1. Patent pending 2011. The Truth re: Graduate Apps Sing your own song in your own true voice.

2. Patent pending 2011. This Ppt was created by: Ned Boudreau, founder & president, Synergy Educational Services LLC, a college advisory firm in Shanghai. *  Go to www.synergyedu-usa.com

3. Patent pending 2011. Ned Boudreau * Boston College: B.A. summa cum laude, Philosophy * Northeastern University: graphic arts * Harvard University: marketing * Southern New Hampshire University: M.Sc. in Development Economics 20 years in U.S. corporate sector (marketing) 2+ years in Africa * 7 years teaching in Shanghai

4. Patent pending 2011. Ned Boudreau  Authored 100+ published works  Award-winning creative director  Languages: German, French  Countries lived in: England, Sweden, Germany, Israel, Ghana (West Africa), now China

5. Patent pending 2011. Synergy Educational Services LLC Synergy is a legal entity incorporated and registered in the state ofDelaware, USA. (Delaware State File Number: 50117-41) Mission: to provide informed, appropriate advice regarding colleges in the U.S. or U.K., as well as to provide native-level editorial services. Synergy guides students through the entire college application process, and ensures that essays and personal statements are polished to a professional level.

6. Patent pending 2011. Students admitted to:  Partial list, uni: HarvardStanford ColumbiaPENN Cornell U of Chicago Northwestern Duke Rice Vanderbilt  Partial list, college: AmherstWesleyan SmithHamilton BarnardBryn Mar

7. Patent pending 2011. The Basic Truth  Truth #1: Your GPA is merely – and only -- your ante into the poker game called Admissions.  Truth #2: Your best approach to grad applications should involve Differentiation, Customization, and Personalization.  Copyright © 2014 by Synergy Educational Services LLC. Patent pending.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

8. Patent pending 2011. Ante  From Latin: “before”  A small portion of a bet contributed by each player before the game even begins. Each round of bets requires the ante into the game.  Copyright © 2014 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com

9. Patent pending 2011. Ante  That’s all your GPA is: A small portion of a bet, but crucial:  it gets you into the game; allows you to compete against other applicants  or think of GPA as a ticket, like a movie ticket: You pay to get in.

10. Patent pending 2011. Your GPA... by itself  Means nothing Zip Zilch Nada Chinese students – and their parents – find this hard to believe. But it’s true.

11. Patent pending 2011. Unless...  You have outstanding Extracurricular activities like research projects, internships GRE score TOEFL scores Essays or Statements of Purpose Recommendations

12. Patent pending 2011. Differentiation is Crucial  GPA or GRE do not differentiate you All students applying to any given school will have approximately the same scores  What can differentiate you? Extracurricular activities Statements of Purpose Letters of recommendation

13. Patent pending 2011. Shanghai American School, September 2008  Presentations by admissions reps from: Brown University University of Pennsylvania  The reps said: “We look at the entire package.” PENN rep “We look at each candidate holistically.” Brown rep

14. Patent pending 2011. Holistic = entire package  Holistic: of or relating to the medical consideration of the complete person, physically and psychologically, in the treatment of a disease Pronunciation: /hō- ˈ lis-tik/ Function: adj 1 : of or relating to holism 2 : relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts  Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/holistichttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/holistic

15. Patent pending 2011. The entire, holistic package means: GPA plus:  Extracurricular activities (research or internships)  GRE score  TOEFL scores  Statements of Purpose  Recommendations

16. Patent pending 2011. A thought experiment  Imagine you are a senior admissions rep at a good school.  Two applications land on your desk.  One is from a young lady at SISU.  So, too, is the other.

17. Patent pending 2011. Thought experiment (cont’d)  Student #1: Highest GPA in her class over 3 years Outstanding GRE TOEFL: 118 Fine SP Letters of rec:  1 all about GPA; 1 about excellent English No extracurriculars listed

18. Patent pending 2011. Thought experiment (cont’d)  Student #2: GPA in Top 3 in her class over 4 years Outstanding GRE TOEFL: 118 Fine SP At least one outstanding letter of rec  That letter of rec (which the author of this document wrote) emphasized equally both academics and a wide variety of extracurriculars Go to synergyedu-usa.com to read rec letter

19. Patent pending 2011. Thought experiment (cont’d)  Which candidate would you choose?  Remember: You are judging “the whole package”--“holistically”.  Which candidate represents the more complete “package”?

20. Patent pending 2011. Thought experiment (cont’d)  This is based on two of the author’s former students. Student #1 applied to Cornell Student #2 applied to PENN  Student #1 was turned down  Student #2 was accepted

21. Patent pending 2011. What went wrong?  Student #1, Apple Lin (name changed), came into my office. She was in tears. I asked her why she was crying.  “Mr. Ned, I didn’t get into Cornell.”  I was stunned; asked her to show me her copies of her application documents.

