Tag: Wesleyan

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.

We asked each student to highlight who they were beyond the classroom. Kosta came alive sharing stories of soccer. He was excited to learn students at US colleges could play soccer at different levels and could even contact an athletic coach before applying to a school. Kosta was most interested in elite liberal arts colleges where students play sports at the Division III level. “D3” athletes are accepted to a school on their academic merit and are not offered athletic scholarships. Kosta found this appealing because he didn’t want to feel the team or sport owned him.

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.

The more Kosta researched, the more he was drawn to Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He reached out to the soccer coach, who in turn invited him to a home game. Kosta met with the coach before the game and again at the end of his visit, and was thrilled when the coach expressed strong interest. He made the decision to apply Early Decision. Six weeks after submitting his application, Kosta received a letter saying that his application had been deferred to Early Decision II. Kosta wanted to understand what else he could do to improve his chances. Wesleyan wanted to better understand his high school so Kosta asked his counselor to write a letter that detailed the school’s curriculum and highlighted Kosta’s contribution as a student, athlete, and community leader.

Kosta also informed the Wesleyan coach of his deferral. The Wesleyan coach reached out to Kosta’s current coach to get a better understanding of Kosta’s soccer abilities. Kosta believes this may have helped make the difference, because in the middle of February he received his admissions acceptance. He also received a spring workout plan from the Wesleyan head coach who encouraged him to get ready to play in the fall.