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Creating a Customized Roadmap for College Success

March 20, 2025 by sgoodyear

High school students preparing for college often experience a mix of excitement and anxiety. College is a significant milestone, and the journey leading to it requires careful planning. To navigate this process effectively, a customized roadmap is essential for understanding goals, tracking progress, and making necessary adjustments along the way.

The Importance of a College Roadmap

Many people associate college preparation with academic performance, such as taking advanced placement courses, earning high grades, and achieving high standardized test scores. However, a comprehensive roadmap extends beyond academics. Competitive colleges seek more than just high-achieving students; they look for individuals who can collaborate, lead, and contribute meaningfully to their communities. These skills are best demonstrated through involvement in clubs, engagement with the community, and innovative problem-solving initiatives. Balancing these elements with excellent academic achievement requires strategic planning, which is why a roadmap is necessary.

What Is a Roadmap for College?

A roadmap is a structured, year-by-year plan that helps balance academics and extracurricular activities to align with long-term goals. While the roadmap may evolve over time as interests deepen and challenges arise, a well-defined direction ensures a smoother path forward.

8 Steps to Creating a Customized Roadmap

A well-structured roadmap breaks down what might seem like an overwhelming process into manageable steps.

1. Set Clear Goals

The first step involves setting clear, achievable goals. Discussions with parents or mentors about academic and career aspirations can provide clarity. The following questions can help identify strengths and areas of interest:

Which subjects are most enjoyable and why?
What activities spark the most interest?
What topics or fields provoke curiosity?

Additional questions require external research:

Which careers seem appealing? Conducting informational interviews with professionals can provide insight into various career paths.
Which colleges align with personal goals? Virtual or in-person campus visits can offer a broader perspective on the available options.

Once these questions are addressed, backward planning can help define SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals for each high school year. These may include maintaining a target GPA, joining a club, or securing an internship.

2. Assess Current Standing

Before moving forward, it is crucial to assess the current academic and extracurricular standing. A holistic evaluation, similar to how colleges assess applicants, provides a complete picture. This involves reviewing academic performance, recognizing strengths, and identifying areas for improvement.

Beyond academics, extracurricular activities should also be analyzed. Extracurriculars are not limited to school-sponsored clubs and sports. They include part-time jobs, caregiving responsibilities, nonprofit involvement, creative projects, and personal initiatives.

Reflecting on the following questions can provide valuable insight:

What accomplishments have been achieved so far?
How can involvement in current activities be deepened?
What opportunities exist for leadership and community-building within these activities?

3. Outline Yearly Plans

With goals established and an assessment of the current standing complete, outlining yearly plans is the next step. Below are sample goals for each high school year:

Freshman Year:
- Develop a digital calendar for balancing academic and extracurricular commitments.
- Build relationships with teachers by initiating conversations early in the year.
- Join at least two to three extracurricular activities and strive for leadership roles.
Sophomore Year:
- Strengthen relationships with teachers and seek opportunities for deeper academic exploration.
- Engage in community service beyond school-sponsored activities to develop leadership skills.
- Begin studying for standardized tests like the SAT or ACT.
Junior Year:
- Enroll in the most challenging courses available and refine time management skills.
- Finalize a list of prospective colleges and preferred majors.
- Take on leadership roles within extracurricular activities and initiate new projects.
Senior Year:
- Begin working on college applications during the summer before the school year starts.
- Prepare to transition leadership responsibilities in extracurricular activities.
- Express gratitude to parents, teachers, and mentors for their support.

4. Develop an Academic Plan

A well-crafted academic plan ensures students take the most challenging courses relevant to their intended field of study. For example, a student planning to major in mechanical engineering should prioritize advanced math and science courses.

Since course prerequisites often dictate academic progression, early planning is necessary. Consider the example of a student who decides in 11th grade that enrolling in AP Calculus BC is necessary for their intended college major. If this student is only in Algebra 2, it may be too late to meet the required prerequisites. Every high school has different policies regarding course progression, and understanding these early can make a significant difference in academic planning. A better academic plan that was crafted earlier might have a student taking geometry over the summer before 9th grade in order to do Algebra 2 in 9th grade, Precalculus in 10th grade, Calculus AB in 11th grade, and Calculus BC in 12th grade. But that pathway is ONLY possible if the student starts early and things ahead.

Academic planning should also include an analysis of learning strategies. Each student has unique study habits, and experimenting with different methods can help determine the most effective approach. Some students benefit from flashcards, while others find that teaching material to someone else reinforces their understanding. Some work best in the morning, while others are more productive at night. Finding the right study habits often requires deliberate effort and the development of new routines rather than relying solely on what feels most natural.

5. Research Colleges

Researching colleges helps students determine which institutions align best with their aspirations. Considerations should include:

Geography: Proximity to home, regional industry hubs, and climate preferences.
Majors: Not all colleges offer the same programs, and some have specialized opportunities.
College Size: Larger universities offer research opportunities and diverse student bodies, while smaller colleges provide more personalized learning experiences.

Once a list of target schools is established, reviewing admissions requirements, deadlines, and scholarship opportunities will help in planning the application process.

6. Build a Calendar to Track Goals

A comprehensive schedule is necessary to manage academic deadlines, extracurricular commitments, application timelines, and personal responsibilities. Digital calendars or planners can assist in tracking progress and preventing scheduling conflicts.

7. Foster Communication

Successful planning requires communication with key stakeholders:

Parents: Discuss logistical and financial considerations for extracurricular activities and college plans.
Friends and Extended Family: Seek advice and networking opportunities.
Teachers: Build strong relationships that can lead to mentorship and strong letters of recommendation.
School Counselors: Gain insights into school policies and opportunities for academic advancement.

Effective communication fosters a support system that enhances college readiness.

8. Review and Adjust

A roadmap should remain flexible and subject to regular review. At the end of each school year, reflecting on the following questions can help refine goals:

Were initial goals met?
What strategies worked well?
What could be improved?
Have interests or aspirations shifted?

Adjusting plans based on these reflections ensures continuous progress toward college success.

Unlocking Potential with Zenith Prep Academy

Zenith Prep Academy recognizes that every student has unique educational aspirations. With a dedicated team of college counselors, the academy provides personalized career planning and guidance tailored to individual learning styles and goals. Thousands of students have benefited from this approach, achieving success in their college journeys.

