Another year of preparing our students for undergraduate studies abroad is coming to an end. Despite all the difficulties of lockdown and online courses, our remarkable and commendable students have outdone themselves and have (most of them) already secured a place at the universities of their choice through the EA/ED process. We must bear in mind that Greek students are competing for places with children from all over the world, e.g. U-Penn of the 146 internationals it took in ED included students from Albania to Zambia. Also, Universities often secure athletes like this year Harvard secured a rowing athlete from Anatolia and Stanford secured a beach volleyball athlete. Also, children of alumni-legacy students (first degree relatives) are 10-15% more likely to be accepted. They also give priority to minorities, such as students of color, gender and sexual preference(diversity). The main takeaway is that we need to pick list of universities strategically and the ones where our children will excel and be happy.
From the admissions so far for 2022 we see that USA Universities are interested in:
- Personalities that make a difference and students who have won competitions at the National/International level. For example, Johns Hopkins has taken students who have already changed society and humanity through their work.
- One of them is the founder of Mission Marrow, which aims to address stem cell DNA disparities. Another led a team that created the first 3D printed electronic hand in Paraguay. They are also harnessing emerging technologies for the greater good.
- One student developed a machine learning algorithm that helps caregivers prevent patients with dementia and other conditions from wandering and entering unsafe spaces, while another student designed and built a pair of glasses that help visually impaired people navigate unfamiliar environments.
- They are advocates for equality, organizing a successful campaign to change the placement process in Baltimore’s public schools to create greater equity for ESOL students and co-founding the student chapter of the ACLU of Georgia.
The SAT and high school grades from 9th grade onward remain the most important criteria for universities to admit students. The sat optional does NOT apply to International Privileged students but to non-International Privileged students.
It is also important that teacher recommendations should accurately show the student’s academic picture, but in a unique way through the student’s personalized contributions to the classroom. It should recommend the student within the classroom in relation to his/her peers, give specific examples, mention extracurricular that tie into the course, talk about character with examples, ideally one and a half pages.
Also, European Universities from the so far admissions are interested in:
- Personalities with a strong academic background, not just through school, who fit with the University’s philosophy.
- SAT Scores for some Universities (Bocconi, IE, ESADE and LEUVEN) and high school grades.
- Specific requirements in Maths and often their own tests in specific subjects.
- Academic distinctions, competitions and service to society.
- Letters of recommendation with in-depth comments about the student (e.g. LSE requires a letter of recommendation of at least one page).
The CLC team would like to congratulate all its students on a very admirable and often strenuous effort to achieve their academic goals.
It is evident that once again our students, with the help of our teachers and the CLC team, were able to bring in high scores.
Our students secured with the help of our professors and the CLC team:
2022 SAT SCORES
| SCORE | STUDENTS | PERCENTILE |
|---|---|---|
| OVER 1500 | 11 | 99 |
| 1400 - 1500 | 24 | 95 |
| 1300 - 1400 | 21 | 87 |
| 1200 - 1300 | 11 | 74 |
| < 1200 | 9 | 60 |
Congratulations also to our SAT students Nicolas Makridis YALE, Achilles Frangos COLUMBIA for their successes.
The successes of our students with the help of CLC’s consulting team ensured the Earlies USA cycle (Up to 21 December 2021):
Acceptances:
Stanford (1)
Columbia (1)
Brown (1)
Union College (1) – full scholarship 82,000$ annually
Stony Brook (1) – full scholarship 72,000$ annually
Suffolk (1) – 20k scholarship
NYU (1) Abu Dhabi -50% scholarship
U-Chicago (1)
Loyola Marymount University (1)
Bentley (1)
UMass Amherst (1)
Santa Clara (1) acceptance
Fordham (1) acceptance
Drexel (2)
Arizona State University (1)
Northeastern (1) acceptance honors
Waitlisted:
NYU Stern School of Business (1)
Defers:
Harvard (1)
MIT (2)
Northwestern (1)
Georgetown (2)
Babson (1)
NYU (1)
A conclusion made from the early admissions results show that SAT and academic performance from 9th grade played a major role in admissions, as well as actual volunteer activities, in-school and out-of-school excellence in competitions, and unique profile. The committees review applications by country and school, so diversity is very important.
Scholarships were awarded based on parents’ financial information (previous year’s financial statements) for those who applied for financial aid, except for some small amounts given on academic criteria.
The successes of our students in the Bocconi Early earnings cycle:
12 students
All of them had SAT with a minimum score of 1360 and academically the students had more than 18/20 from high school transcripts. Also, their profile matched the academic major offered by Bocconi. As there were so many applications the competition was very high.
The CLC team expects to complement the successes with all the offers and acceptances of other European Universities as well as the Regular cycle applications/successes of the USA Universities.
