Caroline Koppelman
Rejected Early Decision from Columbia 2023

Getting a rejection in the Early Decision round is definitely not easy. But the good news is, it’s really just the start, and that one rejection has no bearing on how you’re going to do with other, similarly competitive schools. The thing about Early Decision is it comes alone and it comes first. It’s sometimes easier to tolerate a rejection when it’s preceded by several acceptance letters. College admissions are extraordinarily competitive these days and the Ivies are just more competitive than any other time or place in history. That’s it. It doesn’t get harder. And Columbia in particular has just a 4% acceptance rate! So, if you’ve been rejected in the Early Decision round, don’t despair. We have some advice about how you might go forward. (And don’t worry, it’s really not that much more work!)

Caroline Koppelman
Deferred by Harvard — Now What? (2023-24)

If you’ve been deferred by Harvard, you are not alone. Harvard is notorious at this point for deferring an enormous percentage of early admission applicants. While most elite colleges with early admissions programs, like early decision and early action, only defer students they are seriously considering for the next freshman class, the statistics Harvard has released on early admission suggest that they take a very different approach.

Caroline Koppelman
Writing the “Why This College” Essay

Even though every college has slightly different supplementary application materials, you’ll likely run into a variation of one question more than any other: “Why do you want to attend this school in particular?” It’s every institution’s way of saying, Let’s cut to the chase. Why us?

Caroline Koppelman
How to Write an Amazing and Unique Common App ...

If you’re here, you’ve likely already taken a look at the Common App essay options, felt a little bit of existential doom, and fought the urge to take a long nap (and honestly? Relatable).

Caroline Koppelman
The Best Guide to College Application ...

No two college supplements are the same, but there is one question that shows up again and again. Why our school? If you are applying to multiple schools with supplements you will probably have to write multiple essays on this exact topic (no, you can’t just reuse the same one). While word counts and specifics can vary, these essays always follow a similar structure and goal. After reading this blog post you’ll be set to answer all of them.

How to Write the Claremont McKenna Supplement 2018-2019

The business and international relations arm of the Claremont Colleges consortium, Claremont McKenna, is located in just east of sunny Los Angeles. With an acceptance rate of just 9 percent, McKenna is a highly selective school. The school’s academic focus is largely finance, government, foreign policy, and related fields.   

How to Write the Emory Supplement 2018-2019

Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia is a leading research university that offers an outstanding education. It’s competitive, but one of the things that we like about it is that in the time of tiny acceptance rates, it’s still accessible for high-achieving students. Last year (2017-18), they accepted 22% of applicants. 1 in 4 isn’t high by any means, but throwing your hat in the ring is worth it for students who want a medium-sized-college experience (7916 undergrads) with big-school resources.

Junior Year of High School: College Planning

A lot of people think that junior year is the time to start getting serious about college plans, but that’s not quite true. While waiting until junior year to start college prep is common, you should really start during freshman year. But most people don’t. Lucky for you, we’ve created a junior year of high school college planning to do list so you can get organized.  

College Essay Examples for Cornell

In this blog post, we take a deep-dive into the Why Cornell essay. The good news is, there is a formula to crack. There are several key points students should hit in reaching their overall objective of persuading the admissions committee that they are qualified to pursue their intended area of study. 

Helpful Harvard College Essay Tips

The Harvard supplement is optional, which is one of the reasons for their very, very low acceptance rate. Plenty of unqualified kids think, “Hey. No essay? I’ll throw my hat in.” If you’re serious about applying and your scores and GPA fall into Harvard’s range, then write the essay.  

How to Write Your Common App Essay

There are a million different ways to write your common app essay, but in this post we’re going to share the process that we use with TKG students. We like this method because it helps us zero in on topics and ideas that students commonly overlook. It works with every personality type and any potential interest, from introverted interior designers to extroverted entrepreneurs.

Junior Year of High School College Checklist: Month to Month

If you want to go to a top tiered school, junior year is the time to get serious. There’s a list of concrete things you absolutely must do (no matter where you want to go), but we understand how stressful it can be when you aren’t sure when to do what. We thought it would be helpful to give you a month to month checklist, similar to the schedule we provide for TKG students.

Successful Common App Essays About Failure

Humility, self-awareness, and a sense of humor. These are all traits applicants should seek to convey in their college essays, and essays about failure are a great vehicle for doing so. Students are sometimes hesitant to highlight failures. After all, isn’t the objective to cultivate and showcase a cluster of assets on the application? In short, the answer is ‘yes.’ However, highlighting a weakness, if done properly, can also mean underscoring growth, as well as an ability to think critically and learn from past mistakes. Simply put, it’s humanizing.