The Ivy Coach has conducted workshops for high school students and their parents and has given seminars, led panel discussions and staff developments for guidance counselors and college admission counselors through Peterson's, NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling), NYSACAC (New York State Association for College Admission Counseling) at Fordham University, NCA (Nassau Counselors' Association) at the Nassau Coliseum, NJACAC (New Jersey Association for College Admission Counseling), the Scholarship Coordination Office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the Department of Education of the Government of China in Nanjing and Beijing, China, Johns Hopkins University: Center for Talented Youth Program (sponsored by Columbia University), Keynote Speaker at the Youth Leadership Conference at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum (sponsored by the Motorola Foundation's Innovation Generation Grant), collegeweeklive.com as well as for private corporations and high school college counseling departments in the United States and abroad.

Highlights of Topics

The College Admissions Case Study

In "The College Admissions Case Study," The Ivy Coach reviews with the audience how applications to the highly selective colleges are evaluated and how decisions are made. Her audience reads several authentic applications for the purposes of understanding what an application to a top tier college entails, discusses the candidates as though they were the admissions committee, and ultimately votes for an acceptance, denial, or a waitlist. The audience's conclusions are then compared to the conclusions of the actual admissions committee. Through this very exciting and demystifying look at the inside workings of a highly selective college admissions office, the members of the audience become aware of how all of these threads (grades, rigor of course work, class rank, SAT or ACT scores, personal information, extracurricular activities, campus or alumni interviews, personal statements, counselor and teacher recommendations and evaluations, and supplemental material) create the fabric of the application. We have presented these workshops for private and public schools and for corporations at power lunches.

College Admissions Workshops

During the first four hours of these workshops, the following topics are discussed: the criteria in selecting colleges, the opportunities students have in their academic and extracurricular pursuits, and all of the components of the application (personal information, activity sheets, essays, campus visits, interviews, letters of recommendation, and supplemental materials). We also discuss how admissions counselors evaluate applications and what they look for when they read through applications or discuss them during admissions committee meetings.

In her enthusiastic, personable, concrete, and humorous way, The Ivy Coach relates relevant stories and conveys to the audience our expertise on the highly selective college admissions process. We discuss how some of the evaluative factors in a student's application are very obvious, while others are often much more obscure. We make it clear that although there are certainly objective criteria in evaluating applications, many of the decisions that are made are done so subjectively. By using a step-by-step approach, we help students and parents not only find the process less overwhelming, but we also demystify it by disclosing seemingly inconsequential details that can be the difference between an acceptance or a denial.

A two-hour version of this workshop is presented in different cities in China four times per year. The seminars are in English and translated into Chinese. They are open to the public and free of charge. If you are interested in attending, please contact us at The Ivy Coach (director@theivycoach.com), so that we can reserve a seat for you.

College Admissions Staff Development Seminars

Depending upon the individual needs of the high school college counseling department, The Ivy Coach takes the mystery and frustration out of the highly selective college admissions process. In this staff development workshop, counselors learn how to teach their students to submit applications that distinguish themselves from their competition. In our analyses of each portion of the application process, we create a template to help counselors assist their students in gaining admission to the college of their choice. This workshop has been conducted at private and public high schools in the U.S. and abroad.

On an international level, when the college counseling department is unfamiliar with colleges and universities in the U.S., the expertise of The Ivy Coach in college admissions becomes essential. We recently conducted this staff development seminar in the UAE to members of the Scholarship Coordination Office in Abu Dhabi and to independent educational consultants in Beijing, China.

Talented Students Winning at the College Admissions Game

The applicants who get accepted to the highly selective universities have not only achieved academic success and have respectable standardized test scores, but they also have demonstrated strength or talent in one particular area. When a college has received almost twenty-five thousand applications, a talented bassoonist is only competing against other talented bassoonists with similar grades and standardized test scores.

In our article, Talented Students Winning at the College Admissions Game," we demonstrate how by using the Internet, talented students (athletes, musicians, actors, dancers, or science or math researchers) can find the colleges that are right for them based on their talent and skill. From searching for colleges to communicating with coaches and directors to submitting applications, we illustrate how students can be proactive in the highly selective college admissions process. We have conducted this workshop for guidance counselors at a Peterson's conference, NYSACAC (New York State Association for College Admission Counseling) conferences, and for students and parents at NACAC (National Association for College Admissions Counseling) college fairs.

Writing Dynamic Teacher and Counselor Recommendations

Teacher and guidance counselor letters of recommendation and evaluations are considered major factors in the college admissions process. In this workshop comprised of teachers and counselors, The Ivy Coach teaches tactics to help students better express themselves and interviewing techniques that elicit a comfort level for the student to respond to pivotal questions. Then, by reading letters that are likely to make a positive difference for an applicant, we help our audience write exceptional recommendations. We have conducted this seminar through staff developments at high schools and through NYSACAC (New York State Association for College Admission Counseling) at their annual conferences.

Writing Powerful College Essays

The essay is the one part of the application over which the student has total control. In The Ivy Coach's seminar on "Writing Powerful College Essays," we encourage students to take advantage of the opportunity to write personal statements that express their individuality while they write about something that an admissions counselor would consider memorable. During these seminars, we have the audience envision what it might be like at a highly selective college admissions office when there are twenty thousand applications to be read and multiple essays per application.

We give examples of how some topics are ordinary, cliché, boring, and can sometimes be viewed as arrogant and self-serving. We encourage students to think about their daily life, what they enjoy, what they find important and how a most trivial thing such as a rubber band ball can make an outstanding personal statement. By reading some of the best essays written by our own students, we teach our audience how they, too, can write powerful college essays. We have presented this seminar for students and parents at college fairs, for guidance counselors at NYSACAC (New York State Association for College Admission Counseling) conferences, and for independent educational consultants in Beijing and Nanjing, China.

Preparing for Alumni and Campus Interviews

The highly selective colleges are typically the ones that include interviews as part of the college admissions process and these interviews can be one of the most stressful parts of the admissions process. Since good interviews can also humanize the process, in this interactive workshop, The Ivy Coach shows students, parents, and guidance counselors how to prepare for an outstanding interview. We show our audience how to view the interviewer as a resource who may help them better understand the college and as someone with whom to have direct contact throughout the remainder of the application process. In a stimulating and thought provoking way, The Ivy Coach shows how the interview can be a productive learning experience and, at its best, can also be fun!

To schedule a speaking engagement or seminar with The Ivy Coach, call (212) 600-0312 or (516) 457-8234, or e-mail us at director@theivycoach.com.