22. Patent pending 2011. What went wrong? #1  Her letters of rec were misguided:  One emphasized GPA, “fine student”  The other emphasized her excellent English

23. Patent pending 2011. What went wrong? #2  Both letters of recommendation were misguided:  Approximately 90% of all applicants to U.S. schools are native speakers of English Thus, English does not truly differentiate a student Remember: All students who apply to a specific school or grad program will have similar (competitive) GPA’s and GRE’s GPA and GRE’s will not differentiate a student applying to a specific school from all the other students applying to that school who have similar qualifications.

24. Patent pending 2011. What went wrong? #3 She did not list any of her many extracurriculars  The emphasis solely on GPA, English was just silly

25. Patent pending 2011. What went right?  Student #2, Orange Zhang (name changed), admitted to PENN  After rejections from other Ivies, Apple Lin was admitted to her backup choice, the University of Michigan

26. Patent pending 2011. So!  If you do not have impressive extracurriculars, don’t even think of applying to top U.S. schools.  If you don’t have lots of extracurriculars, start now

27. Patent pending 2011. Start your own extracurriculars  Publish papers or articles in your major field of study  Do internships at top firms  Do research with top professors  Invent a device, patent it  Solve a problem

28. Patent pending 2011. Special note 1 re: SP and Recs  Your Statements of Purpose and letters of rec will “make or break” an application Importance of the SP and recs cannot be emphasized enough  Generally, Chinese students do not do a good job on the PS: Me, me, me! I, I, I! GPA! + imitation  Instead, you should demonstrate how you will add value to the campus community Teamwork + organizational skills + leadership  You must differentiate yourself Read SP’s that worked at various schools

29. Patent pending 2011. Special note 2 re: Customization  Ask your teachers to customize your letters of recommendation as much as possible Include the entire school address, beginning with Office of Admissions or Admissions Department or Admissions Office  Get this right; different schools will use different terms Go to the schools’ websites for complete details  Use “Dear Madame or Sir” Not “To Whom It May Concern” (impersonal) Or address the Dean or Director of Admissions by title or name  This shows you are doing research, are interested  Again, go to the schools’ websites to find addresses, names and titles

30. Patent pending 2011. Special note 2 re: Personalization  Letters of rec: Ask your teachers to include the word “you” at least once Writers of recs should tell how the applicant will add value to the campus community  For ex., “You may rest assured that (name) will bring his/her fire and energy to campus.”  or “You may rest assured that (your name) will add value to your campus through his/her commitment to excellence and the environment.”

31. Patent pending 2011. Recommendation letters  In 2009, the school where the author taught brought in an American consultant to speak about recommendation letters. She had been an Admissions Rep and Director at top U.S. schools (UConn, Yale)  She used the author’s recommendation letters as handouts. He writes the best, most powerful rec letters in the known universe. Go to synergyedu-usa.com to read samples.

32. Patent pending 2011. Above all (this is Truth #3)  Do not imitate or model your SP or essays on someone else’s. Speak/write with your own voice in your own words; tell your own story. Admissions reps will know the difference; they’ve heard and seen all the major “models” on the various websites and chat sites where Chinese students swap info and tips.  And don’t let your teachers copy a standard or form letter of recommendation.

33. Patent pending 2011. Case history:  The author heard the following on a flight back from New York: An American official at the embassy in Beijing had spent a great deal of time listening to visa requests from students who wanted to go to college or grad school in the U.S.

34. Patent pending 2011. Case History (cont’d):  He had heard all the usual nonsense about “Contributing to international understanding” and “cross-cultural exchange.”  He also knew most of the stories that were copied from Web chat sites where students swapped successful visa requests.

35. Patent pending 2011. Case Study (cont’d):  He grew quite bored and weary, and did not give visas to students who copied their reasons from the Web.  One Friday, a young Chinese student came in who wanted go to MIT or Caltech or some other top school.

36. Patent pending 2011. Case History (cont’d):  The visa officer asked the student why he wanted to go to school in the U.S.  The student’s reply went something like this: “My mother was in a car accident when she was very young. Since then, she has never walked without pain. I want to invent a device that will enable her to walk without pain.”

37. Patent pending 2011. Case Study (cont’d):  The visa officer was very impressed with the student’s reply, and stamped the visa.  But: The next Monday, all the students who came to request a visa told him the same or a similar story.

38. Patent pending 2011. Case Study (cont’d):  Do not do this type of thing.  Copying or imitating someone else’s voice can and will only hurt you.  Visa officers surf many of the major chat sites, thus they are familiar with the major trends in students’ thoughts. And they know the reasons for successful visa applications.

39. Patent pending 2011. Remember: Sing your own song in your own true voice.

40. Patent pending 2011. Best wishes & best success  Questions? Changing majors  Email me at: synergyedu.usa@gmail.com  Go to synergyedu-usa.com