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Yul ’20

Yul ’20

Hong Kong

The In-Person Visit

 

Brown

We met Yul while giving an admissions overview presentation in Hong Kong his freshman year. Starting early with The Short List helped Yul stay focused in his academics, extracurriculars, and summer programs. He joined a rock band that performed regularly at school and Hong Kong conventions. He auditioned and became one of three finalists out of 1,000 for a K-pop band. Yul also co-founded a student-led A Capella group.
We introduced Yul to New York University’s prestigious Clive Davis Institute Summer High School Program, where he explored producing music. Spending the summer in the USA gave Yul an opportunity to visit colleges.

Yul loved writing, performing, and producing, but his college visits showed him there were compelling business opportunities outside of music. We helped him reduce his college list and focus on schools that would allow him to pursue music and business. Yul’s Brown visit helped him articulate why their open curriculum and supportive community of musicians and entrepreneurs motivated him to apply.

Brown waitlisted Yul just as COVID put his school into remote learning. His counselor told him, “It is unlikely you will come off the waitlist, so we won’t be able to support you.” We told Yul’s family we believed otherwise and showed Yul how to appeal the waitlist decision. Brown eventually accepted Yul and gave him the option of starting online or postponing his entry until the following May when they hoped to resume in-person learning. Yul opted for the latter so he could continue producing his music during COVID’s most challenging year. His father wrote, “Thank you again for not giving up and encouraging Yul!  That made all the difference!”

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Yoong ’22

Yoong ’22

Hong Kong

The Online Audition

 

NYU

When we first met Yoong, he was already a member of Hong Kong’s Youth Arts Foundation and was regularly cast in their theater productions. He was the lead singer in a school Pop Rock band, actor in the annual 48-hour Film Festival, and dancer in the school’s K-pop dance group.

Yoong had previously attended Michigan’s world-renowned Interlocken Center for the Arts, where he was surprised to discover he was the only Asian student in their Summer Theater Program. Nonetheless, he joined the program with confidence, deciding to be “just like the other kids.” That earned him a small 16-second solo. We encouraged Yoong to return to Interlocken the following summer and be himself. During a dance rehearsal, he showcased his K-pop talents, and the directors cast him as one of the leads in Sweeney Todd.

Yoong was unable to return to the USA in 2021 due to COVID travel restrictions and missed the opportunity to visit colleges. We introduced him to online research tools to investigate programs that matched his interests. We coached him for his Zoom auditions, reminding him to continue being himself as he performed from his bedroom. We also encouraged Yoong to remain engaged at school and were delighted when he sent a video of a dance he choreographed for a holiday recital. We advised him to send it to the universities to which he was applying.

In the end, Yoong was accepted to NYU, USC, and UCLA, the three most prestigious theater programs in the country. He always dreamed of living in New York City, the theater capital of the world, and will be enrolling at NYU this fall.

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Ailbhe ‘21

Ailbhe ‘21

Hong Kong

The Relationship Builder

 

Scripps College

We started working with Ailbhe at the beginning of her junior year. Seeing how naturally shy and soft-spoken she was, The Short List encouraged her to seek out opportunities to pursue her concern for the environment while building her confidence. She took a leap of faith and volunteered to organize the interviews for a school-wide environmental sustainability project.

We felt it important that Ailbhe not lose momentum when COVID disrupted international travel during spring of her junior year. We helped her reimagine and deepen her extracurricular interests and showed her ways to continue building academic relationships remotely so her teacher recommenders would be able to write detailed and persuasive letters.

As the year progressed, we urged Ailbhe to dive deeper into colleges and programs that would best suit her academic interests. We introduced ways for her to connect meaningfully with admissions officers, professors, and current students despite her inability to visit campuses.

We helped Ailbhe craft a balanced list of schools and introduced her to the supportive dynamics of a few distinctive all-women colleges where she could continue to develop her self-confidence and powerful voice. By January 2021, she was ready to apply Early Decision II to Scripps College and was overjoyed when she received word in mid-February that she had been accepted. Ailbhe moved to Southern California last fall.

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Jason ’22

Jason ’22

Greece

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The Co-op Curriculum

Northeastern

Jason was a strong student who saw himself as an entrepreneur and business leader. He enjoyed problem-solving, even designing a solar scooter to lessen his commute to school. His love for experiential learning would influence his final college list.

Jason lost his childhood friend in a boating accident when he was 10 years old. Witnessing such a tragic accident had a huge impact on his life. At first, he struggled. His late friend’s family approached him to join Safe Water Sports to help raise awareness for water safety. He began with simple clerical work and assisted on various projects.

