Overview: CollegeAdvisor.com Client Success Stories
Welcome to our Client Success Stories! In these stories, we highlight students who have worked with CollegeAdvisor to secure an acceptance to the college of their dreams. We learn more about them, their college journey, and the role CollegeAdvisor played in their college application process.
Understandably, applying to college is an overwhelming experience for many students and their families. That’s why our team of admissions experts provides personalized advising to countless students every year. We help them navigate the process, step by step, to craft the best college applications possible.
We believe our impact speaks for itself. For this reason, we interview real CollegeAdvisor students so you can hear first-hand about their experiences. In this edition, we talked to DJ Bassett: an ambitious student with big goals and a bright future ahead.
Getting to Know DJ
Born and raised in Georgia, DJ has always known that he wants to be a physician. He attended various private schools growing up. However, in 10th grade DJ ended up at a public magnet school that would truly help him on his future pre-med path.
DJ says this about his high school: “The STEM Magnet High School’s name was Innovation Academy and it focused on three main career pathways, including healthcare, engineering, and IT. I’ve always known that I wanted to be a physician for as long as I can remember, so I obviously took the straight and narrow path down the healthcare pathway. And it really exposed me to a lot of different opportunities that I wouldn’t have gotten at any other high school I would have attended.”
Choosing the best extracurricular opportunities
Attending a career-focused high school allowed DJ to participate in extracurricular activities that pertained to his intended major. He got involved in HOSA, an organization specifically for students intending to be health professionals. DJ quickly rose to a leadership position. He says, “In 10th grade, I was a chairman of the professional development committee within my school. But following that I ran for a state officer position and was lucky enough to obtain it. So I was the vice president of innovation for the state of Georgia. I mainly ran the organization’s social media and was in charge of all of the marketing of the organization, which was a lot of fun and really gave me a lot of the leadership capabilities that I still carry on to this day.”
DJ got an opportunity to further explore his interest in the STEM field when he was awarded a summer program. He says, “I did a program over the summer called Governor’s Honors Program, which is a program here in Georgia where the governor sponsors about 600 students from around the state to come to a college campus for about four weeks and really dive deep into their intended major. They have majors all across the board, from science to history to social studies to music.”
DJ had impressive extracurriculars outside the classroom. But, he also took on numerous AP courses, including several in math and science. And DJ always found new opportunities to challenge himself academically. After taking AP Calculus his junior year, DJ went on to take advanced college-level math courses through a partnership program with Georgia Tech.
DJ’s strengths as a college applicant
With an impressive academic and extracurricular track record, it’s not hard to identify DJ as a competitive applicant. His focused attention on achieving his lifelong goal of becoming a physician helped him get involved and stay motivated. And, it gave him plenty of great experiences to highlight in his applications.
As a self-motivated individual, DJ was ready to jump head-first into the college application process. DJ talks about his lofty goals saying, “I knew that the best way to [become a physician] would be to get into an amazing undergrad program. [One] that really stands out with all the academics and with their programs so that I could get into an amazing medical school and eventually residency program.”
While DJ had a full resume and impressive grades, he still sought out support in order to achieve his educational aspirations.
Getting started with CollegeAdvisor
DJ had many competitive schools on his college list. As such, he knew he needed some expert guidance. In particular, he wanted help crafting his essays (something we know many students can resonate with). That’s when CollegeAdvisor came into play.
As DJ recalls, “[My mom and I] did our research into it and found CollegeAdvisor, who’s giving the best support for the best price. And we ended up doing the consultation with them and signing our package.”
After signing up, DJ was matched with advisor Vickie Avila and former admissions counselor Brandon Mack. He also had a BS/MD advisor, however, he primarily worked with Vickie. He told us, “Miss Vickie, she was the best. Loved her. She would meet with me every week, go through all my college steps. Love it.”
Next, let’s learn a bit more about how Vickie helped DJ write his stellar application essays.