A free consultation is available for families seeking expert guidance. Through personalized planning and support, students can develop a roadmap that leads to their desired achievements.

How to Get Into Stanford University

March 20, 2025 by sgoodyear

Admission to a top university is a prestigious achievement that can unlock a lifetime of academic and career opportunities. That’s why one school, Stanford University, is renowned for its exceptional standards, making the prospect of getting into such a school both exhilarating and intimidating.

Students considering an application to Stanford will have the greatest chance of success when they know what to expect and how to make their application stand out. This guide will explain what it takes to get into Stanford.

How Difficult Is It to Get Into Stanford?

Stanford University has earned a reputation as one of—if not the—most selective universities in the United States. Students who make the cut have exceptionally high GPAs and SAT or ACT scores. Stanford’s admissions rate is only around 3%- 4% across tens of thousands of applicants every year.

Stanford receives between 50,000 and 60,000 applications each year, and in total, only around 1,700 freshmen and 30 transfer students receive admissions offers. Though Stanford does not report exact statistics, it is safe to assume that at least half those 50k+ applicants have unweighted GPAs above 3.8 and SAT scores over 1500. So grades and test scores are important, but grades and test scores alone are not enough to secure admission. With the right approach, you or your high school student could break through.

GPA Requirements for Stanford University

Applicants need exceptionally high grade-point averages to have a viable chance of admission to Stanford. Stanford’s 2024-2025 Common Data Set reports that the average GPA is over 3.9, and 73.3% of admitted first-year students have 4.0 GPAs, so applicants should strive for near straight As to compete among the best.

Taking challenging classes like AP or IB courses will make a high GPA look even more impressive. Most of our students tend to take 5+ AP classes, though that number varies depending on a student’s admission strategy.

Applicants at or below a 3.9 GPA can still achieve admission but should prioritize a higher SAT or ACT score and other dimensions of their application to compete with 4.0 GPA applicants.

Don’t have a 3.9+ GPA? Not taking 5+ AP classes? Students should acknowledge any academic struggles and seek immediate support if they plan to apply to Stanford. Focusing on other aspects of the college application, such as extracurriculars or research could potentially be the difference between being accepted and being rejected.

SAT and ACT Scores

Stanford has had no official requirement for SAT or ACT scores in recent years but is reinstating a standardized testing requirement for the 2025–2026 application cycle. When this requirement comes into effect, students may submit either an SAT or ACT score.

The average SAT score at Stanford is 1540/1600, and the average ACT score is 35, so taking the SAT/ACT and achieving a 1540 SAT/35 ACT or better can translate into a strong application. Students can take the SAT/ACT test times to improve their scores, and Stanford will consider the best scores to report for each section, focusing on Reading, Writing, and Math scores.

If a student takes the ACT multiple times, Stanford will accept their “superscore” by combining their best subscores from each section within the ACT. Taking the ACT several times, focusing their prep on a different section each time, and submitting the best scores for each component is an effective strategy for admissions.

Beyond GPA and Test Scores

But GPA and test scores only tell part of the story. The typical admitted Stanford student will show the ability to make significant and creative contributions outside the classroom. In comparison with other East Coast Ivies, Stanford is culturally more geared towards creating and catalyzing solutions than in abstract contemplation. This can be seen in their mission statement when they emphasize 4 key areas:

Sustaining Life on Earth

Accelerating Solutions for Humanity
Catalyzing Discovery in Every Field

Preparing Citizens and Leaders

Each of these sub areas prioritize active verbs about a thing that students are doing. If all a student is doing is studying for the SAT and getting good grades, then that student isn’t yet doing enough to show an ability to creatively lead and effectively catalyze change.

Now, the “solutions” focused nature of Stanford’s cultural legacy as an engineering institution does NOT mean that they are just looking for “practical engineering types.” Stanford expects sensitivity and reflection and collaboration among the leaders and solution-makers that it invites into its campus. They don’t just want to know that you’ve engineered the “most efficient solution”; they want to know how you’ve critically defined efficiency and how you have been thoughtful about the specifications that you’ve offered. For example, if you started to design a headset to aid the visually impaired, have you partnered with multiple different people in the visually impaired community to gather feedback and fine-tune the features that you decided to include?

Design thinking, as a principle, is something that has percolated throughout Stanford as an institution. This means that even if a student is applying as a humanities and social sciences major, they should be implementing some of the ideas and weaving them–artfully–into application essays. As the Stanford Design School (or d.school) states:

“The nature of design affords people the opportunity and privilege to shape the world that they-and others-inhabit. This is power. In a just world, that power is shared, prioritizing the voices and ideas of people most impacted by the intended and unintended effects of new designs. We aim to actively confront and challenge the mindset that design can only be used by a privileged few.”

What this means, in practical terms, for a student’s extracurriculars and application is that no matter how a student is deploying their innovation and creativity, they should be able to think critically about the impact that those innovations will have.

Other Requirements for Stanford University

Besides GPAs and SAT or ACT scores, factors that can influence a Stanford application’s outcome include:

Personal statement: The Stanford application form includes submitting the Common Application’s Personal Statement, a 650-word essay that is required for most schools and will be the same for each. The goal of the essay is to bring a fundamentally human element to one’s application. The Personal Statement should speak to one’s quantitative and qualitative strengths, show a sense of critical thinking, celebrate accomplishments, and communicate personality. This is the one place on the Common Application where students get to show who they are (and who they hope to become) in their own words, with their own voice.
Supplemental Essays: Students will be required to answer a variety of short questions (limit 50 words each) and short essays of 250 words maximum. Applicants should aim to convey their background, merit, and motivations in a compelling narrative. It’s worth writing and reviewing several drafts to refine this component.
Letters of recommendation: Stanford requires letters of recommendation from two teachers and a guidance counselor. Teachers and counselors receive a link to submit their letters to Stanford, so students may not get to read the letters themselves. Applicants should choose teachers from two different subject areas who know them well and can share complementary perspectives on their strengths.
Extracurriculars: While Stanford prioritizes academic excellence, it also considers activities outside the classroom. Strong applicants have a deep commitment to a couple of sporting, cultural, or community activities that they balance well with academic pursuits. Stanford values depth of commitment and height of achievement in extracurriculars over sheer breadth of interests.
Location: Stanford enrolls students from all 50 states and many countries around the world. Applicants from underrepresented states are attractive as Stanford embraces geographic diversity.
Interviews: Stanford offers conversational interviews to some applicants. Acceptance is possible without an interview, but applicants who receive interview opportunities should aim to set themselves apart by making a strong, positive impression.

