JEROME BARTY-TAYLOR of Hong Kong-based education consultancy BartyED answers some of the key questions on how to apply for US colleges and other universities successfully. He also shares when international students should start their American university applications. For students applying to top universities – including Harvard University, MIT, Yale, UPenn and NYU – US admissions consulting is especially important.
When should a student start looking at the American university admissions process?
For successful US admissions, it’s essential to start planning early. For students targeting T20 schools (the 20 top-ranked national universities or colleges in America), that planning should start as early as Grade 9/10 depending on their academic trajectory.
At this early stage, we wouldn’t expect students to have developed a shortlist of target/reach/safety schools. Much of the work in Grade 9 and 10 is ensuring that students are building the right foundation: finding what subject areas interest them most, preparing for standardised tests and building an extra-curricular profile that makes sense.
Parents often ask us if one ECA is better than another “from an admissions perspective”, but this is to misunderstand the process. There is no magic activity which – if a student participates in it – will guarantee their entrance into a top university. Admissions officers value any activity which shows sustained contributions whether that be sports and music, initiatives that benefit the school community, or meaningful service beyond campus. What matters is the level of a student’s involvement in that activity and how they’ve grown as a result.
What else are US universities looking for?
For US colleges and universities, we often think of three pillars mentioned above: academics, extracurriculars and standardised testing. But at BartyED, we always talk to our students about two more: kindness and narrative writing.
Regarding the first, students often come to us with the required academics and standardised test scores, but they lack sustained involvement in activities which show genuine care and concern for their community. Rectifying this is crucial.
On the second, students at top US feeder schools will have spent a significantly larger part of their high school career working on narrative writing, finding and refining their authorial voice so they can create compelling, memorable narratives in their admissions essays. This is a domain where students in Hong Kong often struggle, especially if they’ve changed school systems, or haven’t been forced to read widely. Grade 9 and 10 is the time to be developing those writing skills so that students can produce convincing essays when the time comes.
How can a student stand out?
This is the essential question. As a rule of thumb, a “B” in a harder class is always better than an “A” in an easier one. Universities want students who demonstrate they’ve challenged themselves academically in high school.
Make sure your story is your own, not something your parents or a consultant has crafted for you. A friend who interviews for Harvard in Hong Kong told me of a recent candidate who’d co-founded a Hong Kong company as part of a service project. But when questioned, he was unable to explain who the other shareholders were, why a limited liability company was necessary to achieve their charitable goals, or what he’d done as company director since being appointed on his 18th birthday. A few pointed questions and the façade began to crack. Needless to say, she didn’t give a recommendation.
Hong Kong students often find that several of their classmates also want to apply to the same US universities as them. We always advise our students that it pays to be strategic; if students know that three or four of their classmates are stronger candidates – perhaps with a substantially higher SAT score, more leadership plaudits or better academics – then it might be worth reconsidering that school. After all, US admissions is a zero-sum game and prospective admits are being assessed against not only academics, cultural fit, values, but also every other applicant from their school, not to mention region. This means that standing out becomes not just about what you’ve done, but also who you’re standing with.
You need the time to refine your profile and develop strong narratives that will allow you to present yourself authentically and coherently to admissions officers.
How important are university admissions essays, personal statements and standardised tests?
Students will apply with the Common App for the schools which use this system; they submit a personal narrative essay which illustrates their story, personality and growth through high school. In addition, they submit supplemental essays for each of the Colleges to which they’re applying. These must help the admissions officer understand the student, their story and their cultural fit for the College.
I cannot stress highly enough the importance of good narrative writing to communicate that message. And AI is not a solution; in the last couple of cycles, elite schools like Harvard have been shortening the word count on each supplemental essay. While the stated goal is to lessen the strain of the admission process, it also has the unexpected benefit of defeating current generation LLMs. An AI is unable to explain in a mere 150 words how it will use its Harvard education without resorting to superficial cliche and platitude.
Finally, if you’re applying to a competitive university, “test optional” doesn’t mean test-optional; schools list their 25-75% Percentile SAT Range in their Common Data Sets. It’s essential to consider this when constructing a short-list of targets, safeties and reaches.
How can BartyED help?
The process of US College admissions is, to use the old cliché, a marathon, not a sprint. If you’re aiming high, then starting your preparations in Grade 11 simply isn’t sufficient. You need the time to refine your profile and develop strong narratives that will allow you to present yourself authentically and coherently to admissions officers. The most challenging part of the process is how arcane it is, filled with conflicting advice. Tips that may help you get into Stanford might not be that helpful if you’re targeting UPenn or Yale.
I see our role at BartyED as untangling all the various components that go into a successful College application. Our consultants are trained to be student-led, and they make sure that each candidate has total ownership over the process. But it should be said, we also make sure to guide them from profile shaping in Grade 10, all the way through final decision-making and dorm selection.
Our admissions consultants don’t take on many students in each cycle, specifically so that we can really work intensively with them. This results in strong mentoring relationships that allow students to explore and develop and build on their passions in novel and interesting ways. I’m proud that the team at BartyED has been able to play even a supporting role in our candidates’ growth and trajectory towards successful admissions. It’s an intense process, but it leads to valuable personal insight in our students.
BartyED supports candidates every year for the US but is also seeing increasing interest in UK and European options in recent years. If you’re interested in learning more about the various admissions packages available, contact the team at enquiries@bartyed.com or 2882 1017.
This article first appeared in Expat Living magazine in Hong Kong. You can buy the latest issue or an annual subscription or read the digital version for free now.
