It’s Getting Tougher to Get into BS/MD Programs

April 20, 2018June 22, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Is it getting tougher to get into BS/MD programs? Absolutely!

I’ve read on several websites that have stated “no”, “it’s not significantly different from prior years”, or “it’s easier to get into these programs”. Rather than assuming this or just writing a book about BS/MD programs we actually visit these programs. After our extensive research, review and visits, we have concluded it’s getting harder!

Why? Here are a couple of reasons: (1) More students are applying as a result of the Common App and easier access to apply. (2) It’s getting tougher to get into medical school so more students are attempting to enter the medical field through the BS/MD route, a trickle down effect. (3) More students sound exactly alike, so it’s so much easier for applicants to be rejected in bulk!

Since more students are applying and the number of spots remains unchanged, the rejection rates are higher. They range from 92% to 98%. We are even hearing about “perfect” applicants being rejected. The typical “perfect” applicant: High GPA, at least 10 AP courses, high SATs, musical, artistic and/or athletic extracurricular activities, research/clinical internships, shadowing doctors, helping the poor or starting an not-for-profit organization to help the poor.

Why are so many “perfect” applicants being rejected? It’s because they sound perfectly the same (contrived) on paper! Their parents are under the impression that their children are superstars. The fact is that they are all simply baseline in the BS/MD application process. Their applications lack color, rhythm, Wow-Factor, and personalized configuration.

Our offices usually receive calls or emails from parents who want their children to attend BS/MD programs. After they describe their children’s’ resumes, predictably naming all their achievements, they “sound” like perfect candidates. After we explain to them our fees, many never follow through (which actually places our clients at an advantage). When we do follow up a year later, we discover that these perfect candidates are not only rejected from BS/MD programs, but also Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities. Our clients happily have the choice of whether to attend a BS/MD program or Ivy League and highly selective universities.

“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.

BS/MD Application Boot Camp 2018

April 12, 2018April 16, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Pinnacle Educational Center/Admissions Advisors Group (PECAAG) announces the launch of its 2018 BS/MD Application Boot Camp (BSMDABC). This is the 4th anniversary of BSMDABC. The 2-day comprehensive, intensive and informative application boot camps, held during the summer, are specifically for high school rising seniors (current juniors) who have decided to apply to BS/MD Programs. (see Dr. Lowe’s blog: Top Advantages of Being Accepted To BS/MD Programs)

The camp is also specifically for international students who are seeking admissions to BS/MD programs. It is more difficult for an international student to be admitted to BS/MD programs than a US resident. See Dr. Lowe’s blog: (BS/MD Programs That Accept International Students) Camp activities include: Application (including essay) brainstorming, review, editing during the camp, followed by an application consultation prior to submission of application. The fee is $8,500.

There are 120 BS/MD programs in the U.S. and each year thousands of applicants apply to limited slots. Many of these programs have only 15 to 40 slots with over 500 applicants. The camp is beneficial to students who need a last-minute boost of their BS/MD Applications and students who wish to avoid inevitable mistakes on their applications that will definitely cause rejections.

“An overwhelming number of applicants to these programs come from the same socio-economic demographic and sound exactly the same on paper (high GPAs, high SATs, musical, artistic and/or athletic extracurricular activities, research/clinical internships, shadowing doctors, helping the poor or starting an organization to help the poor). The problem is that they all sound exactly the same“, said Dr. Paul R. Lowe, Pinnacle’s CEO and president and the camp’s director. “Our camp adds pizzazz, flavor and harmony to our attendees’ applications and student profiles to spotlight their accomplishments so that they stand out.”

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

Top U.S. Engineering Universities

April 9, 2018September 6, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Over the last 2 months, my A-Team and I visited colleges with top engineering (undergraduate) programs. We were not disappointed! The quality of research in these colleges are excellent. Beyond research opportunities for students, the schools had extensive research funding and facilities and attracted professors that are at the top of their field. They also have curricula that included co-op/internships, externships and interdisciplinary programs.

These top schools have impressive job placement statistics. The schools reported job placement rates of students upon graduation (which means students have jobs before they graduate), within six months of graduation or within one year of graduation. The acceptance rate of undergraduates who applied to top Masters and PhD in engineering is significantly higher than the national average and is between 85% and 92%.