Stanford Admissions Processes

Stanford offers a few different application deadlines:

Restrictive Early Action: This option comes with an earlier application deadline — November 1 instead of the regular decision deadline of January 5. For students with strong SAT or ACT scores who know Stanford is their top choice, taking this option could be wise. Note that applying Restrictive Early Action will keep the student from being able to apply for the binding Early Decision options that many other schools (like Johns Hopkins or the University of Chicago) offer. Binding Early Decision options will also usually offer a larger benefit for a student’s admissions chances than Stanford’s Restrictive Early Action option will, so this option should only be chosen if Stanford truly is the student’s first choice school and if the student’s application is exceptionally strong.
Regular Decision: This is the traditional process that most applicants follow, and is usually due around January 5th.
Arts Portfolio Deadlines: There is also one final nuance: if an applicant has an arts portfolio (maybe they are a leading young trombonist or have an impressive catalogue of work as an aspiring furniture designer), they will need to submit their application by October 15th for Restrictive Early Action and December 5th for Regular decision.

Consult Zenith Prep Academy to Enhance Your Stanford Application

When applying to a school as competitive as Stanford, every advantage is worth taking. That’s why students who are serious about getting a top-tier education should partner with Zenith Prep Academy.

We are an award-winning college counseling program with a track record of getting students into top schools. As the number-one College Consulting & Education Company in America, applicants partnering with Zenith Prep Academy have seen 500% higher acceptance rates for Ivy League and Top 15 Universities, including Stanford.

We partner with 6th-12th-grade students and their families, meeting them where they are and guiding them to acceptance at either a top university. We know the surprising factors beyond GPAs and test scores that make or break an application, and we back our commitment with a 100% money-back guarantee.

Thousands of parents across the U.S. assure that we keep our word by helping students attend their dream universities. Book a free consultation to learn how we can strengthen your Stanford application.

Yale vs. Princeton: Which College Should You Choose?

March 20, 2025 by sgoodyear

Rival Ivy League schools Yale and Princeton are among the top universities in the world. These historic institutions are renowned for their academic excellence, extracurricular achievements, and iconic student experiences. They also have at least one more thing in common — sky-high admission standards. For the class of 2028, both schools accepted less than 5% of applicants.

Whether a student should choose Yale or Princeton depends on their circumstances and goals, as each offers distinct advantages. The more students know about these prestigious schools, the more likely they will make the right choice.

Yale vs Princeton Pros and Cons

Founded in 1701, Yale is a mid-sized (6,600 undergrads) private research institution located in the city of New Haven, CT. Yale sees itself as an institution with incredible resources and wants its students to take advantage of them in thoughtful and creative ways. As they state on their application page: “Two questions guide our admissions team: ‘Who is likely to make the most of Yale’s resources?’ and ‘Who will contribute most significantly to the Yale community?’”

Above all else, Yale prides itself on its collaborative community. Yale is home to 14 residential colleges, where students will spend their first two years (and many of them all four years). The residential colleges are not simply dorms. They are very tight-knit, “family-esque” communities. Students are also advised within the residential colleges until they declare a major. All students live suite-style within the colleges.

Admissions committee discussions often center around whether a student will be a good roommate, suitemate, and residential college member. Will they get excited about cookouts in the courtyard or the first-year snowball fight? Will they attend college teas with visiting guests such as Anderson Cooper, Jodi Picoult, George Takai, or David Duchovny?

Keep reading to see Yale’s strengths and weaknesses compared to Princeton’s.

Ranking and Prestige

As America’s third-oldest university, Yale has an impressive reputation. It currently ranks #5 on the “Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report” ranking. 97% of students admitted to Yale were in the Top 10% of their high school ranking, reflecting high academic standards. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 lists Yale as the 10th-best university in the world. While this reflects positively on Yale’s reputation, the ranking could also be a slight con compared to Princeton, which ranks higher at fourth in the world.

Yale also has a “test flexible” policy, meaning that applicants must submit some kind of standardized test, but they are open to taking multiple different kinds of testing. For most students, this will just be the SAT or ACT, but Yale accepts all of the following:

SAT, ACT, IB or AP tests. (if you choose IB or AP, Yale will expect you to send ALL the IB or AP tests that you took).

Strong Subjects

A very important part of a Yale education is the university’s immense interdisciplinary focus. Yale’s academic approach is one that truly emphasizes studying multiple different areas or combining subjects. Of its 80+ majors, over 1/3 of them are “interdisciplinary majors.” This refers to majors made up of two or more subject areas combined into one major. Examples include Physics & Philosophy, Computing & the Arts, Statistics & Data Science, and more. Students who may be the best fit for Yale are those whose interests span across multiple academic areas.

Yale is best known for its humanities and social science programs. It has one of the top-ranked law schools in the United States and also excels in medicine, nursing, management, history, and the arts. While Yale is still strong in other subjects like engineering and mathematics, Princeton is often stronger in those areas.

Extracurriculars

When Yale talks about “contributing to a community,” what they mean is that they are looking for students who have succeeded by joining and working with other students–not “out competing and out working” others. They are bringing students into the college to collaborate and work with other extremely talented peers. They want to get a sense of humility, intellectual curiosity, and a willingness to build bridges and encourage others to join initiatives. Yale especially looks for collaboration with peers: staying in a sport or club for four years (even if they aren’t a captain) can be a great part of a Yale application.

What they look for in applications is evidence that students stretched beyond the comfort zone of what they are connected to by their school, family, or most natural academic homes. If you are interested in aerospace engineering, it is not necessarily a standout thing to take flight lessons (that is not uncommon in their applicant pool). More unique might be students who combine an interest in flight science with a hunger to analyze the changing economics of flight in a world where that industry may need to transfer to different fuel sources. Especially if a student comes from a well-resourced background, the admissions office wants to see evidence that students have used those resources in a creative way. How have those students built, expanded, or transformed (rather than just attended and succeeded within) the institutions that they have already been a part of?

