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

Patent pending The Truth re: College Apps Truth #1: Your GPA is merely – and only -- your ante into the poker game called Admissions. Truth #2: Your best approach to college applications should involve Differentiation, Customization, and Personalization. Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC. Patent pending. All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending This Ppt was created by: Ned Boudreau, founder & president of Synergy Educational Services LLC, a college advisory firm. Synergy is a legal entity incorporated and registered in the state of Delaware, USA. (Delaware State File Number: ) Its mission is to provide Chinese students with informed, appropriate advice regarding their choice of colleges in the U.S. or the United Kingdom, as well as with 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. Synergy also provides language training through its subsidiary, U.S. Ex-pat English.  Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending 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.  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  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending Your GPA...  Don’t mean nothin’ Zip Zilch Nada  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending Unless...  You have outstanding Extracurricular activities (not just the required IBO CAS activities) SAT’s TOEFL scores Essays or personal statements Recommendations  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending Differentiation is Crucial  GPA and SAT do not differentiate you All students applying to any given school will have approximately the same scores  What can differentiate you? Extracurricular activities Personal statement or essay Letters of recommendation  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending 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  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC. Patent pending.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending 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:  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC. Patent pending.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending The entire, holistic package means: GPA plus:  Extracurricular activities (not IBO CAS)  SAT’s  TOEFL scores  Personal essays or statements  Recommendations  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending For example  Former students at Shanghai High School International Division (SHSID)  Author’s nieces and nephew Harvard + Cornell (early decision) + MIT  Niece #1: cellist + champion equestrian  Niece #2: national champion, crew 4-oar boat + violinist  Nephew: champion volleyball team + debate team + certified scuba diver  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending SHSID: A thought experiment  Imagine you are a senior admissions rep at a decent school.  Two applications land on your desk. Both early decision  One is from a young lady at Shanghai High School International Division.  So, too, is the other.  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending Thought experiment (cont’d)  Student #1: Highest GPA in International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) Outstanding SAT’s + SAT II’s Fine PS Letters of rec:  1 all about GPA; 1 about excellent English No extracurriculars listed  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending Thought experiment (cont’d)  Student #2: GPA in Top 3 of IBDP Outstanding SAT’s and SAT 11’s Fine PS 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  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending Thought experiment (cont’d)  Which candidate would you choose?  Remember: You are judging “the whole package”--“holistically”.  Which candidate represents the more complete “package”?  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending Thought experiment (cont’d)  This is based on two of the author’s former students. Student #1 applied early decision to Cornell Student #2 applied early decision to PENN  Student #1 was turned down  Student #2 was accepted  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending What went wrong?  Student #1, Apple Lin (name changed), came into the 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.  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending What went wrong?  Her letters of rec were misguided:  One emphasized GPA, “fine student”  The other emphasized her excellent English 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  All students who apply to a specific college will have similar (competitive) GPA’s and SAT’s GPA and SAT’s will not differentiate a student applying to a specific school from all the other students applying to that school who have similar qualifications. She did not list any of her many extracurriculars  The emphasis solely on GPA, SAT’s, English was just silly  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending What went right?  Student #2, Orange Zhang (name changed), admitted early decision to PENN  After rejections from other Ivies, Apple Lin was admitted to her backup choice, University of Michigan She’s very happy there (tho she admitted she was “freezing”)  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC. Patent pending.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending 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: Join clubs, activities outside school Start your own (very impressive)  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending Start your own extracurriculars  On-campus or off-campus clubs, activities  Follow your own interests Chess? Drama? Shakespeare? Start a club at school, or a community theatre Business? establish one; a real one! Charity? do fundraising Environment? start a neighborhood initiative: edu, recycle, etc.  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending SAT’s?  Highly recommended; top American schools will look for them  “Top” schools = top 100 on Princeton Review or U.S. News & World Report lists  Elite schools certainly expect SAT’s Note: Even if they say they don’t “require” them  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending Special note 1 re: PS and Recs  The personal statement and letters of rec will “make or break” an application Importance of the PS 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 PS’s that worked at various schools  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC. Patent pending.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending 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  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending 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 her fire and energy to campus.”  or “You may rest assured that (name) will add value to your campus through his/her commitment to excellence and the environment.”  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending Recommendation letters  In 2009, the school where the author taught brought in an American consultant to speak about recommendation letters. She had been Director of Admissions at top U.S. schools  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.  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending Above all (this is Truth #3)  Do not imitate or model your PS 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.  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending 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.  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending Case History (cont’d):  He had heard all the usual formulaic 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.

Patent pending 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.  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending 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 comfortably. I want to invent a device that will enable her to walk without pain.”  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending 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.  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

Patent pending 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.  Copyright © 2012 by Synergy Educational Services LLC.  All rights reserved. Go to synergyedu-usa.com.

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

Patent pending Best wishes & best success  Cheers and regards  Thank you  Questions? (changing majors?)  Go to synergyedu-usa.com