/MD programs despite relatively low GPAs.  Yes!  You have read right…low GPAs.  This year, was significant because it was during the COVID-19 pandemic and there was an increase in the number of applicants to Ivy League and BS/MD programs.

While the average high school student with a GPA weighted that are accepted to Ivy League schools is 4.10, there is no minimum requirement. Of course, it’s rare for a student with a GPA below 3.9 to be accepted, but not impossible!

Ivy League schools rely upon a holistic and committee-team approach when evaluating applications to determine whether a student is a good fit for their institution. This approach allows admissions officers to obtain an in-depth picture of a student’s potential, character, and personal attributes that they will bring to the campus community if admitted.

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So, how do our students with low GPAs get admitted to Ivies and BS/MD programs?  This is where character, the right attitude and accomplishments beyond the ordinary and expected achievements come in.  We work with the student to ensure that the correct picture of the student is apparent to the admissions officers.

Ultimately, elite colleges like the Ivies are interested in your potential. They want to know not only what you will contribute to the campus in terms of abilities and achievements, but also how you will mature and interact with others once you get there, and what positive impact you will eventually have on the world.


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

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

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

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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.  For colleges and universities that recommend or require videos: College Admissions Video Productions.

BS/MD Programs that Accept International and H4 Visa Students – 2021

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Each year, my offices receive calls and emails from parents of international students and parents who presently have H1B visas whose high school students have H4 visas who wish to become U.S. medical doctors through BS/MD programs.

As a result, we have developed a specialty helping these students navigate the college admissions and specifically the hypercompetitive BS/MD admissions process.

Based on my professional experience as a BS/MD admissions advisor, and long-term professional relationships with admissions officers and administrators, here is a current list of BS/MD programs that will consider reviewing applications of international and H4 Visa students:

  • Boston University Seven-Year Liberal Arts/Medical Education Program
  • Brown University Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME)
  • Case Western Reserve University Pre-Professional Scholars Program in Medicine
  • Howard University BS/MD
  • Pennsylvania State University Accelerated Premedical-Medical Program
  • Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars Program (MSP)
  • Rutgers University-Newark BA/MD
  • SUNY Upstate Accelerated Scholars Program
  • University of Connecticut Special Program in Medicine
  • University Rochester – Rochester Early Medical Scholars (REMS)

Working with international and H4 visa high school students who desire to matriculate to BS/MD programs is a very involved, comprehensive and long-term process.  My team and I must clearly understand student goals, continuously help students with their applications and develop successful admissions strategies. After all, we know the value of becoming a licensed U.S. medical doctor!

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High school juniors and parents of high school juniors should read this blog: High School Students – Time To Get Serious About BS/MD Plans Part II.

It’s very important to avoid the risks and potential mistakes that will cause you to be rejected from BS/MD programs. After all your hard work, do you really want to make mistakes?  Mistakes that can occur in your junior year, senior year and/or on your college applications?

Selectivity:  Dr. Lowe only works with qualified students and parents who choose to hire the best!

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BS/MD Admissions Advisors 2021 Acceptance Rate

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Dr. Paul R. Lowe, Admissions Expert

Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network.  He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliate, BS/MD Admissions Advisors, help high school students get accepted to BS/MD programs.

College Admissions: How Important Are AP Exams?

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As high school juniors are preparing for their AP exams, many are wondering how important are they!

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AP Exams are important!” – Dr. Paul Lowe

The depth and breadth of a student’s high school curriculum is very important – work done at the accelerated, honors and AP levels will matter in how the admissions committee evaluates your overall transcript – rejection or acceptance.

Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities (and BS/MD programs) expect students to enroll in AP classes unless they have enrolled in an International Baccalaureate (IB) program or if their school does not offer AP classes.

Students who are applying to Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities (and BS/MD programs) on average enroll in 8 – 12 AP courses. It’s important that you do well in the AP courses, as admissions officers want to see that you have been challenged and that you are doing well despite the challenging and demanding curriculum.

Students not taking advantage of AP courses offered at their schools are generally not looked at favorably during the admissions selection process. “Several admissions officers at the Ivies have told me that they’re more likely to admit students who have taken several APs.” – Dr. Paul Lowe

AP exam scores are self-reported.  We recommend that you should report scores if you receive a 3 or higher.

Dr. Lowe advises his clients which AP courses they should enroll in as it relates to their college student profile thereby helping them stand out during the admissions process.

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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.  For colleges and universities that recommend or require videos: College Admissions Video Productions.

H4 Visa and BS/MD Programs

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What is the H4 Visa? H4 Visa or H4 dependent visa is the US visa category given to the spouse and children (under 21 years of age) of all H visa holders such as H1B Visa, H1B1 Visa, H2A, H2B and H3.  The H4 visa is treated as dependent visa, meaning its validity and status are tied to the primary H visa holder.