Tuition

Tuition tends to be slightly more expensive at Yale than at Princeton, with its 2025-2026 estimated costs being $94,425.

New Haven also has a higher cost of living than Princeton, New Jersey. However, both schools offer generous financial aid and scholarship opportunities to strong applicants. In 2024-2025, the average scholarship award for financial aid recipients was $71,663, with 55% of students receiving some sort of financial aid.

Location

Both schools are in the northeast and have a similar climate. The city of New Haven, Connecticut, offers a more urban student experience than the quiet college town of Princeton, New Jersey. Whether this is a pro or con depends on whether one prefers an urban or suburban setting.

Princeton Pros and Cons

Princeton is a midsize (5,600 undergrads) private research institution located in the suburb of Princeton, NJ. The university is, at its core, a liberal arts school. It carries that sense even into its engineering school in terms of the wide-ranging intellectual curiosity that it expects from students. This means that viable Princeton applicants need to be able to show lively intellectual interest in humanities, social sciences, and STEM, no matter what their intended major is.

At Princeton, undergraduates are the focus. The university has far fewer graduate schools and programs than other Ivy+ institutions. For example, it does not have a graduate law school, medical school, or business school. All Princetonians are encouraged to explore different subject areas across departments and disciplines. Ultimately, students may only choose one major. However, they can pursue up to two additional minors.

One unique aspect of Princeton is that applicants SHOULD upload their best-graded high school paper, which should include both the student’s writing and the teacher’s comments or evaluation.

This paper is ideally an academic paper that includes an analysis and discussion of different sources. It can also be a science paper, but again, it would need to be graded by a teacher at your school.

Ranking and Prestige

Princeton is renowned as one of the world’s best universities. While Princeton and Yale are both highly respected Ivy League schools, Princeton has a slight edge in current rankings. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 lists Princeton as the fourth-best university in the world and the third-best in the U.S.

It currently ranks #1 on the “Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report” ranking.

Strong Subjects

Princeton, in comparison to other Ivies like Harvard and Yale, puts more emphasis on small seminar classes and is more focused on teaching and mentorship between faculty and students. One needs to show that one can engage in high-level conversation with a wide variety of people with humility and curiosity.

Engineering and computer and information sciences are more popular majors at Princeton than at Yale. While Yale stands out for its liberal arts, law, and medicine programs, Princeton has the lead in STEM fields like math, physics, engineering, and computer science.

However, someone can’t be “just a STEM kid” who tends to say things like “history bores me” or “I only care about practical things.” If someone likes coding but can’t muster a fascination about non-western number systems in 17th century Africa or gets excited about a conversation on the promise that heat-resistant coral has for biodiversity, they are not a good fit for Princeton. They are looking for students who can embrace a liberal arts education and have a fascinating conversation with anyone, no matter what those people are interested in.

Extracurriculars

Like Yale, Princeton wants students to collaborate and work together. They also look for students who have stretched beyond the comfort zone of what they are connected to by their school, family, or most natural academic homes.

Princeton offers diverse opportunities for sporting, social, and cultural activities. It is considered the best overall athletics school in the Ivy League.

Tuition

Tuition and cost of living are more affordable for Princeton students than they are at Yale. Its 2025-2026 estimated costs are $90,718.

While tuition can be expensive at both institutions, financial aid is available. Around 67% of Princeton students receive financial aid, putting it above Yale, which currently provides financial aid to 53% of its students.

Location

Princeton’s campus is in a picturesque, small-town setting that combines classic and modern architecture with plentiful green spaces. The focal point of Princeton’s campus is Nassau Hall, a striking, historic building built in 1756 and one of the grandest stone buildings of colonial America.

Yale’s campus setting is more urban, so an applicant’s preferred location depends on their personality and whether they find the prospect of living in Princeton or New Haven more convenient.

Should I Choose Princeton or Yale?

Yale and Princeton are both exceptional schools and admission to either institution is an immense honor. It can set a student up for a vibrant university experience and lasting career success. However, students should consider Yale if:

They want to focus on law, medicine, nursing, management, history, or the arts.
They want to attend the campus with the most exceptional theatrical and artistic scene.
They prefer a more urban environment.

In contrast, Princeton could be the better choice if:

They want to attend the university with the highest overall ranking.
They want to focus on a STEM field like math, physics, engineering or computer science.
They prefer a quieter, suburban environment.

Enhance Your Yale or Princeton Application With Zenith Prep Academy

Students interested in attending either school need a plan, and the best time to create and execute it is now.

Zenith Prep Academy is America’s leading college consulting company. Students who partner with us have a 500% higher acceptance rate at Ivy League and Top 15 universities, including Princeton and Yale. Our success comes from understanding the surprising factors beyond GPAs and SAT scores that can make or break a top-tier college application. We work with 6th-12th-grade students and their families on a personalized, “offensive” approach to get them into their dream schools.

Testimonials from thousands of satisfied parents celebrate that Zenith Prep Academy has helped their children gain admission to higher-tier universities, including Ivy League schools. We also back our commitment to student success with a 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee.

Book your free consultation to learn how you or your child can become a stronger Princeton or Yale applicant.

The Importance of Extracurricular Activities in College Admissions

March 5, 2025 by sgoodyear

A strong academic background is crucial to getting into top colleges and universities, but it’s not the only factor that determines admission. Admission committees also review extracurricular activities that students report on their applications.

Extracurricular activities reflect the applicant’s unique interests and tell a story of personal growth. They are a key part of a student’s offensive strategy. Colleges no longer accept solely high GPAs and test scores; they want students to show the capacity for individual thinking and creative leadership.

Keep reading to learn why colleges value extracurriculars and what that means for applicants.

Role of ECs in College Selection and Ivy League Admissions

Colleges love to see extracurriculars that highlight an applicant’s intellectual curiosity, show clear community impact, demonstrate collaboration over competition, and display exceptional talent. Through extracurriculars, admissions officers gain insight into each student’s personal interests and passions, a crucial determining factor that colleges use to create classes of diverse students with varying strengths and interests.

