From the Dean of University of Pennsylvania
Sep 15, 2025
Do you ever wonder what colleges are looking for? Recently we heard an interview with Jordan Pascucci, who used to be the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I think that of the over 35,000 applications that we'll receive 27,000 of them might sound exactly the same. And it's simply because students are approaching it with the idea of ‘What do they want from me? What do they want to hear?'
And there's a lot of well intentioned advice out there but sometimes it really diminishes a student's own unique voice. And so what you want to make sure is that through the application it's...your voice is coming through.
If your friend found this application they would say, ‘Absolutely this sounds like you!'”
How do you know if your voice is coming through? The best way to get feedback on your college essays and applications is to have a professional college counselor review them.
Friends and family, and even your English teacher, may care about you and give you honest feedback but their “well intentioned advice” may not help you get into college!
We have been helping students in their college admissions process since 2011 and have a system in place to provide professional feedback and guidance on college applications. Let us know if you want us to take a look at your essays!
