Rona Aydin is the founder of Oriel Admissions, a Princeton-based college admissions consulting firm advising families nationwide on elite university admissions strategy. An Oxford University graduate, Rona leads a deeply experienced team whose distinctive 360 approach treats every part of the application - academics, testing, activities, essays, and interviews - as one connected strategy.
TL;DR: Harvard still considers legacy status, and the edge is the most documented anywhere – court records from the affirmative-action case showed legacy applicants admitted at 33.6%, about 5.7 times the non-legacy rate. The practice now sits under a federal civil-rights investigation and continued political pressure, leaving its future uncertain. For a Harvard legacy applicant, … Continued
TL;DR: Legacy admissions give an edge to applicants related to alumni, and the practice is shrinking: five states (California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, and Virginia) now restrict it. Where it survives, the boost is real – Harvard admitted legacy applicants at 33.6%, about 5.7 times the non-legacy rate. For legacy families, the question is less whether … Continued
TL;DR: A BS/DDS program is a combined-degree pathway that grants a high school student conditional admission to dental school, leading to a DDS or DMD (the two are the same accredited degree). Most run seven years (three undergraduate, four dental), with six and eight-year variants. Programs at NYU, Rutgers, Temple, Augusta, and others offer guaranteed … Continued
TL;DR: New Jersey has direct-admit medical pathways most national guides miss. On the MD side, Rutgers runs seven-year BA/MD programs through New Jersey Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. On the DO side, Rutgers-Camden and Stockton University offer seven-year BS/DO programs with Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine. These programs are being restructured under … Continued
A first college admissions consultation is a mutual fit assessment. Here is what happens, how to prepare, and the questions to ask before you commit.
Radical acceleration advances a gifted student multiple years, often into early college. Here is how early college entrance compares to the traditional path.
The college application stage brings emotional and strategic challenges that academic ability alone does not resolve. Here is how to support a gifted applicant.
Yale supplemental essays for 2025-2026: complete strategic breakdown of all required prompts, approach for each section, common mistakes, and timing. Detailed deep-dive aligned to the current cycle prompts.
Cornell supplemental essays for 2025-2026: complete strategic breakdown of all required prompts, approach for each section, common mistakes, and timing. Detailed deep-dive aligned to the current cycle prompts.
Princeton supplemental essays for 2025-2026: complete strategic breakdown of all required prompts, approach for each section, common mistakes, and timing. Detailed deep-dive aligned to the current cycle prompts.
Harvard's five 150-word supplemental essays for 2025-2026 - contribution, disagreement, activity, future direction, and roommate prompts - are the primary differentiator at a school with a 3.6% acceptance rate. Strategic breakdown for each prompt.
MIT supplemental essays for 2025-2026: complete strategic breakdown of all required prompts, approach for each section, common mistakes, and timing. Detailed deep-dive aligned to the current cycle prompts.
Columbia supplemental essays for 2025-2026: complete strategic breakdown of all required prompts, approach for each section, common mistakes, and timing. Detailed deep-dive aligned to the current cycle prompts.
Penn supplemental essays for 2025-2026: complete strategic breakdown of all required prompts, approach for each section, common mistakes, and timing. Detailed deep-dive aligned to the current cycle prompts.
Dartmouth supplemental essays for 2025-2026: complete strategic breakdown of all required prompts, approach for each section, common mistakes, and timing. Detailed deep-dive aligned to the current cycle prompts.
Duke supplemental essays for 2025-2026: complete strategic breakdown of all required prompts, approach for each section, common mistakes, and timing. Detailed deep-dive aligned to the current cycle prompts.