Most universities also use a holistic review process to determine which students fit in with their community. This means that applicants should include activities that not only show who they are but also demonstrate how and why they’re the type of student colleges want to have on campus.

However, it’s important to remember that there isn’t one type of activity that’s superior to another. Long-term commitment to a local organization that helps feed the unhoused can be just as impressive as winning a math competition. What makes sense for an individual student will depend on what that student can follow through on and grow into. Not every student will have “founder of an NGO” on their application (in fact, for some colleges, that’s a negative–nine times out of ten “founder of an NGO” just means “dad gave me a lot of money and talked to some lawyers to set up a 501c3”–colleges can see right through those maneuvers). Most of the time, small and meaningful activities that show consistent and growing dedication over time will have the most impact.

This is especially true at the Ivy League: admissions officers at those colleges will certainly expect to see that students have gotten national-level awards in science fairs, math competitions, or writing contests. But the former Ivy League admissions officers on Zenith staff also emphasize that top colleges want to see extracurricular activities that show a student’s ability to collaborate with peers and identify creative ways to make a difference in their local community. If a student just dumps all of their time into grinding practice tests for a competition, they might not seem sufficiently collaborative and community minded for top schools.

Benefits of Participating in Extracurricular Activities

To understand why extracurriculars are key to successful college admission, it’s important to examine how these activities shape students with the potential that colleges seek. Here are some of the benefits:

Fosters Leadership

Extracurriculars provide opportunities to hold leadership roles at school, such as DECA president, student council officer, or robotics programming lead. Outside school, student leadership roles might include tutoring a neighbor or organizing a Ramadan Night at a mosque. These roles teach students responsibility and teamwork, which prepare them for college and beyond.

Promotes Social Skills

Students who engage in sports, clubs, and other group activities interact with their peers and work with others toward a common goal. In these activities, students develop crucial social skills and build confidence by engaging with others, finding common ground, and problem-solving. With these important skills, students are more likely to excel in college.

Cultivates a Winning Mindset

Mindsets are powerful enough to determine life’s outcomes. Extracurricular activities teach students how to set and achieve goals through hard work and strategizing. Students can develop a winning mindset that shows anything is possible with effort. Also–just as important–when things don’t go well, these activities teach students how to pick up the pieces and take the next right step forward. These activities create resilience.

Encourages Self-Discovery

Connecting with others through extracurriculars allows students to learn new things about themselves. These activities provide a foundation for self-discovery, where students can reflect on their abilities, limitations, and dreams through challenges, rewards, and social dynamics. Students don’t just do activities that reflect their pre-existing strengths: these activities change who a student is.

Demonstrates Commitment

Embracing additional responsibilities outside of schoolwork nurtures commitment. Retaining that position for an extended period also demonstrates passion, strength of character, and maturity. Colleges want students who display these qualities, as they show drive and responsibility.

Improves Time Management Skills

Since extracurricular activities require juggling school work with these extra roles, students learn to manage their time and build achievements on multiple fronts. Colleges know that students who can successfully manage numerous commitments in high school can likely handle intense college coursework and still participate in other campus activities.

Types of Extracurricular Activities that Impact Admissions

Extracurricular activities vary widely, from work and internship experiences to school-sponsored activities and community engagement. Considering that top colleges are notoriously challenging to get into, students should select activities they enjoy doing or want to do rather than look for specific outcomes or results. The most impressive results are always built out of those things that students can follow through over the long term.

Here are some different extracurriculars to consider:

School-Sponsored Clubs and Teams

College admissions officers want to see evidence that students can collaborate with peers in high school because that is the best way to see how those students might collaborate with peers in college. Some examples include:

Organized team sports such as soccer, tennis, volleyball, cheerleading, and track.
Science, drama, and art clubs such as Science Olympiad, Thespians, ceramics clubs, and computer science clubs.
School newspaper or yearbook staff.
Music groups such as choir, orchestra, and marching band.

Community Initiatives

Colleges want to see students who have the capacity to seek engagement with the community around them, show compassion, and find unique opportunities. These activities help assure colleges that the student can go beyond their institutional home and make an impact. Some examples include:

Community service activities, such as working with homeless shelters, Habitat for Humanity, and hurricane clean-ups.
Cultural celebrations and festivals.
Community gardens.
Youth mentorship programs.
Elderly tech training at libraries.

Work and Internships

Over 20% of teenagers aged 16 and 19 worked while attending school in 2020. Many work part-time to gain experience, while others work to support their families. Regardless of the reason, colleges view after-school employment as an extracurricular activity that indicates a strong work ethic. Participating in internships related to an applicant’s interests strengthens their profile, emphasizing passion and responsibility.

Note that not all internships are created equal. Parents and students sometimes think that the impressiveness of the company is what makes for a noteworthy internship. But that is not the case. A student whose uncle made some calls to business associates and got him an internship at Apple where he sits in a room and twiddles his thumbs will not be that impressive. But a student who built up his skills in computer programming from a young age, put together a portfolio of projects, and then used that portfolio to get an internship at a small startup where he was trusted with building out a crucial backend feature will absolutely be impressive. Internships can be great additions to a portfolio, but only if students have put in the foundational work that would allow them to contribute meaningfully to the company’s operations.

Passion Projects

Besides school activities and community service, admissions offices love to see passion projects that students create to express their interests and values. Passion projects vary widely, but the key is that they relate to a student’s specific interests. Here are impactful examples:

Creative and artistic pursuits:

A student who combines their love of history, art, and social justice, curating their own gallery with work from peers and community members focusing on different representations of the American Dream.
A student who combines a love for research and acting as a lead voice actor in a learning app that uses AI to create personalized lessons in a comforting voice.
A student whose passion for biology and illustration leads them to create and publish a children’s book about the different kinds of mushrooms that grow in the woods around their house.

Humanitarian pursuits:

A student with a family history of mental illnesses making the mental health brochures at their local free health clinic.
A student, inspired by their experience working with the unhoused, hosting linen drives in their community to gather supplies and raise money.
A student who recruits and trains tutors to work at a bilingual math tutoring center for students who are struggling academically and have limited support at school.

