PREMIUM ESSAY

Where Should I Apply?

To guarantee results, you should consider applying to up to 14 universities. We know that sounds like a lot. However, which elite university you attend is the most important decision you will make in the next year. For premium results require premium effort. Do not listen to anyone who tells you otherwise.

Elite universities are like private clubs. Upon admission, you join their exclusive society for the rest of your life. The network of friends that you will make, the Nobel Prize winning professors you will gain access to, and the opportunities for study abroad form the rock-solid foundation of an elite career in business, politics, science, technology, and law.

According to the U.S. News and World Report, the Top 20 Schools in the nation are:

1. Harvard University (MA)
2. Princeton University (NJ)
3. Yale University (CT)
4. California Institute of Technology (CA)
5. Stanford University (CA)
6. Massachusetts Inst. Of Technology (MA)
7. University of Pennsylvania
8. Duke University (NC)
9. Dartmouth College (NH)
10. Columbia University (NY)
11. University of Chicago
12. Cornell University (NY)
13. Washington University in St. Louis
14. Northwestern University (IL)
15. Brown University (RI)
16. Johns Hopkins University (MD)
17. Rice University (TX)
18. Vanderbilt University (TN)
19. Emory University (GA)
20. Carnegie Mellon University (PA)

 

We suggest the following high-performance 14-school strategy:

The 14-School Strategy

Always apply to the top 3 universities in the country: Harvard, Princeton, Yale.

Prestige may not matter to you now, but then you have a diploma that says "Harvard" on it, you'll be thankful. And remember, you can't get in if you don't apply.

Apply to 3 universities in the cities that you want to be in.

It doesn't matter how superb the classes are if you absolutely hate being where you are. If you hate cold weather, bump sunny Stanford University higher on your list. If you have to be integrated into a city, lean towards Harvard University.

Apply to 5 institutions that have the best departments in your area of study.

Although Harvard has the best overall reputation, Stanford has a better Computer Science department. If two school have similar reputations, then always go to the one with the best department. Remember, it will be the professors in the department that will be writing your recommendations for graduate school. If they are the top in their field, you will shine all the more brightly for knowing them.

>

Apply to 3 back-up schools have you feel you are guaranteed to get into.

This is your last line of defense so you should be very confident that you will get into all three of these schools.

If pressed for time, you can scale the plan back to 9 or even 7 universities. We suggest the following high-performance 7-school strategy:

The 7-School Strategy

Apply to Harvard University.

Why? Because it's Harvard! It has the most prestige of any institution in the world. It alone is peerless. A Harvard education is priceless.

Apply to the top 5 universities that have the best departments in your area of study.

Look departments with a sustained dominance in your field. The University of Chicago, though not a top 20 school this year, has had the best sociology department for a decade. If you're going to study urban development, you go to the University of Chicago.

Apply to 1 back up school.

Any top 50 school is a good choice here. You should be ABSOLUTELY sure you can gain admission into this school. It should be good enough that you would go to it, but easy enough to get into that you can be confident of admission. For those of you who are Harvard-bound, consider a UC (University of California) school as a back-up.