Year after year, we work with high school students who have H4 visa status seeking admissions to Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities and BS/MD programs. All of these students that we work with are top students. However, because of their visa status, they are restricted (requirement: U.S. citizen or permanent resident) from applying to certain BS/MD programs, but not Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities. One top BS/MD program that accepts H4 visa students is Brown PLME.

If your child has a dependent H4 visa they can go to college without a change in their visa status. There are a few exceptions to the case, but if you are worried about applying for the student visa (F1) to study, don’t worry, it is possible to enroll in a college or school on a dependent visa.

Dr. Lowe and his team work with international students and students with H4 visas and from time to time will consult with immigration attorneys regarding their client’s immigration status and its relationship to their admissions process.  As a result, Dr. Lowe has been quite successful in placing H4 and international students in Ivy League, highly selective colleges and universities and BS/MD programs.

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Dr. Lowe congratulates parents who support their children’s dreams

High school juniors and parents of high school juniors should read this blog: High School Juniors: Time To Get Serious About BS/MD Plans – Part II


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Dr. Paul Lowe, BS/MD Admissions Expert

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 competitive, who desire help from an admissions expert and who see the value and investment in paying for expert advice through 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. Our Brown PLME 2021 Acceptances | BS/MD Admissions Advisors – 2020 Acceptances.  Parents who chose to use our services want to call their son or daughter – Doctor when they are seniors in high school.

Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network.  He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliate, BS/MD Admissions Advisors, help high school students get accepted to BS/MD programs. 

Dr. Paul Lowe featured on MarketWatch

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Dr. Paul Lowe, Managing Director – Ivy League Admissions Advisors

Dr. Paul Lowe, CEO of Pinnacle Educational Center and managing director of Ivy League Admissions Advisors was featured in a February 26, 2021 MarketWatch article by Howard Gold entitled:COVID-19 is changing college application strategies — and lowering the odds of getting into top schools”.

Ivy League Admissions Advisors helps students get accepted to Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities and BS/MD programs.

“We are not for everyone,” says Dr. Lowe. “Only parents who want their children to have expert advice and a competitive advantage in the college admission process hire us.”


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Being different and understanding differences allows us to
advise our clients to stand out and get ACCEPTED
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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.  For colleges and universities that recommend or require videos: College Admissions Video Productions.

Why Attend An Ivy League University?

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With record number of students applying to Ivy League schools you may wish to ask WHY the Ivies?

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The annual cost to attend (tuition, fees, housing, food, books, misc.) gives pause to many potential applicants:  Harvard: $76,479; Brown: $78,688; Princeton: $75,210; Dartmouth: $79,967. So, what’s really happening here?  Tuition is rising, yet U.S. as well as international students are competitively applying to these schools.  What do these institutions have that others may not?  This is a question I hear, year after year, and from several parents in my recent webinar.  

Let’s start with the seemingly intangibles:

  • The institutions have prestigious brands
  • They have global alumni networks
  • They maintain international connections on every continent.

And then there is more – money!  Or in the non-profit lexicon, endowments (in 2020) for example:  Harvard $41.9 billion; Yale $31.2 billion, Princeton $25.9 billion, UPenn: $14.9 billion, Columbia: 41.0 billion, Cornell: $7.2 billion, Dartmouth: $6.0 billion, Brown: $4.7 billion.  The Ivies have the financial assets to weather the COVID-19 tsunami and provide top-rate education without any drastic financial cuts.  

You might ask why this even matters. Far fewer than 1 percent of undergraduate students at American colleges and universities attend the Ivy League or similarly selective schools. But who gets into these institutions makes a difference for the United States, because their graduates are so overrepresented in our country’s Judicial Branch. Every current Supreme Court justice, save one, attended an Ivy League law school: Justice Alito (Yale), Justice Barrett (Notre Dame), Justice Breyer (Harvard), Justice Gorsuch (Harvard), Justice Kavanaugh (Yale), Justice Kagan (Harvard), Chief Justice Roberts (Harvard), Sotomayor (Yale) and Justice Thomas (Yale).

Several recent U.S. presidents including Donald Trump have been educated, at some point, at an Ivy League school — including Yale double legacy George W. Bush, Bill Clinton (Yale) and Barack Obama (Columbia and Harvard).  More than 40 Harvard alumni — either undergrad or graduate — won seats in Congress in 2016. Newly appoint and current Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen Brown (Economics/AB) Yale Economics/PhD).

So why attend an Ivy League university?  When you imagine the possibilities, the question should be…”Why not?


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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.  For colleges and universities that recommend or require videos: College Admissions Video Productions.