The Edge in Admissions: Authenticity

Cycle after cycle, the college admissions process can feel overwhelming and often intimidating. With stories of seemingly incredible students getting denied from their top choice university, it can often leave students baffled as to what the secret sauce is. If so and so couldn’t get in, how could I? The sheer number of factors involved in a final admission decision are outstanding. The student, the college, the major, the essays, the activity list, the year they applied, the institutional priority of the college, etc. The list goes on. Still, many forget to contextualize the conversation when a story comes up about a denial. For the sake of this discussion, it is important to frame the selectivity of colleges in general. There are over 2,000 colleges and universities in the United States alone. Of those, less than 200 have an acceptance rate of 20% or less. Most colleges are accepting a wide range of their applicant pool and well over 60% of their applicants. So why does it still feel so difficult?

If you are approaching this process from a standpoint of hearsay - you’ll start it with sheer confusion. If you approach it with strategy and authenticity - you’re golden.