Wanted to give everyone a heads up that my 1-on-1 mentorship spots for this cycle are filling up faster than expected. I keep the number small on purpose so I can actually give each student the attention they deserve, and once I hit capacity, that's it until next year. If working together directly is something you've been thinking about, check out thedoubleivygrad.com/services to see what's available and DM me here with any questions or to get the ball rolling.

Most juniors right now are building their college list the wrong way. They start with rankings, add a few dream schools, sprinkle in some safeties, and call it done. That is not a strategy. That is a wishlist. A real school list is built backwards from your narrative. Every school on it should have a specific reason tied to your profile, not just prestige or location. If you cannot explain in two sentences why School X fits your particular story, it should not be on your list. Here is what I see go wrong every cycle. Students apply to 20 schools but only 3 of them actually align with what makes them distinct. The other 17 are filler apps with generic supplements, and admissions officers can tell immediately. Between now and July, you should be doing three things. First, identify the 5 to 7 programs or opportunities at each school that connect directly to your ECs and intended major. Second, sort your list into likely, target, and reach based on your actual stats and profile, not hope. Third, cut any school where you cannot write a compelling "Why Us" essay without copying from the website tour page. Your list should be tight, intentional, and narrative driven. Fifteen well matched schools will outperform twenty five random ones every single time. What does your current school list look like and what is driving your choices? Drop it below and I will tell you what I would change.

A 780 SAT Math score is strong. But Columbia does not admit math scores. They admit people. One of my students came to me as an IB student based in Spain with a clear passion for civil engineering. What made this profile different was not just the coursework or the test scores. It was the range. This student competed in Division 1 club basketball, made three regional playoffs, reached a final, and won a Polish international tournament. At the same time, they conducted independent civil engineering research across 11th and 12th grade and earned their Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award. That combination told Columbia something specific: this is someone who performs under pressure in completely different environments. The basketball court. The research setting. The IB classroom. Each one demanding a different kind of discipline, and this student showed up in all three. The lesson here is simple. Engineering applicants at top schools are everywhere. What separates the admits is proof that your drive extends beyond academics. Columbia wants builders, competitors, people who test themselves in more than one arena. If your profile only tells one story, it is time to ask whether you are showing enough range.

Most students sit down in August, open a blank document, and try to write a personal statement from scratch. That is how you end up with a generic essay about "overcoming challenges" or "learning from failure" that reads like ten thousand other applications. The real work happens now, in the brainstorm phase, before you type a single sentence. Here is what I want you to do this week. Open your phone's notes app and start a running list. Every time something strikes you, write it down. A conversation that shifted how you think. A moment where you felt genuinely angry about something that matters to you. A habit you have that nobody else around you seems to share. A contradiction in your life that you have never fully explained to anyone. You are not looking for the "best" story. You are looking for the most specific one. The essay that gets you into Yale is not about the biggest thing that happened to you. It is about the smallest moment that reveals how your mind works. By mid May you should have 15 to 20 raw entries on that list. Not polished. Not pretty. Just honest observations about your own life. The students I have worked with who wrote the strongest essays all started with a messy list like this months before they drafted anything. What is one moment from this past year that changed how you see something? Drop it below, even if it feels small.

Most families wait until October to think about financial aid. By then, you have already lost leverage. If you are applying to private universities this fall, your family's 2025 tax return is the one that matters for FAFSA and CSS Profile. That means the financial decisions your parents make between now and December directly affect your aid package. This is not something to figure out in November. Here is what you should be doing right now. First, sit down with your parents and look at the Net Price Calculator on every school you are seriously considering. These are free on each university's website. They give you a realistic estimate, not the sticker price that scares families away from schools that might actually be more affordable than your state flagship. Second, ask whether your family will need to file the CSS Profile. Most top private schools require it. It asks for far more detail than FAFSA, including home equity, small business assets, and noncustodial parent information. Surprises on the CSS Profile in October create panic. Third, if you are considering ED anywhere, understand that you are locking in one financial aid offer with zero negotiating power. That is fine if the Net Price Calculator shows a number your family can handle. It is a disaster if you never ran the numbers. I have seen students get into dream schools and not be able to attend because the financial conversation happened too late. Have you and your parents actually run a Net Price Calculator yet?