IZ Insider
Creating a Unique and Compelling Theme: A Columbia Success Story
How to Create a History Theme for Your Application
As you may remember from last week, I will be spending the next couple of months discussing different academic themes that will help you stand out as a specialized and dedicated student on your college application. This week, I will talk about building a History Theme. Remember the 4 areas to cover when constructing an […]
How to Create an Art Theme for Your College Application
Having a theme can give you a strong foundation on when working on your college applications. When the admissions committee sees that you have activities that are unified and well supported, they will know that they are dealing with a serious student and your application will be a lot more appealing. How do you build […]
Why Time is Running out on Your College Applications
It’s the middle of a cold, dead winter, and many people are looking forward to warmer, better days. The winter months sap our motivation, and the summer represents the perfect time in the future for you to finally start studying for SATs, writing college application essays, asking for recommendations, and enhancing your extracurricular resume. However, this […]
Amnesty Int’l Rocks! (a Columbia University Success Story)
We’re big supporters of Amnesty International at IvyZen. Our students have started over 50 student chapters across the globe over the past 10 years and have collectively gathered over 10,000 signatures for more than a hundred political action campaigns! Today’s post talks about Amnesty International and the amazing work they do. In addition, we present a […]
A Realistic Look at Deliberate Practice and 5 Tips for Ivy League Success
I really have some mixed feelings about discussing Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in the context of education and the Ivy Leagues, but I think this one time it’s worth it. This past weekend we had as big a shocker in the MMA world as we’ve ever had: Holly Holm knocked out Rhonda Rousey. Holm dominated Rousey with a perfect […]
How to be a Mentor to Your Star Child & a Harvard Success Story
We talk with hundreds of great parents of superstar students every year. One key discussion we have with all parents is the need for them to be a mentor to their son/daughter – especially during the college application process (but throughout high school) and especially to high-achieving students. That’s right, stop being a parent and […]
“I got rejected from early admissions!”
“I got rejected from early admissions! I’m doomed!” This is a common refrain we hear during this time of the year. Although about half our students get into their early app schools, the other half who are deferred or rejected are left confused, bewildered, shocked, upset and anxious. The worst part of not getting in […]
Our Success Stories
Karen’s Success Story
When we start working with a student we don’t just sit down with them for an hour, develop a theme and then wham! they get into the school of their choice…
John’s Success Story
John had aspirations of majoring in business and eventually attending a business graduate program, but his high school was lacking in opportunities for future business students…
Zach’s Success Story
Zach came to us after hearing about our service from a former student. He and his mom were nervous that Zach wasn’t on the right track with his applications. As soon as we met, Zach …
Debbie’s Success Story
Debbie was a top math student at her school. She had done consistently well on her AMCs and had qualified for AIME three years in a row. She was the Captain of her math team and …