1. Getting into Highly Selective Colleges
Presented by;
Teri Thompson
Thompson College Consulting

2. Highly Selective Colleges

3. Stanford University 2008 Applications 25,299 Admitted 2400
Acceptance Rate
9.4%

4. Stanford University 2008 2016 Applications 25,299 43,997 Admitted
2,400
2,063
Acceptance Rate
9.4%
4.69%

5. Stanford University 2008 2016 Applications 25,299 43,997 Admitted 2400
2063
Acceptance Rate
9.4%
4.69%
Of these 2063
215 Legacy - parent(s)
275 Athletes
200 International
100 Special Admits
Preference for Students of Color – 50% in recent years

6. Harvard University

7. What are Highly Selective Colleges Looking For?
Passion
Intellectual Vitality
Creativity
Leadership
Diversity
Institutional Priorities

8. Admissions Committee

9. Admit
Waitlist
Deny

10. How Do Admissions Committee’s Decide?
They use a rubric.
Each school has different criteria, but most are something like this:
GPA/Course Rigor

11. How do Admissions Committees Decide?
They use a rubric
For example:
GPA/Course Rigor
Strength of School

12. How do Admissions Committees Decide?
They use a rubric
For example:
GPA/Course Rigor
Strength of School
Standardized Test Scores

13. How do Admissions Committees Decide?
They use a rubric
For example:
GPA/Course Rigor
Strength of School
Standardized Test Scores
Extra-curricular Activities

14. How do Admissions Committees Decide?
They use a rubric
For example:
GPA/Course Rigor
Strength of School
Standardized Test Scores
Extra-curricular Activities
Essays

15. How do Admissions Committees Decide?
They use a rubric
For example:
GPA/Course Rigor
Strength of School
Standardized Test Scores
Extra-curricular Activities
Essays
Demonstrated Interest

16. How do Admissions Committees Decide?
They use a rubric
For example:
GPA/Course Rigor
Strength of School
Standardized Test Scores
Extra-curricular Activities
Essays
Demonstrated Interest
Teacher/Counselor Recommendations

17. GPA and Course Rigor: At Ingraham High School:
Full IB or IBX diploma – 3.8 – 4.0 GPA – strong rigor, Calculus and Physics or equivalent = 4
Full IB or IBX diploma – 3.8 – 4.0 GPA – no Calculus or Physics = 3
Full IB diploma – 3.5 – 3.7 GPA = 2
Mix of IB/AP/Honors classes – GPA 3.5+ = 2
GPA below 3.5 = 1

18. Strength of School
At a school like Ingraham, with a very rigorous curriculum and lots of high achieving kids, the expectation is that students will pursue the IB Diploma or take a mix of IB and AP courses.
At a small, rural school, the expectation will be different – maybe the school only offers a few AP courses. In that case the student would want to maximize their AP classes and find ways to do online or community college courses to show more rigor.

19. Standardized Test Scores:
A sample Ivy League 50% percentile for SAT test scores =
For both Reading and Math
Above 770 on both = 4
Above 770 on one, 660 – 770 on the other = 3
In the 50th percentile for both = 2
Below 50th percentile = 1

20. Extra-Curricular Activities:
This rubric is for an Ivy level school. Other schools will not expect to see national level activities:
National Recognition in something, it can be anything – such as applying for a patent, being an Olympic level athlete, having raised $200,000 for a charity.
Class President, team captain, Eagle Scout = 3
Lots of involvement but no strong leadership = 2
Minimal activities = 1

21. Extra-Curricular Activities:
This is what Stanford Associate Dean, Colleen Lim, had to say about 2016’s applicants.
“Throughout our evaluation process, we met amazing young people from around the world,” she added. “They showed highly developed ability for problem-solving and self- expression. Some brought exceptional creativity and talent, others demonstrated entrepreneurship and the vast majority of applicants were deeply engaged in service to others. We were moved by personal stories of courage, resilience and character. It was extremely difficult to choose so few from among so many impressive candidates.”

22. Essays:
This is where students can really stand out. This is the place to let your personality come through.
Essays will have rubrics within rubrics. They are looking for an interesting, well written essay that tells the admissions rep something about the student that isn’t in the application. This is where your passion can shine.
By the time you get to the essays, the rest of your application is pretty well set.
The admissions reps can use your essays to advocate for you in the committee

23. Demonstrated Interest:
At Ivy Level schools, this is best shown through your supplemental essays
Use your supplemental essays to show the admissions reps how you will fit into their school. Make them imagine you on their campus. Show them how you fit the school like a glove.
Do an interview if it is offered. Bring a copy of your resume.
If the rep visits your school, make sure you either attend the session or if you can’t make it, the rep to say you were unable to attend but that you are very interested in the school.
Visits may or may not count, it really depends on the school. The tippy top schools don’t even track visits.

