Ivy League Prep Academy Podcast

Parents are so important to teens' success. Even if you feel like your teens are annoyed by you, your efforts are very important. For many reasons, however, parents often have a hard time motivating or inspiring teens. Sometimes the teens assume that the parents are biased and can't see the teens objectively. Other times teens don't want to be controlled, and so they will resist the...

For those who enjoy this podcast, one question remains very important-- when is the best time to join the Ivy League Challenge? Is grade 8, or 9, or 10, or some other grade the best time? What if my teen is too busy to add this class to his or her schedule? Or the opposite issue-- when is my teen old enough to join? I hope this episode will help answer those questions. ----- To register for the Iv...

Erica, Claire, and Molly join us to answer questions about what it is like to be in the Ivy League Challenge. Listen in to learn more about what you can expect in the program. ----- To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website To follow on Instagram:  @TheIvyLeagueChallenge To join us on our Facebook group for parents Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

Attention Juniors! This is the week that you should be sending out your emails to future recommendation letter writers. You've worked hard to be a great student. Your teachers love you. You might think that is enough to ensure you will get a great letter of recommendation. But the reality is that very few teachers ever receive any kind of training on how to write an outstanding letter of reco...

Many students join the Ivy League Challenge when they are young. At that stage in your life, it is normal to become excited about executing an impact project, but then to get off track. Twisha joined the Ivy League Challenge as an 8th grader. She loved it, and was excited to start an impact project, but it never quite got off the ground. Because she was also busy with schoolwork, she just let her...

Eliza and Rachel are first cousins and are both elite violin performers. When they toured Southeast Asia, I was able to attend their concert in Singapore and even attend a practice session with them. That practice session inspired this discussion on perfectionism in music and in life. One of my favorite interviews of all time. Enjoy! ----- To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our websit...

Our Hacking College Admissions workshop begins just a few hours after this podcast goes live. The workshop is free but you must register to attend. To register, go to TILC.to/hack In this interview, Asfi shares her interview about how the Ivy League Challenge helped her in her life and her college prep. She also talks through how she decided on Cornell instead of the many other great college optio...

Most ambitious teens spend their high school years pursuing the activities that they believe will make them most impressive to an admissions officer. This takes tremendous effort and sacrifice. But ironically, even if you are successful-- you become the most impressive person in your entire school-- you will eventually discover that there are 30,000 high schools in North America. And the "mos...

Is the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program right for you? Once you are committed to the diploma program, how can you ensure your success? Nandita Nair is a senior now whose predicted score is well above 40 (she requested I not share the exact predicted score). In this episode, she discusses the challenges with the IB-- how you should decide if the IB is right for you, and how to succe...

I recently spoke at a GradAchiever event online. The message aligns closely with what I discuss in my own podcast, and because I am so happy with the free platform that is available, I wanted to share my presentation with my own audience, and encourage you to check them out at www. GradAchiever.com ----- To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website . To follow on Instagram:  @TheIvy...

Katie Silverman joined the Ivy League Challenge as a junior, and did an incredible job with her own impact project and supporting others with their projects. I didn't learn until preparing for this interview, however, just how much she grew as a person through the course. In our interview, she discusses how clarifying her core values built her confidence and changed her life for the better. -...

For many teens, adding a high-stakes interview to an already stressful application process feels stressful. But the interview should be a highly enjoyable experience. To make sure you are prepared, take 15 minutes to listen to this podcast. ----- To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website . To follow on Instagram:  @TheIvyLeagueChallenge To join us on our Facebook group for parent...

Ava DiNapoli recently completed the Ivy League Challenge, and is already making incredible progress in a very important impact project about providing tools for teachers to teach mental health to very young kids. Hear how her ideas have evolved over time, and about all of the powerful steps she is taking to move her project forward in very effective ways. ----- To register for the Ivy League Chall...

Part 2 of 3: What is leadership?  In the context of teens in high school, applying to college... What does it mean to "demonstrate leadership"? And what if your teen is quiet or shy or introverted? Is there any hope for them? Too many people believe that admissions officers are looking to fill their campuses with only superchickens - the smartest, hardest-working, and most qualified of t...

Part 2 of 3: What is leadership?  In the context of teens in high school, applying to college... What does it mean to "demonstrate leadership"? And what if your teen is quiet or shy or introverted? Is there any hope for them? Too many people believe that admissions officers are looking to fill their campuses with only superchickens - the smartest, hardest-working, and most qualified of t...

What is leadership?  In the context of teens in high school, applying to college... What does it mean to "demonstrate leadership"? And what if your teen is quiet or shy or introverted? Is there any hope for them? Too many people believe that admissions officers are looking to fill their campuses with only superchickens - the smartest, hardest-working, and most qualified of the flock... D...

When most people begin to prepare for college, they ask the same question as everyone else; "what is more/most impressive to the admissions officers?" And that seems to make sense, until senior year comes along, they submit their applications, and they finally realize that 30,000+ high schools all had ambitious students trying to do the most impressive things, and that means that tens of...

Erica shares her experience in the Ivy League Challenge, and how she is making an impact in her community by creating an app to teach the fundamentals of programming to younger people. We discuss how her priorities have changed as a student, how her choices have given her greater purpose in her life, and how she is taking care of herself in a way that makes life more fun while becoming even more c...

Part 3 of 3 for our masterclass about GenAI and education. I share my advice and answer questions about how education will evolve, as well as what steps we can take today to make the most of the opportunities AI presents for us. Be sure to catch parts 1 and 2  as well. ----- To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website . To follow on Instagram:  @TheIvyLeagueChallenge To join us on...

Continuing our masterclass recording, we discuss the difference between kind and wicked learning environments, and how that distinction helps us understand how we can prepare to make the most of GenAI. I also interview an expert in the field, Pavlo Denisov, who wrote a book about how students can use AI to learn and to make themselves more valuable in the open market. ----- To register for the Ivy...

The fears we have today about Gen AI are not new-- society had the same concerns 30 years ago when the internet was new, and 40 years before that when the first calculators became available to the world. But just as the internet lowered the barriers to entry into the business world and created countless millionaires, the opportunities coming from GenAI mastery will dwarf the wealth created by the...

Aki was stressed throughout his freshman year, because although he was at a very good high school, he just felt like he didn't know how to stand out. He joined the Ivy League Challenge in order to figure out what to do. Listen to learn about how he let go of that stress and replaced it with confidence that his time and efforts could be spent focusing on things that aligned with his core value...

Too many of us approach life with the philosophy of "play not to lose". Once, when I was in college, I was able to play on a intramural basketball team. Our team made it all the way to championship game. At half time, we were losing that game so badly that we decided to change our approach. Instead of playing safe, we were going to play without any fear. Amazingly, we came all the way ba...

This Wednesday, October 11th, at 8pm eastern time, I will be hosting a masterclass to discuss how we can help our teens take advantage of the many opportunities of GenAI, and also avoid the pitfalls. I'm excited to go into detail about how humans and computers will be working together in the future to solve the great problems of the world, and how focusing on the wrong things can become a maj...

Krisha is a sophomore. She loves debate and has ambitions in the medical field. She joined the Ivy League Challenge last year, and at the time of this interview, was half way through her second time through the course. She shares about how important and valuable it is to figure out your core values, so you can make the most of the valuable time you have in high school. ----- To register for the Iv...