Strategies for Students and Parents to Navigate Extracurriculars

As colleges focus on a holistic approach to admissions, parents, and students should plan for extracurricular involvement. Here are strategies to make the most of extracurriculars:

Start early: Students should start exploring activities to identify those that interest them as early as elementary school. Parents should discuss these activities and help children navigate their interests by researching programs and encouraging independent exploration.
Narrow the focus: Parents should work with their children to narrow their activities because too many can be burdensome and affect the balance between academics and extracurriculars. Additionally, many colleges prefer long-term commitment where the student shows growth and commitment. A grab bag of random activities that are started and stopped can look unfocused and scattered.
Find motivation: An admissions officer can easily tell if an applicant has pursued a specific activity out of genuine interest or just to add lines to their resume. Parents should encourage their children to select activities they love because passion fuels motivation, which will appear on a college application.
Explore additional resources: Selecting activities that match interest and striking the perfect balance to ensure excellence in and outside the classroom can be tricky. As a parent, consider utilizing professional resources to maximize your child’s college profile.

Prepare for College Admissions With Zenith Prep Academy

Parents and students must understand that more students are applying to the top colleges and universities than there is space available. Now, students need more than just good grades and test scores to get accepted.

Extracurriculars are an essential part of Zenith Prep Academy’s strategy to support students in understanding and utilizing their strengths in and outside the classroom. As the nation’s top college consulting and education company on the Inc. 5000 list, Zenith Prep Academy has strategies that have led to a strong track record and award-winning outcomes. To learn more about Zenith Prep Academy and its offerings, book a free consultation today!

How to Demonstrate Interest in a College

March 5, 2025 by sgoodyear

Many students dream of being admitted to a prestigious college or university, but how can a student set their application apart from thousands of applicants with similar grades, test scores, and extracurriculars? One fundamental aspect of the admissions process is the student’s demonstrated interest in the institution.

Keep reading to learn Zenith Prep Academy’s tips on how students can effectively show interest in a university. By following these recommendations, students can enhance their applications and increase their chances of admission to their dream schools.

What Is Demonstrated Interest?

Demonstrated interest refers to student actions that show genuine interest in attending a college or university. This is important for colleges because, at the end of the day, they are trying to protect their yield–an internal metric they use to measure the number of acceptances they send out and the number of students that actually accept those offers and matriculate. If a student is well-qualified for a particular college in terms of academics and extracurriculars, but that student never bothered to tour, attend an information session, open up an email, or ask a question, then the college has good reason to think that sending the student an acceptance letter would be a waste.

Colleges and universities monitor student interest by tracking campus visits, attendance at virtual and in-person functions, and interactions on social media and email. Students can also show interest by deciding to apply early to the university of their choice. All this information may impact admissions decisions.

Which Colleges Track Demonstrated Interest?

In 2023, as many as 15.7% of colleges and universities rated demonstrated interest as ‘highly important’ in admission decisions. Students can visit the admission website to determine whether an institution monitors demonstrated interest. Additionally, resources like the Common Data Set provide detailed information on what factors institutions consider in their admissions decisions.

Do Ivy Leagues Track Demonstrated Interest?

Ivy Leagues and many other prestigious colleges and universities do not explicitly track demonstrated interest. They, for the most part, assume that if you are accepted you will come and their yield rates tend to be very high. This means that sending Harvard a bunch of emails to show how committed you are to attending isn’t going to move the needle (and might just be annoying). However, these institutions often recommend that prospective students explore the colleges and universities they are interested in to determine whether the school would be a good fit. Leveraging demonstrated interest strategies are still important at the Ivy League so that students can get enough information to be thoughtful and specific in essays and interviews for that college. After all, when Harvard asks you why you want to come, just saying “because it’s prestigious” is too vague to help your application stand out.

How to Show Demonstrated Interest

Students seeking to show genuine interest in a school can actively engage with the institution through various methods:

1. Campus Visits

Official campus visits help students learn more about an institution and experience the campus environment. During the visit, students should take guided tours, attend information sessions, and engage with current students and faculty. Asking targeted questions also shows curiosity and enthusiasm about the university. Students should document the visit with notes and photos, which can be referenced in an application essay or interviews.

Note that just going to a campus and walking around on your own–without an official tour or some other event that you register for–does not count towards demonstrated interest. If you are going to visit a campus, plan ahead and register for an official admissions event.

2. College Fairs

Engaging with representatives at college fairs is a valuable opportunity to make a positive impression. Students should introduce themselves and ask thoughtful questions about programs, campus life, and admissions criteria.

Eye contact and active listening are keys to a good impression in these meetings, and students should avoid distractions, such as checking their watches or phones. After the conversation, students can collect the admissions representative’s contact information and follow up with a thank-you email referencing specific details from the discussion.

3. Virtual Tours

Virtual tours offer an excellent way to explore colleges where visiting in person would be difficult. Almost all institutions offer some kind of virtual tour or information session, which can include interactive maps and videos of the campus. Students who watch live streams or sign up for live information sessions can ask questions to gain greater insight into the institution. These virtual tours can be found on a college or university’s admissions website. Even though these events are virtual, they will be part of official demonstrated interest as long as they collect a student’s email address and information.

4. High School Visits

College representatives will sometimes come to high schools to visit. If you are thinking about applying to a college and the representative comes to your high school, you should make attending that visit a high priority. Of course, depending on when those visits are scheduled, you might have a chemistry test or other binding obligation. If you can’t make the visit, be sure to get the rep’s email contact information from your counselor (or whoever coordinates those visits at your high school) and reach out to the rep to let them know that you would love to come but have another binding commitment. If college reps don’t happen to visit your high school, that is okay! Just make sure that you use the other demonstrated interest strategies listed above.

5. Summer Programs

Exploring summer opportunities at a college or university, such as pre-college programs or boot camps, allows students to experience that college’s campus life and academic offerings. These pre-college programs often do not, in and of themselves, increase one’s chances of getting into a given college. However, students who have been on campus and interacted with faculty through these programs usually can write a more compelling and specific “Why school” essay for a particular college.

Keep in mind that there are lots of different ways to demonstrate interest. Zenith counselors help students find the best way to make use of limited time and resources.

