College Counseling Services for Transfers
Mid March – October
For families who first come to us when their children are seeking to earn admission as transfer applicants, 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 PostMortem
During the one-hour PostMortem with a former elite college admissions officer, which is chock full of insights on what’s wrong on on the student’s applications submitted as a senior in high school, we:
Dissect Applications
Offer feedback on each section of The Common Application and up to three individual college applications, including the essays. For students who have not yet prepared their transfer applications, we’ll go through their applications out of high school (in our experience, transfer applicants repeat many of the same mistakes). Your child will be demoralized for at least an hour after the session, realizing that many of the mistakes made were in their control. But a few hours later, they’ll feel empowered with a go-forward strategy.
Zero in on Extracurricular Hook
Brainstorm a compelling extracurricular hook so as to present as singularly talented rather than well-rounded in activities and those all-important essays, including not only the Personal Statement but all of those equally important supplemental essays which need to be uniquely tailored to the individual colleges to which they’ll be applying as a transfer.
Fix Transfer College List
Compose an appropriate list of transfer colleges. We can’t tell you how many times around this time of year we’ve added a school to a student’s list that we deem a glaring omission — and that’s the school they ultimately attend as a transfer student.
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 transfer admissions process, include the following college admissions assistance and key deliverables:
Transfer Admissions Guidance Through the Process
Beyond ensuring that our transfer students are in all the right courses through the remainder of high school and the first year of college, 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 during the remainder of high school and the first year of college. 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 Material for Recommendations
We don’t leave it to professors and school counselors to write powerful letters of recommendation for our students. In our experience, when left on their own, professors and high school counselors write generic letters of recommendation. As such, we help our students prepare anecdotes that they then share with their professors and former high school counselors. While our students will never be privy to what these recommenders write, in our experience, professors and counselors overwhelmingly want to help their students. So they’ll so often use what they’re given.
Brainstorming and Revising Transfer Essays
Do you think there’s one transfer admissions essay, the Personal Statement? That’s cute. There are tons of transfer admissions 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 transfer admissions file.
Assistance with Non-Essay Portions of Applications
There are landmines throughout each college application. Expressing negative feelings toward the initial college a student attended. 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 as a transfer. We make sure that our transfer students don’t make such mistakes.
November – Mid March
For families who first come to us when their children are seeking to earn admission as transfer applicants, 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 PreMortem
During the one-hour PreMortem with a former elite college admissions officer, which is chock full of insights on what’s wrong on not-yet-submitted transfer applications or on the student’s applications submitted as a senior in high school, we:
PostMortem
Conduct an application review to ensure that we correct mistakes made when you last applied to college because, in our experience, if these mistakes are not pointed out, students tend to repeat them. We’ll go through the full Common Application and one school’s unique application, letting you know what worked, what didn’t, and how you should reposition your case for admission as a transfer candidate.
Extracurricular Hook
Brainstorm a compelling extracurricular hook so you present as singularly talented rather than well-rounded in your activities through the remainder of high school (if applicable) and certainly during the first year of college. Our nation’s top colleges don’t want transfer students who excel in squash, piano, dance, and debate. They want transfer students who will change the world in one super specific, often small way. Our transfer students at Ivy Coach always present as wonderfully weird to admissions officers through their singular focus.
Coursework Fixes/Roadmap
Create a plan so you’re sure to max out on your initial college’s courses. If you’re interested in studying physics at the schools you’ll be applying to as a transfer and you haven’t taken a physics course at your initial college, that’s a problem that needs to be fixed. And if you were planning to take a gap year after high school and reapplying instead of attending the best college you got into, it’s time for some serious medicine as that’s not the way to go! Admissions officers get spooked by students who are a year removed from a high school or college curriculum.
Testing Plan
Identify which exams to take and when to take them. Test-optional? That’s cute. All else being equal, transfer students with great test scores will always have an advantage over transfer students with no test scores. But it’s not just about the SAT or ACT. There are likely tests that you aren’t planning on taking that you should be taking if you want to wow admissions officers at our nation’s top colleges. As a transfer applicant, while your numbers won’t count towards or against a college’s US News ranking (you’re a data ghost!), everything from high school absolutely still counts!
Transfer College Selection
Identify which colleges should be in your sights for transfer admission and which should not. We’ll also discuss how to properly demonstrate interest to colleges. America’s elite colleges want to be loved — and for the right reasons. As such, you’ll learn how you can demonstrate love effectively.
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 transfer admissions process, include the following college admissions assistance and key deliverables:
Transfer Admissions Guidance Through the Process
Beyond ensuring that our transfer students are in all the right courses through the remainder of high school and the first year of college, 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 during the remainder of high school and the first year of college. 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 Material for Recommendations
We don’t leave it to professors and school counselors to write powerful letters of recommendation for our students. In our experience, when left on their own, professors and high school counselors write generic letters of recommendation. As such, we help our students prepare anecdotes that they then share with their professors and former high school counselors. While our students will never be privy to what these recommenders write, in our experience, professors and counselors overwhelmingly want to help their students. So they’ll so often use what they’re given.
Brainstorming and Revising Transfer Essays
Do you think there’s one transfer admissions essay, the Personal Statement? That’s cute. There are tons of transfer admissions 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 transfer admissions file.
Assistance with Non-Essay Portions of Applications
There are landmines throughout each college application. Expressing negative feelings toward the initial college a student attended. 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 as a transfer. We make sure that our transfer students don’t make such mistakes.
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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