Admissions Consulting Case Studies

The following are several case studies to highlight the ways that our admissions consulting services have benefitted students over the years.

Client Profile: “C” had applied to The Winsor School for admission in 5th grade, and she was not admitted. Her mother did not understand why “C” was not admitted. She was a well-rounded student with a strong academic record, who attended a well-regarded private school. She played sports, attended math enrichment classes, was chosen to attend the John Hopkins CTY Program, played the piano, and participated in volunteer work with her family.

The Assessment: We reviewed her application, a diagnostic assessment for the ISEE was administered, and we met with the student and her mother. It was clear that although “C” was a strong student, she was not prepared for the rigor of the ISEE, as she had scored in the average range on her prior test. She was also very shy, and likely did not make a memorable impression during her interview. The application that was submitted was also lack-luster and did not stand out.

The Recommendation: We suggested “C” start on test prep right away to boost her scores for the fall test. We also worked with her to research Winsor, and several other schools we identified as a good fit for her. We worked with her on interview preparation, and we helped her write standout application responses. We also worked with her mother to prepare her for the parent interviews, and we consulted with her on the parent applications and essays.

The Result: “C” was admitted to all the schools she applied to for middle school, and she chose to attend Winsor for the 6th grade. We worked with her younger sister, and also placed her at Winsor.

Client Profile: “E” applied to Belmont Hill for 7th grade, and he was not admitted. His parents could not understand why. “E” was a top student at very good suburban public school. He was an accomplished ice hockey player, who played on several select teams. He attended a math enrichment program, was a peer leader in his school, and played the piano and the saxophone.

The Assessment: We reviewed the application that “E” submitted to Belmont Hill, and his test scores, and we met with “E” and his parents. We also had “E” complete an ISEE diagnostic with us, as it had been 6 months since he took his last test. His test scores were average, and his application responses were brief, and not very insightful. The parent and the student application responses did not exhibit why he was a good fit for the school.

The Recommendation: We suggested “E” start test prep immediately so that he could raise his score for the fall test. We worked with ‘E” to research Belmont Hill thoroughly so that he could demonstrate why he was a good fit for the school, and we added several other schools to his list. We worked with “E” to prepare for his interviews, and we helped him craft application responses that helped the schools see why he was a good fit. We also worked with his parents to prepare them for their interviews, and we consulted on the parent applications.

The Result: “E” was admitted to 4 of the 5 schools he applied to for middle school. He attended Belmont Hill, and repeated 7th grade, at their suggestion. Since he was coming from public school, they wanted to make sure he was well prepared for the rigor of the work at Belmont Hill.

Client Profile: “A” had applied to The Winsor School for 5th-grade admission, and she was not admitted. Her parents were very upset, and they could not figure out why she was not admitted. “A” attended a very strong suburban public school system (one ranked consistently as one of the best in the state). She was a good student, who participated in math enrichment classes, attended Johns Hopkins CTY classes, was in a Lego robotics league, and attended the BU Summer Institute for the Gifted. She played team sports in her town, was a member of the swim and chess teams, played the piano and flute, participated in theater and dance programs, and did volunteer work with her family.

The Assessment: We reviewed the application and her test scores, and we met with “A” and her parents. We also conducted a lower level ISEE diagnostic, to get a sense of how she would score on the test as a 6th grade applicant. Her scores were average, and her responses to the student applicant questions and essays did not show that she had a good understanding of the school. She was also very shy, and likely did not stand out during the group interview.

The Recommendation: We suggested “A” start test prep right away, so that she could raise her scores significantly on the fall test. We worked with “A” and her family to research a list of schools (including Winsor) that would be a good fit for her, and helped her and her parents prepare for their interviews, and submit applications that stood out.

The Result: As her family learned more about the schools in the Boston area, they fell in love with BB&N. “A” was admitted to 4 of the 5 schools she applied to for admission to the 6th grade, and she chose to attend BB&N. We also worked with her younger sister, and we placed her at BB&N as well.

Client Profile: “O” applied to private middle school in Houston and she was not admitted to any of the schools to which she applied. Her mother contacted us and asked if we would with them remotely, as they planned to re-apply the next year. “O” was attending a Montessori school in the Houston area, and her grades were very good. She was a member of the National Elementary Honor Society, and her writing had been published in the local paper. She played volleyball on her school’s team, played tennis, and was on a swim team. She was a Girl Scout, played the piano, was in an art club, and she had taken dance classes since she was in pre-school. She also did volunteer work through her school.

The Assessment: We looked at the applications that had been submitted the prior year, and the responses were often very brief, and in some cases, no response was given (her mom had simply put “N/A” when she could not think of a response). Her test scores were average, and there was nothing in the applications that stood out. Her mom explained that there were only 3 “top” schools in the Houston area, and there was a lot of competition for a limited number of seats in the middle school. 

