The ivyO Universities & Colleges Admissions Consultation (UCAC)

may be all you need for your college admissions journey


What is it?

The ivyO Universities & Colleges Admissions Consultation (UCAC) is designed for elite college-bound students. Each UCAC will lead to tailored analysis, strategies and recommendations, all individually customized for Grade 7-12 students who aspire to stand out from the crowded applicant pool and in due course, gain admission to highly selective universities in the US or the UK.


International families also sign up for the UCAC to help their students with regard to planning their educational pathways to Australia, which may include placements at highly sought after high schools as well as universities.


If that sounds like your student, read on…


What would the ivyO UCAC do for my student?
When it comes to university admissions, it is widely recognized that getting admitted to a top college in the US, like an Ivy League school, is incredibly challenging.

So, let's tackle the biggest challenge in that space! What you're about to read is in the context of students aspiring to attend top schools likes Wharton, Harvard or Princeton.

The first thing you need to know about getting a seat at a prestigious US college like an Ivy League school is that your student must achieve a single objective:

To stand out and shine in the extremely crowded and competitive applicant pool.

That's it. The rest is conversation. And the ivyO UCAC will help your student do just that.

Subject to your student’s profile, capabilities and preferences, their “fit” with postsecondary institutions may include highly selective universities.

Examples of such elite US universities and colleges are as follows:
In helping students build their College List, ivyO encourages students and their parents to prioritize “fit” over “rank.”

Clearly, it’s imperative that your student attends the best-fit institution with regard to your student’s academic, social, financial and personal needs, where your student will prosper as a life learner, grow as a member of the campus community, and be happy and healthy as an individual.

How does the ivyO UCAC differ from services offered by other high-profile US university admissions consulting companies?

Here at ivyO, we focus on helping our students achieve their college admissions goals and don't concern ourselves with what other companies do. However, our students and their parents tell us that "The ivyO UCAC stands alone in the marketplace. The face-to-face college admissions counseling is great, and the ivyO TrailMap is a wonderful bonus that serves as a personalized guide to the entire college admissions process. It's the perfect combo and is sensational value for money."


By leveraging technology, the ivyO team of college admissions counselors has leapfrogged the status quo with the innovative UCAC which epitomizes effectiveness, affordability and efficiency.


Case in point, under the conventional model, it takes countless meetings and expensive hours for a college consultant, sitting behind a desk, to gather information about a client, often asking the same questions over and over again. Then the consultant incurs even more time laboriously collating, recording and digesting the information. Obviously, such practices are loaded with inefficiencies, but the consultant won’t complain — it’s all chargeable hours — that means more dollars in their pockets. On the flip side, for the families, it’s like throwing money into a big, black hole! But for an astute reader like you, no longer would you have to put up with that…


ivyO is here to offer students and their families a better alternative — the ivyO UCAC.


By leveraging technology, all the data collection, data processing, and data management with regard to client information as depicted above are predominantly automated at ivyO. This in turn saves the ivyO team a great deal of time, and we pass all the savings straight onto our clients. That means as an ivyO client, you’ll save a lot of money. In a nutshell, that’s one of ivyO’s many competitive edges over the status quo.


The way we achieve this positive outcome is through ivyO’s proprietary, secured, online Universities & Colleges Admissions Profile (UCAP). That makes the face-to-face consultations much more productive and efficient as families meet with their ivyO specialist in the Universities & Colleges Admissions Consultation 1 (UCAC1), and Universities & Colleges Admissions Consultation 2 (UCAC2), all of which are brought together to help your student shine in their college applications.


Here is how ivyO works, check it out!


What do we get when we sign up for the ivyO UCAC, and how much does it cost?
In signing up for the ivyO UCAC, you’ll receive all of the following:
  • To get to know you and your student, the first thing you’ll receive is exclusive access to our proprietary UCAP for your student and a parent. The process is highly efficient and straightforward.
  • After you and your student complete and submit the UCAPs, an ivyO Consultant will conduct your UCAC1, a 90-minute private Zoom meeting. Its primary purpose is for the ivyO Counselor to gain further insight about your student, and to build on the information gathered from your UCAPs. At UCAC1, our aim is to get to know the student and the family really well.
  • Following your UCAC1, ivyO’s team of dedicated counselors will complete your student’s personalized Strategic Action Plan, which includes customized analysis, strategies formation and tailored recommendations.
  • Soon thereafter, we’ll contact you again by email to schedule your UCAC2, another 90-minute private Zoom meeting. At UCAC2, your ivyO Counselor will take you through your student's tailored college admissions strategies, clarify any queries you may have, and explain to you, face-to-face, critically important aspects and nuances of the US college admissions process and the hidden pitfalls. But fear not, your student will learn how to navigate the journey with ease and confidence, just like a skilled alpinist. Your ivyO Counselor will set out your student's all-important X-Factor and provide guidance as to how your student should be strategically positioned in order to shine in the applicant pool.
  • Asa bonus, you will also receive your personalized ivyO TrailMap, which is a written document that summarize all the important strategies and recommendations.
At ivyO, you and your family indeed have real choices of unprecedented value. For starters, your very own ivyO UCAC loaded with customized analysis, strategies and recommendations, together with two Zoom consultations of 90 minutes each with an ivyO counselor together with your bonus ivyO TrailMap costs one fixed fee of just US$2,990. As a standalone solution, that's remarkable value!
I want in!