Here is a list of top U.S. Engineering Universities:

Brown University
California Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Duke University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northwestern University
Princeton University
Purdue University
Rensselaer Polytechnic University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Stanford University
University of California Berkeley
University of Michigan

“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 camp: Ivy League Application Boot Camp.

It’s Getting Tougher To Transfer To Top Colleges!

April 3, 2018April 3, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

It’s the aftermath of the 2018 college admission season. We are now aware of the Ivy League and highly selective college rejection rates. The Ivy League colleges had a record number of applications and rejection percentages. The rejection rates ranged from Cornell’s 89.7% to Harvard’s 95.4%.

Because so many “perfect” students were rejected, this will cause a trickle-down effect to second-tier and third tier schools. In my firm, we are discovering that many families who are devastated by their children’s rejections are calling us regarding transfer. Here is what students and their parents NEED to know:

Transferring to the Ivies and elite colleges will be more difficult this year. We have discovered, through our current research, that many students who were accepted are already committing to attend these schools. Parents and students are aware of the value of an Ivy League degree.
There are fewer spots available for transfer students. Therefore, it’s even more competitive to transfer!
Transfer applications are not viewed in the same way as regular applications to freshman classes.
You may replicate the same mistakes that were on your Common Application.
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 school which they will be attending in the fall. Why would a school that accepted a student assist the student to transfer?
The college transfer admissions process starts now!

As many concerned parents call us, stunned by the rejection decisions received by their children, we strongly advise parents that they need an experienced educational advisor to review their children’s Common Application because: something wasn’t right. Now is the time to plan summer activities and create a “revised” game plan and positive momentum for their upcoming college freshman year to transfer. See blog: College Transfer Admissions Tips.

It’s important that parents understand that transfer (especially to the Ivies) is even more competitive and involves even more diplomacy than traditional college admissions!

This year, all of our college transfer clients were accepted to their top choice colleges including Harvard, Yale and Columbia and Cornell and UPenn. We are very proud of our success and extremely happy for these students and their parents!

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

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.

It’s Getting Tougher To Get Into the Ivies

March 30, 2018April 22, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

On Wednesday, March 28th, the Ivies notified high school seniors of their admissions decisions. Thousands of students were disappointed.

Here is a list of the acceptance rates, number of students admitted, total number of applicants and rejection rates:

Brown: 7.2%; admitted 2,566 of 35,438 Rejection: 92.8%
Columbia: 5.5%; admitted 2,214 of 40,203 Rejection: 94.5%
Cornell: 10.3%; admitted 5,288 out of 51,328 Rejection: 89.7%
Dartmouth: 8.7%; admitted 1,925 of 22,033 Rejection: 91.3%
Harvard: 4.6%; admitted 1,962 of 42,749 Rejection: 95.4%
Penn: 8.4%; admitted 3,731 of 44,491 Rejection: 91.6%
Princeton: 5.5%; admitted 1,941 of 35,370 Rejection: 94.5%
Yale: 6.3%; admitted 2,229 of 35,306 Rejection: 93.7%

Many of the applicants “looked” perfect on paper. Princeton reported that more than 14,200 of the 35,370 applicants had a 4.0 grade point average. Brown reported that 96% of its admitted students are in the top 10% of their high school classes, while at Dartmouth that rate hit 97%.

So why were so many qualified and paper perfect applicants rejected? They sounded unique just like all the other applicants who were rejected – High SAT’s, high GPA, top class rank, outstanding volunteer, skilled musician and/or athlete, leader in extracirricular activities, “amazing” letters of recommendations, perceived “unique” application essays and the “perfect” connections.

In my firm, I emphasize your “Personal WOW-Factor“, your character and being different (based on your personal characteristics, accomplishments and achievements). I spend countless hours with my team analyzing how to spotlight my client. This arduous process works because, this year, 98% of our clients who applied to the Ivies were accepted. My associates and I must be doing something right!

“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 camp: Ivy League Application Boot Camp.

Disappointed That You’ve Been Rejected From Your Top Choice Colleges? Find Out What Your Next Step Should Be!

