Fling Open the Gates to Your Dream College

Insider Guides: .

Do you dream of waltzing through those majestic iron wrought gates at Stanford, MIT, Harvard, one of the other Ivy League schools, or any elite caliber school? (Yes, I know Stanford and MIT are not part of the Ivy League, but I’m grouping these schools together with their top-tier peers.)

That’s incredible, and I applaud your ambition. I get it. The allure is undeniable. A world-class school with prestigious Nobel Laureates and distinguished faculty, amazing programs and facilities, and of course the name brand recognition that comes from one of these elite schools.

But what does it take to get in? There’s a mountain of “advice” out there, often contradictory and often too vague or generic to be helpful. Most of all, this advice often comes from counselors who haven’t personally gained admissions into the Ivy League or another top school.

READ THE FULL GUIDE 

PARENTS…

  • If you’re sick of having to nag your teen
  • If you’ve tried to teach them self-motivation & responsibility, only to realize how behind they’ve fallen
  • If you’re worried the SAT/ACT will be the thing holding them back from a great college & future success

STUDENTS…

  • If you think you’re a “bad test taker”
  • If you’re tired of second-guessing yourself (because every answer looks potentially right)
  • If you feel that you can’t do math, reading, grammar, or science to save your life

Then come discover how to get a top-tier score that can fling open the gates to the college of your dreams using the Bruce Lee Framework.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL GUIDE 

“Many a night, I found myself slouched in a black, leather chair, staring at a blank computer screen, wanting to scream or cry. The systematic, flashing cursor of an empty Word document always seemed to taunt me. I would sit, letting my emotions wash over me, as my mind raced urgently to create a story.”

Those were the opening lines of my college essay that got me accepted at Brown University (and a slew of other places, including all of the University of California schools).

Looking back at those words now, over a decade later, the feeling I have towards writing today is as true as it was then. And so it is with all the hundreds of students whom I’ve helped navigate this college process. We don’t know where to begin our stories, so the blank screen seems to sneer at us.

It feels a little meta to be writing about not knowing what to write, but this article will take you through the exact process I’ve honed over more than ten years to help identify and brainstorm the best topics for your personal statement.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL GUIDE 

  • All
  • ACT English
  • ACT Reading
  • College Admissions
  • Personal Statements
  • SAT Essay
  • SAT Math
  • SAT Reading
  • SAT Writing
  • Study Hacks
  • Test Prep General
All
  • All
  • ACT English
  • ACT Reading
  • College Admissions
  • Personal Statements
  • SAT Essay
  • SAT Math
  • SAT Reading
  • SAT Writing
  • Study Hacks
  • Test Prep General
Test Prep General

Official New SATs (March 2016) Finally Released

It’s coming…resistance is futile…the new SAT is inevitable. Luckily for us, Collegeboard has finally released 4 official practice tests in the new SAT format. If you’re dying to see what the new SAT will be like, here is the link for those 4 practice tests: https://www.khanacademy.org/sat Collegeboard was even nice enough to include answer explanations for the questions, and its partnership ...
Read More
Study Hacks

Know Your Enemies

You know the saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” I know this firsthand because when I first moved to Hollywood, I knew nobody. Hollywood?! Yep, if it weren’t for my truly selfless passion for teaching you the SAT/ACT, I could have been a famous director. Lol, just kidding. The truth is, after 400+ film job applications (with a dismal response rate ...
Read More
Study HacksTest Prep General

Good is the Enemy of Great

It’s T-10 for the June 6th SAT (and T-17 for the June 13th ACT). Are you ready? Lately, many of you have been bombarded with APs and finals or, I don’t know, watching that tears-inducing The Flash finale (no? just me?) that you’ve relegated your SAT/ACT studies to the backburner. So with little time left, we have to edge out ...
Read More
ACT ReadingSAT Reading

SAT & ACT Reading: How to Read What You Don’t Understand

I was re-watching one of my favorite movies tonight. Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino. I love the scene where Samuel L. Jackson’s character goes ape-crazy, pulls out his gun, and screams at the man he’s about to execute, “English, mofo. Do you speak it?!” That’s got to be one of the greatest catchphrases in cinema history. Now, it’s understandable that ...
Read More
College Admissions

What a Harvard/MIT Alum Says About “Your Best Application”

Today’s insight comes from a very special place dear to me heart…Cambridge, Massachusetts! And I’m not saying just that because it’s home to Harvard. I mean…*cough cough* c’mon, there’s a reason I still wear this shirt to this day, right??! Just kidding. The only piece of Brown apparel I’ve ever bought was an umbrella because it was raining hard, and ...
Read More
ACT EnglishSAT Writing

2X Your Grammar Speed & Accuracy by Anticipating the Answers

Have you been using my Professor X technique for the SAT Reading section? You should. Basically, you predict the answer before you look at the answer choices. This works almost supernaturally well because it allows you to lock in on the right choice without getting distracted by any of the competing choices, each of which are designed to sound appealing. ...
Read More
SAT Math

First Full-Length New PSAT Math: Post-Mortem

In the last few days, I’ve given you a first look at the new PSAT, the most radical change to the test in about a decade. Today’s post is the last of this series. If you missed anything, check it all out here: Part 1: New PSAT General Impressions Part 2: New PSAT Reading Part 3: New PSAT Writing & Language ...
Read More
SAT Writing

First Full-Length PSAT Writing Test: Post-Mortem

Today, we’re continuing my short series on the recently released official new PSAT, which is slotted to roll out in late 2015. In Part 1, I unveiled my general impressions about the test. In Part 2, I explored the new reading section in-depth. Now, we’re onto Part 3: Writing and Language (basically grammar and rhetoric). This new PSAT section is ...
Read More
ACT EnglishSAT Writing

How to Eliminate All Grammar Doubt

For humans, speech is an innate ability. It’s really quite amazing how a baby learns to speak. No one teaches an infant, at least not in the way of specific grammar and syntax rules (yet isn’t it strange that the latter is exactly how we learn foreign languages in high school?). A baby just naturally picks language up by being around ...
Read More
© 2024 - Privacy Policy
Scroll to Top