The High School Experience Archives

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The High School Experience

Blog Posts

Mar 19, 2026

How to Turn College Visits into Outstanding Essays

We all know campus visits are an important part of applying to college—they can give students and families a “feel”...

Blog Posts

Mar 6, 2026

Your Questions About Recommendation Letters, Answered

We often say that there are very few things under your control in the admissions process: your grades, your activities,...

Blog Posts

Feb 4, 2026

Visiting Colleges? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

In the coming weeks and months, many high schoolers and their families will take advantage of long weekends and vacations...

Essays and Applications

Mar 20, 2025

College Decisions – Please Read!

We urge you to read this post. It is long, but it is important. This is NOT a post to...

Essays and Applications

Mar 14, 2025

Department of Education Update

As many students and families may already know, the past several weeks have brought rapid changes in the field of...

The High School Experience

Mar 5, 2025

Building Good Study Habits

“I have this huge test I have to study for.” This is an email or text message that we get...

Essays and Applications

Jan 23, 2025

Ivy Experience’s Spring Webinar Schedule 2025

We are excited to announce our full schedule of webinars this spring! See below for topics, dates, and registration links....

SAT/ACT Testing

Oct 24, 2024

PSAT Scores Have Been Released: What Next?

How can you use your 10th or 11th grade student’s PSAT score to make a test prep plan? Read this...

Essays and Applications

Aug 15, 2024

Ivy Experience’s Fall 2024 Webinar Schedule

We are excited to announce our full schedule of webinars this fall! See below for topics, dates, and registration links....

The High School Experience

Feb 21, 2024

AP, IB, and Dual Enrollment Courses: What’s the Difference?

When we speak to students about the five factors under your control, one of the most important factors is grades...

Essays and Applications

Jan 10, 2024

Ivy Experience’s Spring Webinar Schedule

We are excited to announce our full schedule of webinars this spring! See below for topics, dates, and registration links....

The High School Experience

Jul 31, 2023

College Admissions is Not a Race

The college admissions process can seem like a race to the top. High school students seem to be thrown into...

The High School Experience

Jun 21, 2023

Finding Support Systems in College

When students are looking for what they want in college, they think about academic opportunities, location, school spirit, and so...

Essays and Applications

May 26, 2023

Why Choose Ivy Experience?

Ivy Experience works with students at every phase of their high school journey and college preparation process. We work closely...

The High School Experience

Apr 19, 2023

How Do You Choose a College?

For many students, the month of April can be both exciting and scary. They have heard back from all of...

The High School Experience

Feb 19, 2023

Making the Most Out of Summer Activities

Making the Most Out of Summer Activities Summers are a time for students to relax and rejuvenate––and after a challenging...

The High School Experience

Feb 7, 2023

Finding Balance: Thoughts on How to Select Classes for High School Students

Once upon a time… We had a student who was deciding whether or not to take AP Chemistry. To advise...

Essays and Applications

Feb 1, 2023

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...

Essays and Applications

Oct 31, 2022

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...

The High School Experience

Apr 22, 2021

Academics Outline: Grades 9-12

What courses should my student take? What year of high school is the most important in their college application? There’s...

The High School Experience

Apr 16, 2021

Activities Outline: Grades 9-12

Extracurricular activities are perhaps the most fun part of high school and college applications—they are an opportunity to unearth curiosity,...

SAT/ACT Testing

Apr 9, 2021

Standardized Testing Outline: Grades 9-12

Below is a concise guide to testing for each year of high school, along with some basic advice for each...

The High School Experience

Jan 1, 2021

New Year’s Resolutions for High School Students

While students might feel like they are returning to the same old grind after a fun and relaxing break, January...

The High School Experience

Dec 15, 2020

Summer Activities in the Age of COVID

Summer programs, trips, camps, jobs, internships, research, and more are likely to be canceled or moved online. Some are still...

The High School Experience

Oct 29, 2020

How To Create A Stellar College List

Building a college list can be daunting – and oftentimes the most intimidating part is just figuring out where to...

The High School Experience

Sep 3, 2020

Making the Most of Virtual School

With most students in a virtual or hybrid school model for at least the start of this school year, we...

Essays and Applications

May 5, 2020

Test-Optional Policies: What Do They Mean?

Before COVID-19, there were already more than 1,000 colleges and universities that were test-optional. But with so many institutions changing...

The High School Experience

Mar 13, 2020

How to Take Advantage of Unexpected Time Off

With many students getting time off from school due to the spread of coronavirus, we thought we should share some...

The High School Experience

Feb 26, 2020

How the High School Experience Can Make Your Student a Better Person (and a Better Applicant!)

Begin with what you love. We often talk about activity advising in terms of the Japanese concept of ikigai. The...

The High School Experience

Jan 2, 2020

Midterms Study Tips

It’s midterm season (or finals, depending on how your school structures things). The new year means that many students are...

SAT/ACT Testing

May 9, 2019

Test Anxiety Conversation

Listen to Ivy Experience Director Jim Wismer and Academic Coach Gail Slogoff discuss test anxiety, including causes, symptoms, and strategies...

The High School Experience

Dec 6, 2018

How to Handle College Decisions

Below is an email we sent to the families of our senior students, but its message is important for all...

Essays and Applications

May 31, 2018

What Does the UC System Value in an Applicant?

The University of California system recently published a list of 13 factors they weigh in evaluating every student’s application. While...

The High School Experience

May 23, 2018

Acceptance Rates for Top Colleges – 2018

Every year, colleges become more competitive. The top colleges in the country are not growing as quickly as the number...

Essays and Applications

Apr 12, 2018

State of Admissions 2018

This is our first (of what we intend to be annual) State of Admissions – an email that recaps our...

The High School Experience

Feb 21, 2017

Planning your college visits

In the coming weeks and months, high school juniors and their families will take advantage of vacations and long weekends...

The High School Experience

Jan 17, 2017

The Pros and Cons of Study Groups

Is studying in groups helpful, or does it slow you down? Yes… and no… to both questions. Like anything else,...

The High School Experience

Jan 6, 2017

Pre-midterm study tips

It’s midterm season. We’re about halfway through the school year, and that means students are about to be tested on...

The High School Experience

Jan 4, 2017

When is the right time to start the “college” conversation?

Junior year is a tough time. Classes are harder than ever, and grades are at their most important. Students have...

The High School Experience

Jan 4, 2017

5 Biggest Regrets Students Have AFTER getting into college

1. I didn’t shoot high enough. We’ve seen this play out countless times: a student gets into every school they...

The High School Experience

Nov 29, 2016

End of Year Goals

With the week of Thanksgiving around the corner, the holiday season will be here before we know it. Don’t let...

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