IvyZen Essay Review Program (ERP)

Free Essay Review Program for Ivy League Applications

At IvyZen, our greatest joy is helping realize the potential of top students aspiring for getting into Ivy League Schools. Our greatest sadness is seeing a talented, hard-working student get rejected from a top college because they didn’t prepare properly. As part of our IvyZen Scholarship Program, our expert mentors / essay editors are offering a free Ivy League Essay Review Program (ERP) for academic preparation by providing feedback on your ivy college application essays.

Not sure how to start? Have so many good activities and accomplishments, you’re not sure which to prioritize? Don’t have a good hook? Have a draft but need an expert or editor’s opinion on Essay? This program was created to meet exactly this need.

The program is specifically designed for students applying to the top colleges, e.g. Ivy Leagues, Cornell University (acceptance rate 14%) , Dartmouth College (acceptance rate 11%), Brown University (acceptance rate 9%), Columbia University (acceptance rate 7%), University of Pennsylvania (acceptance rate 9%), Princeton University (acceptance rate 7%), Yale University (acceptance rate 6%), Harvard University (acceptance rate 5%), Stanford University (acceptance rate 4.8%), Georgetown University (acceptance rate 16.8%), Rice University (acceptance rate 15.3%), Massachusetts Institute of Technology- MIT (acceptance rate 7.9%), California Institute of Technology- Caltech (acceptance rate 8.1%), which have the most essays and where they matter the most.

For students not sure where to start, we review your overall approach of college application essay and provide suggestions on crafting your theme, editing and mapping your activities across multiple essays. For students who already have drafts we can provide comments from our expert mentors – essay editors who have been helping students for over 20 years. We also provide free essay writing resources for ivy league, essay sample & examples including a worksheet to organize your information, an Ivy League essay writing guide and complete checklist to boost acceptance probability. These resources have helped over 350 students with admission essays to get into the top colleges.

In MODULE 3, we provide 6 case studies of students who got into MIT, Harvard and other top colleges and analyze their themes, strategy, profile, including GPA, test scores, activities and other accomplishments. Then we analyze their essays and discuss key reasons why their essays worked. One of the most important aspects of writing good college essays is to show, not tell. Here’s an excerpt from MODULE 3:

Show, Don’t Tell

This advice is usually more true for creative writing. However, your personal essays should show with examples and details, rather than explain everything. Details are very important. Try to write as many proper nouns, table numbers and names as possible in your essay.
Good: I went on a field trip with my classmates to further my exploration of the wonderful subject of archaeology.
Better: My Deerfield classmates, led by our fearless sociology teacher, Amy Hacking, and I left for K’anamarka, Peru, to uncover lost hieroglyphs.
Good: I ran hard during the last race of the season, and it was a wonderful time for me to reflect on all the great things I learned during the season.
Better: The sweat would burn in my eyes, but this was familiar territory now. I learned how to fight through the pain. This last race was the time I would show myself I could conquer my fears and overcome all challenges.

We also provide a great example of the importance of creating a strong theme rather than being well-balanced. Here’s an excerpt about this amazing student who was accepted to MIT via early admissions:

Case Study of a Brilliant Hedgehog

James was likely born a hedgehog, but his family pushed him hard into many areas. He was a brilliant, award-winning pianist, had an art portfolio, was involved in numerous community service organizations and had conducted some research projects. He was also the head or captain of three different student organizations at school.

Initially, the parents learned about us through a referral from a close family. They came because they found themselves arguing with James and he was starting to shut them out of his life and school activities one year into his sophomore year at Phillips Andover.

As is our custom, we spoke together as a family, then one of our Mentors took James and talked with him one-on-one. Because we were just here to help and the parents weren’t sure what to do, we simply wanted to get a sense of what was going on and how best to help James with college admissions.

Talking with Alex, who specializes in math and computer science, was like a breath of fresh air for James. Finally, an adult who understood him and what he was about. James had begun to feel like his parents were ignoring him. James had found new interests recently, and his parents were a bit out of touch. Alex reassured him that most bright, gifted students are like that and that his interests would like to continue to change for some time to come.

For example

James had been learning programming on the side and had developed a passion for artificial intelligence and machine learning. He first learned about AI wondering how games like Starcraft could increase the level of difficulty in its games. When he learned that many used genetic algorithms and other evolutionary-based technologies, he was hooked.

And finally, here’s an excerpt of one of the essays for a student who was accepted to Caltech:

Love of Abstract Concepts

Prime numbers and composite numbers. Factorization and the Euclidean Algorithm. Why do I love abstract concepts? I always have since I was young. What I hated most was someone interrupting my reveries, my meditations on numbers and their connections. I suppose to them I was daydreaming, but for me, it was the most precious and important time for me… a time of pure bliss! Others called me a nerd. If being a nerd means you love math intrinsically and not just to look smart or get into a good school, then please call me a nerd!

Often times

they are hard to grasp, but this challenge is the impetus that drives my heart towards more learning. Because of this constant pressure from the outside world, I used to struggle with the impracticality of learning abstract concepts. I still cannot figure out a way to convert abstract concepts into practical applications in everyday life and this pressure used to haunt me. However, what I realized recently is that there is no need to do so because the joy of learning mentors table abstract concepts is so overwhelming that it surpasses the benefits of obtaining practical, real-life knowledge. Perhaps it is selfish, but isn’t that enough, to be enraptured by a subject… isn’t that a wonderful gift that only human beings can appreciate?

As you can see, there are a few key strategies and numerous small strategies and tactics that can make the difference. If you’re interested in applying, it’s simple. As part of our scholarship service, the Essay Review Program for Ivy League Applications (ERP) is awarded to top students who we feel show great promise and demonstrate a serious commitment to their education. As such, the program is free of charge. The application process is as follows:

1) Fill out the form below (w/ samples of essay content)
2) Evaluation and acceptance
3) Work with a mentor 1on1 via online

Contact an IvyZen Director for free resources and advice!

If you’re a rising senior targeting the top Ivy League schools and need help, apply for our program here. We look forward to hearing from you!