College Admissions: How will You Differentiate Yourself from the Crowd

May 28, 2019May 28, 2019 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

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!

Dr_Paul_Lowe_Ivy_League_Admissions_Expert_Advice — 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.

What If You Are Rejected or Deferred Early Action/Decision? 2018

December 11, 2018December 13, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

High School Seniors are receiving their College Admissions Early Decision/Early Action results. The results are producing a mixture of palpable emotions. While some happy students settle in for the holidays with their acceptance letters in hand, others will be disappointed and distressed in discovering that they have been deferred to the regular decision pool, or worse, rejected by the college or university (after all of their hard work). For those who are deferred, their applications will be re-considered along with the thousands of Regular Decision applicants. In the Regular Decision pool, the selection process becomes even more competitive and selective.

Many students try the strategy of applying to what they perceived to be safety schools because they think the school will likely accept them early, only to discover that they are also deferred or rejected. In either case, whether deferred or rejected, SOMETHING WENT WRONG! The problem is that the application errors that caused the rejection or deferral, if not discovered, will continue without rectification to the regular decision pool and result in multiple rejections. When I mention this to parents who call us and many don’t believe me, I usually hear the horrific stories about their children being rejected from everyone of their top-choice schools and even perceived safety schools!

With only a few weeks left in the application season, I recommend that students scrupulously reevaluate their deferred or rejected early decision/early action application and carefully plan a workable strategy in this crunch-time. You may need to hire an educational consultant who is an expert in post-decision admissions advising.

For parents who engage our services after the disheartening news of deferral or rejection, I use our post-decision strategies. I discover what the student did to be rejected or deferred, build upon their current student profile and accomplishments and re-energize their application so that they are removed from the deferred list and placed on the accepted list.

Additionally, I assess the student’s Regular Decision applications (due by January 1) to identify mistakes on their Early Decision/Action application so that their mistakes do not become viral and affect the student’s Regular Decision applications. The worst thing a student can do is nothing. The worst thing parents can do is to try this post-decision process on their own.

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

Common Application 2018-2019 Launched

August 11, 2018August 21, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

The Common Application 2018-2019 was launched 10 days ago and we are now receiving calls from very anxious and stressed parents because their children (rising seniors) just started the preliminary portions of the Common Application.

The Common App is more than just the main essay! Every section is devised so that the admissions officers get to know (or find ways to reject) a student. Statistically, it takes top colleges approximately 8 minutes to review an entire application!

We spend countless hours reviewing our clients’ entire Common Application to help them successfully navigate and avoid the unnecessary and devastating landmines that cause rejections!

Biographical Section (Profile, Family, Educational & Testing): The admissions committees or your regional admissions officers assess who you are. It’s important to answer the questions honestly and with precision!

Personal Statement: We ensure that our clients’ Common App 650-word main essay accurately reflects the information that they want to convey to the majority of colleges to which they are applying. See Our blog: College Application Essay Prompts 2018-2019

College-Specific Questions: Academic interest, program(s) applying to. Some colleges may also ask additional questions about your family, state of residence, activities, and general interests. Admissions officers/committees use this as a way further understand a student’s past and their academic goals and objectives and how they are all interrelated and interconnected.

Short Answers: Then there are the school-specific (short answer essays)! Although short, these little essays (50-250 words) can play a meaningful role in your application. They provides a small window into your passions and personality, and because of this, they are important “decision-breakers”, especially with selective colleges that use the holistic admissions approach. We spend just as much time brainstorming and helping our clients to revise these, seemingly simple essays, as we do with their personal statements because we know how admissions committees use them to determine acceptance or rejections. Types of supplemental short essays include but are not limited to:

The ‘why us’ essay
Tell us more about an extracurricular
Design a class/a major
Tell us about your major
Diversity-in-community essay
Specialty small essays (list, words or one sentence or a phrase)

Activities Section: Whereas the personal statement will show college admissions committees who your child is, the Common Application Activities section will allow colleges to understand what your child has done and is doing outside of the classroom, offering one of the best opportunities to stand out among other applicants. The activities section has a limit of ten extracurricular activities. The restrictions mean you will need to be selective in reporting your activities, limiting you to the most important ones or those that are most meaningful to you. In our experience, students can make costly mistakes in this section!

