The Ivy Edge Method: An Origin Story

   So, what is the Ivy Edge Method, anyway?
 
   It is a method I designed to help measure the progress of my clients as they pursue their goal of being accepted to a selective college or university.
 
   But that doesn’t really tell you the full story, does it?
 
   How did I develop this method? Where did I get the training and tools to develop such a methodology? How did I know it would work? And why does it work?
 
   I think of my blogposts as a means to share information about the selective college admissions process. Now, more than ever, students and families are having a hard time keeping up with all of the rapid changes in college admissions, as there seem to be new changes happening all the time. I think of my blog as a resource to keep my audience up-to-date on all of these fast and furious changes in the industry.
 
   But I also think of my blogposts as a way for readers (and potential clients) to get to know me. And the best way to get a sense of another human being is to listen to the stories they share about themselves. So, you will often find my blogposts are equal parts information sharing and storytelling. My goal of publishing these posts is to allow readers an opportunity to get to know more about the industry, more about my work, and more about me.
 
   I have the benefit (and challenge) of being a solopreneur. This means my work is deeply personal in nature; I can’t just up and quit this job. That means it is up to me—not a pre-designed system of a business or a company—to build trust, establish rapport with my clients, and maintain that trust. And trust is built by a willingness for me to be open, honest, and vulnerable with my clients, and hopefully, encourage the same from them.
 
   Routinely, families tell me that they hire me specifically because I am a solopreneur. Specifically because they know they are are putting their children’s future in my hands and my hands alone, and not into the hands of a business system designed for maximum client intake or into the hands of an employee that can up and quit in the middle of an engagement. Specifically because I don’t have to split my energy between their children, managing a staff, and overseeing the operation processes of a business. So, while families hire me, yes, for my expertise and experience, they also hire me for their peace of mind. They know I am with them until the very end. They know that I will (and can) dedicate myself 100% to the process of working on behalf of their children to reach the goals we set to the best of everyone’s ability.
 
  And this is why I intend to keep my business as a solopreneurship. And why it was even more important for me to develop a methodology that makes sense and works. It is a repeatable process that not only helps my students reach their goals, but helps their parents—my real clients—have faith that that there is a process in place.
 
   The truth is, never in a million years did I imagine I would end up as a solopreneur, much less own and operate a successful college admissions consulting firm. I worked for many years as an executive coach for Fortune 100 companies prior to launching The Ivy Edge, and was quite content with my career path…until fate intervened.
 
   I started my path as an executive coach in 2007 by obtaining a professional coach certification through a program approved by the International Coach Federation (ICF). I was fortunate enough to be living in New York City at the time where there was an abundance of opportunities to work as an executive coach. Shortly after I completed my certification program, I was hired to work at a leadership development and communications consulting firm.
 
   It was there I learned about curriculum design, and the importance of developing a method—a repeatable process with built-in metrics—to help my corporate clients measure their progress towards achieving their goals. I also learned how important it was to not create a one-size-fits-all pedagogy and ensure that any and all teaching methods were flexible enough to meet the needs of individual clients.
 
   I have a passion for coaching. I have a passion for helping others. And, at the time, I considered myself to be very fortunate to be able to find work in an industry that was not only aligned with my passions, but contained enough variety from day-to-day to hold my interests. Also, at that same time, I had the opportunity to engage in another one of my passions: helping bright young students with their college applications to selective schools.
 
   Since graduating college, I have volunteered my time in one capacity or another to help students with the application process, whether it was by being a personal statement reader or serving as an alumni interviewer for my alma mater. Also, in 2007, I was invited to join a small group of Yale alumni to develop a volunteer initiative in concert with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Yale to help academically qualified students from underrepresented populations successfully apply to top colleges and universities.
 
   This volunteer initiative quickly took off, and I had the benefit of working very closely for many years with the then-Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Yale to develop the program. I learned first-hand what comprises a successful applicant to the Ivy League and other top-tier programs, very much in the way current independent education consultants who were former admissions officers learned. That volunteer initiative was very successful and eventually became a nonprofit. And that nonprofit eventually helped hundreds of students across the country get accepted to the some of the best schools in the nation.
 