Connecting with Admissions Representatives

Networking skills are crucial in making meaningful connections with admissions officers. It’s also important to know that many college admissions officers actively like it when people reach out to them. Students shouldn’t think that they are imposing as long as they are reaching out in a thoughtful and respectful manner.

Speaking with an admissions representative is a great way to build rapport with the admissions team and demonstrate interest in a college or university. Many admissions offices allow students to schedule a Zoom call with an admissions representative, and prospective students can also email admissions offices.

Writing well-crafted emails and asking the right questions is crucial for making a positive impression on college admission officers. Communication should be clear, concise, and personalized, reflecting a student’s interest in the college. Students should be prepared to say what they think they might study, talk about at least one extracurricular activity, and have at least three specific questions to ask the admissions officer. Students should also highlight particular aspects of the institution that appeal to them and explain why they are suitable candidates.

After any in-person interactions, students should follow up with a thank-you email to reinforce their interest. To show attentiveness and sincerity in the email, mention specific details from the conversation.

Prepare for Life After High School With Zenith Prep Academy

Demonstrated interest strategies can help students find schools that meet their needs. Students should start preparing early to bolster their chances of acceptance into a dream institution, and Zenith Prep Academy can help.

Zenith Prep Academy aims to help students reach their dreams and is recognized as the top college counseling company in the United States. For over a decade, Zenith has assisted students seeking acceptance into Ivy Leagues and the top 25 schools. To get ahead of the competition, start preparing today! Schedule a free consultation or call to discover why thousands of students and parents choose Zenith.

How to Stand Out to College Admissions

March 5, 2025 by sgoodyear

Gone are the days when a student receives all A’s and is accepted into a top 25 university. Students now are competing against tens of thousands of others for a few coveted seats. In 2024, Harvard University received over 54,000 applications (yes, that’s 54 THOUSAND) for less than 2,000 spots. So, how can students increase their likelihood of being one of those 2,000 admitted? What can students do now to make themselves more competitive for colleges later?

This is where strategy comes in! Finding the right college admissions strategy can set a candidate apart from other applicants and increase their chances of getting into their dream university.

Keep reading to learn how Zenith Prep Academy, the #1 College Counseling Company on the Inc. 5000 list, crafts compelling college application strategies that showcase student personality, ability, and unique life experiences.

The college playing field has changed. Ready to stand out?

The Offensive Approach for College Admissions

Typically, students start prepping their college applications in 11th or 12th grade. They focus on their academic grades and write essays highlighting their interest in the colleges they’re applying to. The overall outcome is a nice, defensively strong application.

Isn’t that enough? Unfortunately, no.

A strictly defensive strategy doesn’t give universities enough reasons to admit a student. While grade point average (GPA) is a key consideration for admission, most applicants will have similar scores. The same goes for the SAT or ACT. So, to stand out to admission officers, you need an offensive strategy, too.

The offensive approach involves going beyond just doing well on the assignments that are set for you by classes and tests. Offense is all about being proactive with your activities and showing that you can be a creative, thoughtful, and compassionate leader. Universities and colleges aren’t looking for good students–they’re looking for people who will take initiative in flourishing careers after college.

To demonstrate this potential to colleges, a student doesn’t just need great GPAs and test scores. What they need are intangibles–those things that get admissions officers talking. When admissions officers are talking about who they want to admit, intangibles sound like this:

“Hey, what about that student that started an urban farming initiative to grow food for their local food bank?”
“I can’t forget the student who created a series of Youtube shorts about the physics of yo-yos…”
“That one student who is doing quantum computing research has been going around to middle schools and offering talks that make the topic accessible to youngsters!”

What these intangibles have in common is that they are based on a foundation of normal academic and community work: knowing how to start and manage a farm, having a deep understanding of physics, getting deep enough into computer science to understand its cutting edge. But then that foundation is utilized in a creative way that engages a larger community.

Benefits of an Offensive Approach

Every choice a student makes impacts their college application, so it’s important to ensure their time is used strategically to build an offensive-minded profile that gives universities a reason to admit a student who might otherwise be indistinguishable in a sea of similar GPAs and SAT scores.

The offensive approach is even more vital for students with a lower GPA. Most top universities look for a GPA of 4.0 or higher, while others are fine with a GPA above 3.0. If an applicant is aiming for a more prestigious university but has a lower GPA, the student can use the offensive approach to boost their application and partially make up for their grades.

How to Apply the Offensive Approach

Curious about how to apply this offensive approach to the college application process? Use the advice below!

1. Start Preparing Early

They say that “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” So, do not spend a mere day on college applications! Starting as early as possible is the most vital component of the offensive approach. Zenith Prep Academy recommends that students begin as young as 12 years old. An early start gives students the time to explore their interests and build the foundation that will help them craft a unique profile in the future.

Students who are further along in their educational journeys can still do a lot to prepare. A student who is already underway in their high school extracurriculars can find ways to step up into a leadership role or get creative about starting a new initiative. There’s also a lot of work to do around optimizing course selection, building a college list, and getting those essays done. These are all things that Zenith Prep Academy can help with.

2. Understand Admissions Expectations

Every university has its own admission requirements. These often include academic transcripts, standardized tests, personal statements, and recommendations. They may also require interviews, portfolios, or even a graded paper from the student’s high school career. To learn more about admissions requirements, visit the university’s admissions page or the Common App.

Along with application requirements, each university weighs the different parts of the application differently. For example, Princeton’s Common Data Set from 2024 states that they do not consider an applicant’s level of interest (demonstrated interest) when deciding admissions. However, for a school such as Northwestern, it is considered. Another thing to note is that the Common Data set reports how much colleges care about those intangibles. “Character/Personal Traits” and “Talent/Ability” cannot be easily read from a GPA or a test score. It is the unique passion and dedicated values that students show over time in their profile that give colleges a window into those intangibles.

Of course, the Common Data Set is only a partial overview of what colleges look for in an application. Particular programs at individual colleges often have their own preferences and expectations that are not clearly laid out. And no amount of data is going to relay exactly how a college will respond to a unique and compelling profile. That is where Zenith’s counselors can help!

Knowing admissions expectations from the start will help students figure out where to focus their energies!

3. Develop a Unique Personal Narrative

Most universities require applicants to submit an admission essay or personal statement. With limited words, the student must convince the university why they are a particularly compelling applicant.

