Ivy League Prep Academy Podcast

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Ivy League Challenge Registration Now OPEN! Jan 17, 2022

Show notes

For the first time in 6 months, registration is now open for the Ivy League Challenge!
Unlike other programs, we keep our cohorts small and intimate, in order to give high levels of attention to every one of the 12-15 members of each cohort.
When the cohort fills, we will close registration once again, and interested candidates will need to sign up for the waitlist and wait until registration opens next time.
This cohort will be even more valuable for participants, because we are inviting the director of the Yale Young Scholars program in to speak about her experience with Yale admissions decisions, and what it is like to read application essays.
That is in addition to the life changing program.
in 12 weeks, you will move through three phases of self discovery and elite college admissions preparation:
Phase 1: Self Awareness.
This is the most important work you will ever do in your life. Identify your core values, or interests, etc. Catapult your level of confidence as you learn how to align your life choices to your core values.
Phase 2: Make your Impact.
With you newly acquired self-awareness, you can eliminate the activities that are wasting your time. Use the time you've freed up to begin solving a program in your community that violates your core values.
Phase 3: Elite College Admissions.
Learn how to conduct effective outreach to relevant professors, professionals, admissions officers, and more. You'll receive templates for how to write professional emails that get responses. You'll also learn how to network with your current teachers and college counselor in order to get the best possible letters of recommendation. Network with admissions officers to make sure the very people who will decide if you are admitted or not know who you are and are excited to see your application come in.
Phase 3 is where you scale your impact, and ensure that all the pieces you need for to make yourself memorable to an admissions committee are in place.
Do not delay, sign up for the Ivy League Challenge today.
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

How The Ivy League Challenge Gets You Into Your Dream College Jan 12, 2022

Show notes

College admissions should be the impetus that inspires teens to take time to significantly increase self-awareness, to pursue interests, and to grow as a human.
With a foundation of clarity about one's core values, a teen should develop some key skills-- first of all, investigative journalism.
How do you ask better questions? How do you find better answers to those questions...?
And once you have put in the time to pursue your interests appropriately, you will have a greater understanding of the issues in that field. You won't be so naive about those issues.
You'll get why some of the big problems haven't been solved yet, you'll understand who the big players are in your field (the thought leaders and other experts) and you'll become familiar with their respective contributions.
At this stage you can intelligently reach out to them for support, so that you can take your understanding of the situation and apply it to your community in order to begin making an impact in your community.
That impact-- working towards solving a real problem within your community (aligned with your interest) is the evidence that you not only are aware of your core values, but that you are living your life according to them.
That-- the thoughtfulness and self-awareness that allows you to work to solve problems in your community that violate your core values, is unusual, is memorable, and is impressive.
Not only is it the best way to stand out in a pool of highly ambitious other high school students vying for a spot in your dream school, it is the best use of your teenage years. Period.
The next cohort of the Ivy League Challenge begins soon. Registration is open. Sign up now.
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

To parents of Teens- The Teacher Who Cares Perspective Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

I am not a parenting expert.
But I can clearly see how teens who have been raised the way I support in this episode are far more willing and capable of overcoming challenges when they face them.
Although this episode is to the parents and adults in the room, I hope some middle and high school students choose to listen in as well, so they can encourage the adults in their lives to give them room to figure things out.
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

The Student's Perspective; Ishita Anand, Pt. 2 Jan 03, 2022

Show notes

Get into the details of how Ishita figured out what her impact project should be. Learn how she progressed through the steps.
You'll understand how amazing an impact project like this could be for you as you listen to the journey Ishita went through to get where she is today.
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

The Student's Perspective; Ishita Anand, Pt. 1 Dec 27, 2021

Show notes

Ever wonder what students do in the Ivy League Challenge? Listen in to learn from Ishita. There are two parts to this interview, this is part 1.
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

Looking for a "Research Opportunity?" Listen First! Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

As I continue helping more and more teens get into their dream colleges, and especially as I have become known as the person who specializes in helping students create their 'stand out factor', I have been receiving more and questions about where teens and parents of teens should go to find "opportunities."
Even though I have a lot more to say about it, this podcast is my response to that question.
Please don't fall into the trap/make the common mistakes I help you avoid in this episode.
Those mistakes are too costly.
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

How My Harvard Peers Face Challenges Dec 13, 2021

Show notes

Try something for me: think of your favorite movie. Next time you watch it, pause the movie 3 or 4 times and ask yourself "is the hero enjoying themselves right now?" "are they learning or growing?"
You will quickly discover that throughout much of the movie, the hero is not actually enjoying himself or herself.
But the important thing is that they grow through their challenges. They not only overcome the external problem (the villain, the race, the relationship, etc), but they also overcome their own internal struggles of self-worth and self-efficacy.
So why should you be any different? If you have great ambitions. If you want to do great things, then you will have times in your life that will not be fun or comfortable.
That is okay. The hero's journey requires that you experience the struggle, and learn or grow from it.
And the growth is so valuable, that once you begin learning from your challenges, you will value those challenges for what they are: catalysts for growth.
Listen to find out how to shift your mindset to be more healthy, so that you can also grow through your challenges, and become the hero of your own story.
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us in our Facebook group for parents
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

Rejected? Accepted? Waitlisted? How to Respond to Admissions Decisions Dec 06, 2021

Show notes

Ivy Day is coming up. If you are one of the tens of thousands who has applied to these outstanding eight colleges, it will be a day of powerful emotions.
But how should you respond to that decision? wether you were accepted, rejected, or waitlisted?
Based on actual quotes from Yale admissions officers (from this podcast: https://www.stitcher.com/show/inside-the-yale-admissions-office/episode/dealing-with-decisions-82872057) and my own conversations with similar people at Harvard, Dartmouth, and others, I share my personal opinion about how you should respond to admissions decisions.
If you have ambitions to apply to a top tier college, check out my introductory online class, Elite College Admissions Made Easy. You can find it here: https://ivy-league-prep-academy.mykajabi.com/ECAMEstarter-course
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

Yale Doctoral Candidate & Author Crystal Harrell Nov 29, 2021

Show notes

Crystal grew up the 7th of 10 children in public housing. She didn't dream of attending a top-tier college until she was older, because she didn't think it was possible and didn't know anyone else who was doing it.
Share shares her incredible story here about overcoming the odds and getting into a highly competitive PhD program at her dream university, Yale.
Check out her book: Crystal Clear
You can also follow her on Instagram at @Crystalharrell_
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

The Little Things... Are the Big Things Nov 22, 2021

Show notes

I recently asked Luke, the 17 year-old world-record holder for most burpees in a minute by a male, how he became the best in the world at doing burpees.
His answer... "I realized that the little things are the big things."
In music, in athletics, in academics, in relationships, and in all other areas of life, those who become outstanding learn to make the little thing the big things.
It isn't how many minutes you spend reading your textbook that matters, so much as how aware you are of what you are reading and how it fits in with the bigger picture.
The concert is important to both the amateur and the professional, but the daily practice time is treasured by only the professional.
Listen and learn how emphasizing the little things can make all the difference in middle school, high school, and beyond.
Like what you hear? What more?
Check out the Elite College Admissions Made Easy Starter Course today!
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

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