   So, for a while, I was working as executive coach while running a nonprofit on the side. And it was working very well for me…until it wasn’t. In 2015, I became very sick and had to leave New York City, and along with it, the life and career I had built over many years. I returned back to my home state of North Carolina to heal and start figuring out next steps. While I was still able to run the nonprofit—albeit in a diminished capacity—the amount of executive coaching opportunities I was accustomed to was no longer available to me. I was able to find work and still produce the programs of the nonprofit until a chance encounter changed my life forever.
 
   On a trip to Washington, DC to run one of the workshops for the nonprofit during a holiday season, a young man approached me in Reagan National, asking if I had gone to Yale (I was wearing a Yale baseball cap and carrying a Yale tote bag, so it was a fair question). I told him that I had. It turns out he was a freshman at a local college here in North Carolina and was planning to apply to Yale, among other schools, as a sophomore transfer. I told him that I happened to be an expert in college admissions to selective schools, and would be more than happy to meet with him to discuss his plans. I gave him my info, and asked him to contact me. By the time my Uber arrived to take me to my hotel, this young man had already emailed me and asked if we could meet up some time in the new year.
 
   Later that evening, I had dinner with my fellow workshop facilitators. I shared with them about my struggles to figure out my next career steps as well as the story of this impressive young man I had met at the airport. Then, my dinner companions got quiet, because they could see I wasn’t putting together what the Universe was obviously trying to show me. Quite calmly and lovingly, they asked me why I hadn’t started my own admissions consulting firm. I told them the thought had never crossed my mind. They then told me to think about…because obviously Life had just delivered me my first client.
 
   That night, the idea for The Ivy Edge was born.
 
   Not only did I meet up with the young man in the new year to discuss his transfer application, I started to put together the idea for the business. I knew that it would be important for me to differentiate myself in the independent education consulting space, and that I wanted the business to reflect and engage all of my passions.
 
   So, in developing and launching The Ivy Edge, I knew that I had to pull from both of my passions: my experience in selective college admissions as well as my expertise from the executive coaching industry. I decided then to create a repeatable methodology for my practice (the executive coaching experience), and apply it to the subject matter of the business (selective college admissions).
 
   This is how The Ivy Edge Method came to be.
 
   I have since been using this method to help students and families from all over the world successfully apply to selective colleges and universities. I established five key areas—or checkpoints—by which I base each engagement. Ensuring that my students excel in all five areas during the course of the engagements develops them into highly competitive candidates when it comes time for them to apply to college. It also provides a framework by which I can discuss with parents how the work with their child is coming along, and collaborate with them to support their child in reaching their goals.
 
   While this method has undergone some tweaks in the past seven years, the success of my past clients in gaining admission to selective programs (seen in the Results page of my page of my website) demonstrate its efficacy. I would now like to introduce to you the five areas of focus of the Ivy Edge Method: academic planning, leadership development, personal growth, service opportunities, and distinguished excellence. Below is an in-depth description for you to read of each area of focus with the language taken directly from my newly-revamped website.
 
   Enjoy!
 
   P.S – The young man in this story did end up successfully transferring to NYU as a sophomore. And last spring, he graduated from the Wharton School of Business with his MBA.
 
ACADEMIC PLANNING
   Academic planning is the foundation work that helps students be competitive in the admissions process to selective colleges and universities. Admissions officers at selective institutions seek to admit applicants who take the most rigorous courses at their secondary institutions. Often, regional admissions directors of selective schools are familiar with the academic rigor of the courses offered at schools in their area. Therefore, it does not work in a student’s favor to play it safe by taking classes that are not academically rigorous, but will yield a higher GPA.

   Also, transcripts tell a story. High school transcripts are the one of the most important predictors of how well as student will perform academically in college. Transcripts also reveal the level of consistency in a student’s academic performance, also important information for admissions officers when reviewing an application. Transcripts let admissions officers know at a quick glance if a student has chosen classes that meet their school’s entry requirements as well as prepared them for any possible majors declared on the application.

   The work of The Ivy Edge is to help students examine all of the academic opportunities available to them--even online options-- and make recommendations about what courses a student should take. Students should always choose courses that challenge them academically as well as those that play to their particular academic strengths.
 
