Dartmouth Grad Shares Her Path From College to Microsoft

Do you sometimes wish you could hear from older students about the admissions process?

About how college has unfolded for them?

If you’re like many of my current students and their parents, you might be wondering . . .

What was the process like? 

What was the best part? The worst?

If they could do high school all over again, what would they do differently? 

Did their anticipated major actually turn out to be what they’d planned for?

Did the admissions process help them beyond just getting IN?

I was getting so many of these amazing questions from families with high school students. So earlier this month, I decided to invite a group of my previous students to come and talk with me about it all.

And it was amazing! 

For almost 2 hours, we dove in and discussed everything they remembered from their application process, the projects we created together, the essays we brainstormed and crafted, and their college journeys.

Today, with the help of Avery, one of my previous students and a Dartmouth grad, I’m going to give you a little glimpse into the answers to these questions. 

In this brief 6-minute clip, we talk about some of the answers to these important questions.

Really, the whole two hours with these five students was extraordinarily insightful.

Some key takeaways from my conversation with these 5 college/post-college students:

1. “I needed you to push me beyond my comfort zone!”

Over and over, the students told me that the projects and essays they created made them incredibly proud — but that they wouldn’t have been able to figure out what to do without the right support. 

“I didn’t know how to stand out,” Avery reflected. “But with your help, admissions officers told me over and over how much they loved my story.”

Alex, a rising senior at Northeastern who created an interview project at his high school, laughed at how shy he’d been then: “I definitely need a bit of a push from you,” he grinned. 

2. “I’m still using the writing and mentoring we did together.”

Every one of these five students expressed the idea that the work we did together still impacted them today. 

William, who was accepted to Carnegie Mellon but ended up attending Imperial College in London, chuckled that he has been using some of the writing we did together four years ago for his Ph.D. application. 

And Jocelyn, a rising sophomore at Wellesley laughed, “I still have your voice in my head whenever I need to make a decision.”

3. “You helped me find my authentic voice.”

Every one of the students on this panel talked about how they didn’t know what to write for their admissions essays — or even how to begin. Which meant that they were often vulnerable to other people’s opinions. 

Caroline, a transfer student who got into Cornell after our work together, shared that her mom had “swooped in” and taken over her essays the first time. But when we worked together, she got to create a whole new experience. “Don’t let someone else hijack your process,” she advised. Find YOUR authentic stories.”

Would you like to listen to the full conversation with your student? 

Then I invite you to join me for my next free online workshop, Sunday, June 27th, 6 pm ET.

The workshop I held last Sunday was created for rising seniors. But this one is for younger students! 

In this workshop, you’ll learn . . .

• How students can significantly increase the chances of acceptance to a top tier university

• Why perfect grades and test scores often backfire

• How to move beyond perfect grades and test scores . . . and still get into a top school

• How to get started creating a unique project NOW, even if your student is extremely busy

Success Stories

I’ll also share a number of success stories from my previous students, including Jay’s acceptance to a dream college with a 9% acceptance rate, Maira’s offer for a summer internship after her powerful interview with the head of the largest airline in India, and Jenna’s April publication in the NYTimes. 

Gifting you a copy of the full college panel for those who attend live!

Our seminar will definitely be recorded, but for those of you who attend live, I’m going to be giving away a copy of the full 2-hour college student panel as a thank you for your time. I so hope you can make it to the live event!

How can your student create the same success?

Finally, I’ll share how students can work with me in The Dream School Project.

Please join us for this very special free event — and invite your friends and students!

P.S. Don’t forget to check out this brief excerpt with Dartmouth grad Avery! She’s incredible! And already so passionate about her work at Microsoft. You and your student will learn so much from her!