How Crimson Education Adds Value to a Competitive Student’s Application

Crimson Education has developed a strong reputation among ambitious students for our unique approach supporting them through a highly competitive college admissions process. Our numbers reflect the best outcomes among any consultancy world-wide.

Our most recent class of 2028 received more than 293 offers to the Ivy League and 470 to the Ivy Plus. Our total Ivy League admit count (now verified by a top-four accounting firm!) sits at over 1,000 all-time offers. Crimson students are 7x more likely to get into a Top 10 school than the general applicant.

In the face of these successful outcomes, skeptical parents sometimes ask us if this is because we cherry pick our students, and by only working with the most competitive students to begin with, our data is skewed toward better results than the overall average that a university admits. It’s a natural question to ask, and we welcome the discussion.

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Crimson Is for Kids of all Backgrounds, Abilities, and Aptitudes

First and foremost, Crimson welcomes all kids into our community of aspiring students. We have a bounty of free resources on our website, routinely offer free events online and in-person with guest speakers who have worked in admissions in some of the most selective universities around the globe, and of course, we offer our clients and scholarship recipients access to a suite of specialized services designed to support them from every entry point. Our mission with each child is to help open options and possibilities beyond what they might achieve on their own. For many kids, that may mean entry to an elite and selective university. For others, it might be finding an excellent university that offers a specialized program of interest, or one that can provide financial assistance to a family to make a college dream within reach.

Many competitors to Crimson offer individual services like counseling, SAT tutoring, or essay prep. What makes Crimson unique is that we surround our students with a team of hand-picked experts who bring strategy, test prep, essay writing, extracurricular and leadership/project building, interview training, and teacher/counselor recommendation letter support. We support kids who want to pursue college-level research projects, internships, and entrepreneurship. Every student is paired with an expert strategist who oversees the entirety of their application pathway, helping them narrow down a well-researched and strategic list of safety, target, and reach schools and then working with the team to help maximize their outcomes. Crimson meets every child exactly where they are; this is a community and a team with no cuts (unlike Varsity sports!).

Why do we surround our students with such a robust team of experts? Because we know they need the support of more than one specialist in order to have the best chance of success. If you are told by other companies that one all-knowing consultant can do it all, the truth is they can’t. Your child has one shot at their university applications, and we make sure they get the support that they deserve.

Starting Early Gives Kids the Best Outcomes

Crimson’s services produce exceptional advantages for students who start early. In fact, students who start in year 9 have 35% admit rates to the Ivies as compared to those who start in their senior year who average 12% (still great outcome considering the average admit rates to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton is approximately 3-4%!).

This is because crafting a genuine portfolio of accomplishments, and demonstrating leadership, impact, intellectual curiosity, and more takes time. Students work with their tutors in ways that are tailored to their individual interest and aptitude: they may work to increase their standardized test scores, prepare to enter (and sometimes win!) global competitions, complete ambitious community service projects, or maximize their course load with AP classes not offered at their own high school.

A Unique Approach for Every Unique Student

We are able to achieve such great results because there is no one formula; Crimson supports each child with the specialists they need to develop into their fullest potential. Take J, as an example, who came to us last year. J had a strong background in music, having played the cello in his school’s orchestra. While excelling in his academic subjects such as math and literature, his extracurriculars were primarily music-related, which posed a challenge when he decided to apply to STEM-focused schools like MIT. With little time left in his high school career, J struggled to find a way to build a compelling STEM profile that would align with the high expectations of MIT. Unsure how to transition from his music-oriented profile to a STEM-focused application, J sought Crimson’s help to turn things around in less than a year.

Working with Crimson

• J’s strategist, Jason, helped him create a strategic plan to shift his focus toward STEM. Together, they built a portfolio from scratch, identifying opportunities for J to engage in STEM-related activities and projects that could bolster his application.
• ECL Mentor Khoo guided J in developing his capstone project, creating a mini-curriculum that enabled him to overcome technical challenges and build a standout STEM project. Khoo’s support in brainstorming and addressing technical obstacles allowed J to transform his profile into one that aligned with MIT’s STEM focus.
• Essay Mentor David provided in-depth feedback and guidance on J’s personal statement, helping him express his transition from a music-focused student to one passionate about STEM. David’s detailed comments and creative brainstorming sessions helped J articulate this shift in a compelling way, ensuring his essays captured his growth and ambition.

The team approach gave J the support he needed to organize his application, stay on track with deadlines, and present a cohesive narrative despite his initial lack of STEM-related activities.

J was admitted to MIT, ranked #2 in the US News & Report Best National University Rankings.

Conclusion

Nearly every year, kids approach us who have been rejected from their dream schools and decide they need help to try again. In this exact and challenging scenario, we have helped kids secure transfer admittance to Dartmouth, Cornell, UC Berkeley, UCLA and many more. With knowledgeable mentors, it is rarely too late to maximize your outcomes. 

Have questions? We are here to help. Take a look at one of our popular e-books, Frequently Asked Questions, where we interview two admissions officers on what it takes to craft a competitive application at the Ivies and Oxbridge or reach out for a free consultation with one of our experts.