Ivy Link Student Success Stories.
*These stories are not comprehensive and show only a sampling of the wide range of students we have worked with over the years.
Ivy Link Admissions Success Stories
Alex | Harvard | Class of 2025
BACKGROUND & CHALLENGES
Alex began working with Ivy Link in 10th grade. He was an A+/A student at an all-boys private school in New York City and aspired to gain admission to a top college. After a 360-review of Alex’s academic and personal profile, his advisor at Ivy Link concluded that although Alex was the captain of his basketball team and took all of the AP and honors classes available at his school, he didn’t stand out in any particular area. Additional meetings revealed that Alex was bright, ambitious, and hard-working, but his talents and interests had not been properly directed. Moreover, while his private school was a good one, it did not provide many opportunities for students like Alex to demonstrate his true potential – and importantly, gain the measurable accomplishments that top colleges seek.
HOW IVY LINK HELPED
Alex and his advisor immediately went to work to find ways that Alex could excel. After many intensive brainstorming sessions, Alex and his advisor discovered that Alex possessed an unconventional mix of intellectual and extracurricular interests. In addition to a penchant for math and an eye on finance, Alex was keenly interested in and devoted much time to the classics, including classical languages, and volunteer work. However, reading on his own time, taking Greek and Latin, and racking up volunteer hours were not measurable or compelling accomplishments for Alex’s target colleges. We needed to find ways to showcase Alex’s genuine interests and talents.
Over the ensuing months, we researched competitive programs that Alex could pursue outside of school during the academic terms and the summers. For example, the Ivy Link Committee recommended a rigorous research project in ancient history and literature for Alex with a respected museum. We took a side interest outside of the classroom and turned it into a bona fide academic pursuit. We also guided Alex toward a community service organization that combined his varied strengths in basketball, mentoring, and tutoring to help at-risk kids. Simultaneously, Alex prepared for the ACT with an Ivy Link tutor. A natural test-taker, Alex needed strategies to achieve a very high score under minimal time given his many extracurricular pursuits recommended by Ivy Link. After seven months of weekly tutoring, and nine full-length practice tests, Alex scored a 35 on his official ACT early in 11th grade.
OUTCOMES
When it came time to apply, Alex was able to draw from his multifaceted profile and accomplishments. With the guidance of his advisor, Alex crafted a compelling narrative that tied together his passions in classics, sports, and community service, while demonstrating leadership and measurable accomplishments in his varied, but thematic, pursuits. Alex became the only student at his high school in at least four years to attend Harvard.
“I began working with Ivy Link years before I started my college applications. Although I was a top student at my high school with superb grades and test scores, I was unsure of where to start my college process. Which colleges should I consider? What metrics should I use to evaluate colleges? What would colleges look for in addition to my excellent grades and test scores? How should I spend my academic year and summer doing what I enjoy while also enhancing my college prospects?
Ivy Link’s expertise and experience helped me to identify the colleges that were right for me and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each school. My advisor, Adam, and I considered a range of colleges, which we eventually narrowed to a short, focused list that reflected my academic interests, extracurricular pursuits, and long-term goals, as well as considerations like geography, size, campus culture, and proximity to a major city. Importantly, my advisor helped me to cultivate a compelling intellectual and extracurricular profile that would fit with my top-choice colleges.
When it came time to apply, my advisor took the time to know me as an individual, understand my values and interests, and help me articulate my passions and accomplishments in a way that truly highlighted my strengths, including my leadership skills, intellectual curiosities, and athleticism. Adam also helped me to identify the qualities that made me stand out as a candidate among thousands of other applicants.
Throughout the process, Adam exhibited the qualities of an effective coach — knowledgeable, strategic, and encouraging. He provided me with thoughtful feedback and suggestions, and helped me to stay organized and on track, providing me with timeframes and reminders so that I never missed an important deadline.
When I received my acceptance letter from Harvard, Adam was one of the first people I contacted to share the exciting news.
”
Jackson | Stanford | Class of 2023
BACKGROUND
Jackson, an Asian student, came to Ivy Link in the middle of 10th grade. He had excellent grades, including many A+’s, from a mid-range competitive private school. Jackson took the maximum number of AP and Honors courses permitted by his school. Jackson’s activities list was chocked full of activities – debate, volunteer work tutoring kids, math club, science club, varsity basketball, Latin club, computer science club, coding academy, piano, etc. His mom said that Jackson’s goal was to study math and computer science and launch a startup. Jackson and his mom were aiming for: Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and UPenn (where both of Jackson’s parents were alumni from UPenn’s Wharton School).
CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED BY IVY LINK
While we were impressed with Jackson’s stellar grades and the many activities he was involved in (the Ivy Link staff felt overwhelmed reading his activities list!), we couldn’t identify what was special and compelling about Jackson! At our initial meeting, Jackson seemed passive, and his mom was doing all of the talking. At Ivy Link, we see so many Jackson’s, i.e., students who are academically stellar but simply boring. They were good at acing their classes/exams and participating in whatever activities they were told to do. We call them the “A-bots” – passionless, high-achievers who are destined for admission rejections at the highly selective colleges. Jackson was an A-bot, and even more alarming, his computer science, math, and tech attributes fit the stereotypes of the Asian male that often turn off colleges like Harvard and Stanford.
HOW IVY LINK HELPED
After reviewing Jackson’s numerous activities, we prioritized them by themes. Next, we got Jackson to open up about what truly motivated him. (Jackson’s mom eventually agreed with us that it was in Jackson’s long-term interest for him to take the lead on his college admissions process.) After several meetings, including ones with Jackson only, we discovered that Jackson really cared about working with underserved kids, especially elementary school students. However, Jackson struggled with why some students made progress while others did not. We helped direct Jackson toward a summer research project studying early childhood education and the psychology behind motivation and grit. We also connected Jackson with a years-long program that trains leaders on advocacy tools and cultural awareness when working in underserved communities. During the summer of his junior year, Jackson fine-tuned his research to examine how learning environments affected young girls differently from boys, as well as ways to address gender-based and economic-based education inequality. He also interned at an education non-profit and taught as a teacher’s assistant at a summer program for underserved elementary school students.
We reduced the time Jackson committed to certain activities like piano, which Jackson didn’t care for and wasn’t particularly impressive in. This freed up his time for the activities that were more compelling and that he truly cared about. It also allowed him time to prepare for the SAT and Subject Tests with Ivy Link tutors. Jackson scored a 1540 on his SAT and above 730 on each of three Subject Tests.
While Jackson still harbored entrepreneurship dreams, Jackson found that he would like to pursue innovation in the education sector in order to make an impact in the underserved communities that he had been exposed to. Stanford appealed greatly to Jackson given its strong humanities and innovative start-up ecosystem. We knew that Stanford is inundated with applicants (especially Asians) wanting to study computer science or engineering. We helped Jackson distinguish himself and present accomplishments in his true interests: education, psychology, and not-for-profit innovation.
OUTCOMES
Jackson applied to Stanford in the early round and was accepted in December of his senior year. Jackson decided to matriculate at Stanford and not apply anywhere else. He enjoyed the remainder of his senior year, including Christmas and New Year’s, without worrying about the Regular Round college applications. (Jackson’s parents were not disappointed that their son chose Stanford over their alma mater, UPenn.) In Jackson’s admissions cycle, Stanford admit rate was 4.18% -- even lower than Harvard’s 4.5%.
“After a few weeks, it has finally begun to sink in that I will be attending Stanford in the fall. It’s like a dream, I am absolutely overjoyed! I wanted to thank you again for everything you’ve done for me. What a journey this has been. Good thing I didn’t wait til junior year to start the process with you! I’m so glad to have been exposed early on to the projects and research issues that you recommended for me. I really believe that helped my application stand out, and it’s something I still enjoy and will continue to pursue at Stanford. You were such an amazing source of wisdom, motivation, and support for such an important period in my life, and I cannot say enough how grateful I am.”
Additional College Admissions Testimonials
“My advisor was the best college advisor I could’ve asked for! She was extremely diligent in assessing which schools I would be likely to get into, and made me feel confident in every school to which I applied. And it paid off! Out of the 20 schools to which I applied, I only got denied from one. She provided me with a lot of guidance when it came to writing my supplements and helped polish my college essay. Having her, my common application was both easy to fill out, and exceptionally strong due to her taking the time to know me. Overall, I doubt that my college application process would’ve been as successful without her.”
