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Living in a lockdown teaches you new tricks to surviving life during a pandemic. As if we needed more things to do during the day. I learned a lot this year. Did you?

1. I learned how to wash my hands, really well. I pretend I am a brain surgeon prepping for surgery. Apply water first, add soap, then scrub hands while singing three verses of happy birthday for 18 seconds. How did I survive my first 56 years?

2. I learned to love Purell. Prior to COVID-19, I hated Purell. When my son was 8 years old, he threw up all over me on a cross-country flight. One of the perks of being a mom. I had to clean up the vomit with Purell, not to mention my pants, hands and arms. I wreaked of Purell and vowed never again to use the damn product.

3. I love Purell in my car; I love Purell in my purse. I use it in accordance with CDC (Center for Disease Control) guidelines.

4. I do not drink Purell.

5. I love to wear a mask, because I do not have to wear make-up, or get Botox and fillers on the bottom half of my face. I now save thousands of dollars, although look like shit.

6. I learned how to color my hair because my hair salon was closed for three months during the first stay at home order (lockdown).

7. I am in my second lockdown, and now my colorist comes to me. #BEVERLYHILLS.

8. I learned how to bake bread and call it Daily Corona Bread.

9. I am not a hairstylist, although I was cutting men’s hair throughout the first lockdown and accumulated 9 clients. #NOTIPS #WORKFORFREE.

10. I became the house Chef and prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner for 7 months #NOTIPS #WORKFORFREE.

11. I became the housekeeper and learned how to clean the showers with a mop. How else do you clean floor to ceiling tiles? #GENIUS.

12. I learned what social distancing meant. I thought it meant avoiding people you cannot stand.

13. I learned how much I appreciate my family, even though I served them 3 meals a day, cleaned their bathrooms, and did their laundry for 7 months.

14. I am in my second lockdown with my family, and still appreciate them. #LOVE.

15. I learned to live a new social life through NETFLIX, HBO MAX, SHOWTIME, HULU, and Prime. My new BFF is Nicole Kidman. She does not know this.

16. I learned what a bubble is. No, not a bubble bath; a COVID bubble.

17. At the beginning of the first lockdown, my bubble ate meals outside in the cold, the rain, and wind. #DESPERATEFRIENDS.

18. I have enough Charmin toilet paper and Bounty paper towels to last 3 months. #HOARDER.

My new year’s wish for 2021 is not to burst my bubble of friends and family. However, I do have a few needs to be fulfilled. I want to go to a hair salon and get my hair colored and cut; I want to get Botox and fillers for my entire face (I need it); and I want to dine inside a restaurant wearing nice clothes. Oh, and I would prefer to wear workout clothes to only work out, not all day.

My biggest want is get the COVID-19 vaccine for my family and I, so we can live a new normal life and I can stop being the chef, the housekeeper, the hairstylist, the colorist, etc..

Happy New Year!

A high school senior cannot dupe the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions.

THE DEAN CAN EASILY DETERMINE WHO IS A LEGITIMATE APPLICANT

The Dean of Undergraduate Admissions is an expert at reviewing college applications. I am confident they have reviewed tens of thousands of applications throughout their career. The dean can sniff out the applicant who is lying about their extra-curricular activities.

Put this in perspective. Most students apply to college when they are 17 years old. There is only so much time in the day to do something, let alone find a cure for cancer or dig wells for water in Africa.

A legitimate candidate boasts a genuine, accurate resume that reflects unique activities. An in-depth review of extra-curricular activities evidence the student’s fulfillment of his or her passion. The Dean wants to see the evolution of the student’s engagement, which evidence subjective qualities such as leadership, creativity, fortitude.

The evolution of a student’s engagement occurs over several years, not just in a few months. A legitimate resume of extra-curricular activities is a concise road map for the Dean to track how a student’s interests and curiosity over time developed. Again, the information gleaned from the resume allow the Dean and the admissions team to discern the subjective components of the student, such as leadership abilities, determination, long term goals, and the fulfillment of their passion.

The Dean will rely upon teacher recommendations, and other student evaluations that are submitted along with the application.

In addition, the essay component to the application is also critical to this process.

The Dean in many ways is a detective, who has the ability to piece together the true identity of the applicant. Ultimately, a comprehensive review of the entire application will evidence a legitimate candidate.

WISEWORDS: The Dean can detect students who ‘dress up their resume’ to disguise their accomplishments and their true identity.

For additional insight on the college admissions process, please check out my book on Amazon!

Ho ho ho! Yes, there is still hope to get accepted to a top college my dear high school student.