Without college essays and extracurricular activities lists, colleges would be limited to grades, class rank, and ACT and SAT scores to make their admissions decisions. Given that so many students with strong numbers apply to college each year, it’s important for your child to use the Activities section to develop an application theme, that is, their “WOW FACTOR” and specialties. We leave no stone unturned in this section!

Courses & Grades (Self-Reporting Transcripts). In this section, you have an opportunity to self-report your grades. In reviewing our clients’ answers, we find errors. It’s important to review this section. A discrepancy with what you report and your transcript raises a red flag! These flags translate into a rejection letter.

The Common Application is not just an application. It’s a puzzle filled with landmines that if not reviewed, interpreted and completed correctly will result in students being rejected from schools. When assisting our clients with the completion of their Common applications, we take into consideration their student admissions profile and character as well as the specific admissions policies and missions of their target schools that we gather from our research by visiting schools and professional relationships. Our wealth of insider-knowledge helps our clients to WIN (not lose) in the college competitive admissions game!

Blog: College Admissions is a Competitive Sport – How to Win Your Personal Admissions Game!

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

Heads Up! The College Admissions Process is Shifting Focus

June 18, 2018June 22, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Recently, we’ve been receiving many calls from very anxious parents about milestone changes in college admissions policies. Several top colleges have acknowledged changes, including Carnegie Mellon and University of Chicago that will affect rising seniors (Class of 2023)

The University of Chicago dropped an admissions requirement for students to submit either the SAT or ACT test scores becoming SAT/ACT optional. James G. Nondorf, Dof admissions and vice president of enrollment and student advancement stated, “We want to remove any policy or program that we have that advantages one group over the other”.

Carnegie Mellon University eliminated so-called “demonstrated interest”. CMU prominently states, “The mission of Carnegie Mellon University includes the cultivation of a diverse community” It further states: “…Our undergraduate admission process is shifting to focus more on diversity and inclusion of all populations by reducing or eliminating advantages that have been inherent in certain aspects of the admission process. The goal is to provide a more equitable, level playing field where all segments of our applicant population have the same opportunity in the admission process. We’re eliminating demonstrated interest as a consideration in our admission paradigm. See Carnegie Mellon University’s Statement.

What does this mean for applicants?:

The college admissions landscape is changing.
Colleges admissions officers are considering diversity in admissions – they want a diverse incoming class
Top Colleges Enhance Efforts To Enroll Low-Income Students

What this really means is that top colleges are shifting more to a holistic admissions process, are becoming more inclusive and recognizing that each accepted student brings unique qualities to the university setting. The college admissions process is shifting more toward evaluating a student’s character (College Admissions: How will Character be Assessed) and what they can meaningfully contribute to university community. They are spending more time reviewing students under a microscope and appreciating the fact that some applicants are disadvantaged during the application process. As a result the admissions process to the Ivies and highly selective schools is becoming hrpercompetitive and and more non-formulaic!

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

Need a Successful College Admissions Advisor? Go with a Winner!

Go with the Winner Admissions Expert Dr Paul Lowe

June 4, 2018July 14, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Parents create spread sheets, talk with friends, read books, search websites, form groups to share tips and “sure-fire”methods, try to “chat” with admissions industry personnel, obtain letters of support from VIPs, take copious notes during college tours, and try to gather information from my workshops. For some parents, they discover, when it is too late, that what is really required to help their child with the hyper-competitive college admissions process is to work with an admissions expert with a successful track record.

U.S. parents are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of having a college admissions advisor. The data for that need is clear. For international families, securing expert advice is the standard. A recent study showed 26% of high-achieving students used a private college admissions consultant to assist them with their college admissions process. Additional research has indicated that many international students, who applied to Ivy League and top-tier colleges and who were accepted, hired admissions advisors. If you have joined the ranks of those parents who choose to utilize an admissions advisor to help your child with the college admissions process – Go with a winner!

