Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education US College Rankings 2019

September 6, 2018September 19, 2020 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education Ranking 2019 was just released. Harvard is number one again. Of the top ten schools, six are Ivy League universities. The only ones missing in the top ten are Dartmouth College and Cornell University. Brown University is the only newcomer to the list. With their rarefied, global social alumni networks, door-opening reputations, and superior academics, it isn’t surprising that the schools mentioned are all brand-name institutions.

The rankings emphasize how well a college will prepare students for life after graduation. The overall ranking is based on 15 factors across four areas: Outcomes, Resources, Engagement and Environment. Each school’s overall score is determined by student outcomes (including a measure of graduate salaries), the school’s academic resources, how well it engages students and from the diversity of the students and staff. The U.S. College ranking is also partly based on the results of the Times Higher Education US Student Survey, which gathered the views of about 200,000 current university students in 2017 and 2018 to find out about their engagement with their studies, their interaction with their teachers and their satisfaction with their experience.

My team and I personally visit top colleges three times annually to understand each of their ever changing and unique admissions policies as well as the campus environment. As a result, we garner insider-knowledge to help our clients achieve admissions success. (Why Dr. Paul Lowe Visits College Campuses). This ranking is very accurate!

THE TOP TEN: Schools that achieved the highest overall scores in the ranking:

1. Harvard

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

3. Yale University

4. Columbia University

5. California Institute of Technology

6. Stanford University

7. Brown University

8. Duke University

9. Princeton University

10 University of Pennsylvania

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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

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. Summer Camps: BS/MD Application Boot Camp and Ivy League Application Boot Camp.

Why Dr Paul Lowe Visits College Campuses

August 20, 2018August 28, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Year after year, my team and I spend at least 25 percent of our time visiting 100 or more colleges and universities throughout the US. As a result, we get to meet admissions personnel, administrators, faculty, college athletic coaches and directors, students and get to know what’s happening on campuses — real time.

During our visits, we also get a chance to talk with admissions officers and directors to see what’s really happening on campuses as it relates to admissions, enrollment, locally, internationally and geopolitically.

Dr_lowe_Van_Wickle_Gates_Brown_U — Dr. Lowe at Brown University

We see and experience the actual rather than the theoretical. Our knowledge of schools is not based on virtual tours, books, videos, general information found on the internet or secondary sources, but on these continual visits and knowledge-networks, professional relationships and connections that we have developed through our visits.

By visiting colleges, we understand their individual missions, philosophies, admissions policies and essentially what they are seeking in applicants for admissions. These visits provide me with knowledge beyond the scope of what parents are attempting to understand in the “admissions game”, and data that overwhelmed public school guidance counselors and even elite private school college counselors give to their students.

A campus visit allows me to personally experience the trip involved to get to the school, the people who are there, and the actual learning environment on campus. Seeing the dorms and dorm rooms, tasting the food, walking the campus—all these elements are critical to understanding if a client will actually be happy once he/she is a student there.

Our college visits keep us abreast of the constant changes in each college and provides us with insider-knowledge and understanding to develop individualized admissions strategies for clients.

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

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

BS/MD Programs Which Don’t Require the MCAT

August 5, 2018August 10, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

One of the main reasons students choose BS/MD programs is to avoid the dreaded and hyper-competitive application process to medical schools. And a part of that process is the MCAT exam. There are schools who require the MCAT and there are schools which don’t.

Here is a list of some BS/MD Programs which don’t require the MCATs:

Brown University PLME
Case Western Reserve University
Eastern Carolina University
Northwestern University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute/Albany Medical College
Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education
St. Bonaventure University/George Washington School of Medicine
Siena College/Albany Medical College
Texas Tech University
Union College/Albany Medical College
University of California – San Diego
University of Missouri Kansas City
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rochester
University of Sciences in Philadelphia/Commonwealth Medical College
University of Texas Dallas/University of Teas Southwestern
University of Toledo
Washington University

Many of our clients prefer these schools, however, I encourage them to consider BS/MD programs not just based on their MCAT requirement. As a result of our successful admissions strategies we know that, in the end, our client-parents can call their children “Dr” in their senior year of high school.

