Lindsey
Tennessee
The Lawyer
Georgetown
We first met Lindsey five years ago when she was a junior in high school aspiring to become a doctor. Her family included four generations of doctors, leaving her with no doubt that she, too, would be a doctor one day. She entered Vanderbilt University in fall 2007 as a pre-medical student.
The direction of her life changed, however, when Lindsey entered a public policy course during the second semester of her freshman year. She found herself in the center of lively debates over stem cell research and mandated health care. She became fascinated by the interplay of economics, politics, and science, and she decided to switch to a double major in medical health and political science.
The Short List worked with Lindsey to help broaden her knowledge through study abroad and internships. During the summer of 2009, she spent two months in Europe with the prestigious London School of Economics. Later that same summer, she completed a congressional internship in Washington, D.C., at the height of the health care debate. She saw how lawmakers and, more specifically, lawyers helped shape that debate.
The more Lindsey studied and experienced, the more confident she became that the right path for her was, in fact, law school. As a lawyer, she felt she could help create health care policies with far-reaching impact.
Lindsey contacted The Short List a third time to help her explore law schools. She had narrowed her list to focus on schools in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and North Carolina to give herself proximity to the federal policymaking process.
The Short List helped her prep for her interview and watched her confidence soar.
The Short List visited Lindsey at Vanderbilt. She was mature, focused, and eager to move forward with her plans. She had already taken the LSAT once and was preparing to take it a second time. She applied to several schools, but was increasingly drawn to Georgetown University Law School.
In late fall 2010, Lindsey began to receive acceptances, but Georgetown remained silent, so she traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend a Georgetown Open House. She connected with students, faculty, and administrators and left convinced Georgetown was the right school for her even though it was a long shot.
Shortly after her visit, Lindsey received a call inviting her to interview with Georgetown. The Short List was convinced the interview would demonstrate what made Lindsey exceptional. We helped her prep for the interview and watched her confidence soar.
Only a week after her interview, Lindsey received the thrilling news that Georgetown University Law School would be welcoming her to the Nation’s capital in the fall of 2011.
Kosta’s family is from Greece, and they knew very little about the US college admissions process when we first met. They initially engaged us for our test prep tutoring. We invited Kosta to join one of our group programs, which typically consist of five to 10 students who go through the admissions process together. Each participant benefits not only from the direct guidance and advice of two counselors from The Short List but also feedback from their fellow students.
The Short List had the opportunity to work with Jim not just once, but twice. He was in a dead-end job when he contacted The Short List the first time for career guidance. He was two years out of the University of Michigan, having graduated from their high-ranking undergraduate business program. While in school, Jim had been one of the editors for The Daily, the school’s newspaper. At first, he seemed desperate to accept any job that would get him out of his current situation. The Short List encouraged Jim to step back and think more carefully about what he ultimately wanted to do with his career. We outlined several different career directions that all seemed appealing. The Short List then had him put together a list of people whose careers inspired him.
Jeff was living in Colorado, working as a member of the Breckenridge Ski Patrol, when his parents asked if we could help provide him some career guidance. He was beginning to consider different career directions, and his parents hoped we could help him find the right path.
When The Short List met Jake during his sophomore year, he had one school in mind: the United States Naval Academy. Jake’s parents clearly had their concerns. We discussed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Jake listened but felt it was both a privilege and a duty to serve his country. He also knew the Academy was a long shot because all of the service academies look for tremendous leadership and top-tier academic achievement.
We met Jackson and his family two years ago at one of our Columbus, Ohio, presentations. Jackson was an academically gifted student, had legacy at two highly ranked schools, and was a top-rated golfer. His family was unsure how to go about the search process: Should they go for a school strictly for academics? Was it smarter to take advantage of his legacy status? Or should he pursue his dream of playing golf in college?
The Short List met Grant when he was a high school sophomore. Even then, it was apparent that Grant had many academic interests: business, history, liberal arts… Boston College allowed him to explore all of them. During college, Grant interned in financial services and law firms and spent his junior year studying in Rome, Italy. Wherever he worked, lived, or studied, Grant had a quest to learn and take in as much as possible.
Gwyneth was in 9th grade and living in Hong Kong when we worked with her older sister. She developed an interest in attending boarding school because she felt her local high school lacked the curriculum to support her growing scientific interests. We helped her apply to a handful of U.S. boarding schools, while also researching opportunities to explore her interests in summer programs.
Greg attends a small private K-12 school in Buffalo. The Short List worked with Greg’s two older sisters and profiled Maddie when she started Harvard in 2011. Greg’s parents contacted The Short List early in Greg’s high school years to help him prepare for the college admissions process.
Grace is an appropriate name for this talented dancer. She comes from a family of entertainers and has danced, modeled, acted, and mentored other young performers most of her life. When it came to helping her pick a college, The Short List knew it would have to be a special place. Grace wasn’t certain she wanted a career in dance but did want a strong dance program. She also talked about other interests and her desire to run a business someday. Knowing a conservatory wouldn’t meet her needs, we started with a long list of schools ranging from large universities with multiple academic choices to small schools with more focused liberal arts programs. Grace knew she might want to dance outside of school, so we suggested she focus on schools in big cities.