How DJ’s advisor helped him tackle his essays
Like many students, DJ’s biggest concern in the college application process were the essays. He felt like a strong writer. However, DJ didn’t think his style translated well to the college essay format he saw on applications.
DJ said, “My personal style of writing is very wordy. I try and add as much detail into it as possible using as much vocab as I can. Which is great. It creates great stories, creates great writing pieces and great essays, but it’s very long … Colleges want to see 250-word essays, and I’m over here writing 600, 700 words.”
Thankfully, Vickie had the expertise he needed to both cut-down and elevate his essays. “I believe she majored in English in college,” he said, “and with the essay help, it was [a] perfect fit. She knew how to cut everything down and keep the important parts. It was amazing.”
Vickie also helped DJ write more personal essays. She knew the right questions to ask to help get to the heart of his story. “She was like, ‘Okay, but why? Why are you saying this? What is this?’ And that got much deeper into the more personal aspects of it, much more intricate thought process behind it, which was something that I really needed. Because while I do write well, I don’t really write personally a whole lot.”
While it was a challenging process of brainstorming, editing, and rewriting, it was well worth it in the end.
What was DJ’s favorite part about working with CollegeAdvisor?
Funnily enough, the most challenging part of the applications also led to DJ’s favorite part about working with CollegeAdvisor.
DJ told us, “I’m a very science-driven person. I love math, very analytical things, so writing about myself and writing in a narrative like that is something I’m not used to. So I think my favorite part was the back and forth that we had when discussing it.”
He also notes, “And it wasn’t all about the writing. We also had a lot of conversations just about my past and what was going on and how we can turn that into a topic for an essay for a particular school and get a really good personal story out of those things. So I think that was my favorite part.”
Reworking your writing can be a tedious process. But, DJ felt supported the entire time, with Vickie there to help him write the best essay possible.
What was most challenging about the college application process?
While the essays were certainly difficult, they weren’t DJ’s only challenge. “I think one of the most challenging parts was when it started coming down to the final deadline,” he said.
Staying on top of deadlines isn’t always easy, especially for students with a long college list like DJ. More applications means more essays, and that takes time. With DJ’s busy schedule, he had to make hard decisions.
“It was really tough because I had a very long list of colleges that I wanted to apply to,” DJ told us. “It just ended up not being possible with everything that I had going on in my personal life, and everything I had going on academically.”
Ultimately, Vickie helped DJ decide which schools to cut from his list. They looked at essays to see if the ones he’d already written could be tweaked to fit. And they made sure the schools they did keep had everything he wanted.
DJ recalled, “And what was really beneficial for [me] was [my advisors] would go onto the school’s websites with me, and for me, and look at their programs and look at if it was easy to double major or if it was more difficult or if they had the things that I needed or if they didn’t have the things I needed.” The process helped DJ bring his list of fifteen schools down to nine—all of which he was excited about attending.
Staying on top of deadlines
The support from his advisors helped DJ get realistic about what was possible and stay on top of his deadlines. He shared with us, “My advisor was constantly there for me, helping me decide which schools I should apply to, which schools I shouldn’t apply to, which were good for my major, which were not good for my major, what I decided I wanted to study there or not study there.”
Applying to college is a time-consuming process, especially when it comes to essay writing. There are no hard and fast rules about how many schools you should apply to. As such, you need to make a game plan that works for you. In DJ’s case, he was able to meet his deadlines by prioritizing the schools that were best for him and his future goals.
Navigating financial aid
Paying for college is another big stress for students and their families. Navigating the financial aid process is extremely important, but it can also be overwhelming and confusing. From completing the CSS Profile to the FAFSA, CollegeAdvisor offers help to their students with this part of the college journey too!
DJ mentioned, “We used the financial aid advisors several times because, I wouldn’t call us a low-income house, but we definitely needed a lot of assistance for paying for college, especially with going to a private school… We just needed a lot of help with navigating all of the different documents that we had to submit. And more personally, we have a noncustodial parent that we really had no idea how to handle because we haven’t had communication.”
