Ivy League Prep Academy Podcast

Ata participated in our most recent Ivy League Challenge (online version) and was willing to share his experience with us. You can get a feel for what to expect if you join our community, and hear about his amazing impact project as well! ----- To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website . To follow on Instagram:  @TheIvyLeagueChallenge To join us on our Facebook group for parents...

One of the things that I heard over and over again at Harvard was "great solutions depend on great questions." If you want to get better answers, you have got to learn to ask better questions.   While I have used many different less-effective approaches to problem-solving in my life, over time I have arrived at a 3-step problem solving process that actually works. Today, I'm sharing...

A few days after beginning classes at Harvard, I felt something that I later realized was common among my peers-- impostor syndrome. It took some time to realize that I belonged there alongside some of the most brilliant minds in the world-- even if I considered myself average and normal. I tried to hide what I felt, and appear confident and in control. However, under the surface I "knew&quot...

Have you ever wondered what it is like in the room where admissions decisions happen? Understanding the process can be critically valuable in helping you decide how to present yourself in your application. Listen to find out what you can do to ensure your application is more memorable. ----- To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website . To follow on Instagram:  @TheIvyLeagueChallen...

If competence were a prerequisite for confidence, the world would be full of timid people. You don't need to know everything and you don't need to be able to do anything particularly well in order to be confident. Instead, you must believe in your ability to figure things out. Taking the mindset that you can figure out what you will need to succeed allows you to approach new ideas and ta...

Somehow the myth of the "well-rounded strategy" continues to thrive today. Don't buy into it. I've seen students  drive themselves to exhaustion chasing extra clubs, competing in sports they don't like, playing instruments that drive them crazy, and volunteering for hundreds of hours in community service chosen because they believed it was the thing that admission officers...

Sick of making and then breaking goals? You are almost certainly doing it wrong. Find out why most resolutions/goals are never achieved, and what you can do instead.   To make it easier to use, I've broken down a seamless process into 10 defined steps. I'll list them here, and you'll want to be in a position to pause the podcast as you go so you can make the most of this advice.   T...

Correctly defining success and failure may be the single most important step on the road to success. We know that no one develops any meaningful skill without pushing themselves to do things that are outside their abilities. Of course this leads to a lot of falling down and getting back up. The master becomes great because she is willing to fail more than others. So if "failure" is a nec...

On more than one occasion in business classrooms at Harvard, I heard how important it is to measure the things that you want to improve. What you measure, grows. It was no surprise to me, then, to learn that LeBron James tracks his progress on everything from weightlifting to diet to flexibility and more. Like so many other elite performers, he clearly knows that he will get more of what he measur...

Do you focus your energy on issues that are outside your control? Do you spend time thinking about how wonderful it would be if the things around you changed for you? Learn what you can do today to begin making your world work for you. Changing yourself, rather than asking that your circumstances change for you, is the key to expanding your sphere of influence. Learn how today! ----- To register f...

Following up on last week's episode about how helpful stress can be for us, this episode teaches you HOW to make use of stress. Each time you experience stress, you can understand that your body is giving you extra energy and focus in order to help you perform better. But in the moment when you feel overwhelmed, it may be hard to shift your perspective to this healthier mindset. Listen to dis...

You've heard that stress leads to health issues, strained relations, and premature death (among other things.) What compelling research now shows, however, is that stress only has these negative effects on those people who believe that stress is bad for them. In fact, the "fight or flight" stress response is only one of several types of naturally-occurring stress responses. When I w...

My journalism class with Nneka Faison is legendary for how difficult it is to get into-- it is so popular at Harvard. When I was close to graduating and could register early, I took Nneka's class and discovered the hype was completely justified. Nneka's parents came to America with their six children from Nigeria. One of the middle children, Nneka, did her undergraduate work at Princeton...

My journalism class with Nneka Faison is legendary for how difficult it is to get into-- it is so popular at Harvard. When I was close to graduating and could register early, I took Nneka's class and discovered the hype was completely justified.   Nneka's parents came to America with their six children from Nigeria. One of the middle children, Nneka, did her undergraduate work at Princet...

One of my favorite researchers in the world has dedicated much of his life to identifying the things that make some people luckier than others. I have really good news! Significantly better luck is within your control. Listen to learn more about the role curiosity and awareness make you more lucky, and how you can ensure that today is luckier for you than yesterday. If you want to increase your ch...

I have been fortunate enough to spend time with some highly successful people. Perhaps surprizingly, there is one (and only one)  thing that ALL of them have in common.   Listen to find out that one critical success trait.   Mentioned in the episode is pillar 3 of the Ivy League Challenge: Develop Your Authentic Impact Project .  ----- To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website ....

Frustrated that you haven't stuck with your New Year's resolutions? Listen up. When our results don't measure up to our ambitious expectations, it is tempting to seek out dramatic, revolutionary changes, like in the movies.   That strategy can be effective in many circumstances, but if it isn't working for you, consider taking a page out of nature's book. While dramatic ev...

When stressful deadlines pile on top of each other and you begin to feel overwhelmed, use this quick and easy strategy to shift your mindset and eliminate the stress.   Stress gives us headaches, tense muscles in the shoulders or lower back, a depleted immune system, and more. But it doesn't have to be this way. Once you learn this mindset shift, you may decide to follow my lead, and actually...

I have a challenge for you; to help you begin a new habit you want to adopt, or lose a habit you'd love to ditch. Follow these two steps for the rest of the month (plus a bonus activity for when your will power dips low...) 1. Decide the identity of the person you want to be (a healthy eater, an active person, a star student, etc.) 2. prove it to yourself with multiple wins Once you have deci...

We know that you are capable of getting into a world-class college.  But let’s be honest, the college admissions process looks daunting, and you have more questions than answers. Are you too young to be preparing for the next step? Which classes or activities will set you apart to an admissions counselor? Is beating the odds and getting accepted to a top-tier school even within your control?  At a...

Much of the research that went into the book Outliers by Malcom Gladwell was actually done by a researcher named Anders Ericsson. Purposeful practice is the conscious, deliberate style of practice that the top performers in the world use to become the best. Learn this method of practicing, and you too can be world-class! ----- To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website . To follow...

Let's say you were able to vacation in a city you had never before been to-- say, Paris. Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to try and find where you want to go if your map were 50 years old? The methods that worked to get students admitted to top schools 20 years ago no longer apply, but so many parents and even college counselors give advice that will only lead to stress and frustr...

Another amazing interview with an impressive student. Ata identified a problem with organization and communication at Model United Nations conferences and decided to create an app to solve it. We discuss his journey and what he has learned throughout this impressive process. app store link of Ata's app: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1534288426 and here is the google play store link: https://pl...

Nicole and Ethan are waiting to hear back from Stanford, NYU, Georgetown, and several UC's, and in this interview they share the back story of their impressive impact project, and how they used it in their college applications.   The link to the website they created can be found here: https://ibdp-guides.weebly.com ----- To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website . To follow...

In the last episode (Pick your hard) we argued that doing excellent work is better and easier than doing mediocre work. I explained the virtuous cycle that begins when you focus effectively and do great work. But what about when you focus and it doesn't work? It is not motivating, there is nothing to show for it, and there is no virtuous cycle, even though there was genuine focus? Listen up t...