Counselor or Agent: what’s the difference and why does it matter?

Around the world, students considering university applications outside of their home country are faced with choices about who to turn to for advice, particularly in situations where they might not have advice in their school. Broadly speaking, the services available fall into two options: commission-based agents or independent counselors. So, what’s the difference? The main […]

Five ways the US Common App essay differs from the UCAS Personal Statement

I work with many students and schools who understand how a UK UCAS Personal Statement should be structured, but who find the US Common App essay to be quite baffling. If you are in a system which prepares you to write an academically-based essay, then writing something different can be quite confusing. If you are […]

US application essays: three key points

For students and families new to the process, it’s sometimes hard to understand just how important application essays are. If you are used to systems where there’s only one essay to write, the fact that you might have to write a number of essays tailored to each university as well as an overall application essay […]

USA Spring Semester Courses

For various reasons, it’s not always possible to start university in the USA in August. Maybe you decided too late, something went wrong with your first batch of applications, or there’s been a change of plans. Typically people have felt forced into applying as a gap-year applicant, but increasingly many US colleges will offer ‘spring […]

You’ve got the offers, now where should you choose to go?

At this time of year, students are – hopefully – in a position of choice between which university offer to accept. Sometimes this can be a difficult choice, with competing interests at stake as well as potentially different entry requirements. Here are four things to consider when making your choice: What are the grades I’ll […]

What is demonstrated interest, and why do I need to know about it?

In the US there’s a phenomenon known as a ‘stealth applicant’. In the same way as a stealth fighter, it means that the first time the university knows about you is when your application arrives: before that, you are hidden from them. At some colleges, being a stealth applicant is not the ideal scenario as, […]

Do we accept the status quo, or try to change things that aren’t right?

So much of the work of an international college counselor involves understanding different systems: what do you need to provide, at what time, in which format. One of the most enjoyable aspects of my job is standing at a school’s careers or university event, answering questions about university entrance around the world, with no prior […]

Is an Ivy education worth it? To find out, let’s ask an Ivy League university

Now that admissions statistics are out, we can see that so many of the hyper-selective US universities are, once again, admitting a tiny proportion of their applicants. Some of the statistics (which I detail here) show that only 1 in 20 applicants is successful. Given all this stress and angst, is getting an Ivy League […]

US Admissions Statistics 2019

A major difference between the USA and the UK is just how selective some of the most highly-ranked universities are. Add to this that some of them have very few places available anyway, and you can see how tough the competition is. With some of these universities only taking in 2000 students or fewer each […]