Why Your T20 Dreams Are Harder Than You Think

Everyone wants to shoot for the top.

Harvard. Stanford. Duke. Columbia.

But what most applicants don’t realize is how many invisible tripwires they’re dragging behind them.    

Here’s a brutal Top 10 of what makes breaking into a Top 20 school so much harder.

1. You need financial aid.

For international students, this is the kiss of death. You want Harvard to pay you? You better bring something to the table that makes the full-pay crowd look weak.

2. You have a lopsided profile.

Great grades, meh SAT. Or meh grades, great SAT.

The first hints at grade inflation.

The second smells like talent distracted by PlayStation 5.

Both are red flags.

3. Your teachers are duds.

If your recommenders can’t write a rec without ChatGPT, you’ve got a problem.

4. Your school has no T20 track record.

No pipeline, no precedent.

Want to be the pioneer? Show how you defied your environment.

5. You’re in the inaugural class of a new school.

No track record.

New teachers.

Suspect accreditation.

Yikes.

6. Corrupt college counselor.

Nothing tanks a reputation faster than a pay-to-apply counselor.

7. Counselor with an agenda.

Some counselors push students away from the T20 dream. Community college “just to broaden your options and outlook?” Beware.

8. No leadership, just participation.

Being in every club without making an impact? That’s background noise.

Run a blood drive instead of just giving blood. Lead.

9. You vegged out every summer.

Or only studied for the SAT.

Colleges want action, not hibernation.

10. You started thinking about apps a month before deadlines.

Procrastinators unite—tomorrow.

This game rewards the good, the better, and the best—in that order.

Bottom line:

The odds may be stacked, but they’re not unbeatable.

What separates the admits from the rejects isn’t perfection—it’s strategy.

Know your gaps.

Fill them with action.

And if you want help rewriting your playbook, you know where to find me.