“Despite a good GPA, constant involvement in extracurricular activities, and reading as much literature outside of school as possible, I could not improve my SAT score. My instructor, one of the friendliest, most brilliant students I have known, broke down complicated math problems that my own instructors failed to simplify, and his casual yet professional demeanor made taking the actual examination feel far less pressured than it had in the past. Thanks to my instructor’s help, I was accepted Early Decision II at Bowdoin College. I doubt that I would have earned such success were it not for my instructor’s guidance.”
“I’m so thrilled to be attending Cornell University! Starting from even before high school and into senior year, my Ivy Link advisor helped me to identify my passions and areas that I could excel at. He then helped me find extracurricular activities and internships that developed my interests and gave me a chance to shine. In addition to helping me achieve my target ACT scores, Ivy Link provided guidance with my academics in school. I always felt on track and confident in the academic and extracurricular path I was pursuing!
When it came time to apply, Ivy Link advised me on colleges that were a good fit for me and showed me how to highlight my achievements and distinguish myself to colleges through my essays and other parts of my application. Although the college process was daunting and nerve-racking, I had the support and guidance of my advisors to help me create the most genuine and strong application I could. By the time I had completed the application process, I was extremely proud of all of my hard work over the last four years as well as the person I had become at the end of it. I felt that the entire process with Ivy Link over the years helped me grow, take responsibility for my own education, and discover who I am as I head into the next chapter of my life. I was accepted to Cornell University in the Early Decision round and couldn’t be more excited! ”
Ivy Link SAT & ACT Success Stories
“My Ivy Link tutor was an extremely patient and diligent tutor. Studying for the SAT is unique in the fact that sometimes you have to re-learn concepts you learned years ago, and Tommy was so great at making these old concepts exciting for me to practice. He made sure I understood each unit no matter how many times I had to go over it. In addition to practicing material, he gave me many helpful test-taking strategies. I was able to raise my score in a handful of weeks that helped me become a qualified competitor at top institutions. ”
“Cory paid close attention to my progress through every stage of the process, and constantly strived to refine my techniques in any way that would prove helpful. After taking so many diagnostic exams with her, taking the actual exam in February wasn’t stressful at all. After receiving my scores and seeing that I had improved my score by 8 points and had cracked the 99th percentile, I ecstatically proclaimed that I was done with the ACT for good. However, Cory convinced me that I could do better, and in April I took the test a second time. I scored even higher this time, placing me within the acceptable test score range for any college I choose. Cory opened up a huge door for me within my college application process, and although I never believed that I could’ve received as high a score as I did, she made it possible. Thank you, Cory!”
“Cory did an exceptional job assessing our son’s test-taking capabilities and then working with him to develop custom-tailored strategies that enabled him to develop and hone the skills he would need to be successful on the actual test. With Cory’s assistance, our son was able to master the subjects covered by the test and learn and apply very helpful time-management techniques. When it came time to take the actual test, our son felt very confident and prepared, and he was able to achieve his hoped-for score on the first sitting. In short we were all very impressed with Cory and give her our highest recommendation.”
Ivy Link ISEE & SSAT Success Stories
“After working with an Ivy Link tutor on the ISEE, our daughter got into her top two choices: Loyola and Columbia Grammar and Prep! We have greatly appreciated Ivy Link’s help and it was very important for our daughter to go through the process as she had very little experience with standardized testing.”
“It was a long road and my student worked so hard under Ivy Link’s guidance on the ISEE. Today she was accepted to her first-choice school and is very excited! Thanks for everything!”
“We’re very pleased with the admission results. Andover, Deerfield, Riverdale, and Brooklyn Tech admitted our student. THANK YOU TO THE IVY LINK TEAM FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP!”
Ivy Link Academic Tutoring Success Stories
“I began working one-on-one with my tutor on English and writing skills, and for the past year, my tutor and I prepared for the SAT. Most recently, my tutor has been advising me with my college application process, including reviewing and guiding my essays. My tutor has been excellent. With her help, I saw my writing improve dramatically, my grades increase, and my SAT scores progressed steadily and significantly during the past year. She made a normally tedious process interesting and challenging. Her style is very personable and friendly. I look forward to my sessions with her. I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to work with my tutor, and I would highly recommend her to any prospective college student.”
“Ivy Link is a wonderful resource for students and their parents. Working with a skilled tutor has given my kids the confidence to thrive in a classroom setting. Our tutor was experienced in teaching and also knew how to make it fun. Consistency, expertise and enthusiasm distinguish Ivy Link from all others”