March 28, 2018April 16, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Based on my over 20 years experience as a college admissions advisor and admissions strategist, I thought I would share some advice with students who have been receiving disappointing decision results.

Admissions committees give careful, individual attention to each applicant. They review each applicant with a magnifying glass and compare each applicant to other qualified applicants. They accept applicants who will inspire those around them during their college years and beyond.

My firm’s strategies involve widening the lens through which our applicant-clients are viewed, recognizing and valuing the different dimensions that shape each student. We understand, in real-time, how an admissions committee at a particular college may view each dimension separately and collectively in comparison to other students during the selection process by visiting schools and talking with admissions officers. As an alternative to settling for a rejection decision (which most students do) to a student’s first choice school, I posit this possible solution:

The student may consider reapplying as a transfer student. It is not too early for a high school senior to consider this. I call it our Admissions Second Chance Program. I review and investigate what went wrong, because, in all cases of rejection decisions, something wasn’t right! Usually I find innumerable mistakes or homogeneity on the Common Application and/or school-specific supplemental essays. Many times I have discovered that no matter how “amazing” the student sounds on paper (top grades, high GPA and SATs, volunteerism, extracurricular activities, recommendations, ESE (Expensive Summer Experiences), to me, they were unconvincing to the admissions committee at a specific school for many reasons. In these cases, we make recommendations to improve the student’s profile and properly connect the dots within their application and beyond. In unique cases, we have been retained by clients who were initially rejected and after our review and intervention the student’s application was reconsidered and ultimately accepted for admission.

By visiting the Ivies and highly selective schools, understanding the dynamic changes and nuances in individual colleges, and knowing what to do to make a student stand out amongst other applicants, my team and I gain an insightful perspective of each school and develop strategies to help our clients get accepted.

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

Ivy League Application Boot Camp 2018

March 20, 2018March 22, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Pinnacle Educational Center/Admissions Advisors Group (PECAAG) announces the launch of its 2018 Ivy League Application Boot Camp. The 2-day comprehensive, intensive and informative application boot camps, held during the summer, are specifically for high school rising seniors (current juniors) who have decided to apply to Ivy League colleges and universities. (see Dr. Lowe’s blog: Why Your Child Should Apply to Ivy League College or University?)

The camp is also for current college students who are interested in transferring and current high school seniors who were rejected the first time around and interested in reapplying to the Ivies. Camp activities include: Application (including essay) brainstorming, review, editing during the camp, followed by an application consultation prior to submission of application. The fee is $8,500.

The rejection rate for Ivy League schools is as high as 95%. On average 35,000 applicants apply to each school. That means that on average 25,000 to 33,000 students are REJECTED each year from each school. “Schools like Harvard Yale and Princeton could pick everyone with 4.0s, perfect SAT scores (and top violinist and pianist) and they could fill an entire class 10 times over,” said camp coordinator, Dr. Diana Alexandrova, the camp’s coordinator and Pinnacle’s International Student Advisory’s managing director. “Our camp is also beneficial to international students who attend U.S. boarding schools or schools in their respective countries who want a competitive edge in the Ivy League application process.”

“The numbers are staggering and speak to the value and worth of an Ivy League degree” said Dr. Paul R. Lowe, Pinnacle’s CEO and president and the camp’s director. “It is enjoyable to help students in this way. Our camp attendees benefit from our discovery of mistakes they could have made on their applications.”

Regular Decision Notification Dates: 2018

March 8, 2018March 11, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

It’s March 8, 2018! That means that within 20 days high school seniors will begin to discover, after all their hard work, where they will be accepted, wait-listed or rejected

Based on our research and discussions with directors of admissions, many colleges regular admission decisions ready by March 31 or April 1.

