How to Get into an Ivy League Using the Hedgehog Concept

High achieving students are always looking to improve their chances of getting into Ivy League colleges. While there are plenty of people to give you advice on the perfect college essay, the perfect test score, and the perfect extracurricular activities to gain admission to top colleges, few offer a comprehensive plan for how to present the most effective college application. This article discusses The Hedgehog Concept, which consists of crafting unique and compelling Themes to make your college application stand out from the rest.

In this article, you will

1) Read about the best, most comprehensive strategy for how to get into an Ivy League (and other selective schools, e.g. MIT)
2) Learn about how to develop your own unique and compelling Theme, which will significantly improve your chances of getting into an Ivy League

3) Read a Princeton success story, complete with the student’s specs.

“The Fox knows many things, the Hedgehog just one—but it is enough.”

Once upon a time, there lived a Fox and a Hedgehog. They were having a nice conversation and enjoying the sunshine when they began to hear the barks of a pack of wild dogs. “Here come the dogs,” said the Fox. “How shall we escape? I could run along the fence, or climb that tree. I could scale that wall, or I could hide in the thick brush.” The Hedgehog listened patiently as the Fox listed his many means of evading the dogs, whose barks were getting closer and closer. Finally, when there was no time left, the Hedgehog curled into a tight ball and the Fox took off running.

The dogs nipped and nipped at the Hedgehog, but his spines protected him and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t snatch him up. Meanwhile, the Fox ran, climbed, jumped, and hid, but in the end, none of his tricks could save him from the hungry dogs. No one can deny the intelligence of the Fox and his jack-of-all scheming is fun to watch. However, given the situation, anyone would choose to be the Hedgehog with his one solid defense.

What does this have to do with College Admissions?

In the hypercompetitive world of college admissions, being the Hedgehog is key. Unfortunately, many students attempt to out-fox the admissions committee with a quantity of impressive tricks: fairy tale-like essays, myriad small extracurricular activities, recommendations from famous people, and “life-changing” 10-day trips to exotic locales. But ultimately, the Hedgehogs are the ones who are admitted, with their singular, unwavering focus. We are the best college consultants for Ivy League tuition in Michigan that excel at mentoring students to become their very best and make sure these the top US colleges take notice.

Acting as the Fox with the well-rounded approach is not an unusual strategy, and is in fact recommended by counselors, teachers, and parents of students applying to the top schools, e.g. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Columbia, UChicago (HYPSMCCC.) It has long been the conception that with a 4.0 GPA, a perfect SAT score, and appealing extracurricular activities, a student can prove himself a worthy candidate for admission. But recently, the Ivy Leagues have been rejecting up to 95% of candidates, most of whom are the Foxes of the world. Those who are admitted have proven themselves to be very interested in—and talented at—a single thing, much like the Hedgehog.

It is time to stop wasting effort attempting a variety of schemes to gain admission to Ivy League schools, and begin focusing on a single strategy for getting into the Ivy League. It is time to become a Hedgehog. We are one of the best Ivy college consulting firms in Williamsburg that help high school students unify their achievements and goals to find their one true passion and, ultimately, get them into the school of their choice.

Before we discuss the strategies for becoming a Hedgehog, let’s remember that the Hedgehog concept is not unique to college admissions, but has proven an effective strategy in many arenas, including business.

The Hedgehog Concept

Jim Collins, a famous Stanford researcher, wrote Built to Last and Good to Great. In Good to Great, Collins discusses Walgreens, one of America’s largest convenience stores and pharmacies. Walgreens outperformed the stock market averages by a factor of 15x from 1975 to 2000. But how did they do it?

Walgreens was founded in 1901 as a pharmacy in Chicago. They provided products like medicines, dry goods, and alcohol, but during Prohibition in the 1920s, Walgreens evolved by turning one store into a milkshake restaurant and opening a huge supply of ice cream manufacturing facilities. They were then able to open a chain of milkshake restaurants in addition to operating the pharmacy and convenience stores. But as time wore on, competition from smaller, more flexible companies in each of these niches chipped away at Walgreens, leaving it a large, but feeble monster decaying under its own weight.