JENNY

Student Name	Jenny (Alias)
High School	International Student
Academic Background	GPA: 4.0+ | ACT/SAT: Tier 1 score
Strength	Strong academic background; a variety of hobbies
Weakness	Activities are weak; no background in the targeted major; no confidence in herself
Major selection	Engineering
Top College Picks	Vanderbilt; ranked #14 in US News

Planning Process 

1. Background Analysis: It was already the second semester of Junior year when the student came to us. She has good academic performance and a variety of hobbies, but unfortunately, she hasn’t done anything regarding computer science, the major she initially was going to apply for. It took us 2-3 months to help her build her motivation and confidence to pursue worthwhile activities that would strengthen her student profile and have differentiation in her common app. 
2. Major Selection: The student was very interested in computer science in the beginning, but now it is by far the most competitive major in almost all the best universities. With only one relevant class on her transcript and no relevant activities, we knew it was impossible in the amount of time she had before the application season began. We advised her to instead choose Engineering as an alternative major, which while still difficult, was more viable with her class transcript and gave her a better chance to get accepted into the best colleges.
3. Activity Planning/Hook Building: The student initially lacked any substantial intellectual hook as a college applicant. But when we observed the student’s talent and interest in art, we came up with a unique strategy that could stand to make her unique. We discussed with her how she could combine her love for art and her interest in engineering to differentiate herself, painting her as the kind of engineer who was also invested in the humanities.
   
4. Essay Editing: Jenny was able to give editors content for her personal statement essay regarding designing a piece of fabric for face masks, which made it easy to embroider art that she made herself. Not only that, she was also able to start an organization at her school where she and members could distribute it to their school district, which gave her a strong leadership profile. This was all used for her personal statement. To further emphasize her being an engineering student who’s big on the humanities, her personal statement was edited with a poetic style. A difficult thing to accomplish, but we believed it would pay off.
   
5. Outcome: While the student’s initially had poor prospects for college acceptance, with the help of Cardinal Education, she received multiple offers from different top colleges. The student got into Vanderbilt engineering school, a difficult school to get accepted to. More importantly, the student was able to overcome her confidence issues. She now had the attitude of someone who would not only survive college but thrive in it.

Story

“Jenny” was a high school student who took up Cardinal Education’s college counseling services in March of her junior year to assist her with the college admissions process. She expressed how much she wanted to apply for an engineering major at the best colleges, specifically Vanderbilt College. She had perfect test scores, a high GPA, and an overall robust academic background necessary to apply to the best colleges. However, despite being a strong student, Jenny lacked the motivation and confidence to be a truly viable applicant for something as competitive as being an engineering major.

First and foremost, Jenny’s common app didn’t have any extracurricular activities; a crucial component when applying for good universities, and a necessity when applying to the best colleges. Any student can of course just find an internship or an extra club they can join anywhere to place in their common app. But Cardinal Education believes that the choice of extracurricular activities plays a crucial role in giving students the best possible chance for college acceptance. So Cardinal Education worked together with Jenny to strategically choose substantial activities that would also give her leadership opportunities in time to write about them for her common app essays.

As a consequence of her lack of activities, however, it was difficult to determine her intellectual hook. Jenny had really good grades, but so did every student applying for the best colleges. She needed something to differentiate her student profile.

After some interviews with Cardinal Education consultants, she revealed her strong interest in the arts. So, to build up her student profile, consultants opted to connect the dots between her love for arts and her desire to take up an engineering major. Cardinal Education recommended she take up different activities to reinforce both activities. One such activity was creating an easy-to-replicate design for a facemask against COVID-19, which made it easy for art to be embroidered into the masks’ fabric. With her replicable design, she created and led an organization at her school where members could create masks with personalized art for their fellow students.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for this student was overcoming her own insecurities so she could accomplish the tasks Cardinal Education set for her to build up her student profile. Cardinal Education consultants spent much time building a relationship based on trust to compel and inspire her to move out of her comfort zone and truly realize her potential.

This was most apparent in writing her personal statement. In order to solidify the connection between her love for art and her desire to take an engineering major, Cardinal Education devised a strategy for Jenny to write her personal statement in a poetic style. It was a difficult task for her, and she at first thought it was impossible for her. But CEO Allen Koh was adamant that she could get it done. With guidance from Allen and consultants, not only was the essay able to convey their thoughts and feelings but it was also written in such a way that would make her student profile unique among her competitors in the best colleges.