In high school, his brother introduced him to The Home Project, an organization that supported refugee minors. He couldn’t stop thinking of the refugees’ isolation when Greece went into COVID lockdown. He proposed a Zoom series co-hosted by Safe Water Sports and The Home Project. Jason felt he was the perfect person to introduce “safe water sports” to refugees who lost loved ones to the sea, having lost his own friend years earlier. He held his first one-hour Zoom meeting on Christmas Day 2020. As an experiential learner himself, he kept the refugees engaged with interactive games. The Ministry of Health learned about his efforts and cast him in a national PSA focused on the health of teenagers during the pandemic.

COVID prevented Jason from traveling to the USA for a college tour, but he knew he was looking for a business program with an emphasis on entrepreneurship. We researched schools with unique interactive curriculums that would satisfy his interests. In April 2022, as travel restrictions relaxed, his family was finally able to plan a college tour of his accepted schools. Jason knew before he arrived that Northeastern, with their global experiential co-op program, was his top choice. Visiting the school affirmed his decision, and he will move to Boston—popularly known as College Town, USA—this fall.

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Philip ’21

Philip ’21

Greece

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The Core Curriculum

Columbia University

Philip '21Philip approached The Short List as a sophomore wanting to discuss whether he should continue following the Greek national curriculum or move to an International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum for his final two years of high school. That was not the last time we would discuss curriculums with him.

The Greek refugee crisis dominated Philip’s high school years. He co-founded Make A Difference with some high school friends and organized a basketball fundraiser featuring a game between his basketball team and a refugee team. He liked being a leader and expressed an interest in touring USA colleges with strong business programs. We got him involved in test prep, believing top scores would open opportunities, and we helped map out a college tour that included a stop in New York City to visit Columbia.

On his return to Athens, Philip wanted to make a more lasting impact in the refugee crisis, so he joined The Home Project, an organization hiring math tutors to work with young refugees. The Short List also helped Philip explore organizing a summer math camp for refugees, but COVID prevented his plan from moving forward.

We began brainstorming alternative summer initiatives, including a webinar series, applying for a prestigious online research program, and securing an internship with a national bank. His thinking began to shift that summer as he explored COVID’s economic impact on the European Union while working on the research project.

That fall, Philip said he no longer wanted to focus on a narrow pre-professional business curriculum. He began seeing himself as a social scientist and decided to apply Early Decision to Columbia for their renowned economics program and Core curriculum.

We brainstormed responses to Columbia’s supplemental questions and encouraged him to share how writing his research paper and his direct experience with the refugee crisis had shaped his concern for humanity. Philip was thrilled when Columbia made him an offer in a year their acceptance rate dropped below 4% for the first time in the school’s history.

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Elizabeth ’21

Elizabeth ’21

USA

The Test Optional

St Andrews (Scotland)

Elizabeth '21Elizabeth spent her high school years in a Connecticut boarding school’s Global and Environmental Studies program. She studied French and Arabic and earned the Honors Tea Award for “Best Student in a Language Class.” She joined Model UN, became an officer in her school’s UNICEF club, and was awarded the “Norton Center Initiative — Charitable Blend.”

The Short List helped Elizabeth plan summer programs, including a dual-immersion French and Arabic trip to Morocco and a photojournalism trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. The crowning moment was a chance to study in Jordan her 2019 — 2020 junior year. Then COVID disrupted everything in the spring, and she quickly boarded one of Jordan’s last flights out of the country.
We hoped good test scores would offset Elizabeth’s incomplete transcript, so our test prep division worked closely with her. She improved with each mock test and was ready to perform well…before her test site cancelled the test, and each of the next five tests she registered for.

Once we knew Elizabeth would be applying test optional, we encouraged her to focus on her extracurricular activities senior year. She became an Environmental Proctor, UNICEF Club President, Residential Advisor, and Tour Guide, all of which showcased her desire to create community.

St Andrews in Scotland, with their dual program in Art and Middle East and Islamic Studies, became Elizabeth’s top choice. We brainstormed ways to share her international background and interests in her essays and interview. Thankfully, St Andrews accepted her after focusing less on a complete transcript or test scores and more on how Elizabeth viewed other cultures and communities. Her international journey continued when she moved to Scotland last fall.

