College Connection Conejo

So many students kill themselves doing countless activities in high school and think their essays are the place to showcase all that work. WRONG!

👋 Hi! I’m Heather, and I am an admissions expert with over 15 years experience in this field.

If you use your college essays as a resume, you’re going to ruin them. College admissions essays are not where you list accomplishments and activities. In fact, there is a separate section for that.

College essays are your chance to showcase who you are as a person. You should be articulating a strong sense of self and detailing your personality, character, and beliefs.

Activities and achievements could come up to support who you are, but they should be a small part of the essay.

So, when you’re writing your admissions essays, remember to focus on your personality, character, and values. Have a clear theme.

Want more ideas on how to do that? Comment “help” below and we’ll reach out!

Follow us for more tips.

I’m an admissions expert with over 15 years of experience in this industry, and I can tell you why strong applicants get rejected from their dream schools.

If you’re a strong student, you probably have stellar grades, take rigorous courses, have high test scores, and a strong resume. You have everything it takes to get into a selective school.

But the you have two problems.

1.) Colleges remember stories, not stats. So, all the things you’re doing to get in are just part of the equation.

A college wants to know: who are you? If your application doesn’t clearly articulate that, you’re doomed.

You need to have a strong understanding of self: passions, values, and character. And, those need to come through in your activities and essays.

2.) You need to create a balanced list of best fit colleges.

So many students struggle with this. They don’t realize that if they’re only applying to colleges that accept fewer than 25% of applicants, they’re setting themselves up for disappointment.

Don’t fret! We can help you.

Comment “help” below, and we’ll tell you how to create a balanced list of colleges.

Comment “theme,” and we’ll schedule a 1:1 consultation to see if we can help you articulate your story.

Follow us for more tips!

If you’re applying to college this fall, you’ll likely need letters of recommendation (LOR). And, you don’t want a generic letter. You want a unique one!

Many teachers and counselors have templates they use when they write LOR’s for students. It saves them time and energy, and that’s okay! The trouble is if they don’t get details from you to insert in their templates, the letters fall flat. They read as unoriginal and boring. If a letter can apply to multiple students, it’s not good enough. It won’t add to your story.

A strong LOR will provide new details and context to your application. Teachers and counselors can comment on your:

✨ hobbies
✨ activities
✨ challenges
✨ goals

— but only if they’re aware of them. That’s what a brag sheet does!

A brag sheet is your opportunity to showcase your strengths, achievements, and goals to a recommender. While some high schools will assign them senior year, not all will. And, you don’t want to wait that long anyway!

Comment “Brag Sheet” below, and we’ll send you the one we use with our private clients. That way you can get a jumpstart on it and can proactively share it with recommenders.

We have over 15 years of experience in college admissions and know this will help!

👋 Follow us for more tips and ideas!

There is one key thing you can do to maximize the number of admission offers you get, but many students fail to do it.

Build a balanced list of colleges.

It’s not about applying to more colleges; it’s about applying to the right ones.

So, how do you do that?

Many families work on building colleges lists by examining how the student fits in terms of average GPA, median test scores, and strength of activities. But, this is a mistake.

If a college admits fewer than 25% of applicants, it’s a reach. Period. That means 3 out of 4 students do not get in. If you have a list with only schools that admit fewer than 25% of applicants, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

So, yes—you might have the right grades and test scores, but so do all the other applicants applying.

Building a balanced list is more than grades and tests.

The first thing to consider is acceptance rates. You want likely options (admit greater than 51% of applicants), target options (admit between 26-50%), and reach options (admit fewer than 25%).

Next, you need to compare your GPA and test scores with those of admitted students. If it’s on par with the averages, keep the original classification the same. If you’re significantly below the averages, shift to a more competitive classification (target ➡️ reach).

From here you can analyze the selectivity of the program/ major you’re to which applying. Hint: nursing, computer science, engineering, and business are typically selective! Adjust again accordingly.

Build your list correctly now to maximize offers!

Still overwhelmed? Have questions? Want to take the guesswork out of college list building?

We got you!

➡️ Comment “Help!” and we’ll schedule a FREE consultation with you.

➡️ Then, follow us!

We specialize in working with motivated students in the top 20% of their class with dreams of attending a University of California campus (or similarly selective college).

collegelists #

I’m an admissions expert with over 15 years of experience in this industry, and I’ve seen a lot!

Recently I had a hopeful transfer student come to me in dire need of help. She was her high school’s valedictorian with perfect grades and did not get into any of the colleges she applied to. I reviewed her application, and this is what I found…

➡️ Her transcript was solid. She took challenging coursework and received straight A’s.

