College Counseling for 9th – 11th Graders
For families who first come to us when their children are in ninth, tenth, or eleventh grade, the path forward is as follows:
Step 1 15-Minute Consultation
Ivy Coach offers a complimentary 15-minute consultation to parents and students via phone (or Zoom audio for international families) to learn about our college counseling services
Students are not required to join the preliminary call. This consultation is about how Ivy Coach can help navigate the highly selective college admissions process.
Step 2 Strategy Session
During the one-hour Strategy Session with a former elite college admissions officer, which is chock full of insights that can optimize your child’s case for admission whether we work together beyond the session or not, we:
Extracurricular Hook
With our former elite college admissions officer, we’ll brainstorm a compelling, wonderfully weird extracurricular hook so your child presents as singularly talented rather than well-rounded in their activities. Our nation’s top colleges don’t want students who excel in squash, piano, dance, and debate. They want students who will change the world in one super specific, often small way. We’ll help figure out what that hook can be and how it can best be demonstrated.
Coursework Fixes/Roadmap
Create a roadmap for your child’s coursework within — and beyond — their current curriculum. Just because they attend a top high school doesn’t mean that they can’t take courses outside of their school and stand out from their classmates. Sorry, but taking BC Calculus as a senior doesn’t cut it when other students are taking Multivariable Calculus, Differential Equations, and Linear Algebra!
Testing Plan
Identify which exams to take and when to take them. Test-optional? That’s cute. Students with great test scores will always have an advantage over students with no test scores. But it’s not just about the SAT or ACT. There are likely tests that your child isn’t planning on taking that they should be taking if they want to wow admissions officers at top colleges. We’ll help them figure that out.
College Selection
Discuss how to properly demonstrate interest to top schools. America’s elite colleges want to be loved — and for the right reasons. We’ll help them understand how to demonstrate effective and appropriate love to each institution to which they’re applying. We’ll also help them identify which colleges should be in their sights — and which should not.
Step 3 Ivy Coach’s College Admissions Packages
Ivy Coach’s packages, which are based on the number of colleges families work with us on through the admissions process, include the following college admissions assistance and key deliverables:
College Admissions Guidance Through High School
Beyond ensuring that our students are in all the right courses, taking all the correct tests, pursuing the wonderfully weird extracurricular activities we explicitly recommend, and effectively demonstrating interest in the colleges to which they’ll ultimately apply, we’re here as needed for questions and hand-holding along the way. While all check-ins must be scheduled, we can always set up check-ins within a day or two of a request and write back to an email within a day or so.
Guidance with Extracurricular Pursuits
We don’t leave it to students and parents to come up with activities that showcase a wonderfully weird hook that will inspire admissions officers to root for them. We send them the activities we want them to get involved in from the start of high school. But, no, we don’t reach out to contacts at these activities on our students’ behalf. We work exclusively behind the scenes — and if a college counselor suggests they do otherwise, run!
Brainstorming and Revising College Essays
Do you think there’s one college essay, the Personal Statement? That’s cute. There are tons of college essays, and they’re all equally as important. Most highly selective universities have their own supplemental essays, many of which must be uniquely tailored to the respective institution to demonstrate a student’s commitment to attending. We brainstorm and revise every paragraph of every essay, with each essay serving as a critical puzzle piece in a student’s admissions file.
Brainstorming and Revising Material for Recommendations
We don’t leave it to teachers and school counselors to write powerful letters of recommendation for our students. In our experience, when left on their own, school counselors and teachers write generic letters of recommendation. As such, we help our students prepare anecdotes that they then share with their counselors and teachers. While our students will never be privy to what these recommenders write, in our experience, counselors and teachers overwhelmingly want to help their students. So they’ll so often use what they’re given.
Assistance with Non-Essay Portions of Applications
There are landmines throughout each college application. Including a social security number implies the student will apply for financial aid. Not listing significant points of contact undercuts a student’s efforts to demonstrate interest in the college to which they’re applying. We make sure that our students don’t make such mistakes.
Interview Prep
While the alumni interview has become one of the least important components of the elite college admissions process, we prepare students to stand out, impress, and showcase their singular hook.
TOWARD THE CONQUEST OF ADMISSION
If you’re interested in Ivy Coach’s college counseling, fill out our complimentary consultation form and we’ll be in touch.
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