Ivy League Prep Academy Podcast

Sound too good to be true? Infusing fun into difficult tasks is one of the keys to success before, during, and after college. Longtime listeners of this podcast are already aware of the science that clearly shows we perform significantly better in a positive emotional state compared to a neutral or negative state... so how do we create that positive emotional state when we are tasked with boring a...

Take a peek into a zoom class in the Ivy League Challenge. Do you ever find you hold yourself back in order to keep yourself safe? Imagine you were a boxer. Would you decide to tie one hand behind your back,  just to make sure there was no risk of creating evidence that you aren't good enough at full strength? After all, if you win, you must be incredible! You won with only one hand! And if y...

Gallup polls show that the two most common words teens use to describe school were "bored" and "tired". It doesn't have to be this way. Dr. Arthur C. Brooks is a Harvard professor who teaches the class "Leadership & Happiness." He teaches that there are three key ingredients to happiness. When we look at those key ingredients, we can quickly identify ways tee...

After reading through tens of thousands of college application essays,  professional admissions officers say they see many of the same mistakes resurfacing every year. DO NOT MAKE THESE COMMON MISTAKES! Instead, follow the tips I give to show that you are the kind of thoughtful, complex, nuanced candidate that your dream college wants. To gain access (FOR FREE) to the journal I referenced in the p...

If you have dreamed about becoming a doctor since early childhood, is a Direct Medical Program (BS/MD) the solution? It seems so perfect, apply once, and be guaranteed admittance to  both college and medical school at the same time!   But there are some serious drawbacks if it turns out to be a poor fit. Before you commit, be sure to understand the options that are out there, as well as the pros a...

Nearly everyone at some point needs to study something they don't enjoy, but still need to find a way to perform well. By middle school and high school, students often have enough self-awareness to know what they like and what they don't, but they don't yet have the autonomy to make many choices about how to use their time. But when you apply to college, your entire GPA is considere...

Should you attend the summer camp held on your dream college's campus?  Will attending that camp give you a leg up when you apply later?  How should you decide which of the many different opportunities will be the best use of your valuable time? It turns out that some of the answers to these questions are quite clear, while other answers depend significantly on your situation and your core va...

With about 48 hours before registration for the Ivy League Challenge closes, listen the answers my students gave me at the end of the last cohort when I asked these four questions: 1. What issue or problem were you facing before you discovered the Ivy League Challenge? 2. Having finished the Ivy League Challenge, what would you say is different now? 3. Take us to the moment when you realized the I...

Your environment-- the peers, mentors, teachers, and other adults you surround yourself with-- is more important than you realize. If you are the only ambitious person in your community, trying to work for your goals can feel like swimming upstream. But if your peers are also ambitious, and everyone supports you and cheers you on, it is just like swimming with the current, where you can moving in...

For the first time in 6 months, registration is now open for the Ivy League Challenge! Unlike other programs, we keep our cohorts small and intimate, in order to give high levels of attention to every one of the 12-15 members of each cohort. When the cohort fills, we will close registration once again, and interested candidates will need to sign up for the waitlist and wait until registration open...

College admissions should be the impetus that inspires teens to take time to significantly increase self-awareness, to pursue interests, and to grow as a human. With a foundation of clarity about one's core values, a teen should develop some key skills-- first of all, investigative journalism. How do you ask better questions? How do you find better answers to those questions...? And once you...

I am not a parenting expert. But I can clearly see how teens who have been raised the way I support in this episode are far more willing and capable of overcoming challenges when they face them. Although this episode is to the parents and adults in the room, I hope some middle and high school students choose to listen in as well, so they can encourage the adults in their lives to give them room to...

Get into the details of how Ishita figured out what her impact project should be. Learn how she progressed through the steps. You'll understand how amazing an impact project like this could be for you as you listen to the journey Ishita went through to get where she is today. ----- To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website . To follow on Instagram:  @TheIvyLeagueChallenge To...

Ever wonder what students do in the Ivy League Challenge? Listen in to learn from Ishita. There are two parts to this interview, this is part 1. ----- 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

As I continue helping more and more teens get into their dream colleges, and especially as I have become known as the person who specializes in helping students create their 'stand out factor', I have been receiving more and questions about where teens and parents of teens should go to find "opportunities." Even though I have a lot more to say about it, this podcast is my respo...

Try something for me: think of your favorite movie. Next time you watch it, pause the movie 3 or 4 times and ask yourself "is the hero enjoying themselves right now?" "are they learning or growing?" You will quickly discover that throughout much of the movie, the hero is not actually enjoying himself or herself.   But the important thing is that they grow through their challeng...

Ivy Day is coming up. If you are one of the tens of thousands who has applied to these outstanding eight colleges, it will be a day of powerful emotions. But how should you respond to that decision? wether you were accepted, rejected, or waitlisted?   Based on actual quotes from Yale admissions officers (from this podcast: https://www.stitcher.com/show/inside-the-yale-admissions-office/episode/dea...

Crystal grew up the 7th of 10 children in public housing. She didn't dream of attending a top-tier college until she was older, because she didn't think it was possible and didn't know anyone else who was doing it. Share shares her incredible story here about overcoming the odds and getting into a highly competitive PhD program at her dream university, Yale. Check out her book: Crys...

I recently asked Luke, the 17 year-old world-record holder for most burpees in a minute by a male, how he became the best in the world at doing burpees. His answer... "I realized that the little things are the big things." In music, in athletics, in academics, in relationships, and in all other areas of life, those who become outstanding learn to make the little thing the big things. It...

Harvard university created an initiative that has now been signed by all the Ivy League schools, MIT, Stanford, Duke, Michigan, Chicago, etc. and dozens and dozens of other top schools called "Making Caring Common." Making Caring Common is an attempt to refocus college admissions decisions away from things that require a certain income level or other significant advantages in order to fu...

Have you ever sat down to get your work done, and because you were completely focused, you were able to accomplish more in 60 minutes than you could normally do in a week? If you have, you have experienced the magic of controlling your attention. Do you know why we say "pay attention"? Your attention is not only valuable to you, it is valuable to dozens of industries that are designed to...

My students in the Ivy League Challenge are often surprised when I share stories about how 'normal' and 'real' many of my peers at Harvard were.   I find that many high school students put Harvard students on a pedestal.   But what I wish everyone understood, is that these students were not born differently than you and your friends. They weren't bitten by radioactive spid...

Nothing is as compelling as a hero on a mission. It is so easy to 'drift' through life. Especially for teens. Middle school and high school is a 24/7, 365days/year battle to not be embarrassed. That means trying to fit in. But that is also a ticket to high anxiety and insecurity, and low self-efficacy. Some people choose a different path. Normal, everyday teens can become truly great. Wh...

Tessa Forshaw changed the way I teach high school students. After earning her BS degree in Australia, she came to the US and attended Stanford, where she earned her masters degree, and Harvard, where she teaches on the side as she pursues her Doctorate degree.  In this podcast, we discuss her experiences at Harvard & Stanford, how she recommends people think about these schools when they need...

The Stanford Design school is world-famous and is universally considered the top design program in the world.  Rich Braden is the CEO & founder of People Rocket, a design thinking consulting company. He has also lectured at Stanford & Harvard for years. He currently teaches creativity and innovation at Stanford, the d.school, and Harvard,  where I took his class and was blown away by how d...