The Recommendation: We started tutoring for the ISEE right away so that we could boost her scores for the fall test. We worked with “O” to research the 3 schools, and made sure she understood what they had to offer, and how she fit in. She took copious notes on what classes she was interested in taking in the upper school, what sports she wanted to play, and what clubs, volunteer activities, travel opportunities and special programs she wanted to be a part of at these schools. We worked with her to prepare for her interviews. We also worked on making sure that she had detailed, thoughtful responses to all the application questions and essays. We also worked with her parents to prepare them for their interviews, and we made sure their parent applications were detailed, and they illustrated how “O” was a fit for the schools.

 The Result: “O” was admitted to all 3 schools, and attended her top choice school – St. John’s. We also worked with her younger brother, to place him at St. John’s.

Client Profile: “E” came to us in 5th grade to prepare for the ISEE for admission to the Boston Exam Schools. We had worked with his sister a few years prior, and she was attending Boston Latin School. The family was not thinking about private school. “E” came from a single-parent household with three children, and his family could not afford private school.

The Assessment: During the course of our time working with “E” we saw what a special young man he was. He was smart, polite, athletic, artistic, hard-working, and humble. We suggested to his mom that they look at The Roxbury Latin School. His mom was reluctant to apply to private schools because they could not afford to pay the tuition. We explained that Roxbury Latin was unique among Boston area schools in that they meet 100% of demonstrated need.

The Recommendation: We worked with “E” to prepare him for his interview, and we consulted with him and his mom on their applications. We were happy to do this work gratis for this family, as we saw great potential in this young man.

The Result: “E” was admitted to Roxbury Latin School, with a generous scholarship, and we helped his younger brother also gain admission to the school a few years later. “E” had a wonderful experience at RL, and we were happy to help make this opportunity a possibility for him and his family. 

Client Profile: “B” came to us in 5th grade, with the goal of gaining admission to a private school in 7th grade. She had come to Boston from China a few years prior, and she had attended an international school in China, where she was taught entirely in English. While she was fluent in English, her vocabulary and reading skills were not as strong as those of a native speaker. She attended a suburban public school system, ranked in the top 10 in the state. She attended math enrichment classes, Chinese School, took French lessons, and participated in a Lego League. She played basketball and soccer, was on a swim team, and took ballet and gymnastics lessons. She also played the piano and guitar, and she did volunteer work in the community with her family.

The Assessment: While “B” did well in school, and in her extracurricular academic programs, the vocabulary and reading passages on the ISEE were challenging for her. She also struggled with the math word problems on the test, because they are worded in a confusing way. She was very discouraged, and she was very hard on herself. We gave her constant encouragement and support, and her family worked with her on building her vocabulary skills, and on breaking down math word problems.

The Recommendation: We provided her family with supplemental material, to work with her at home to enhance the work we were doing in tutoring. We worked with her parents to develop a list of schools that would be a good fit for “B”. We helped “B” research the schools so that she could picture herself there. We gave her pep talks when she got discouraged, and we encouraged her to persevere. We helped her prepare for her interviews, and we worked with her on her applications and essays. We saw tremendous growth and maturity in “B” by the time she entered 6th grade in the fall.

The Result: “B” was admitted to 2 of the 3 schools she applied to, and she ended up attending her first choice school – Dana Hall.

Client Profile: “K” and his family were relocating to the Boston area, and his parents were looking for a competitive private school for “K” for middle/high school. They applied to a number of schools for “K”, and he was only admitted to one school, which ended before high school. They did not understand the highly competitive nature of private school admissions in Boston, and they turned to us for help with placing “K” at a “top” high school in the Boston area.

The Assessment: We reviewed the applications that “K” and his family submitted for middle school, his school records, and test scores. We gave “K” an upper-level SSAT diagnostic, as the test he took for middle school was the ISEE. “K” had scored very well on the ISEE, but his applications were lackluster, and his school records from his prior school had some teacher comments that indicated that he was disorganized, and he did not always work up to his potential.

The Recommendation: We started SSAT prep so that he would acclimate to the new test, and score well on the fall tests. We worked with “K” (who was very shy) to develop his “voice” in the interviews, and hone his stories for the admissions committee. “K” had some amazing stories to tell about helping a friend from elementary school who was facing a serious illness. “K” was a very accomplished student, who started taking Latin in middle school, and he was interested in robotics and coding. He took weekly lessons in Java and Python programming. He was on the cross country, squash, and crew teams at his school. He also volunteered in his community, and through his school. We highlighted in his applications the growth “K” showed in middle school, and his willingness to take on new challenges, and try new experiences.

The Result: “K” was admitted to his top choice school, and he is now attending Phillips Exeter Academy. We will be working with his younger brother to also place him at Exeter.