I know you are laying on the couch in despair. You are scanning social media to either share in the same agony of defeat as your friends or become outraged as to who received a golden ticket to a top college. My advice is to get your ass off the couch and snap out of it!

The Deans of all undergraduate admissions want qualified, engaged and compelling applicants!

Despite hardships experienced by all that resulted from this pandemic, college admissions have never been more understanding of applicants. Indeed, this is the one and only year where the Deans relaxed some of the admissions requirements.

All living and breathing high school seniors should know by now, that submission of standardized test scores is optional this year. In fact, even if a student took the test and the score was less than perfect or even sucked, you do not have to submit the score. The Dean will not toss your application if a test score is not submitted.

And, on top of that gift, many colleges have extended the date for regular decision submissions.

My dear, desperate, anxiety filled high school seniors, there is a Santa Claus.

As a parent, I know two boys who were in your shoes several years ago. One boy was reeling from an early decision rejection from Penn, while the other boy was deferred to regular decision to MIT. These two boys were furious, sad, disappointed — a plethora of emotions to cope with this rejection. The MIT deferred kid was still walking around like a zombie in his MIT sweatshirt, while the other kid tossed all of the Penn clothing. He wanted to burn the clothing, but that was a bit too drastic.

Therefore, couch sitting student, the rejections and deferments should have set in and you ought to be looking toward next application steps. Today is December 25, and there is still plenty of time to choose colleges that complement who you are academically, intellectually and socially.

A few Christmas gifts for the high school senior who aspires to get accepted to a top college.

1. Apply to colleges that offer academics and activities that complement your abilities.

2. The Deans want students who are intelligent and engage in an activity that amplifies their uniqueness.

3. The Deans want to know how the student will contribute to their college campus community. (hint — the Deans want ‘doers’ — students who participate in and create activities that will enhance campus life.

4. The Deans want to know why a student would be a great fit to their campus community.

5. Lastly, the Deans want to know how the pandemic affected your life? What have you done to help your family or community through these difficult times to make a difference?

As you prepare your regular decision applications, please do not throw in the towel. Colleges that participated in early decision and early action have only filled 40–50% of the class of 2025, which should include class of 2024 gap year students. Plenty of seats remain for the qualified, engaged and compelling applicant.

Wishing you a very happy holiday and inspiration to apply to college!

Go for it!

For additional insight on the college admissions process, please check out my book on Amazon!

You Do Not Have to Be a Superhero to Get Accepted to College!

When a high school senior applies to a top college, how can their application stand out among the tens of thousands of other applicants? Certainly, not an easy task! Think about this for a moment. How does a brilliant high school senior shine above similarly situated brilliant students?

Wait for it… often times it is a student’s legitimate participation in extraordinary Extracurricular Activities (“EA”) that evidence an #ENGAGED and ultimately #COMPELLING applicant in the eyes of the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions.

The three magic words in college admissions are qualified, engaged and compelling. The Dean wants applicants who are the embodiment of these qualities.

The first part of the application process is for the Dean to determine whether the applicant is qualified. A qualified applicant meets the academic and standardized testing admissions requirements. In some ways, this is the easy part of the application process. Students who aspire to attend a top college have been preparing for this moment for the better part of their lives. The academic caliber of these prospects is top notch and expected.

However, it is the engaged and compelling student who is propelled to the final rounds of the admissions process.

Year in and year out, the Deans of Undergraduate Admissions at top colleges publicly lament how the applicant pool for early decision was larger than the previous year and comprised of exceptionally smart, uniquely talented students.

But why were some students accepted ED while others who were smart and talented deferred to regular decision or rejected?

The Deans at top Colleges have similar criteria for ultimately accepting applicants. The Deans want students who are actively engaged in activities they are passionate about for long periods of time, not just for the summer, a semester, or one year.

To weave a personal narrative of legitimate engagement, it is incumbent upon the applicant to thread the proverbial needle to connect their EC’s to evidence the evolution of a true passion. In addition to legitimate engagement, the Deans wants students who will be active members of their college community. Local community participation in high school is considered to be the precursor to future college community participation.

The Deans know what their respective college will do for the applicant; The Deans want to know what you the applicant will do for your future campus community.

Who has been accepted Early Decision to the class of 2025?

According to the Dean of Admissions at Johns Hopkins, Ellen Kim during her interview with the Johns Hopkins Magazine stated that “among the newest class are a developer of an EEG headband prototype for individuals with epilepsy to wear in order to predict and detect seizures, a prison reform advocate who drafted an expungement bill with attorneys in their home state, an inventor who built an earthquake resistant desk with a sensor and alarm, and a community organizer who helped farmers get access to crisis relief funds and share their crops with food insecure families during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Dean Kim described the ED class of 2025 applicants as creative thinkers, passionate learners, and committed advocates for causes they care about…they are distinguished for their interdisciplinary aptitudes as well as their personal qualities and contributions to their social and extracurricular groups.”