➡️ Her test scores were above average. She took the SAT and was in the 1400 range.

➡️ Her activities were lacking. She only reported two (a sport and National Honors Society), so I didn’t see a clear theme come through about her interests.

➡️ Her essays were generic. Her writing didn’t showcase a good understanding of self. Instead of reflecting about who she was as a person, her beliefs, and her character, she gave a “step-by-step” recollection of an experience.

➡️ Her college list wasn’t balanced. She only applied to wild card/ reach colleges and under a selective major.

It was clear to me what happened.

She focused solely on her GPA and coursework in high school, assuming that would present her with tons of college options.

She failed to pursue things of interest outside the classroom, and she did not articulate her story well in her writing.

She also created a poor college list and didn’t have a strategy on when to apply or under which major(s) to apply to increase her odds of admission.

Now, she is a community college student looking to transfer. As we work on her transfer goals, we’re addressing these issues!

One of the BIGGEST mistakes students make is focusing solely on GPA. But, that isn’t what sets students apart when they apply.

If you’re in the top 20% of your class, you’ll have options! But, you need a strategy to achieve your goals. You need to plan.

Comment “Strategy” below to learn morel!

As a college admissions consultant with over 15 years in this industry, I’ve seen it all. And, there is one mistake students consistently make on their college applications that costs them admission.

Hi 👋 I’m Heather with College Connection Conejo here to give you this FREE tip to boost your college application!

On college apps— do not describe your activities with generic, lackluster words.

“I gained vital leadership, communication, and collaboration skills.”

“I learned how to communicate effectively.”

“I learned how to multitask in a fast paced environment.”

Blah!

This is the biggest mistake students make every year. They spend so much time and energy developing their resume, but then when it comes time to communicate their activities to college reps, the application falls flat.

Your activities are not just a list of titles and organizations. Thousands of applicants are doing the same types of things. To stand out, you need to be different!

You do not want to make descriptions that could apply to a number of activities. They should be specific!

Instead, put some personality into it. Add details that are specific to your journey. And, focus on impact!

Here is an example:

“I created a fundraiser for the club and spoke with local business to ask for contributions, raising $1K for a local charity.”

This is stronger! I see specific details about the student’s contributions and can infer leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Here is another example:

“I spearheaded a campaign to update our school uniforms and presented it to the school board, resulting in the addition of new pants my junior year.”

BINGO!

Want more admissions tips? Follow me! And comment what you want to learn next below!

We specialize in working with motivated students who want to be admitted to a U.C. (or similarly selective school).

The truth about CLEP exams…

We love that this guy is trying to provide ideas to save time and money on college! It’s much needed. But, this advice is not a strategy for everyone.

Watch to learn why!

When you’re planning for college, you know the basics colleges are looking for when analyzing applicants: GPA, course rigor, strong resume, etc.

But I bet there is one consideration you’ve never heard of…

Demonstrated Interest.

What the heck is that? Well, it’s essentially you showing interest to a college.

Why is that important?

Colleges care about their yield, which is essentially the percentage of admitted students who actually enroll. They’re businesses, and they need to plan financially for the next year. Plus, a high yield improves their ranking and can garner more future applicants.

So, when you show a college you’re looking at them, they track it. They’ll see if you’ve toured, signed up for emails, read those emails, opened links in those emails, contacted the colleges… all kinds of stuff!

And demonstrated interest can then be used when making admissions decisions. If it’s between you (someone who has shown you’re looking) and another applicant who is a “ghost” (no points of contact), the odds are in your favor.

Now, demonstrated interest is used differently at individual campuses, and certain schools place more importance on it.

Want to know which ones?

Comment “Interest!” below and we’ll tell you how to find out. Then, follow for more tips!

We specialize in working with motivated students in the top 20% of their class with dreams of attending a selective school.

Your college application filing period matters.

When you apply to college there are a ton of terms that come up about your timeline to apply: early decision, early action, restrictive early action, priority deadline, regular decision, and rolling admission.

And, your timeline will directly impact admission results.

Why?

Colleges tend to favor early applications. In fact, Tulane fills roughly 2/3 of its incoming class via early decision. Well this isn’t true across the board, it’s far from uncommon.

The University of Arizona launched an early action filing period last fall and accepted a large portion of their incoming class through it. Plus, 70-80% of those applying EA were offered merit scholarships.

When you apply matters. You need to be strategic about which colleges you apply to first.

We specialize in working with motivated students in the top 20% of their class who dream of attending a UC (or similarly selective school).

Follow us for more tips!