I reckon this title will probably get most people shaking their heads.  What kind of a professional admissions consultant would talk about the element of “luck" in applying to schools? You’d be surprised to find that most of anyone who has ever applied to schools firmly believes that luck does play a role in their admissions process and ultimately, the outcome. Unfortunately, no one, not you, your consultant(s), advisor(s), friends, connections with admissions, etc., can tell you exactly just what percentage of your fate lies in “luck".

From my own experience of applying to schools, helping students get into their top choice schools and just talking to people who have had similar experience or friends, this is practically the most “it’s-out-of-your-hands" element in admissions. Why then, do I make it a topic worthy of discussion? The reason being: yes sometimes, in certain cases and contexts, you can actually press your luck or even turn it around!  In my experience, it is not always advisable to “press your luck" or push and push.  But the worst thing would be complete inaction.  I am making a case and writing about this element in admissions because I know that most Taiwanese students/applicants generally do not exhibit the same type of aggressiveness or proactive-ness as American applicants and tend to sit around idly hoping that good news will simply drop into their lap.  It is simply rooted in our culture and upbringing.  To wit, we are taught to be humble, considerate and polite in all endeavors.  Sometimes when I read students’ emails to admissions officers, the apologetic tone is overwhelming, almost to the point of uncomfortably so.  But sometimes, students inadvertently misuse this type of attitude to borderline bluntness. It is indeed a fine line to walk.

I have been told by several students that they do not understand how it is I can seemingly do a make-over of their message effortlessly which somehow maintains all the essential points to be conveyed while sounding infinitely more palatable.  True. Writing is an art. But the real skill is fully understanding what it is that students want to communicate to the schools and then aptly packaging those messages in the right lingo.  You may ask, “what does this have to do with luck?" Well, if you are lucky, you may send in the right message at the right time to the right person, in the right mood. The element(s) that applicants can control would obviously be the first two, and maybe the third one. As to what type of mood that person is in, needless to say, that is out of your control.  But if you can ensure that you craft the right message and select an appropriate time to send it (hopefully to the person with whom you have had the most contact), then you may just be lucky enough to hit bull’s eye.  Of course, all of those above-mentioned circumstances have to align perfectly to render a favorable outcome (天時地利人和), and not everyone has that kind of luck or perfect timing, etc.  But it is worth trying because in my experience, it has worked. This is what I would call a “skillful maneuver of luck."  It has to be done with finesse and technique.

And when executed skillfully with the right tone and timing, under the right circumstances, it can actually scoop you out of the reject pile and drop you into the WL or even AD pile. Yes it has happened and yes it is possible. But don’t count on that though. The safe bet is still to get those standardized scores up there and work hard to piece together all your application documents and creating your brand. Apply early so you have plenty of time (even time to play with your luck). Remember – haste makes waste – even the most outstanding applicants can become flustered and ill-prepared if deprived of time. I have seen plenty in my career. It is indeed a shame.

Although I conclude this article on preparation rather than luck, I still firmly believe that the latter plays a certain role in admissions. This is not a safety net or disclaimer for my business, but I make it a point to tell students in our first meeting that they need to factor in that 3~5% of “arbitrariness" that inevitably comes with applying to schools and which I attribute to “luck".  One simply cannot deny that some people are just luckier than others.  And in my admissions consulting career as well as my own experience, there had been plenty of times where students were in dismay because other people “not as qualified (in their opinion)" somehow got into better schools than they did. Maybe those applicants had aspects about their applications that distinguished them from others, but maybe they were simply luckier!  This is why I am probably the only admissions consultant out there who makes it a routine part of my service to pray to the god of academia and literature (文昌帝君) for blessings to my students each year.   You just never know.- by Frances, June 2013