A successful record in college admissions is not achieved by chance or luck. I treat the college admissions process as a competitive sport so that your child can win. As a successful college admissions advisor, I apply my special “coaching” skills to help my clients successfully achieve their college admissions goals – ACCEPTANCE LETTERS:

Leadership: The goal of great coaching is to guide, inspire and empower an athlete or team to achieve their full potential. A great coach, thus, should also be an exceptional leader. A leader has the ability to unify a group of players and make them committed to a single purpose.
Knowledge: A great coach should have in-depth knowledge of the sport they are coaching. This does not necessarily have to come from personal experience, but a coach needs to have an understanding of the fundamental skills to advanced tactics and strategies involved in an “admissions game”.
Motivation: As a coach, I convey passion to my “players”, to inspire them to get the most out of their performance. As a successful coach, I possess a positive attitude and enthusiasm for the admissions game and the “players” that in turn inspires them to excel.
Tough and firm: As a coach, I know when to be firm and tough. This means having the experience to identifying periods during the admissions process when students will under-perform and encouraging them to move forward in a positive manner. It means sticking to creating and communicating clear expectations, putting the student on an admissions plan and keeping them on task. It means being consistent and lots of follow up.
Flexibility/Adjustable: I adjust our admissions strategies to the personality and behavior of the individual student and the timeline of the admissions process. I am cognizant of the fact that students will make mistakes, sometimes repeatedly and adjust our strategies accordingly to achieve admissions success.
Understanding & Knowing: A key to successful admissions advising is being aware of the individual differences in your students. There are some coaching tactics that work better on different personality types so it is important to tailor communication and motivation based on specific players’ personalities. To achieve this, I pay special attention to a student’s emotions, strengths and weaknesses throughout the admissions process.
Effective communication skills: Needless to say, a great coach will possess exceptional communication skills. An effective coach is able to set defined goals, express these goals and ideas clearly to students, give direct feedback, reinforce key messages and acknowledge success. Listening is also a part of effective communication, so as an admissions advisor I have to be a compassionate listener who welcomes student and parent, comments questions and feedback.

The personal college admissions game is not a game of chance. It is a competition that you can win with the right advice. Seek out the right admissions advisor. It is the best way to help your child WIN in this real-life competition.

Blog: College Admissions is a Competitive Sport – How to Win Your Personal Admissions Game!.

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

Top Boarding Schools that offer the Best Soccer Programs

April 16, 2018April 16, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Many U.S. as well as international middle school and high school students are actively involved and compete in soccer as an interscholastic sport. As a result, many parents seek boarding schools that support soccer. By visiting schools and conducting our research we are able to determine which top school or schools best match our client objectives. (See: Why Dr. Lowe Visits Private Schools?.

Here is a list of top U.S. boarding schools offering soccer as an interscholastic sport:

Blair Academy – Blairstown, NJ
Canterbury School – New Milford, CT
Cate School – Carpinteria, CA
Choate Rosemary Hall – Wallingford, CT
Deerfield Academy – Deerfield, MA
Groton School – Groton, MA
The Gunnery – Washington, CT
The Hotchkiss School – Lakeville, CT
Kent School – Kent, CT
Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, CT
Loomis Chaffee – Winsor, CT
Middlesex School – Concord, MA
Milton Academy – Milton, MA
Northfield Mount Hermon – Mount Hermon, MA
Peddie School – Hightstown, NJ
Phillips Academy Andover – Andover, MA
Phillips Exeter Academy – Exeter, NH
St. Paul’s School – Concord, NH
Taft School – Watertown, CT
Thacher School – Ojai, CA

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

Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director and lead admissions expert at Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group’s Private School Admissions Advisors. Dr. Lowe specializes in providing exclusive concierge-type admissions advisory services for U.S. and international students who are interested in applying to top U.S. boarding and day schools. Dr. Lowe helps U.S. and international students gain admissions into top U.S. private schools even after they have been wait-listed and rejected. Dr. Lowe and his team of admissions advisors also visit prestigious and elite private schools, where they have the unique opportunity of interacting one-on-one with heads of schools, directors of admissions and senior admissions personnel. Dr. Lowe provides parents with the knowledge they need to decide where there children should attend and the admissions strategies they need to be admitted into their top-choice school.