Though it was a hard process, Cardinal Education made it pay off for Jenny. She received multiple offers from schools she applied for early action for, before finally receiving an offer to study at Vanderbilt University.

RAJESH

Student Name	Rajesh (Alias)
High School	Bay Area High School
Academic Background	Good Grades. High Test scores
Strength	Strong Academic Background. Multiple activities
Weakness	Activities aren’t strong at all, most were chosen by mother for Rajesh.
Major selection	Wanted to take computer science, but we convinced him to take biomedical engineering
Top College Picks	Cornell

Planning Process

1. Background Analysis: Rajesh had a strong academic background, as well as having many activities that would look good on a resume, such as being an active member of his school’s rowing team. Unfortunately, these activities were only superficially impressive, in that he was only taking these activities for the sake of strengthening his resume. Even his rowing was only impressive at a glance since he hadn’t had any leadership opportunities since he first joined. Consequently, they all lacked the substance necessary for a student to get into college.
2. Major Selection: Rajesh wanted to try applying for computer science. But, as a student of Indian descent, he would have been competing against all other Indian students trying to get into college as computer science majors. It took some time, but we eventually convinced him to take biomedical engineering instead, with the caveat that he can instead switch majors once he was accepted.
3. Activity Planning/Hook Selection: Because Rajesh’s activities lacked any substance, we initially struggled to come up with an intellectual hook for him. But after some investigating, we discovered Rajesh was interested in music design. We strategized with him to create music tracks for students and teachers at his school as a way for him to bring a sense of community into his school after COVID-19 made everyone feel separated.
   We also worked with him to make the most of his activities and have him seek out leadership opportunities. For example, for his rowing, instead of having him concentrate on climbing the hierarchy within his rowing team, we had him look for a volunteer job instead. He trained people with disabilities to row safely on their own through a program called adaptive rowing.
4. Essay Editing: Rajesh and his mother were at first reluctant to take on the music angle, as they wanted to give focus on Rajesh’s rowing. After advising them however that sports were not a good thing to focus on for essays, they saw the benefits of writing an essay on music and were more cooperative with regard to writing content for us. 
5. Outcome: While initially difficult, as we had to completely pivot the way Rajesh approached his activities, he was able to get accepted into Cornell. More importantly, he was able to invest himself more into his activities, which will be important not just in college, but throughout his life.

Story 

“Rajesh” was a local high schooler of Indian descent. He took up Cardinal Education’s Services to help him navigate the college admissions process during his third year and second semester. At first glance, the student’s resume was impressive. Along with having good grades and a high GPA, the student had several activities that would look good on a student’s resume. This included being a member of his school’s swimming team, and being an intern for multiple non-profit organizations.

When the student was interviewed, however, it became clear that many of these activities weren’t actually very meaningful for him. He had only taken these activities because his mother had told him to do so. Ultimately, the student lacked a narrative, so while the activities seemed impressive, they were only superficially impressive. Not enough for him to get accepted into the best colleges.

Instead of being made to look for other activities, the student was instead asked to invest himself more in the activities he already had. For example, rather than just being another member of the team, the student needed to be proactive and seek leadership opportunities. By making more headway into the non-profits he was working with, the student was able to appreciate the goals of these organizations and thus make meaningful contributions. When the application period arrived, the student provided Cardinal Education with much content to use for his essays.

Another thing Cardinal Education addressed was the student’s choice of a major. Initially, the student wanted to take up computer science, but doing so would mean having to compete with other Indian students who were applying for the same major. After some meetings, the student was convinced to instead take up biological engineering, with the advice that if he performed well, he could then shift to his desired major in the next school year.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle for Cardinal Education with this student was his lack of any intellectual hook. Since he only took up his activities because of his mother’s instruction, he had not built up any narrative for himself. Rajesh and his mother initially wanted to present Rajesh as an Indian student-athlete, but were advised against it, because not only were student-athletes too overdone by college admission standards, Cardinal Education determined that none of Rajesh’s accomplishments as an athlete would allow him to stand out at all.

