2025 Admissions Results
Due to the strength of its pre-med program, its world-class research, and its vibrant social scene, Duke was the most popular “dream school” for our students this year. Ten of our students applied to Duke, and four of them got in (40% acceptance rate).
Big Green Admissions Results for 2025
We’ve just concluded another year of competitive college admissions at Big Green College Prep, and here are some of our company stats and insights for the 2024/2025 application cycle. You can find last year’s results here.
Enrollment
This year we helped 27 students with college applications. That’s in addition to 18 students in our SAT prep program, and 14 students in our Candidacy Building program for middle school students and high school underclassmen.
Demographics
Our students came from all across the country, and all around the world. The most popular regions were the Northeast (#1), Midwest (#2), and California (#3). We also had 8 international students from India, China, Romania, Brazil, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, and Portugal.
Admissions Stats
Of the 27 students we helped with college admissions, 14 of them (52%) got into their first choice college, 24 of them (89%) got accepted to a Top 40 school, and 18 of them (67%) got accepted to a Top 30 school. The most popular “dream school” this year was Duke: 10 of our students applied and 4 of them got in (40%).
Acceptance Results
Here’s where our 27 students plan to enroll next fall: Harvard (1), Yale (1), Princeton (1), MIT (2), Johns Hopkins (1), UPenn (2), Dartmouth (1), Stanford (1), Brown (1), Duke (3), Northwestern (1), Cornell (1), Notre Dame (1), UChicago (1), UCLA (1), UMich (1), WashU St. Louis (1), Georgetown (1), Carnegie Mellon (1), NYU (1), Boston College (1), UVA (1), UNC Chapel Hill (1). A few students were waitlisted at Dartmouth, Harvard, Columbia, Vanderbilt, and Yale which might affect their final decision.
SAT Test Prep Results
18 students enrolled in our SAT test prep program. The average improvement from first timed test to final official superscore was 205 points. 14 of our 18 students (78%) scored above a 1500, and 5 of our students scored above a 1550.
Year-End Conclusions
More than ever, it’s become clear that while a high GPA gets you in the door at elite schools like the Ivies and other Top 20 schools, it’s ultimately your impressive extracurriculars that seal the deal.
Case in point: this year, we had numerous students with straight As and high SATs (several of whom were class valedictorians) who didn’t get into their #1 school because they lacked compelling extracurricular achievement.
With a super-strong academic record, they all landed someplace good of course. (One of them had to “settle” for UCLA.) But if you’re targeting the most selective schools, and want to have your pick of the litter, you need to prioritize your extracurricular ambitions. And ideally you want to pursue things that help differentiate you from everybody else. Think: What can I do to stand out from the crowd?
Key takeaway: You don’t need a perfect GPA to get into a top school. Instead, you need a very good GPA (think 3.8+), paired with compelling extracurricular achievements that tell a good story about your passions or sense of purpose.
Testimonials
Want to hear what our clients have to say about working with us? For up-to-date student and parent references, click here.
Based on his strong essays and impressive extracurriculars as an environmental entrepreneur, one of our students from southern Brazil (3.9 GPA, 1470 SAT) was able to get into Stanford. In high school, he started a small company that recycled kitchen oil into hand soap and distributed the product to low-income communities.
Many of our students won merit scholarships worth tens of thousands of dollars, and one student from Connecticut (4.0 GPA, 1500 SAT) earned the prestigious Jefferson Scholarship at UVA (2% acceptance rate) which is a full-ride, 4-year scholarship and includes extra stipends for international travel experiences and summer research.