24. Letters of Recommendation:
From teachers, counselor, coaches, etc.
A teacher rec that says this is “the best student I have had in 10 years”= 4
Great student, contributes a lot to class, strong insights into the student = 3
Excellent student, a pleasure to have in class, a few insights into the student = 2
Generic recommendation = 1

25. Scoring the rubric:
Full IB or IBX diploma – 3.8 – 4.0 GPA – strong rigor, Calculus and Physics or equivalent = 4

26. Scoring the rubric:
Full IB or IBX diploma – 3.8 – 4.0 GPA – strong rigor, Calculus and Physics or equivalent = 4
Above 770 on both = 4

27. Scoring the rubric:
Full IB or IBX diploma – 3.8 – 4.0 GPA – strong rigor, Calculus and Physics or equivalent = 4
Above 770 on both = 4
Class President, team captain, Eagle Scout = 3

28. Scoring the rubric:
Full IB or IBX diploma – 3.8 – 4.0 GPA – strong rigor, Calculus and Physics or equivalent = 4
Above 770 on both = 4
Class President, team captain, Eagle Scout = 3
Essays – well written, but not particularly interesting or insightful = 2

29. Scoring the rubric:
Full IB or IBX diploma – 3.8 – 4.0 GPA – strong rigor, Calculus and Physics or equivalent = 4
Above 770 on both = 4
Class President, team captain, Eagle Scout = 3
Essays – well written, but not particularly interesting or insightful = 2
Demonstrated Interest – did not interview or show depth of knowledge about the school in the essays = 1

30. Scoring the rubric:
Full IB or IBX diploma – 3.8 – 4.0 GPA – strong rigor, Calculus and Physics or equivalent = 4
Above 770 on both = 4
Class President, team captain, Eagle Scout = 3
Essays – well written, but not particularly interesting or insightful = 2
Demonstrated Interest – did not interview or show depth of knowledge about the school in the essays = 1
Letters of Recommendation - Excellent student, a pleasure to have in class, a few insights into the student = 2

31. Scoring the rubric: Total Score = 16 out of a possible 24
Full IB or IBX diploma – 3.8 – 4.0 GPA – strong rigor, Calculus and Physics or equivalent = 4
Above 770 on both = 4
Class President, team captain, Eagle Scout = 3
Essays – well written, but not particularly interesting or insightful = 2
Demonstrated Interest – did not interview or show depth of knowledge about the school in the essays = 1
Letters of Recommendation - Excellent student, a pleasure to have in class, a few insights into the student = 2
Total Score = 16 out of a possible 24

32. 16 out of 24
Deny
Even though he had 4.0 and perfect SAT scores

33. Black Lives Matter
Essay - #Black Lives Matter, repeated over and over again
#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter
#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter
Accepted to Stanford?

34. Black Lives Matter
Essay - #Black Lives Matter, repeated over and over again
#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter
#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter#BlackLivesMatter
Accepted to Stanford? YES!

35. Black Lives Matter
Essay - #Black Lives Matter, repeated over and over again
Accepted to Stanford – True
The rest of the story….
This was just one of several essays in the Stanford application

36. Black Lives Matter
Essay - #Black Lives Matter, repeated over and over again
Accepted to Stanford – True
The rest of the story….
This was just one of several essays in the Stanford application
Grades, rigor and test scores

37. Black Lives Matter
Essay - #Black Lives Matter, repeated over and over again
Accepted to Stanford – True
The rest of the story….
This was just one of several essays in the Stanford application
Grades, rigor and test scores
Founded a non-profit and a company

38. Black Lives Matter
Essay - #Black Lives Matter, repeated over and over again
Accepted to Stanford – True
The rest of the story….
This was just one of several essays in the Stanford application
Grades, rigor and test scores
Founded a non-profit and a company
Significant volunteer commitment

39. Black Lives Matter
Essay - #Black Lives Matter, repeated over and over again
Accepted to Stanford – True
The rest of the story….
This was just one of several essays in the Stanford application
Grades, rigor and test scores
Founded a non-profit and a company
Significant volunteer commitment
Social media with thousands of followers internationally

40. Black Lives Matter
Essay - #Black Lives Matter, repeated over and over again
Accepted to Stanford – True
The rest of the story….
This was just one of several essays in the Stanford application
Grades, rigor and test scores
Founded a non-profit and a company
Significant volunteer commitment
Social media with thousands of followers internationally
Interned in Congress and the State Department while in high school

41. Black Lives Matter
Essay - #Black Lives Matter, repeated over and over again
Accepted to Stanford – True
The rest of the story….
This was just one of several essays in the Stanford application
Grades, rigor and test scores
Founded a non-profit and a company
Significant volunteer commitment
Social media with thousands of followers internationally
Interned in Congress and the State Department while in high school
Invited to dinner with then President Obama

42. Who Does Get Accepted? #Black Lives Matter kid - Stanford
Eagle Scout who Interned with a Congressional Candidate and was selected for a highly-competitive Summer Internship – Pomona and Georgetown
Soccer player who did an incredible amount of volunteer work – University of Pennsylvania
Theater Tech and Competitive Irish Dance - Harvard
Class President who organized a Regional Latin competition and competed nationally – Yale
Robotics team member who played jazz saxophone - Princeton

43. Early Decision and Early Action
Depending on the school applying early can help.
School Early Decision Regular Decision
Brown Univ % 8%
Carleton Coll % 19%
Cornell University % 12%
Northwestern Univ % %
Swarthmore Coll % 11%
Univ. of Penn % 7%

44. The Good News!!!!
Even if you don’t get accepted to an Ivy level school, you will have an excellent chance to get accepted to any number of other great schools – maybe with a nice scholarship!

45. Questions? Presented by; Teri Thompson Thompson College Consulting