After a few interviews, however, Cardinal Education discovered that Rajesh had a strong love for music, specifically composing songs with his guitar. His mother was initially hesitant about using music to boost his college admissions chances, but Cardinal Education’s CEO, Allen Koh, thought otherwise. He saw the value that his music can play in society. He asked Rajesh to write songs and record music clips of himself and send them to different people and groups. Allen explained that as a result of COVID-19, people’s relationships were beginning to deteriorate. Music would be a way for Rajesh to overcome the isolation and bridge gaps for people.

Rajesh enthusiastically got to work. He spent months writing and recording songs, on top of maintaining his academics and working on his activities. He didn’t hesitate to send out music clips to people in his school. While Rajesh initially didn’t get any feedback from anyone, he eventually received messages thanking him for the songs. Rajesh was on the way to rebuilding his community, and Cardinal Education had the intellectual hook we were looking for. We were able to write a personal statement for Rajesh that would not have been possible with only Rajesh’s non-profit activities.

Though it had been a difficult case, where Allen was advising not only the student with regards to investing himself more in his activities but also the mother to be a better communicator with Rajesh, it turned out to be a success. The student was accepted into Cornell University, to the delight of both the family and Cardinal Education.

AMIR

Student Name	Amir (Alias)
High School	International High School
Academic Background	Strong, but overestimated how good he was against US competition
Strength	Strong grades; interesting activities
Weakness	His activities were interesting but lacked depth. Most of them were only intern-level stuff. He was also ignorant of the US college admissions process
Major selection	Environmental Engineering
Top College Picks	Stanford

Planning Process

1. Background Analysis: Amir was an international high school student who took up our services because he was severely unfamiliar with the US Education System. He merely wanted guidance in sorting out his application requirements so that he could apply to a few US schools. After some interviews with Amir, however, Cardinal Education realized that there was no chance for Amir to get accepted into any of the schools on his list. While he had a strong academic background, the activities on his resume lacked depth, with most of them only at an internship level. We wanted to give his college application a fighting chance, so we offered more in-depth help.
2. Major Selection: Amir wanted to apply for computer science as his major, not knowing how competitive it was, especially as an Indian student. He would be competing against other Indians aspiring to be computer science majors. What he truly needed to get accepted was something to differentiate himself.
3. Activity Planning/Hook Selection: After many more consultations, Cardinal Education discovered he had a background in agriculture, a rare theme among US students. He didn’t realize at first how helpful this would be and actually believed revealing this would hurt his chances at being accepted, under the mistaken assumption this would make him seem unsophisticated. But what he didn’t know was that it would actually serve to set him apart from the competition.
4. Essay Editing: Amir initially wanted to write about a big engineering project for his personal statement essay, but as Cardinal Education has been working with engineering students for some time, we knew that his project wasn’t major enough to impress college admissions officers. Instead, we focused on a project he worked on at home, something to help the farming community of his town.
   In the midst of writing his essay, he revealed to us that he had some personal issues with residents of his hometown, who had mocked him for having “nerdy” pursuits. Because of this, Amir wasn’t sure if it was worth writing about. We encouraged him, telling him that trying to be helpful to people who had antagonized him before was something that was sure to catch the attention of admissions officers. After Amir was convinced, Cardinal Education helped him develop an essay based on this story.
5. Outcome: With a much better improved and strategized profile, the student stood a stronger chance of getting accepted into top-tier colleges. Indeed, the student has been accepted into Stanford, his top choice school.

Story Format

Amir was an international high school student who took up our services because he was severely unfamiliar with the US Education System. He merely wanted guidance in sorting out his application requirements so that he could apply to a few US schools. After some interviews with Amir, however, Cardinal Education realized that there was a chance for Amir to get accepted into any of the schools on his list. While he had a strong academic background, the activities on his resume lacked depth, with most of them only at an internship level. We wanted to give him a fighting chance at the college admissions office, so we offered to help more in-depth.

Amir wanted to apply for computer science as his major, not knowing how competitive it was, especially as an Indian student. He would be competing against other Indians aspiring to be computer science majors. What he truly needed to make computer science work was something to differentiate himself.