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How The Short List is Assisting Families Impacted by COVID-19

HOW THE SHORT LIST IS
ASSISTING FAMILIES IMPACTED BY COVID-19 DISRUPTIONS

September 25, 2020

Many families are expressing concerns over the ways in which COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is impacting their child’s academic year now that most students have returned to school. Students are having to learn how to navigate their academic life amid a highly dynamic global health crisis.

During this extraordinary time, those students whose schools have gone virtual are not only adapting to learning while confined at home, but are also being challenged to reconceive their academic year. The Short List has been working remotely with families for 20 years and, no matter how difficult a student’s circumstances, we have always helped them find a way forward. However, we also recognize this way of working will be new for many other families.

We want to share with you some of the key ways in which we are currently assisting our students to help keep them engaged, excited and informed through the remainder of this academic year.

Seniors

We understand many senior families are concerned with how COVID-19 will impact the application season. Here are key ways in which The Short List is helping:

College Visits

We have assembled a dozen or more resources for students to research any college or university and have made them available to our clients in The Short List proprietary planner. These have become especially useful now that most schools have canceled visitation programs. We are connecting our students to former clients who are now current students or who have recently graduated from a college of interest. We are also introducing ways to build relationships with professors and admissions personnel, so students can become more educated about their college “short” list. Many of these resources are interactive and visually engaging as we seek to maintain each student’s interest.

Online Test Prep

Just as schools have made the adjustment to virtual classrooms, we are seeing testing boards for the SAT, ACT, SAT Subject, AP, IB, A-Level or any other standardized tests finding ways to uphold testing this year. We have a well-established academic tutoring and test prep division that employs innovative tools to guide students through online test prep programs with proven results. Our programs allow a student to continue learning from home, even as local tutors and test prep centers suspend operations. Our Director of Academic Tutoring & Test Prep, is a Harvard graduate with 20 years of test prep experience. He has assembled a team with expertise in subject areas well beyond the SAT and ACT, so students are well-prepared for any testing they take this year.

Academic Relationships

We recognize it may be difficult to maintain academic relationships with teachers and counselors while many high schools operate virtually or with a hybrid approach, so we are advising our students on ways to build relationships remotely so they can receive relevant and targeted recommendations as they prepare to apply to their colleges and universities.

Applications and Deadlines

Reports indicate that anywhere from 10-30% of the ’21 admissions slots have been filled by gap year deferrals from the class of ’20. This will certainly make this coming year the most selective year ever. We are helping students produce focused applications that highlight their strengths, have easily understood themes and will help the student standout in a highly competitive pool, particularly as the Wall Street Journal reports most admissions officers will spend just 7-8 minutes reading the entire application. This holds true when choosing an application deadlines because every opportunity also creates an opportunity cost. Striking the right balance will make all the difference.

Underclassmen

We continue to emphasize academics with all of our freshmen, sophomores and juniors, especially if they feel challenged by their altered learning environment. We are helping them explore ways to adapt their extracurricular activities given current situations, and plan for a meaningful summer. We learned the importance for students to have a Plan B this past year as circumstance changed and students had to quickly pivot to new opportunities. We believe this will become even more important this year as fewer programs are offered or students are asked to reimagine their summers. Finally, we are introducing students to colleges so they can begin the research process for better understanding what will be expected when it comes time to apply.

As the situation continues to evolve, we are monitoring information from the government, health agencies, colleges and universities and communicating our findings to families interested in staying up-to-date. Please write to us at info@theshortlist.org if you would like to be added to the list.

We are committed to helping our families in any way possible and to keeping our students motivated and focused during these uncertain times. For 20 years The Short List has worked remotely with the most up-to-date technological tools to deliver a high-quality personalized service that minimizes stress and maximizes opportunity. Please do not hesitate to email us with any questions or concerns, or to inquire how we can help you at info@theshortlist.org

Stay safe,

Bill Short
Founder & President

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Michael

Michael

Hong Kong

The Stand Out

Brown

Michael (2019)Parents typically contact us for guidance for their student. However, Mike reached out to us on his own. His parents empowered him to be the decision-maker. We provided updates, but never actually spoke to them.

Mike spent most of his early childhood in and around New York City, where he said everyone looked and acted just like him. “The key,” he said, “was not to stand out if you wanted to fit in.” Mike took challenging classes, but not too challenging. Got involved, but not too involved. Thought about college, but with little clarity. That would change the day Mike’s family moved to Hong Kong following Mike’s 9th grade year.

Mike was the only African-American student at his new international high school. His classmates worked hard to excel in their academics, got involved in activities both in and outside of school, and were already thinking about college. Mike wondered how he would survive in a place where he didn’t blend in.

