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.
Stanford admits roughly 3.6 percent of applicants and publishes no AP minimum. Here is how many AP classes competitive Stanford applicants take, how intellectual vitality shapes the read, and why REA timing changes your AP plan.
Yale admits 4.24 percent of applicants and publishes no AP minimum. Here is how many AP classes competitive Yale applicants take, how the committee weighs rigor in context, and which subjects to prioritize by intended major.
The T14 law schools, current list after the UCLA and Georgetown reshuffle: what the tier means as an employment boundary, the medians it takes to get in, and how each school actually reads applicants.
How to get into Georgetown Law School: what the contested fourteenth seat actually means, why the Washington pipeline outlasts the rankings reshuffle, and how to differentiate inside the largest class in elite legal education.
How to get into UCLA Law School: the newest seat in the T14, the Los Angeles arguments no other elite school can make, and how to write for the institution rather than the ranking.
How to get into Cornell Law School: why the small Ithaca immersion is the argument rather than the apology, and how the school converts distance from the market into elite New York placement.
How to get into Northwestern Law School: why work experience is the currency of the Pritzker read, how to build the resume like a professional document, and what the interview actually tests.
How to get into Duke Law School: why the binding early decision program carries unusual weight, how the interview actually runs, and the dual degree argument most applicants leave on the table.
How to get into Berkeley Law School: why the GPA forward read changes who should apply, how to make the California argument concretely, and where public interest and tech law files land best.
How to get into Michigan Law School: how to play the famous optional essay menu like a portfolio, what the national public flagship read rewards, and where writers gain the most ground in the T14.
How to get into UVA Law School: the most softs friendly read in the upper T14, why demonstrated interest genuinely works here, and how the binding expedited path converts certainty into an edge.
How to get into Penn Carey Law School: the binding early decision math, the Wharton adjacent certificates worth claiming only with a record behind them, and the collegiality read that quietly sorts the pool.
How to get into NYU Law School: the two pipelines the committee reads for, the public interest scholarships that can fund the degree, and why the worst NYU application is the one that claims both doors at once.
How to get into the University of Chicago Law School: the most intellectual read in the T14, an interview that tests your reasoning live, and how to build a file where argument itself is the credential.
How to get into Harvard Law School: the numbers that clear the 509 medians, the September to February rolling timeline, the LSAT versus GRE rules, and the invitation only interview that decides the final cut.
TL;DR: The Harvard interview is an optional, alumni-conducted conversation assigned at the discretion of the Admissions Committee – you cannot request one, and your application is considered complete without it (Harvard College Admissions, 2026). Roughly 10,000 alumni volunteers conduct these conversations by Zoom, phone, or in person, typically in October for Restrictive Early Action applicants … Continued