Real-World Insights From This Year’s Applicants — and a Clear Plan for the Year Ahead

Junior year remains the most important year of high school when it comes to college admissions — but the landscape continues to evolve. In this updated session, LifeLaunchr founder Venkates “Swami” Swaminathan and coach Claire Schadler will share fresh insights from this year’s admissions cycle, along with lessons drawn from students who just completed the process. Using real-world examples, we’ll help families define clear priorities and build a thoughtful roadmap for the year ahead.

We’ll discuss what actually made a difference in real applications: course rigor, testing decisions, summer strategy, college list building, and essay themes that resonated with admissions readers. You’ll hear stories from recent applicants and see how strategic choices shaped their outcomes.

Swami and Claire bring decades of combined experience coaching students through the admissions process and are co-authors of Swami’s Take on College Admissions, Swami’s Substack. There, they analyze admissions trends, the return on investment of different majors, the impact of AI on careers, and why long-term planning should begin well before senior year.

Create Compelling Applications and Avoid Mistakes

Whether your student aims for highly selective universities, strong state schools, or small liberal arts colleges — and whether their goals include pre-health, computer science, engineering, business, social sciences, or the arts — this session will help you focus on what truly matters and avoid common mistakes.

You’ll leave with a clear roadmap for the next 12 months, from testing and summer planning to campus visits, recommendation strategy, and the early foundations of compelling essays. You’ll gain a precise understanding of what matters most, and why.

Grounded in more than a decade of coaching and the lived experience of the most recent admissions cycle, this webinar is practical, current, and directly relevant to juniors today.

Join Even If you can’t attend live

Join us even if you can’t attend live. The session will be recorded, and all registrants will receive the replay. in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, we’ll share a thoughtful, proven approach that helps students find and get into their best-fit colleges.

Whether your student aims for highly selective universities, strong state schools, or small liberal arts colleges — and whether their goals include pre-health, computer science, engineering, business, or the arts — this session will help you focus on the right priorities and avoid common mistakes.

You’ll leave with a clear roadmap for the next 12 months — from testing and essays to campus visits and recommendation planning.

Register today — and give your family the knowledge and structure to make junior year the foundation of a confident, successful college journey.

​​​​​​​All registrants will receive a recorded replay, so register even if you can’t attend live!

You’ll learn:

• What actually mattered in this year’s admissions cycle — and what didn’t​​​​​​​
• How course rigor and academic choices are being evaluated today
• When testing helps, when it doesn’t, and how to think strategically about SAT/ACT decisions
• How to approach summer planning with purpose rather than résumé-building​​​​​​​
• How to build a balanced college list based on fit, not just rankings​​​​​​​
• What kinds of essay themes resonate with admissions readers​​​​​​​
• How competitive majors like computer science, engineering, business, and pre-health are being evaluated​​​​​​​
• How to think about ROI, career trajectories, and the impact of AI on long-term planning​​​​​​​
• A clear, practical roadmap for the next 12 months