The Foundation of College Admissions Success
Originally written summer 2023
Over the past couple of months, since I joined the CC.us team, I’ve written multiple blogs and sent out several emails addressing the nuances and complexities of college admissions. I’ve discussed tips on becoming a more "focused" student, I’ve mentioned the strategies I used to get accepted to an Ivy League School, Dartmouth, and I’ve also shared advice on how to conquer each summer, no matter your current grade.
For a lot of families just getting started, this could all be seen as overwhelming information. Sure, it's great and applies to some families looking for top-level college admissions success, but what happened to the basics? What are the things any family can focus on to maximize results?
To answer those questions, I’d first like to give a brief economics lesson, which not only applies to college admissions but everything in life. The concept I’d like to share is called "The Pareto Principle." The Pareto Principle summarizes that 80% of output can be attributed to only 20% of input. Or, in simpler terms, 20% of the work you do, whether it's on college admissions or anything else, directly accounts for 80% of the success/reward you receive. Hopefully, this picture clarifies if you're confused.
(credit to MailManHQ for the graphic)
So what does that look like in college admissions? What 20% of things should you focus on to achieve maximum success? Is it grades, test scores, activities, teacher recommendations, etc? To answer that question simply, I’ll show you the graphic we use in our program to help students understand what’s important.
So what does this mean? Should you dedicate all your time to working on your high school grades? Well, no, but it’s important to understand that these four things are what matter most in college admissions, or in Pareto’s Principle terms, are the things that account for 80% of application quality. You can add on all the other stuff you believe is important to the top of your application pyramid, but without a strong base of these four items, you'll be at a significant disadvantage.
Pareto’s principle highlights a common theme prevalent in our program, which is to make college admissions as simple as possible. Complexity only breeds unnecessary work, and we don’t like doing stuff that takes away from the time we could be with family and friends or doing whatever we want.
To simplify the process even more, focus on the first thing in the list, grades. Even zooming in on an area that small, dominating academics, can tremendously impact admissions success. So don’t complicate things with all the other tips and levels of the pyramid quite yet, build a strong foundation of great grades, and let the other stuff naturally pile on.
If you want help to become a high school rockstar, I’d recommend starting with Cal Newport’s "How to Become a Straight-A Student." This book turned my academic life around when I was a high schooler transitioning into college, and I’d encourage everyone to give it a shot.
For the other items on the graphic, there are tons of great resources scattered across the internet. If you want to, you can also schedule a free call with us to talk about any of those things, or whatever else you want to know about college admissions. If that goes well, and you seem like a fit for our program, we can talk about the possibility of you joining–or not! It’s entirely up to you.
We also discuss these four core "College Admissions Pillars" often in our College Confidence Community, a home for families like yours to ask questions and chat with others. And it’s 100% free and always will be.
Remember, 20% of the work you do makes up for 80% of the output. So even if all you do is focus on these four things and nothing else, you’re 80% of the way to a stand-out college application.
Have a good one,
Jack Beecher
P.S. - Have a high-performing high schooler w/ a 3.7 GPA or higher? We'll help get them into at least one of their top 5 dream colleges...and if we don't get them into at least one of their top 5 dream colleges, you don't pay us a penny. Seriously. College admissions isn't rocket science...but it is a science. And we've cracked the code...year, after year, after year. You can learn more about our world renowned all-inclusive, start-to-finish college coaching here and to see if your family qualifies for an introductory call.
P.P.S - Our most common question is "When should we start?!" The answer is, if you truly care about giving your high schooler the best chance of college planning success, you should start NOW. 9th grade is not too early to start! 10th grade is certainly not too early to start! And 11th grade is far, far too late! (supporting data here to show just how much of an advantage you give your child by starting the process early)