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

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. Many of Dr. Lowe’s BS/MD Admissions client are international students want to attend medical schools from high school and then entire U.S. medical residency sub-specialties. Summer Camps: BS/MD Application Boot Camp. Special program: BS/MD Application Tune-Up.

So You Think You Have What It Takes To Get Into An Ivy? Think Again!

July 25, 2018July 26, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

You are a rising senior, it’s July and you have the following student profile:

GPA: 4.4/4.0 weighted
AP courses: Multiple AP courses and 5’s on AP exams.
SAT I: 1590
SAT II: Math 2: 800 Chemistry: 800 Biology: 800
Athletics: Captain of the lacrosse team or co-Captain of the swim team.
Arts: First place in piano, violin and dance competitions since middle school.
Extracirrcular activities include: Expensive summer camps and helping the poor.
Awards & Achievements: Science, art , music and/or community service awards.
Leadership: Created a non-profit with it’s own website.
Innovation: Published a book or research paper or developed a startup or app.
Letters of recommendations: Assumed to be all excellent and glowing.
Guidance/college counselor LOR: excellent.
Extras: You believe that you or your parents have a “connection” to get in.
For BS/MD Program applicants: Shadowed doctors, volunteered in hospitals, completed medical research, attended mini-medical schools, earned EMT certification.

Assumption: You and your parents and your guidance counselor believe that you have all that it takes to get an acceptance letter from at least one of the Ivies and all of the highly competitive schools, additionally safety schools are a shoo-in……Not so!

Year after year, I hear the horror stories in December (Early Decision/Action) and in late March (Regular Decision) from parents (who were not our clients) who call us wanting to know what happened and why their wonderful kids were rejected.

These parents have not anticipated that college admissions officers can see through the hollow pretense of a packaged, perfect student. And that their children sound just like every other “perfect” applicant.

Ivy League and highly selective colleges do not need perfection from a single candidate. What they seek is a diverse, dynamic, harmonious and perfect entering class.

Well-meaning sources (other educational consultants, family and friends) tell you what you should be doing. In my practice, we help our clients discover what they are NOT and should NOT be doing!

And it’s what you are NOT DOING that makes you unique, standout and receive an acceptance letter not rejections!

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 U.S. Computer Science Colleges and Universities

Top Computer Science Colleges and Universities

July 17, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Many of our international student-applicants-clients are interested in computer science degrees. One of the main reasons is that computer science graduates do well in terms of getting full-time employment upon graduation. In 2015, a national survey found that computer science majors were 35% more likely to have full-time jobs one year after graduation than graduates overall and 22% more likely than STEM graduates overall. They also had the highest starting salaries of all majors, with an average of $66,161 and some exceeding $100,000.

Year after year, our Dr. Lowe and his A-team visit top U.S. colleges and universities and have the opportunity to visit top colleges and universities with computer science departments. Because of their rank as top universities they are, of course, highly competitive. Our clients are, of course, very happy when they receive acceptance letters from these schools.

Here is a list of top universities with top computer science departments:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stanford University
Harvard University
California Institute of Technology
Yale University
Rice University
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Pennsylvania
Vanderbilt University
Brown University
Columbia University
University of California – Berkeley
Dartmouth College
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Cornell University
University of Chicago
University of Michigan – Ann Harbor
University of California – Los Angeles
Washington University in St. Louis
Duke Univesity

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

2018 Summer Checklist for Rising Seniors

June 28, 2018June 29, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Summer started a week ago. For rising seniors, this should not really be a summer break. There is lots to during the college admissions process.

Here is a concise list of my recommendations:

Work, volunteer, attend programs—your choice. What you do matters less than how your activities fit into the bigger picture of who you are.
Continue to explore colleges and to fine-tune your college list.
Review the admissions requirements for each college on your list.
If you are applying to BS/MD programs, you should be planning to visit your target schools for a second time.
Consider seeking interviews at colleges that offer them.
Fill out the Common Application and begin drafting your main Common App essay.
Review your Common App short answer essays.
Decide whom you will ask for letters of recommendation.
Review your social media profile to ensure that it is admission-ready.
Make a list of fall deadlines and refer back to it often.

If you are applying to Ivy League and highly selective colleges be aware that “It’s Getting Tougher To Get Into the Ivies” and you need to develop a “Personal WOW-Factor” so that you can stand out amongst the thousands of other qualified and admissible applicants.