Thankfully, DJ could rely on his advisor, and the greater CollegeAdvisor network, to help him face challenges head-on. And, in the end, he got the financial aid he needed to pay for college.
DJ’s admissions results and the road ahead
Sometimes, one of the hardest parts of the application process can be awaiting your admissions results. In DJ’s case, he received plenty of exciting news! So, where did he get into?
DJ told us, “I ended up getting into Emory University, Georgia Tech, UGA Morehead Honors College, Johns Hopkins, and Case Western.”
Even better, DJ was able to receive financial aid and scholarships for many of those schools. In fact, he received the Zell Miller Scholarship. This is a prestigious merit-based scholarship that essentially covers full tuition for Georgia residents attending an eligible college or university.
DJ told us, “You need a certain SAT score and you need a certain, I want to say GPA in order to be qualified for it, which I did. So UGA and GT would have come with the Zell Miller scholarship. Johns Hopkins is giving me an institutional scholarship of around $61,000 a year.”
With so much to consider, making a decision wasn’t easy. However, DJ focused on what was most important to him, like being able to double major. While he was torn between Johns Hopkins and Georgia Tech, in the end, the decision was clear.
We’re happy to share that DJ has chosen to attend Johns Hopkins University in the fall!
Here’s what DJ had to say about it. “I think what it came down to was which is best for pre-med, and Johns Hopkins is one of the most well-known pre-med schools in the entire country. So I had to look towards the future and look at what I want to do with the rest of my career. And I think it came down to Johns Hopkins.”
What will DJ major in?
While many students go into college undecided on their major, DJ has a clear idea of what he wants to study. He’s always wanted to be a physician and is interested in STEM subjects, mainly math and science.
As you might have guessed after learning about DJ, he’s planning to embark on an ambitious academic path. DJ told us, “I’m intending to major in neuroscience primarily, and then have a secondary major [in] molecular and cellular biology.”
DJ’s advice to future applicants
For those just starting their college application journey, here are DJ’s words of wisdom.
“I think my favorite piece of advice to give when people ask me about the college application process in general is to never, ever limit yourself. Don’t ever not apply anywhere or not apply to any scholarships or don’t even try for a certain program you want to get into just because you think you might fail or think you might not get into it. Because I never thought I would be getting into Johns Hopkins with a $61,000 scholarship to go there.”
While starting early, writing essays, and applying for scholarships and financial aid are vital parts of the process, simply believing in yourself can make all the difference. Having support throughout the journey like DJ did, can help reaffirm your strengths and give you the guidance you need to overcome any challenges.
DJ also mentions not to get put off by the price tag of schools. He says, “Don’t limit yourself when it comes to finances either. Because a lot of the time schools will help you out with their, with your financial aspect of it. They understand that it’s very expensive to go to these schools and institutions, and they will give you what you need to do in order to become an amazing student for them.”
Why CollegeAdvisor?
As you can see, DJ’s advisor played a big role in helping him achieve his dreams. But, there are plenty of other ways CollegeAdvisor helps support students through the application process. In addition to personalized guidance, CollegeAdvisor has a myriad of online resources, including essay guides, school-specific articles, and more!
For example, DJ found one of the CollegeAdvisor webinars particularly helpful. He said, “Before I even signed with CollegeAdvisor, I went to one of their webinars, and it was actually from a student who was a current Brown PLME student. And she was talking about everything that she did that got her into the program and everything that was really helpful for her and her application process. And I think that was another major aspect that was really helpful.”
So remember, for whatever you need help with, from creating a college list to writing essays to navigating financial aid, CollegeAdvisor can help! Our expert advisors help students of all backgrounds apply to college while feeling supported every step of the way. Whether you already know your career path like DJ, or are still trying to figure it out, CollegeAdvisor has the resources and experience to help you chart your path forward.
This article was written by Sarah Kaminski. Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.
