Case Study: Getting into Selective Schools

Aug 14

What really matters and what most students get wrong

My take on admission to selective campuses is a little controversial. Some students genuinely benefit from attending schools with high brand ID. There are entire professions where brand recognition acts as a second résumé line. These campuses spend a lot of money protecting their names, and that protection extends to their students: they want you to graduate, get hired, and step into adult life without stumbling. And yes, they’ll also protect their faculty, which sometimes means you end up with professors who are better on paper than in the classroom but whose names still open doors.

But not everyone needs that. Some students already have access to credibility long before they set foot on a campus. (That’s not shade, it’s simply fact.) And because they’ve been swimming in that water their whole lives, they often struggle to articulate why brand ID matters to them.

Students who haven’t had that access? They can usually tell you exactly what they’ve missed and how a powerful brand might change their trajectory.

Over the years, our students have gained admission to all of the top 40 most selective campuses. There’s no magic trick here. They used strategies grounded in decades of data, research, and real-world experience.

Let’s break them down.

1. Understand the College’s Brand

Selective colleges spend millions telling the world who they are. Your job is to show that you understand that identity and how you’ll thrive within it.

For example: every year I see Stanford essays written as if Stanford is a tech incubator where you go to launch an app, drop out, and become the next Google founder.

Yes, Stanford sits in Silicon Valley. Yes, you can major in CS. But the bulk of the faculty are not in tech. It is a full, complex university with scholars doing wild research across every discipline you can imagine. And Stanford is obsessed with its near-perfect graduation rate.

So why would they admit someone who is openly telling them they plan to drop out?

Tell them how you’ll be an extraordinary student on their campus—what you’ll study, which opportunities you’ll take advantage of, and why their environment helps you grow.

2. Don’t Beg. Your Presence Is Their Present.

I see far too many essays from students of color that read like a plea: Please pick me. Please let me in. Please see that I’m good enough.

Meanwhile, these students have near-perfect grades, lead multiple organizations, work part-time to support their families, and have interests that are genuinely nuanced and compelling.

Why are they begging?

This is bigger than college. We often walk into spaces wearing the biases other people hold about us. We shrink. We ask permission to exist.

A rule for college and for life:

If you have to beg someone to see your worth, you’re in the wrong room.

Write from your power, not your apology.

3. Early Is Everything

This one is not philosophical—just practical.

Admissions officers have significantly more time to read applications in September and October. We’re talking 10X more time than they’ll have in January.

That doesn’t mean you’re applying Early Action or Early Decision. You can apply under “Regular Decision” and still submit in October. The key is that some schools start reading as applications arrive, so make sure they review on a rolling or “as received” basis.

Submitting early gives your essay, recommendations, and accomplishments the time and attention they deserve.