Ivy Horizons: A Guiding Force Through The College Essay Process

The college admissions process is a time when high school students inherit arguably the greatest responsibility of their academic careers, facing the substantial challenges of choosing schools and majors, managing tight deadlines, and participating in interviews. Ultimately, a student’s college choice is a pivotal moment in their life that affects more than where they graduate from with a degree; where they spend some of the most formative four years of their lives also affects who their lifelong friends will be, what their interests are, and how they perceive the world.

Despite the college admission process’s great importance, students and parents alike often fail to create solid strategies in advance, something that is more crucial than ever - as colleges across the country receive record numbers of applicants and face declining acceptance rates, the rapidly evolving college admissions landscape has become increasingly competitive. Many schools are also placing slightly less emphasis on students’ GPAs due to remote learning during the pandemic and implementing new test-optional policies, with the number of four-year institutions not requiring standardized tests tripling between 2020 and 2022 alone.

The ever-changing nature of the college admissions process has, however, highlighted a facet of the application consistently growing in importance - the college admissions essay! Unique and high-quality college essays are not only critical for differentiating students from other applicants with similar standardized tests scores, GPAs, or academic interests but also one of the best ways for students to bring the most compelling aspects of their personal profiles to life on the admissions desk. A strong college admissions essay articulates an applicant’s inimitable life experiences, perspective, and ambitions to illustrate the strong impact they will make on their future campus.

We decided to start IvyHorizons because we know how cumbersome the college essay writing process can be - in fact, as a current college student and a recent graduate, we both underwent it quite recently - and wanted to provide structured personal mentorship and guidance to high school students to help them excel throughout this process. Our experiences as students and leaders at university have allowed us to gain valuable insights into the multi-faceted social, political, and administrative issues at the forefront of current discussions at higher-education institutions across America. At the same time, having already worked closely with over a dozen students to help them brainstorm, revise, and perfect college essays that have gotten them into top schools, we are well-versed in the most effective ways of assisting students with hurdles of the essay writing process.

Our comprehensive method is a culmination of our knowledge, experiences, and research that we refine to fit the needs of each individual student we work with. Unlike other college admissions essay services, we devote a significant amount of time to understanding our students’ backgrounds and ambitions in-depth to ensure they can craft distinctive essays that reflect their unique strengths. We also focus on fostering our students’ continued personal and professional growth through development and consultation sessions geared towards not only discussing essays but also providing feedback on school or major fits and answering any questions about college life. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation session with us to learn more about how we can help you during your college admissions journey!

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