Chris Petersen, an Assistant Director at MIT Admissions, wrote about some of the EA accepted applicants in the MIT Admission Blog. He stated, “though they are all different in their own way — fencers and farmers, pilots and powerlifters, beekeepers and biologists — they are united by a shared standard of rigorous academics, high character, and a strong match with MIT’s mission to use science, technology, and the useful arts to make the world a better place.”

Harvard Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons ’67 told the Harvard Crimson “though this year’s applications may have looked different from previous years due to the global health crisis, he said the College continues to look for applicant strength with the same criteria.” “The applications look different in lots of ways,” he said. “But I think the principle of seeing what people have done, and what we think they’re going to do in the future is probably the one to keep in mind.”

Dean Fitzsimmons identified accepted applicants “…who are great musicians, who are great at quantitative science. We have the usual excellences,” Fitzsimmons said. “But they’re doing it in the middle of a pandemic and also oftentimes in the middle of desperate financial circumstances.”

Year in and year out, the competition to win the golden ticket to a top college is exacting. Seemingly more overqualified, exceptional high school students from diverse backgrounds vie for a freshman seat. When admissions shapes an incoming freshman class, the key is for the applicant to satisfy the subjective qualities sought by the Dean.

WISEWORDS: The Deans of Undergraduate Admissions at most colleges want to know how the pandemic affected you, the applicant, and how did you help your community during this crisis.

REMEMBER: The Deans want leaders who are proactive in their community.

For additional insight on the college admissions process, please check out my book on Amazon!

What is the Plan for Regular Decision?

Colleges have been reporting their Early Decision (“ED”) and Early Action (“EA”) results. Congratulations to the students who were accepted!

Condolences to the students who were flat out rejected. A high five to the students who were deferred to regular decision.

And, to those students who chose not to apply early, you are the losers. Why do you ask? The odds for acceptance increase exponentially for students who apply early. Period, end of discussion. And believe me… it is no cake walk to get accepted early. However, it is next to impossible to get accepted regular decision to a top college.

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS OFFICES WERE BLINDSIDED BY COVID-19

It is fair to say that most college admissions offices throughout the U.S. did not know the true impact COVID would have on admissions for this application cycle 2020–2021. The collective guess among the Deans of admissions was that applicants would hold off on applying early, due to the unprecedented disruption the pandemic caused in our daily lives. The expectation was that early admission applications would be down for this year.

Admissions offices were wrong. Funny, the shoe was on the other foot for a change. Typically, it is the student who is guessing each year as to who Admissions is accepting.

Cheers to all the high school seniors who took a chance and applied early. At some top colleges, odds for early acceptance are 1 in 4, which are much better than 1 in 9 for regular decision. #NOBRAINER!

EARLY ADMISSION CANDIDATES WERE QUALIFIED THIS CYCLE

The top colleges that have reported their early decision figures revealed that most applicants were qualified and compelling this application cycle. Indeed, these students met the rigorous admissions requirements. How do I know? More students were accepted or deferred, as opposed to rejected.

REGULAR DECISION FOR THE CLASS OF 2025 WILL BE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE

You can be certain that regular decision admissions for the class of 2025 will be more competitive this year, than in any previous year. Go figure, thank you COVID.

COVID vaccines will be rolling out for the general public at the beginning of 2021, and high school students are looking towards their collective futures. They want to get the hell out of the house, live with kids their own age, and reclaim a life that was brought to a sudden stop.

Who is competing for class of 2025 freshman seats? First of all, you have class of 2024 students who took a gap year. Each top college has a few more class 2024 students who opted for a gap year due to COVID. These gap year students will be sitting with the freshman class 2025. Yes, gap year students take seats away from the next incoming freshman class.

REGULAR DECISION STUDENTS MUST BE QUALIFIED, ENGAGED AND COMPELLING CANDIDATES!

How does a brilliant high school senior shine above similarly situated brilliant applicants? Repeat after me, the legitimate participation in #EXTRAORDINARY Extracurricular Activities (“EA”) that evidence this student as #ENGAGED and therefore a #COMPELLING Applicant.

Stay tuned for how regular decision applicants can propel their college application to the top of the heap…

For additional insight on the college admissions process, please check out my book on Amazon!

