An Honest Conversation About Grades

Let’s be honest. There’s a lot that goes into college applications: grades, test scores, recommendations, activities, and essays. It can be hard to figure out what is important and what’s not, and how to get real information about what matters. ...

How to Prepare for a College Interview

The college admissions process can be overwhelming. Beyond applications, essays, and standardized tests, some schools also require college interviews. So what is a college interview, and how should you prepare for one?  Not all schools require, or even offer, interviews....

My College Application Essays VS ChatGPT

  Much has already been said about ChatGPT. The Atlantic declared “The College Essay Is Dead”—but they are referring to the essays undergraduates write for college courses, not the essays that high school students must compose to apply for universities. ...

What To Do After Submitting Your College Applications

Congratulations! You are done submitting all of your college applications. But don’t be tempted to sit back and wait for decisions—there are plenty of steps you can still take to strengthen your chances of admission.  Check Email, Voicemail, and Snail...

All about Deferrals

Getting deferred from your Early Decision or Early Action school is never the decision you were hoping for. But it does not close the door for you to be admitted later on. Students who work with Ivy Experience receive coaching...

The Five Things in Your Control

There are seemingly innumerable factors that go into every decision, whether it is an acceptance, deferral, waitlist, or rejection. Many of these factors, however, are outside of a student’s control. Just a few examples include what high school a student...

Ivy’s Recommendation Letter Primer

We often say that there are very few things under your control in the admissions process: your grades, your activities, your essays and applications, your test scores, and—believe it or not—your recommendation letters. With thoughtful planning and some information about...

5 Questions with David Pauls

Get to know our test prep team! We sat down to interview David Pauls, our Curriculum Development Specialist.  What is one thing you wish more students knew before applying to college? Although this seems obvious in retrospect, tuition costs rarely...