There’s about a week to go before the vast majority of Early Decision / Early Action deadlines. At this point, there are going to be some mistakes that can’t be corrected in the remaining days. If a student took part in a fancy summer enrichment program early on in high school at an elite university, we can’t offer a better alternative to how the student should have spent his or her summer two years ago. We can’t correct the fact that a student switched his or her foreign language after tenth grade — or stopped taking foreign language altogether. But there are lots of mistakes that still can be corrected in these days before the Early Decision / Early Action deadline. That’s where Ivy Coach’s Senior Application Review comes in.

Ivy Coach’s Senior Application Review

During Ivy Coach’s Senior Application Review, we will go though every section of the Common Application and as many college supplements as time permits during that hour (typically we can get through 2-3) and point out mistakes that can still be corrected prior to applying on or around November 1st. Maybe those extracurricular activities call for a second opinion so they present your child as singularly talented rather than well-rounded. Sometimes students zero in on activities that will hurt their case for admission and don’t shine enough light on activities that just might help them. Maybe those supplemental essays need more school specifics to showcase your child’s love for that school. Maybe a single sentence in the Personal Statement comes across as bragging, the last thing a student ever wants to do in college admissions. Or maybe the whole essay is cliché.

Students Will Be Told If an Early Choice Is Out of Reach

And maybe the student is applying to a school that is too big of a reach in the Early round, effectively wasting the oh so valuable Early card. During this session, students will find out where they should be applying Early, even if it’s not the Early school they had in mind. If a student has no shot of getting into Harvard Early, to use that Early card on Harvard rather than on a school they’d actually have a shot of getting into if they applied Early rather than Regular Decision — like UPenn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Brown, etc. — is to waste the most valuable card in college admissions. Students should always apply to a reach school in the Early round. There is no sense in applying to a safe school. But to apply to an impossible reach also defies reason.

If you’re interested in Ivy Coach’s Senior Application Review, fill out our free consultation form, indicate Senior Application Review at the bottom, and we’ll be in touch to set up a free consultation in which we answer questions about the service.