Common Application
Supplemental Essays
College List-Building
For Ryan, understanding all of the various steps involved with the admissions journey was first and foremost in his mind, because without understanding what to do and when to do it, he felt lost. This is the case for many students, and while we work with hundreds of students each year, individual students going through the process alone at home feel confused and isolated. So, developing Ryan’s confidence by educating him about the process was a crucial first step that led to a renewed enthusiasm for it all!
In addition, writing about oneself is a daunting task that intimidates even the most confident students, so Ryan felt quite uncomfortable entering into the essay-writing process of his applications. He struggled with structure, language, and tone, but content ideas were the most difficult of all. His goals included writing without being cliche and telling stories that make him stand out from his peers.
Our team began by performing a comprehensive review of Ryan’s overall student profile, including his academics and extracurriculars, as well as awards and honors, to best understand the themes defining his journey toward college admissions and craft a compelling narrative for committees.
Upon review, we matched Ryan with Samantha, whose background and counseling experience aligned perfectly with his ambitions to enter Business & Finance programs. She began by teaching him all of the various elements within the Common Application, so that everything he submitted was clear and coherent for admissions teams seeking to understand his profile. Working closely together, they put together a balanced school list that reflected Ryan’s ambitions and his admissions potential at every level. From there, they brainstormed, outlined, and revised each and every essay. As the process progressed, it became clear that Ryan’s #1 goal was to attend Wake Forest University, and they applied ahead of the Early Decision deadline, which led to his acceptance!
Wake Forest University (Early Decision I)
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My overall experience was great, and I enjoyed my time with Dewey Smart! From matching me with Samantha as a College Counselor who aligned with my goals to giving me a clear structure of goals each session and always checking-up on the quality of my experience, their team always did an awesome job.
Samantha was very helpful throughout the process and super-flexible with timing. She told me about her own personal application experience, helped me edit my Common App Essay and Supplemental Essays, and took me through exactly what everything on my Common App should look like. She was basically there for me every step, starting with getting my initial ideas and finishing with hitting submit on my applications!
