Background
Samir came to us in the Spring of his Junior Year without any idea how to go about the College Admissions process for Computer Science programs.
The Challenge
Building College List
Application Essays & Narrative
ExtracurricularsWhen Samir came to us, one of his biggest challenges was knowing where to apply. He had no target schools whatsoever - not even a favorite choice! He was completely uncertain about where to look and how to go about the process of forming a school list that made sense for him.
His secondary challenge was writing compelling application essays. Samir did not consider himself a writer of any kind, outside of school assignments, and he struggled with understanding the various ways to approach application prompts and respond to them in writing. Moreover, he had very little idea of how to begin sharing his stories and highlighting his noteworthy experiences! Indeed, students often struggle to ‘look in the mirror’.
Lastly, as a Computer Science student, he lacked extracurricular activities linked to coding, and his application relied heavily on his school grades and test scores. Most of his time was spent playing Soccer! So, he needed guidance on how to improve his overall profile outside of the classroom to show admissions teams he was passionate about his subject area.
The Strategy
To start, we matched Samir with a College Counselor studying Computer Science at Columbia University. This way, he was provided near-peer mentorship by someone who has personally experienced the rigorous admissions processes into his area of interest and aligns with his goals in every way.
With a detailed understanding of coding, Samir’s counselor at Dewey Smart helped Samir explore and identify schools based on several factors aligned with his college and career goals, including location, the quality of academic programs offered, and the financial aspects, which helped him focus his time and energy. After beginning with a broad list, Samir was then able to narrow down his options to an exciting balance of schools for his applications.
Samir expressed that his counselor’s approach to application essays was an absolute ‘game-changer’! Their process of brainstorming, editing, and writing essays was much different to his normal style of writing, and the approaches they took ensured his stories stood out from the rest!