In-Person Application Seminar

How it works

Our one-of-a-kind Application Seminar matches 4 to 8 students with a certified Ivy Insiders Admissions Consultant for a four-week program culminating in the completion of each student’s application to their top school of choice. As an Ivy Insiders Application Seminar participant, you will benefit from:

• Five 2-hour workshops delivering pointed guidance, concrete examples, and structured exercises for each part of your application.
• Weekly out-of-seminar assignments to complete every step in your application. All of your work will be reviewed within two days by your seminar’s head admissions consultant.
• Personalized feedback and editing from your admissions consultant on your essay, resume, cover letter, and short question answers.
• Completion of a final draft of the application to your top college or university by the end of the seminar.
• Development of a customized completion timeline for all of your college applications, letters of recommendations, and other admissions materials.

Schedule

Each week of the Ivy Insiders Application Seminar is structured around one of the four core parts of an outstanding college application.

Week 1 – Activity Grid and Resume

During Week 1, students complete their activities grid, develop a first draft of their resume, and begin brainstorming personal statement ideas.

Week 2 – The Personal Statement

During Week 2, seminar leaders introduce students to the qualities of an exceptional personal statement. By the end of Week 2, each student will have completed a first draft of his or her personal statement.

Week 3 – Revision and Editing

During Week 3, students revise and edit their essays with the help of their seminar leader’s editing acumen. Students will see their essays develop the subtleties of voice and style that distinguishes great writing.

Week 4 - Packaging

Week 4 is about bringing each part of the application together into a cohesive whole, Students end this week with complete drafts of their resumes, activity grids, personal statements, and short answers – all tied together through compelling application themes.

The Right Approach

Ivy Insiders Admissions programs draw on first-hand insights from the hundreds of successful Ivy League applicants who make up our ranks of instructors, admissions consultants, and curriculum developers nationwide. By reverse-engineering actual successful applications rather than simply regurgitating the criteria published by colleges, we have identified the proven ways in which top applicants really set themselves apart in competitive admissions pools.

Outstanding Consultants

We believe that the best way to succeed in the college admissions process is with the help of someone who has been there themselves and succeeded at the highest levels. That’s why every Ivy Insiders admissions consultant is a graduate or undergraduate from one of the world’s most competitive colleges. But being able to get in to an Ivy League school isn’t enough. Ivy Insiders application consultants are hired because they stand out from their other Ivy League peers as unmatched writers, mentors, and admissions experts. Most have backgrounds in creative writing and editing and many are published essayists and authors. In 2009, of the more than 200 Ivy League graduates and undergraduates who applied to become Ivy Insiders admissions consultants, just 35 were selected.