Process

Each student is unique, and at HSEA we are committed to providing a service that is tailored to the individual. We do not believe in a “typical” application process.
However, a successful admissions approach generally includes the following steps:

• Meet with students and their families

  Communication is essential.  Through structured conversations, we work towards the best possible match for each student.  Furthermore, through articulating interests and desires, the student is often able to better understand what he or she seeks in an educational experience.  This understanding is crucial to success both in and beyond the application process.

• Assess needs for high impact summer programs or English language preparation

  Preparation is essential for the admission process and for educational success after matriculation.  Harvard Square Educational Associates will help maximize potential for success in the next level of a student’s academic career by identifying key resources to advance the student’s education.  These programs range from English language programs and test preparation (e.g. TOEFL, SSAT, PSAT, ACT, and SAT), to cultural immersion experiences.

• Design list of schools

  We help students create a list of schools that reflect their abilities and interests.  We communicate closely with students and families to design a unique list.  Furthermore, our expertise in schools allows us to evaluate the student and analyze the likelihood of admission at a variety of schools.  We cannot guarantee admission to a particular school; however, by separating the list into categories such as “likely”, “possible”, and “reach”, we can help students avoid the dangers of a list that is too limited or one dimensional.

• Review application and essays

  While many schools use a “common application”, the applications are not the same.  Most schools have their own set of supplementary questions and essays.  Harvard Square Educational Associates guides students through the different aspects of the application, including brainstorming essay topics, organizing teacher recommendations, and refining the application materials.

• Travel with students to interviews and to school visits

  Campus visits can be instructive in distilling a student’s interests and providing the right match.  We will help ensure that the campus visit is enriching and informative.  For schools that provide or require interviews, we will help prepare the student for the interview; we are also willing to accompany students to interviews and to campus visits.

• Manage the timetable

  From testing to submitting the final applications, we create a personalized calendar that clarifies deadlines and creates a strategy to meet them.  Schools use more than one deadline, including Early Decision, Early Action, Early Decision II, and Regular Decision.  Multiple tests are often required for admission. We help students navigate the advantages and disadvantages of these different application deadlines and tests.  Understanding the way that the different registration, testing, and application deadlines fall in the calendar is essential to managing a successful process.

• Counsel on matriculation options

  The process does not cease when the acceptance letters arrive.  An American secondary school and university is a four year experience and selecting the right school is important.  We will consult with students and their families to assist in a final selection that will lead to long term success.

• Follow-up post enrollment

  When a student matriculates at a school, our conversations with students and families continue.  Ultimately, the process is successful when the student is thriving at his or her chosen institution.  If desired, we can continue to work with the student to identify, apply to, and engage in a range of advanced summer internships around the world, laboratory work in leading institutes and companies, and other activities that further their educational goals and render them more competitive for future job placement.

If you are interested, please contact us with any inquiries, then please fill out our Preliminary Information Form.