Amir initially wanted to write about a big engineering project for his personal statement essay, but as Cardinal Education has been working with engineering students for some time, we knew that his project wasn’t major enough to impress college admissions officers. Instead, we focused on a project he worked on at home, something to help the farming community of his town.

In the midst of writing his essay, he revealed to us that he had some personal issues with residents of his hometown, who had mocked him for having “nerdy” pursuits. Because of this, Amir wasn’t sure if it was worth writing about. We encouraged him, telling him that trying to be helpful to people who had antagonized him before was something that was sure to catch the attention of admissions officers. After Amir was convinced, Cardinal Education helped him develop an essay based on this story.

With a much better improved and strategized profile, the student stood a stronger chance of getting accepted into top-tier colleges. Indeed, the student has been accepted into Stanford, his top choice school.

TROY

Student Name	Troy
High School	International High School
Academic Background	Weak academics
Strength	Was confident and willing to work hard.
Weakness	Aside from weak academics, he also had weak activities
Major selection	Engineering
Top College Picks	Stanford

Planning Process

1. Background Analysis: Troy comes from an Indian background and studied in a high school in New Delhi. Despite wanting to apply to some really top-tier schools, he had a weak academic background and uninspiring activities. In order to make up for this, Cardinal Education needed to make adjustments to his daily activities in order to turn his grades around, as well as make his activities stronger.
2. Major Selection: Troy wanted to study engineering. As an Indian however, he would have been competing with hundreds of other Indian students applying for engineering. With his weak academic background and activities, the student’s chances of admission were small. Rather than simply focusing on activities to try and strengthen the student’s connections to engineering, the team instead opted to give his profile complexity.
3. Activity Planning/Hook Selection: Cardinal Education deeply investigated Troy’s background and discovered the student had really strong interests in social sciences and writing. Cardinal Education helped the student establish a multinational magazine, where the student acted as both editor-in-chief and main contributor. This was in parallel to engineering activities that the student was suggested to take, including getting into an internship with a professor.
4. Essay Editing: For Troy’s personal statement essay, we were able to get him to write extensively about the problem of infrastructure in India. Traffic that should only take 30 minutes took hours to get through, everyday internet connection issues, drinkable tap water, issues he had taken for granted that he was surprised weren’t issues in the USA. He wanted to write that his motivation for studying in the US was to get away from these issues, but we convinced him it would be better to write that he was studying in the US to find solutions to these problems so he can come back and try fixing them. Cardinal Education wanted him to be a student who was moving away from home temporarily, before eventually coming back to help his country.
5. Outcome: Ultimately, this all helped serve Cardinal Education’s goal of framing the student as an engineer who also loves writing and the humanities in general. This level of differentiation proved effective, as the student was soon accepted into Stanford.

Story Format

Troy comes from an Indian background and studied in a high school in New Delhi. Despite wanting to apply for some really top-tier schools, he had a weak academic background and weak activities. In order to make up for this, Cardinal Education needed to make adjustments to his daily activities in order to turn his grades around, as well as make his activities stronger.

Troy wanted to study engineering. As an Indian however, he would have been competing with hundreds of other Indian students applying for engineering. With his weak academic background and activities, the student’s chances of admission were small. Rather than simply focusing on activities to try and strengthen the student’s connections to engineering, the team instead opted to give his profile complexity.

Cardinal Education deeply investigated Troy’s background and discovered the student had really strong interests in social sciences and writing. Cardinal Education helped the student establish a multinational magazine, where the student acted as both editor-in-chief and main contributor. This was in parallel to engineering activities that the student was suggested to take. We were able to advise him to get into an internship with a professor.

For Troy’s personal statement essay, we were able to get him to write extensively about the problem of infrastructure in India. Traffic that should only take 30 minutes took hours to get through, everyday internet connection issues, drinkable tap water, issues he had taken for granted that he was surprised weren’t issues in the USA. He wanted to say he wanted to study in the US to get away from these issues, but we convinced him it would be better to write that he was studying in the US to find solutions to these problems so he can come back and try fixing them. Cardinal Education wanted him to be a student who was moving away from home to help his country.

Ultimately, this all helped serve Cardinal Education’s goal of framing the student as an engineer who also loves writing and the humanities in general. This level of differentiation proved effective, as the student was soon accepted into Stanford.