Mike first joined the Entrepreneur Club because he liked business and math. His club created two small businesses and organized a case study competition for 13 international schools in Asia. He also got involved in MIT LaunchX, a club that teaches high school students how to develop and pitch new business ideas. He founded the Stock Market Initiative and organized a school-wide stock market competition.

Mike’s classmates took note of his leadership skills, electing him to student government and eventually to the executive committee, where he serves as Senator of Discipline.

Mike told us he wanted a school that encouraged independence and had a strong math program. The Short List helped organize a summer college tour that included Brown University. Brown stood out for its open curriculum and self-directed student body. Mike needed to connect his background and interests to the school, and, under our guidance, took a carefully measured approach to every step of the process, down to the last word of his essay.

Reflecting back on his three years in Hong Kong, Mike said, “It’s funny, but in trying to fit in, I somehow learned to stand out.” We believe Brown took notice: Mike was the only student from his school accepted Early Decision out of more than a dozen who applied.

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Oliver

Oliver

South Korea

The Game Designer

DigiPen

Oliver attends an international school in South Korea. He came to us somewhat lost as to what he wanted to study in college. The more The Short List learned about Oliver, the more we understood why.

Oliver was about to enter junior year and his school’s two-year International Baccalaureate (IB) program. His three higher-level courses—psychology, economics, and French—highlighted the breadth of his curiosity. His extracurricular activities demonstrated his creativity: He served as set designer for various school theater productions and participated in Tech Crusaders, a club that designed the school’s website and taught coding to middle schoolers. 

Oliver was slow to reveal his passion for video games, believing we wouldn’t understand. But we clearly saw how video games combined stagecraft, coding, and design. Once we validated his passion, Oliver took us deep into the world of video game production, storyline, and user experience.

We traveled to Korea to meet with Oliver and his family, and we encouraged Oliver to consider summer game design programs, including one at the University of Washington. The Short List also researched both traditional universities and renowned game design schools for Oliver to visit while in the U.S. Finally, we brainstormed Oliver’s IB program extended essay. Oliver settled on researching how the gaming industry has influenced French culture, adding a twist by deciding to write the paper in French.

Oliver spent several weeks on the University of Washington campus collaborating with award-winning designers and passionate classmates on the design of a new video game. When he returned home, he poured his energy into his applications, highlighting how his academics, extracurricular activities, and summer program connected him to game design. 

After submitting his applications, Oliver turned his attention to completing his IB essay. He also organized an in-school Super Smash Bros charity video game tournament, with all proceeds supporting Compassion International, a charity that supports service work globally. Oliver was beginning to see how he could turn his passion into meaningful action. DigiPen Institute of Technology saw the same and, in December, accepted Oliver into their award-winning game design program.

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Léa

Léa

Bermuda

The Urban Islander

Northwestern

Léa grew up in Bermuda and attended one of the top international schools on the island. She believed she would be happiest attending college in the United States but knew nothing about the U.S. admissions process. Léa was a freshman, so we had plenty of time to help her explore and prepare.

Léa was a leading student in her school and community. At the end of her freshman year, she was recognized with the President’s Award for her top GPA, nominated for Bermuda’s Youth Volunteer Award for her work at an autism community center, and elected by her classmates to one of three prefect positions.

Léa was clearly talented and driven, so our goal was to keep her focused. She was a strong STEM student but also loved art. The Short List encouraged her to use the summer to explore her interests outside the classroom and helped her research summer programs. She was accepted to a photography program at NYU and boarded a plane with her Nikon D3400 ready to explore the city.

Manhattan is about the size of Bermuda, but couldn’t be more different. Léa was inspired and used every opportunity to photograph her new environment. She then returned to the U.S. the following summer for another photography course and to continue exploring colleges.

Léa was particularly drawn to city schools where she would face a high volume of competition in the admissions process. She needed to match her top GPA with top standardized test scores, and was not happy with her initial results. We paired her with one of our test prep division, and Léa saw her scores soar. Things were coming together nicely when she entered the application season.

Léa visited several schools over her three high school summers and felt she would be happiest at Northwestern with its strong STEM, art, and communication programs. She loved the easy access to Chicago and vibrant urban life. Léa says her first summer in New York turned her from an island girl into a city girl but also helped her realize she never wanted to venture too far from the beach. Northwestern, with its sandy Lake Michigan campus beach, providted the best of both worlds, and offered her admission in December.