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A Student’s Guide to College Admissions.

A comprehensive roadmap to getting admitted to the college of your choice — all designed by a former director of admissions.

Conference name tag for Andrew Moe from Swarthmore College, a lanyard with international flags, a brown booklet with a silver logo and text "Education USA," and a blue booklet with event details for an educational conference in the Middle East region.
Business card for Andrew Moe, Ed.D., Director of Admissions at Swarthmore College, showing contact details on a desk.

So why me? And not the million other people on YouTube and TikTok trying to convince you that this essay got them into Yale?

Because they weren’t making the decision.

Why listen to a diner at a restaurant — when you could talk to the chef?

I’ve learned a lot over the last 15 years in selective college admissions. And I’ve been paying attention.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misinformation out on Reddit, YouTube, TikTok and the like. Well-meaning people are trying to help you. The problem is: they’ve never worked in admissions, and if they have, it’s often for a few years at the bottom of the org chart.

Because I’ve been in charge, I know how these professionals and institutions are building their class. Institutional priorities. Hooks. Demonstrated interest. Pings. Click-throughs. Waitlisting. Deferrals.

And that’s just the half of it.

I’ve designed my Ultimate Student Guide to College Admissions Course with you in mind.

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The Course Lessons.

  • Searching for a College

    Everything from size to geography to majors to social scene. We walk you through it all.

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  • Building a Balanced List

    Likely? Match? Reach? There’s both an art and a science to determining which colleges — and how many — should be on your list.

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  • To Go Early or Not?

    Is Early Decision really an advantage? Does REA afford the same benefits? We dive into Admissions Math in this lesson and others

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  • What's a Hook?

    We discuss the role of institutional priorities (or hooks) in this lesson and help determine if you have one, or can demonstrate one.

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  • The Application

    From the Common App to Coalition to QuestBridge and others, we go through all of the major platforms and application components.

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  • Writing Memorable Essays

    Your essay — and the many supplements alongside it — should tell your story. We help you do it.

    Young man sitting on the floor in a living room, looking at a tablet, with a bookshelf and large window showing green trees in the background.

  • The Interview

    Is the college interview on your radar? We’ll help you prepare and walk through the aims and what to expect.

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  • The Arts Portfolio

    Even if you don’t want to major in art, theater, music or something similar, this can be a critical omission, should you have artistic talents.

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  • Choosing a Major

    Have you heard, “you can always change your major!” from an admissions officer? While that’s often true, your major selection serves a role in admissions.

    A young male teacher stands at a small wooden desk with a glass of water and papers, teaching a science or physics class. Behind him, a blackboard filled with mathematical equations, graphs, and notes is visible. Students sit in front, partially visible, listening.

  • Holistic Admissions

    Ever wonder what happens in the admissions committee room? Is the selection process truly “holistic”? We’ll walk you through it all.

    Three people having a discussion during a business meeting in an office.

  • Demonstrating Interest

    So how important is opening an email from a college? Or visiting? Or completing a summer program? It might matter more than you realize.

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  • Scholarships & Paying

    This mega-lesson will walk you through financial aid, scholarships, loans, comparing financial aid awards, and how to pay for college.

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The course is coming.

Regardless of what school you attend or who is helping you, you will learn a ton about college admissions in this course — likely, things you’ve never even though about. Until now.