College Guidance Q & A

Larry receives numerous questions regarding college admissions from applicants and their families. Each week he will pick one question and share his response. This week's topic is relevant to all prospective college students.

Q: What is the best indicator of college success, ACT, GPA, or extracurriculars?

A: The research is clear, despite anecdotal opinions to the contrary. It’s GPA in core courses, along with rigor of the High School academic program.

Larry works with students of all academic profiles and extracurricular interests. If you have questions pertaining to college admissions or would like to learn more about our services, please contact him at larry@learningassoc.com.

College Guidance Q & A

Larry receives numerous questions from applicants and their families about college admissions. Each week he will pick a question and share his response. This week's question is about athletic scholarships.

Q: Can a sports scholarship get you into Harvard?

A: No. There are no sports scholarships at Harvard or at any other Ivy League college. Harvard, and the other Ivies, provide need based aid, only.

Recruited athletes, who are quite a talented group, are measured differently in admissions, though. They are not expected to have had the same sort of out-of-classroom accomplishments as non-recruits, having spent so much time excelling in their sport. As a group, their academic credentials are not as robust as non-athletes, but some individuals are equally qualified as the main applicant pool when measured by GPA, academic rigor, test scores, etc. This process of admitting recruited athletes is monitored by the Ivy League through a system called the Academic Index - a longer topic for another time and place.

Good luck.

Larry works with students of all academic profiles and extracurricular interests. If you have questions about college admissions or would like to learn more about our services, please contact him at larry@learningassoc.com.

College Guidance Q & A

Larry receives numerous questions from applicants and their families about college admissions. Each week he will pick a question and share his response. This student's question is about acceptance probability.

Q: Let’s say that I have a 30% chance of getting into UC Berkeley (according to CollegeVine). Is this good, and do you think I can get in?

A: That 30% assessed by College Vine, indeed any quantification of the probability of acceptance, is meaningless. College acceptances do not occur on a roulette wheel. The fact that one can calculate the percentages admitted after the admissions cycle is complete does not tell us the probability of admission for any single applicant - so if your profile is higher than average maybe your admission is more Iikely than for the “typical” applicant, but so what? It’s likelihood is neither 30% nor 10% nor 95%.

If you are a CA resident, your likelihood of admission is better than if you are an out of state applicant. That much is true. Depending on what the CA regents do for the coming cycle, the difference might become even greater. The only way it works is you apply and then you find out.

If you have questions pertaining to college admissions or would like to learn more about our program, please contact Larry Blumenstyk at larry@learningassoc.com.