This presentation assumes you are either soon to apply or in the midst of doing so, but may also be useful for those who wish to know what is in store for them in the future.

Maximizing your (child’s) chances of admission to top colleges requires an understanding of multiple factors, beginning with:

• The colleges’ evaluative criteria, including how they differ by school, type of applicant, and timing (early decision vs. early action vs. regular decision)
• How the applicant pool varies by type and location of school, and how much this matters
• The importance of fit, diversity, sociability, and likeability—for different types of applicants
• The role of money in the process: whether you need money, want money, have enough money, or have money to use
• The impact of different “hooks”—and positioning generally
• How to estimate your chances of admission at different schools in different (timing) circumstances

The next step is to understand how to maximize the value of what you (potentially) offer a school, which involves:

• Positioning to get the fullest value out of who you are, what you’ve done, and where you’re headed, in light of what the top colleges value
• Getting the most out of the essays, recommendations, resume(s), and interviews—singly and in combination
• Tailoring your application to each school (including showing that it would be great for you and vice versa)

This presentation will explore each of the above elements (and several others), primarily for American colleges, but with a brief look at the application “game”—criteria, process, and admissions difficulty—for key foreign programs.

Audience participation and questions are encouraged. Face masks are required of all participants. 

Presenter, Richard Montauk is the author of a series of best-selling guides, all published by Prentice Hall, including How to Get Into the Top Colleges and How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs. His most recent books include College Interviews: The Definitive Guide and Getting into Brown: Successful Applicants’ Essays, Resumes, and Interviews. He received a BA in literature from Brown University, an MA in government from Harvard, an MS in finance, and a JD from Stanford Law School. Pursuant to a graduate fellowship, he also studied at the London School of Economics and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (University of London).

After graduating from Stanford, Richard worked as a corporate lawyer for Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles, then as a corporate strategy consultant for Bain & Co. in London, before devoting himself full-time to admissions consulting. Since 1991, he has consulted to candidates for the world’s top universities, for both undergraduate and graduate programs. He can be reached at richard.montauk@gmail.com or through his website, richardmontauk.com.