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
   High school offers students the opportunity to develop leadership skills, explore their interests, and learn how to design and execute project-based initiatives. In particular, selective colleges and universities expect that its applicants have demonstrated some leadership experience during their high school career. Seeking or creating leadership opportunities helps students differentiate themselves from their classmates as well as develop useful skills that will be beneficial in college as well as their professional lives. 

   Helping students pursue and engage in leadership roles helps them to grow beyond their comfort zone. Students tend to have more success in leadership roles when they are excited about what they are leading, whether it be a school club, volunteer initiative, or sports team. Students should seek leadership roles in activities that truly engage their interests, and not to pad their resumés. The quality of the leadership experience matters more to admission officers of selective institutions than the quantity.

   The Ivy Edge helps students seek leadership opportunities within their schools and communities as well as provides guidance and advice to students as they learn how to lead. The Ivy Edge also helps students determine if selected leadership opportunities and extracurricular activities are consistent with the larger goal of developing a competitive application to a selective college or university.
 
PERSONAL GROWTH
   Deeply investing in the personal growth of clients is one aspect that makes The Ivy Edge distinctly different from independent education consulting firms. The work of The Ivy Edge leverages the founder’s background as a certified professional coach. Successful coaches invest deeply in the personal growth of their clients. They do this by creating trust in the relationship through direct and honest conversations, while encouraging clients to find their own unique answers, and holding them accountable to the goals clients set for themselves. 

   Creating a safe environment that allows students to bring their full selves to the engagement is also an important aspect of the work of The Ivy Edge.  Also central to the work is to closely monitor the emotional and mental health of students during the course of the engagement with "check-in" sessions. If any signs of declining mental and/or emotional health in a student are detected, parents are alerted and discussions are held to plan next steps for the short- and long-term health of the engagement.

   Focusing on the personal growth of Ivy Edge clients is also crucial to the college application process itself. Many of the essay questions to selective institutions are highly personal in nature. They require students to look at themselves on a deep level in order to craft compelling responses. The personal nature of the work of The Ivy Edge—and the focus on personal growth--lays the groundwork for students to be able to engage the application process with confidence, knowing that they will have full support all along the way.
 
SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
   Strong applicants to selective colleges and universities are expected to have a sense of themselves as global citizens with an interest in finding solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. Applicants who engage in service opportunities--even at a local level--demonstrate a sense of empathy, compassion, and connectedness to others. Empathy and compassion are some of the most highly sought-after personality traits members of selective admissions committees seek in successful applicants and expect them to possess. 

   Service opportunities can come in many forms. Some applicants volunteer their time to existing service organizations. Some start their own service initiatives, such as launching food drives or founding a nonprofit. And still others find service opportunities by engaging in the political process. Regardless of what avenue taken, service opportunities should be enjoyable for students as well as aligned with their values and interests.

   More and more, applications to selective colleges and universities are specifically asking for students to discuss volunteer and/or community service experience separately from other parts of the application.  The lack of service opportunities on an application to a selective college may even create a negative impact on an admissions committee. The work of The Ivy Edge is to help students define and pursue service opportunities, and support and advise them during the process of engaging such opportunities.
 
DISTINGUISHED EXCELLENCE
   Historically, selective institutions admitted students that were well-rounded candidates and excelled in a variety of interests. Today, the opposite is true.  Admissions officers to selective colleges and universities now prefer students who have distinguished themselves from other applicants in one or two areas. More than in previous generations, students now decide their intended career paths in high school rather than in college, so it is important that they seek or create opportunities that are aligned with their professional as well as collegiate goals. 

   By pursuing excellence in one or two areas, students can better determine which college programs will be a best fit for them and steer their high school careers in the direction of being strong candidates for those programs. Also, by developing themselves in only a few areas, students increase their chances to obtain leadership opportunities in those areas, create real-world impact in their communities, and invest more deeply in developing a more nuanced understanding of their chosen career path. 

   Students excel best in distinguishing themselves from their classmates when they pursue opportunities that are aligned with their innate abilities, passions, and values. The work of The Ivy Edge is to help students discover what academic subjects intersect with their abilities, passions and values, and then advise them on how to best pursue opportunities in those areas. This approach ultimately helps students stand out in competitive applicant pools as singularly unique candidates.