It’s the stories, not the SAT.

It’s the stories, stupid!

This is probably THE biggest secret that I share in my insider’s guide to Ivy League college admissions.

Students are doing it TOTALLY WRONG. They focus on the WRONG AREAS - areas like an extra 30 points on the Math section of the SAT; 2 more AP tests; joining another science club at school.

It’s COMPLETELY WRONG.

Here’s why:

Students fail to put themselves in the shoes of application readers and admissions committees.

Admissions committees review TENS OF THOUSANDS OF APPLICATIONS. There are hundreds of valedictorians. Thousands of perfect 2400 SATs. Thousands of national award winners in every conceivable sport or subject.

Regardless of how accomplished you are - there are people who are more accomplished.

What does this mean?

It means you need to stop focusing on the little things. You need to SEE ADMISSION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE of people who ACTUALLY MAKE DECISIONS.

Here’s the big secret: Admissions Committees love hearing stories. They love KNOWING EACH CANDIDATE’S story. They want to understand a candidate’s passions, fears, hopes, and dreams. No student does this well - they focus too much on promoting scores and successes, not on relating to the readers.

So focus on that! Focus on activities that develop your passions. Focus on essays that describe how your experiences have made you who you are.

YOU DON’T NEED TO BE WELL-ROUNDED. IT CAN HURT. It’s the biggest lie people will tell you.

It’s about depth over breadth. That’s the best college admissions advice I can share with you.

In future posts, I will go into the details about how to build these stories. But the simple secret is - stop worrying about your SAT. It will never get you into Harvard or Princeton.