How would the ivyO UCAC help to optimize my student's chances of being admitted to competitive US colleges?
In the context of elite US university admissions, the name of the game is that your student must stand out from the extremely packed applicant pool. Period.

And that’s precisely what the ivyO UCAC will help your student achieve — to stand head and shoulders above the rest. If you want to optimize your student’s prospect of getting into a highly selective college, do that.

Which aspects of the US college applications process would be addressed in our personalized ivyO UCAC?
Your student’s customized and comprehensive ivyO UCAC will cover important aspects of the following topics:
  • Your student’s university admissions strategies and the all-important X-Factor
  • Course Planning and Strength of Curriculum
  • Standardized Testing (SAT and ACT), Test-Optional Strategies where appropriate
  • Extracurricular Activities planning
  • Early Round / Regular Round – ED, EA, REA
  • Personal Statement and Supplemental Essays
  • Teacher and Counselor Recommendations
  • Demonstrated Interest
  • Campus Visit
  • Summer Programs
  • Interview
  • Financial Aid (if applicable)
Note that many of the topics above are also important factors that admissions officers at selective US universities assess in making their college admissions decisions.

Who should sign up for the ivyO UCAC?
Students in Grades 7–12 who aspire to attend a selective university.

What if my student's profile is not suited to studying in the USA, and if ivyO also makes the same observation, would ivyO tell us that during the UCAC?
Certainly. Please note that the ivyO UCAC is not designed with the objective of funnelling students to elite universities. For a variety of reasons, if in the opinion of ivyO, higher education in the US may not represent a good fit for your student’s needs, the ivyO UCAC would disclose such observations and appropriate recommendations would be made.

For instance, if our evaluation of all data available leads us to form a view that relative to a student’s educational options in his/her home country, the US may not be a good fit for that student, ivyO would say so during the UCAC.
At ivyO, we’ll always call it as it is. Without fear or favor, we’ll tell you what you need to know, even if it’s not what you want to hear.

Is it too late for Grade/Year 12 students to sign up for the UCAC?
No. Although Grade/Year 12 students should be well into their college planning process, the ivyO UCAC will still provide them with invaluable guidance and insight on how to:
  • Manage the final leg of their college admissions journey
  • Minimize any errors in the process, and
  • Maximize their chances of gaining admission to their best-fit university
However, as we cannot change history, there could be mistakes already made much earlier in those students’ college applications process that cannot be rectified. That said, the UCAC would ensure that the balance of the college admissions process be as smooth and error-free as possible.

Is it too early for parents to have their students in Grade/Year 7 or 8 signed up for the UCAC?
No, and the reason is quite simple. In US college admissions, students are assessed as from Grade 9 to Grade 12 inclusive. And students are assessed on everything for the four years in high school. In other words, starting Grade 9, everything counts: academic performance, curriculum rigor, extracurricular activities, and much more. Absolutely everything counts.

It is a world of difference between the US system and virtually all other university admission systems around the world.
So, if you want your student to hit the ground running in Grade 9, start early! It’s one of the most effective ways to “game” the US university admissions process. And it’s entirely ethical.

That’s why we say that it is not too early for students in Grade 7 or 8 to sign up for the ivyO UCAC.

Would the ivyO UCAC include a College List for my students who are in Grades 11 and 12?
Yes. For students in Grades 11-12, based on ivyO’s assessment of the students’ academic, personal, social, and financial needs, ivyO recommends a tailored College List of 12 good-fit colleges or universities, comprised of five Dream, five Target, and two Safety schools for the students and their families’ review and consideration.

What about Students in Grades 7 to 10?
For younger students in Grades 7 to 10, ivyO counselors evaluate the student information available at the relevant time and prepare for each student a personalized Early Exploratory College List of 12 schools which obviously are not cast in stone as future application prospects.

Closing Words
In short, if your student is not planning to apply to selective universities, the ivyO UCAC is not for you. You don't need it.

But if your student aspires to go to an elite college like an Ivy League school, you should seriously consider signing up for the ivyO UCAC provided that they are at least in Grade 7. If they’re still in primary school, pop back when they get to Grade 7.

For college-bound students, the UCAC empowers students to stand out from the crowd. The UCAC gets the job done effectively, efficiently and ethically. The added bonus is that at one low price of US$2,990, the UCAC represents exceptional value for students and their families.

Now, here's a tip; if you want the very best value in engaging ivyO, check out the service offerings in ivyO Bundled Solutions.

So, when you're ready, let ivyO UCAC help your student stand out and shine in their college admissions journey!
I definitely want in
NACAC - National Association for College Admission Counseling NACAC - National Association for College Admission Counseling

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