Monday, August 20, 2012

Confidence paves way to Harvard

Jennifer’s dad dropped her off at the downtown Chicago office building where she was scheduled to meet with her Harvard alumni interviewer.

Confidence paves way to Harvard

This could be the most important interview of her life and she was only 17 years old. A knot tightened in her stomach.

“This is it,” she said to herself. “I’m on my own.”

Objectively there was no reason for Jennifer to be nervous. She was number one in her high school class and had nearly perfect scores on her SATs. She was editor of the school newspaper, president of the regional French club, a Thespian honoree, a member of the math and science Olympiad and, most recently, had earned an “A” from Stanford University’s online introductory physics course, her intended major at Harvard.

Why then was she so worried about the alumni interview?

She knew that her interviewer was a senior partner in a major Chicago law firm.

Jennifer introduced herself to the receptionist and was invited to be seated on one of the soft leather couches. She had only spent a few minutes thumbing through The American Lawyer before a door opened and her interviewer greeted her.

The first thing she thought to herself was she had not met anybody like him. He projected real power. He reached out to shake her hand and introduced himself while guiding her to his office. The interview was about to begin.

“What makes you think you are good enough to get into Harvard?”

There was no preamble to his question. She had thought he might ask a few warm up questions — about her grades, test scores, intended college major, but not this. It never occurred to her that anyone would ask such a question.

One thought flashed through her mind, “If I blow this interview I’m a goner. Twelve years of preparation will have gone down the drain and I will have let down parents, friends, teachers who believe in me.”

She composed herself and said, “My grandfather asked me that same question when I was in the ninth grade.” For a split second Jennifer thought she had flubbed the interview, but she remembered her grandfather’s probing question and used it to her advantage.

The interview became conversational from that point on and Jennifer felt comfortable asking him questions about his experiences at Harvard.

In his alumni evaluation the interviewer said that if she had been a potential candidate for employment he would have hired her on the spot. He wrote that she had that rare quality that would make her a competitor, something that many applicants lack when they discover that they will have to compete against other students who are as gifted as they are academically.

During the first week in April she received her letter of admittance to Harvard. She showed it to her grandfather and told him that she could not have done it without him.

There are close to 3,000 colleges to choose from nationwide and admission to these colleges is complicated. Bradshaw college consulting takes the pressure off ensuring that your college search experience is one to look forward to rather than dread.


Work with a college consultant that can assist guide you through the proper way to write your essay, conduct your interview, test, and apply for financial aid.

Get help choosing the right college or getting into the college you desire to attend. Call: Toll Free: 866-687-8129

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Personal essay should set you apart

Tuesday, August 7, 2012


Nearly every college applicant must write a personal essay as part of the admissions process. This is often a daunting task because students are uncomfortable responding to the statement, “Tell me about yourself.”

Personal essay should set you apart

Many students ask if anyone in college admissions reads the essays. My answer is an emphatic “Yes!”

It is an essential element of an application. The admissions committee reads your essay, and how well you express yourself can make the difference in whether or not you are accepted when competition is intense.

Picture yourself in the admissions office with thousands of applications stacked around you. Soda cans and coffee cups are piling up, and members of the committee have grown glassy-eyed from looking at hundreds of applications.

The applications start to look alike — same grades, test scores and extracurricular activities. Top-tier colleges have limited openings, and each applicant must somehow separate himself or herself from the pack to be admitted.

For example, Harvard accepts 1,650 students out of 35,000 applicants. What will set you apart from the others?

In my opinion, a well-written essay will get the most attention from the admissions committee. A 250- to 500-word essay becomes increasingly important as the competition gets tougher each year.

The essay is a chance to show the committee a part of you that isn’t reflected in the formal rankings. It is a chance to talk about yourself — your traits and values, the experiences that helped shape your life, and the experiences that inspire you for the future. The personal essay is a chance to tell them about the person behind the grades and test scores.

When I wrote my personal essay, I knew the competition would be tough, and I wanted to stand out. I spent hours thinking about it before I started writing.

With my initial draft finished, I gave it to some friends to read. Most of them were polite and said positive things: It was well-written, this is the real you, etc.

But my best friend threw it back at me and said he didn’t like it. It wasn’t me. He said I looked like everyone else applying. In short, he said it was boring.

He was right.

My initial personal essay made me look vanilla. In no way did it represent me as a person, nor did it bring out the personal accomplishments I valued most — my military service with the 101st Airborne, my time stationed at West Point, my maverick high school education or my upbringing in the South.

These were the things that made me interesting to my friends. I got the message.

I wrote and rewrote the essay at least a dozen times. It took me three weeks and a lot of introspection before I got it right. I knew when I finished my final draft that this was the one. I didn’t need anyone else read to it because I recognized the sound of my own voice.

Do not look at the preparation of your college essay as a waste of time. It is your opportunity to blow the competition out of the water.

There are close to 3,000 colleges to choose from nationwide and admission to these colleges is complicated. Bradshaw college consulting takes the pressure off ensuring that your college search experience is one to look forward to rather than dread.

Work with a college consultant that can assist guide you through the proper way to write your essay, conduct your interview, test, and apply for financial aid.

Get help choosing the right college or getting into the college you desire to attend. Call: Toll Free: 866-687-8129