HARVARD COLLEGE EARLY ACTION (“EA”) ACCEPTANCE RESULTS FOR THE CLASS OF 2025 REVEALS WHO WILL BE THE WINNERS

On December 17, 2020 Harvard College Admissions Office notified a ‘handful’ of lucky golden ticket winners for the perceived once in a lifetime chance for success. The Harvard Crimson reported “Harvard College’s early action acceptance rate decreased to 7.4 percent as the number of total applicants hit a record high, marking the most competitive early admissions cycle in Harvard history.”

#OMG! First of all, the above language acts a lightning rod to instill fear and anxiety in prospective applicants. Let the domino effect of crazed would be present and future Harvard (not to mention Ivy League, MIT, Duke, Stanford, etc.) applicants climb over each other on the hope and prayer to get accepted to a regaled college!

This article is being penned at 7:00 am. Cheers to Harvard, but it is too early to have a vodka on the rocks to celebrate.

The COVID-19 Effect on Harvard’s EA Acceptance

All joking aside, we should use Harvard’s EA statistics to understand the ‘COVID-19 effect’ on the overall college application cycle 2020–2021.

According to the Crimson, “10,086 class of 2025 applicants applied EA, wherein 747 students were accepted, 8,023 were deferred, and 924 were rejected. The average freshman class size at Harvard is approximately 1700 seats. The number of applicants increased by 57 percent from last year, while the College admitted 148 fewer students”.

The Crimson also reported for the previous application cycle 2019–2020 Harvard accepted EA 895 of 6,424 applicants for the class of 2024.

Looking at the 1700 freshman seat allocation for the class of 2025 at Harvard, at the outset 349 class of 2024 deferred enrollment to the class of 2025. Do the math — there are now approximately 1350 freshman seats left for the class of 2025.

In simple terms, College Admissions is a numbers game. Each application cycle, the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions essentially figures out how seats or ‘spots’ in the incoming freshman class will be allocated. I can assure you that every seat is spoken for.

Lots of groups have ‘dibs’ on these seats. Oh please, do not look so surprised that you are actually hearing this for the first time. First generation applicants, athletes, special team players (i.e.., clarinet player or ballet dancer), donor families, and legacy families have first dibs on these seats. Oh, and let us not forget about the accepted student who opted to take a gap year from the previous application cycle.

What do these numbers mean on a microlevel for Harvard applicants for the current application cycle 2020–2021? These are very interesting numbers, especially during a pandemic.

Over 10,000 super smart kids from all over the world applied to Harvard. We can agree that the academic spring semester of their junior year was sub-par. All students hobbled to the finish line (the end of the school year). Life was dis-jointed for everyone, not to mention families who lost loved ones to COVID. The fall semester of their senior year of high school might have been a bit better, perhaps due to adjusting to this alternative universe of living.

BUT, and this is a big but… the students who applied EA have spoken are they are looking to their future, beyond COVID.

The Harvard EA numbers reveal these applicants were highly qualified. In fact, the majority of them met Harvard’s Admissions requirements. How do I know? Out of the 10,086 applicants, only 924 applicants were rejected. Harvard deferred to Regular Admission 8,023 applicants. #WOW. That deferred number speaks to the quality and caliber of applicants.

When we look at Harvard’s EA numbers on a macro-level, the ED and EA admissions numbers appear to be the similar at many of the top colleges in the U.S.. High School Seniors were not shy in applying ED or EA and they decided to take that leap of faith and commit to the school of their dreams.

High School Seniors finally woke up and realized that odds for acceptance to a top college were significantly increased when applying early.

All top colleges are reporting very similar ED and EA application figures. All college admissions offices are reporting that these candidates are all highly intelligent, diverse, and meet the college’s strict admissions requirements.

COLLEGES WILL NOT BE ADDING FRESHMAN SEATS TO ACCOMMODATE SURGE IN APPLICATIONS

Most colleges will not be adding freshman seats to the class of 2025. They are absorbing a bit more GAP year students from the class of 2024, and this takes away seats from the class of 2025.

The smart students are all taking advantage of this being a standardized test optional year. They are not submitting less than perfect test scores — and they are correct! COVID is the freebie year for standardized testing. The Deans at all colleges will not infer a negative test score if the scores are not submitted.

What do the Deans of Undergraduate Admissions want to see in all applicants? Grades, Curriculum, and Extracurricular Activities (“EA’s”).

# WISEWORDS: This admissions year focuses on the holistic review of the student, where the Dean will evaluate everything about the student sans standardized tests. We are not re-inventing the wheel here my friends.

For additional insight on the college admissions process, please check out my book on Amazon!