Here are regular decision notification dates (and approximate times) for Ivy League and highly selective colleges and universities:

Barnard College: Late March
Brown University: March 28, 2018
Cal Tech: Mid March – TBA
Carnegie Mellon University: Mid April
Columbia University: March 28, 2018
Cornell University: March 29, 2018
Dartmouth University: March 28, 2018
Duke University: April 1, 2018
Georgetown University: April 1, 2018
Georgia Institute of Technology: March 10, 2018
Hamilton College: Late March
Harvard University: March 28, 2018
Johns Hopkins University: March 16, 2018
Lehigh University: Late March
MIT: March 14, 2018 (Pi Day)
Northwestern University: Late March
Purdue University: (Jan 15 – March 15, 2018
Princeton University: March 28, 2018
Stanford University: April 1, 2018
Swarthmore College: April 1, 2018
Tufts University: April 1, 2018
University of Chicago: Late March
University of Michigan: Late March
University of Notre Dame: Late March
University of Pennsylvania: March 28, 2018
University of Virginia: Late March
Vanderbilt University: April 1, 2018
Vassar College: Late March
Villanova University: Late March
Wesleyan University: Late March
Yale University: March 28, 2018

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

Top Colleges Enhance Efforts To Enroll Low-Income Students

March 7, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

As the cost of college continues to rise, college enrollment is becoming out of reach for low-income students. According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2017–2018 school year was $34,740 at private colleges, $9,970 for state residents at public colleges, and $25,620 for out-of-state residents attending public universities.

Launched in December 2016, the American Talent Initiative (ATI), funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, was founded with a national goal of educating 50,000 additional high-achieving, lower-income students at the 270 colleges and universities with the highest graduation rates by 2025.

Based on the most recent federal data available, there are approximately 430,000 lower-income students enrolled at these 270 institutions. ATI aims to increase and sustain the total number of lower-income students attending these top-performing colleges to about 480,000 by 2025. To reach this ambitious goal, ATI will work to support its members’ work while adding more top-performing colleges to its membership in the coming months and years.

ATI now has 97 member colleges that are taking the steps toward socio-economic diversity in colleges. Each ATI member institution has started to enhance its own efforts to recruit, enroll, and support lower-income students, learn from each other, and contribute to research that will help other colleges and universities effectively serve lower-income students

Educators, college administrators and legislature recognize that America’s top-performing colleges have an important role to play in this effort. Research shows that when high-achieving, lower-income students attend high-performing institutions, they graduate at higher rates, and have a greater chance of attaining leadership positions and other opportunities throughout their lives. Yet in each graduating high school class, there are at least 12,500 lower-income young people with outstanding academic credentials who do not enroll at institutions where they have the greatest likelihood of graduating…

ATI currently represents many of the country’s most elite colleges and universities. To date, all the Ivy League schools are ATI members. Here is a direct effect of ATI: After 28 years without transfer students, Princeton University will begin accepting students from community colleges in fall 2018.

2018 Hardest Colleges To Get Into In America

February 2, 2018April 16, 2018 ~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

College admissions decisions will be released in late March through early April. Many top high schools seniors will be disappointed when they check their emails to discover that they will be rejected from the Ivies and highly-selective colleges. Even with having a high GPA, top SAT scores, high grades and a “manufactured” application and personal statement will be rejected from these schools. 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.

Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on educational institutions released its latest list of the hardest colleges to get into in America. The hardest colleges ranking is based on acceptance (rejection) rates and SAT/ACT test scores using data from the U.S. Department of Education. The rejection rates of these colleges range from 85% to 95%.

Here is a list of the top 25:

Harvard University: 95%
Stanford University: 95%
Yale University: 94%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 92%
California Institute of Technology: 92%
Princeton University: 93%
University of Chicago: 92%
Columbia University: 93%
Vanderbilt University: 89%
Brown University: 91%
University of Pennsylvania: 91%
Duke University: 88%
Dartmouth College: 88%
Harvey Mudd College: 87%
Pomona College: 91%
Northwestern University: 88%
Rice University: 89%
Johns Hopkins University: 87%
Swarthmore College: 87%
Claremont McKenna College
Washington University in St. Louis: 83%
Cornell University: 87%
Amherst College: 86%
Bowdoin College: 85%
Tufts University: 86%

Ivy League and highly selective colleges use holistic, committee-based and team-based approaches and review processes when evaluating applicants for admission. That means admission to these colleges is not based on a simple formula of grades and test scores. Instead, these colleges consider a variety of factors including but not limited to: the student’s academic record, extracurricular interests, intellectual achievements, character, emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence and personal background to decide who will be rejected or accepted.

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. He 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.