The Changing Landscape of College Admissions

December 9, 2017December 15, 2017 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

For years, elite colleges have tried to address a proportional decline of students arriving from areas beyond metropolitan and suburban areas. These colleges have been implementing additional measures to address diversity issues on college campuses. Increasingly, private elite colleges are seeking small-town and rural students.

One thing has not changed with regard to college admissions and diversity. Recent studies by the National Center for Education Statistics have shown that even with Affirmative Action policies, Black and Latino students are more underrepresented at these colleges and the percentages of students in these schools have remained flat over the last 35 years. The only increase in percentage of students by race are Asian students.

Research studies have shown admissions biases against rural students with financial needs; and found that leadership roles popular in rural communities, such as 4H clubs, Future Farmers of America and ROTC worked against the students who claimed them on applications. As a result of the decrease in students from low-income and working-class white families from rural areas, colleges are now increasing their admissions effort to recruit these students.

What are some of the elite and selective colleges doing to address these issues? Swarthmore has a created a program called Small Town Swarthmore. Princeton has increased their recruitment efforts through transfer programs from community colleges to help students from rural backgrounds.

Colleges want U.S. geographical diversity, not just students predominantly from metropolitan and suburban areas. As schools implement their plans to increase diversity in their incoming classes based on small town and rural students (as well as Black, Latino and Indigenous students), expect to see a change in demographics on elite college campuses that properly reflects the true diversity throughout the U.S. population.

Dr. Paul Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network. He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliate, Ivy League Admissions Advisors help students gain admissions to Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities. Through his admissions affiliate: College Application Rejected, he specializes in helping students who have been rejected, deferred or waitlisted.

Top Boarding Schools with Fencing Programs

December 4, 2017December 4, 2017 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Many U.S. as well as international middle school and high school students are actively involved and compete in fencing as an interscholastic sport. As result, many parents seek boarding schools that support the fencing-athlete.

Here is a list of top boarding schools with fencing programs.

Phillips Academy Andover
Phillips Exeter Academy
Lawrenceville School
Hun School of Princeton
Dana Hall School

Top Boarding Schools with Equestrian Programs

November 27, 2017December 1, 2017 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Many U.S. as well as international middle school and high school students are actively involved and compete in equestrian as an interscholastic sport. As a result, many parents seek boarding schools that support the equestrian-athlete.

Here is a list of top U.S. boarding schools with equestrian programs:

Taft School
Loomis Chaffee
Kent School
Canterbury School
Dana Hall School
The Ethel Walker School
The Thacher School

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director and lead admissions expert at Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group’s Private School Admissions Advisors. Dr. Lowe specializes in providing exclusive concierge-type admissions advisory services for U.S. and international families and students who are interested in applying to top U.S. boarding and day schools. Dr. Lowe also helps U.S. and international students gain admissions into their top choice private schools after they have been wait-listed and rejected.

What College Athletic Coaches Are Looking For When Recruiting (Part 3)

October 28, 2017 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Coach Ability: Coaches want someone who wants to be coached. They don’t want someone who questions what they do and insists on doing something else. A coach has a program in which they have developed an elite team; they want someone willing to fit into that mix.
The WOW Factor: What’s your personal athletic “wow factor” that makes you stand out and get recruited. What do I view as a your “wow factor”? Your charisma, confidence, motivation, initial-impression, appearance, communication skills, attitude, self-esteem, authenticity, presence, harmony and vibe. What personal characteristic is truly unique, captivating and exciting about you? And how will you contribute and or passively transfer these characteristics to teammates, to your class and to professors. It’s a factor that coaches look for as well as discuss with the admissions committee as to the reason why they want you at their school on and off the team.

See Part 1 – Points: 1-3 and Part 2 – Points: 4-6.

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