Benefits of working with an AcceptU former admissions officer

Stephen Friedfeld, PhD

There are more students applying to college than ever, which means acceptance rates have never been lower. Coupled with the confusion created by the pandemic, students are struggling to standout in an increasingly competitive pool. How can you sort through the noise of hundreds of colleges sending you marketing emails? How do you know what major you should apply for, or what to write about in your college essay? How can you find out what part of the application a college admissions officer will read first – and what exactly will stand out?

There is one answer to all of these questions: working with a former college admissions officer from AcceptU. During their time in the admissions office, our former admissions officers will have read hundreds, if not thousands, of applications each application cycle. That means they were responsible for reading transcripts, activity lists, letters of recommendations and essays. Repeating this process hundreds or thousands of times provided the counselors with a unique perspective on how best to craft a successful application. This knowledge is what makes former admissions officers such valuable resources for students in high school.

A former admissions officer can guide you through which extracurricular activities you should pursue, which advanced classes you should take, which standardized exam is better for you, which schools you should visit and what your strategy should be in terms of applying early decision, early action or regular decision.

You might be thinking: “I already have a counselor at school, why should I work with a former admissions officer?” Your relationship with your school counselor is extremely important – he/she will be writing one of your letters of recommendation. However, because the ratio of students to guidance counselors can be as high as 500:1, working with just your school counselor is not enough. Since a school counselor’s role also includes helping students with behavioral problems, mental health issues and administrative work, it’s simply not possible for the counselors to dedicate 100% of their time and effort into assisting students with college admissions.

If you’re looking for specialized attention, insider knowledge and expert advice, look no further than working with a former admissions officer. The former admissions officers on our team hail from all sorts of schools – from Ivy League universities such as Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, to large research universities such as University of Michigan and Georgia Tech, to small liberal arts colleges such as Williams College and Middlebury College.

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Stephen Friedfeld is the co-founder and COO of AcceptU. He received a BA from Cornell University, an MA from Columbia University Teachers College, and a Ph.D. from Rice University. Prior to founding AcceptU, Stephen was an Assistant Dean of admissions at Cornell for four years and an Associate Dean of graduate admissions at Princeton University for six years. Stephen is an IECA Associate Member.

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