50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays

  Is there anything else you’d like to add?
A:
 It’s not just one essay that counts. It’s the whole application. It doesn’t 
matter how good your essays are if your teachers say you’re not inter-
esting. It has to do with how all the information (teacher recs, essays, 
school support, transcript) fits together. Your essays have to be in line 
with the rest of your application. The admissions officers are going to 
be suspicious if you have a brilliant essay but it doesn’t match the rest 
of your application. Everything has to be in the same vein.
Also, if you’ve had extraordinary circumstances, you should write 
about them in a note. If you weren’t involved in activities, explain that 
you were taking care of your autistic sister. You want admissions of-
ficers to know about anything unusual
Dr. Michele Hernandez is the former assistant director of admissions at 
Dartmouth College and the author of 
A is for Admission, The Middle School 
Years,  Don’t Worry You’ll Get In and Acing the College Application. She is 
with the president and founder of Hernandez College Consulting (www.
hernandezcollegeconsulting.com).
EVA OSTRUM