Posts by Ivy League Potential
1000 Free Audio Books
Do you have a list of books you want to read but just don’t have the time? Or do you learn better when you hear words spoken out loud? If you answered yes to any one of these questions, you may enjoy knowing that there are 1000 free audio books you can download and listen to while…
Read More100 Things Teenagers Can Do!
Are your teenagers sitting at home during holiday breaks? If so, what are they doing? Years ago, it was normal for teenagers to go outside, play games with friends, and spend time together talking. Over the last several years, we’ve noticed a growing trend–many teenagers don’t go outside anymore or spend time with friends. They spend many…
Read MoreHow do you decide which colleges to apply to?
How do you decide what colleges to apply to? There are over 3000 universities in the United States, and it can be a daunting task to narrow down the list of colleges to 10-15 schools. Many students rely on Naviance, software that claims to help students predict where they have a good chance of getting in. A recent…
Read MoreCreativity
We just read an excellent article on creativity by Emma Seppala, Science Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. Researchers have found that “people are more creative after they have been daydreaming or letting their minds wander” and that the biggest obstacle to creativity is being too busy. So many high achieving high…
Read MoreFrom the Dean of The University of Pennsylvania
We recently watched a short video of Eric Furda speaking. Eric is the Dean of Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania and has his own blog. The video is the first one in a series of three, and there is much that we found interesting. One important message he gives to future engineering students is that…
Read MoreFrom the Dean of MIT
Today we watched an interview with MIT Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill, who emphasized the importance of extracurricular activities. College admissions officers want to know how students will contribute to the campus community, and what they do in high school is a good indicator of what they will do at university. Most of the students we work…
Read MoreUnderstanding the Teenage Brain
Do you ever wish you could understand teenagers better? It’s often during the tumultuous time of adolescence that we see the most discord between parents and teenagers, but a lot of this behavior can be better understood if you dig into the research on the developing teenage brain. We really enjoyed reading this NPR article today, which describes…
Read MoreWhat’s the ratio at your school?
What’s the ratio of students to guidance counselors at your school? The average ratio in the United States is 464:1. The recommended ratio is 250:1. But the ratio in some states is much more than the recommended or average ratio. For example, in Illinois, the ratio is 678:1 and in California, it’s 708:1. According to the American School…
Read MoreWhy do you want to attend Stanford?
“Why do you want to attend Stanford?” This kind of essay question appears over and over again in almost every college application. Too often students haven’t done the hard work to answer these kinds of questions thoughtfully. Yet, they assume that their parents should spend thousands of dollars on a university education for them. Many…
Read MoreThe Value of AP Credits
Will you be taking AP exams this school year? If you have the opportunity to do so, we would highly recommend it. Many highly selective colleges offer college credit for students who score well on AP exams, but very few students take advantage of these opportunities. At Harvard, students who have scored 5 on a…
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