Just note as you are preparing for the last rung of your college admissions journey: 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.

“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

College Admissions is a Competitive Sport- – How To Win Your Personal Admissions Game!

June 1, 2018June 5, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Many parents, students, guidance counselors, and even my fellow educational consulting colleagues are under the belief that college admissions is an exercise in determining the “right fit” and that gaining acceptance into the Ivies and highly selective colleges is just a game of chance and luck. I disagree!

In participating in competitions these days, many students (K-12) are taught that everyone wins. With regard to the college admissions process, it is acceptable and recommended that students believe they will eventually like whichever college where they end up. That’s called SETTLING!

This statement may appear callous and insensitive. But it is a statement that addresses the harsh reality of the competitiveness of college admissions. The sooner one addresses this reality, the easier the college admissions process will seem. Indeed, this reality would seem less harsh if students were to stop treating the college admissions process as a structured maze to be followed to a definitive end or as a predetermined algorithm.

I approach college admissions as a non-formulaic, competitive sport. It’s about WINNING the ultimate trophy – acceptance into your top choice college. After all, students are not taking all those APs, attempting to get perfect SAT scores, requesting seemingly perfect letters of recommendation, and getting A’s to lose! By definition, you don’t play a competitive sport to lose!

Highly selective schools certainly have their choice of the cream-of-the-crop students as a result of all the applications they receive. Therefore, the real part of the competition is to understand and recognize how you can stand out and win, especially in applications to the Ivies.

Because college admissions is a competitive sport, we proceed accordingly with our advisory services and prepare our clients as competitive athletes – to win! We know that successful athletes must cultivate the positive qualities that are necessary to achieve victory-to win.

Persistence: Endure until the end. Persistence is simply the quality of always continuing to move forward and to continue regardless of perceived or real setbacks and challenges. We cultivate our clients’ positive aspirations by encouraging persistent determination.
Have a positive mindset: Being positive is an integral and intrinsic aspect of having the right winning mindset. We constantly help our clients maintain a positive mindset to win!
Self-Confidence: Really successful athletes are secure in their ability to play their best game. We believe that qualified students should project themselves as successful athletes with inner confidence through their body language in a positive manner, a sort of positive posture. We encourage our clients convey energy, enthusiasm and a positive attitude in communicating their achievements to key admissions officers and admissions committees.
Humility: Ego (parental and student) is one of the largest reasons why qualified applicants are rejected. I recall and Ivy League officer stating that when reading many students’ applications: “these students think they are all that”. If you practice humility, you will become an internally motivated person. You will seek to achieve and improve yourself not for external validation, but to satisfy your own desire to keep growing as an athlete and a person.
Practice, Practice, Practice: Practice deliberately with a purpose. Ultra-successful athletes reach their success by practicing with a deliberate purpose. They understand that in order to perform a skill at the highest level, they must practice it until they master it. Successful athletes waste no time getting right into their routine and practice with mindfulness. They don’t zone out or go through the motions. Instead, successful athletes focus on the mechanics, feel, vibe and repetition of developing new skills in order to become an elite athlete. We encourage and motivate our clients to constantly practice with a purpose.
Rhythm: Rhythm is defined as the expression of timing, and its practicality in sports is vast. Linear speed requires a well-timed sequence of (rhythmic) contralateral action. Any delays or errors in this timing can drastically limit velocity of movement. Rhythm plays a significant role in an athlete’s ability to successfully change direction fluidly and in time with extraneous factors such as teammates, opponents and apparatus (i.e. ball etc.). Rhythm is a singular characteristic within the broader scope of coordination. As a jazz harmonicist and banjoist (and physicist) who applies African Drumming, Blues, R&B, Calypso, Reggae, Funk, Hip Hop, Go-Go Swing, I naturally apply the use of rhythm to the competitive college admissions and application process. It helps our clients adapt in an improvisational, non-linear and harmonic way to the nuances and changes in their college admissions journey and ultimately gets them accepted into their top choice colleges.

As a successful college admissions advisor, I apply my special “athletic coaching” skills and “rhythmic” musical strategies to help my clients successfully achieve their college admissions goals: ACCEPTANCE LETTERS. 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 so that they become WINNERS and are accepted into their top-choice schools.

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