The personal statement is the most critical application essay and should speak about the student’s unique individuality: a learner, a carer, a scholar, a teacher, a risk-taker, or whatever they pride most in themselves. Throw out any preconceived ideas about what a good personal statement looks like (it’s not a cover letter!) and leave any questions about what admissions expect from these essays at the door. Don’t write what college admission teams want to see; write about what is most important to show. This is the one place on the Common Application where an applicant gets to tell admissions who they are (and who they hope to become) in their own words, with their own voice. Anxiously emulating examples of “successful” personal statements or prompting ChatGPT to pop out something will almost always result in a statement that is inauthentic and not unique to the individual student.

4. Enhance Extracurricular Involvement

Extracurricular activities will help an applicant stand out. However, choosing activities that complement their academic and personal interests is essential. Paired with their personal statement, targeted extracurricular activities will showcase an applicant’s “mission” and support their claims for being accepted.

There is no one “right” kind of extracurricular activity. The key is that no matter what students do, they need to be involved in something for a number of years and they need to show that they can grow into a creative and thoughtful leader in that activity. For example, one trajectory of growth might be going from dropping a spinning mace at the start of a freshman drumline show, and going on to become the Varsity/Lead Drum Major of a school’s 300-student marching band. The key here is that the student shows resilience and commitment. Just doing a large number of random activities can make a student seem unfocused. No one can do everything: students show their values by virtue of what they choose to do.

5. Dive into Community Engagement

Universities also value community, and they like to see their students show that value in the activities and interests they pursue. Whether volunteering or helping with community events, engaging with a community is an experiential way to show the admissions committee that community is important. Doing so will positively reflect the applicant’s character, giving them a leg up in the application progress. For example, highlighting an applicant’s neighborhood soccer team, composed of a nineteen-year-old Ukrainian refugee, a forty-two-year-old Mexican father of three, two Senegalese cooks, and a multilingual Pakistani Saudi-American high schooler, shows more than just soccer. It shows the respite from daily life, the years of camaraderie and friendships that give the applicant an intimate and culturally-competent take.

6. Collect Credible Recommendations

Recommendations are considered the best evidence regarding an individual’s character and achievements. However, their effectiveness depends on selecting the right people to write them.

Most higher education institutions request one recommendation from a school counselor and up to two recommendations from core subject teachers (math, science, history, world language, or English). Additionally, some universities allow applicants to submit an “other recommendation” from a coach, employer, or research mentor.

At the end of the day, it is essential to choose someone who knows the applicant well and understands their personal story. Students sometimes hustle to get a letter of recommendation from an “impressive” person (like a school principal or state senator) who doesn’t know the student that well. But the best recommenders will always be those people who can speak about a student’s unique offensive spark from direct personal experience.

7. Build Academic Strength

While grades aren’t everything, they’re still essential. Universities want to ensure their students can meet the demands of coursework and student life. However, they’re interested in more than just a number.

Colleges will look at the trajectory of a student’s grades and check to see if they are taking a rigorous course load–especially in the areas that are crucial for a student’s planned area of study. A student who is planning on doing engineering might want to take additional math classes at a community college in order to advance past the all-too-common AP Calculus BC class. A student who is planning on studying international relations will still want to take the required math classes, but it will be much more important to advance their study of different world languages. The course load that is right for a particular student depends on the overall shape of the student’s profile.

Stand Out With Help From Zenith Prep Academy

Need help with this college application process? Want to start the process early? Zenith Prep Academy stands among the nation’s elite preparatory institutions and has earned features in Forbes, USA Today, Bloomberg, and Nasdaq, with particular praise for a pioneering STEM curriculum and 98% college placement rate at top-tier universities. The dedicated team of college counselors is here to provide personalized college and career planning, guidance tailored to an individual learning path and pace, and a strategy to build an offensive approach to college applications.

If you’d like to learn more about Zenith Prep Academy and its offerings, book a free consultation today!

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The Importance of a College Roadmap

What Is a Roadmap for College?

8 Steps to Creating a Customized Roadmap

1. Set Clear Goals

2. Assess Current Standing

3. Outline Yearly Plans

4. Develop an Academic Plan

5. Research Colleges

6. Build a Calendar to Track Goals

7. Foster Communication

8. Review and Adjust

Unlocking Potential with Zenith Prep Academy

How Difficult Is It to Get Into Stanford?

GPA Requirements for Stanford University

SAT and ACT Scores

Beyond GPA and Test Scores

Other Requirements for Stanford University

Stanford Admissions Processes

Consult Zenith Prep Academy to Enhance Your Stanford Application

Yale vs Princeton Pros and Cons

Ranking and Prestige

Strong Subjects

Extracurriculars

Tuition

Location

Princeton Pros and Cons

Ranking and Prestige

Strong Subjects

Extracurriculars

Tuition

Location

Should I Choose Princeton or Yale?

Enhance Your Yale or Princeton Application With Zenith Prep Academy

Role of ECs in College Selection and Ivy League Admissions

Benefits of Participating in Extracurricular Activities

Fosters Leadership

Promotes Social Skills

Cultivates a Winning Mindset

Encourages Self-Discovery

Demonstrates Commitment

Improves Time Management Skills

Types of Extracurricular Activities that Impact Admissions

School-Sponsored Clubs and Teams

Community Initiatives

Work and Internships

Passion Projects

Strategies for Students and Parents to Navigate Extracurriculars

Prepare for College Admissions With Zenith Prep Academy

What Is Demonstrated Interest?

Which Colleges Track Demonstrated Interest?

Do Ivy Leagues Track Demonstrated Interest?

How to Show Demonstrated Interest

1. Campus Visits

2. College Fairs

3. Virtual Tours

4. High School Visits

5. Summer Programs

Connecting with Admissions Representatives

Prepare for Life After High School With Zenith Prep Academy

The Offensive Approach for College Admissions

Benefits of an Offensive Approach

How to Apply the Offensive Approach

1. Start Preparing Early

2. Understand Admissions Expectations

3. Develop a Unique Personal Narrative

4. Enhance Extracurricular Involvement

5. Dive into Community Engagement

6. Collect Credible Recommendations

7. Build Academic Strength

Stand Out With Help From Zenith Prep Academy

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