St Laurence Partnership with HelloCollege
Our mission is to coach and prepare St. Laurence High School’s Coughlin Scholars to gain acceptances to more selective colleges and universities along with increased scholarship and honors program offers. We also aim to educate and empower the entire school with a better understanding of the college applications process and scholarships.
In our first year, we boosted elite and highly selective college attendance by 700% and so much more...
Meet the Class of 2023 Coughlin Scholars
University of Notre Dame
Duquesne University
Indiana University - Kelley School of Business
Saint Louis University
University of Tennessee
University of Illinois - Engineering
St. Francis University for Basketball
Illinois Wesleyan University
Nova Southeastern University
DePaul University
Indiana University - Kelley School of Business
Augustana College
St. Mary's of Notre Dame
Central Michigan University - Softball
Xavier University - Louisiana
University of Illinois - Computer Engineering
Duke University
Illinois State University - Track
University of Illinois - Architecture
University of Kentucky
University of Chicago
Marquette University
Loyola University
University of Illinois - Business
Class of 2023 Results
Colleges were divided into the following four tiers based on acceptance rate data:
- Tier 1 elite colleges have an acceptance rate of 20% or less
- Tier 2 highly selective colleges with an acceptance rate of 21-40%
- Tier 3 selective colleges with an acceptance rate of 41-60%
- Tier 4 least selective colleges with an acceptance rate of 61% or more
Tiers were adjusted for highly competitive majors including engineering, business, computer science, and nursing when the acceptance rate for a given major lower is than a college’s overall acceptance rate.
Stats at a Glimpse
400% Boost in Tier 1s
Elite colleges with <20% acceptance rates
300% Increase in Tier 2
Highly competitive colleges with acceptance rate of 21-40%
27% Less Tier 4’s
Colleges with acceptance rates of 61% or higher
Average Tier Boost: 1
Average college tier increased from 4 to 3
Class of 2022 compared to Class of 2023 after joining HelloCollege
Highlights
Top 3 Student Comparison
Based on acceptance rates
Class of 2022
Bucknell University: 34%
Penn State University: 51%
Purdue University: 68%
Class of 2023
Duke University: 5.9%
University of Chicago: 6.5%
University of Notre Dame: 15%
Did you know?
Acceptance rates differ by major. For instance here are University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign acceptance rates for the year of 2022:
- Computer Science: 6.7%
- Gies College of Business: 27.0%
- Grainger College of Engineering: 23.0%
- Overall College Acceptance Rate: 44%
- Acceptance rate for 1st choice major is 37%
Scholarships & Honors
23 out of 25 of Students
Received over 10K in merit scholarships.
14 Students Earned
Presidential scholarships.
Total of 16
Honors College offers.
Case Studies
Vincent Zheng
College chosen, major: University of Illinois - Business
- GPA, Test Scores: 4.5/4.0, 23 ACT, 25th ranked
- Activities: Works at family restaurant, has a resale business, NHS, Student Ambassador, Track and Basketball for 1 year, many family commitments
- Interests and goals of the student and family: Vincent acts as a translator for his parents so they were not active during our college planning process. I solely met with Vincent 1:1 and he paid for his own application fees. Vincent’s goal was to get into the best college he could while also being financially responsible since his parents had limited financial means.
A note from Vincent's counselor Allison Dahleen
With Vincent’s ACT score and limited resume our strategy was to find ways in his essay and activities list to highlight how much responsibility he really has as a young 17/18 year old. First, we decided to go test-optional because his test score of a 23 did not match his outstanding GPA. When it came to his activities list, we mentioned that he works at his family restaurant and is an integral member of that team.
Early in our partnership we brainstormed how to position things on his activities list like giving his resale business a name or listing the job of Translator for his parents. We also coached Vincent to start diving into his academic passions and his major which led to being able to add the role of “Active Learner” on his activities list with topics like the stock market and studying Mandarin. When it came to essays, Vincent highlighted the “Asian pressure” he feels to succeed from his parents and credits that pressure for starting his own resale business. During Vincent’s “Why this Major” essays he was able to connect learnings from his resale business and restaurant job to form a great essay with realistic examples.
Bartosz Chramiec
College chosen, major: University of Notre Dame, Theology
- GPA, Test Scores: 4.83 and 34 ACT
- Activities: Volunteering with his local parish, band, choir, hockey, and working with his family business
- Interests and goals of the student and family: Bart aspired to attend a top tier university to study Theology. His objective was to attend a Catholic university positioned to set him up for a successful career in a church setting. While Notre Dame was his top choice school, financial opportunities and scholarships were a top priority for the family, as his father is battling a terminal illness and finances are a very important factor. As a result of these circumstances, we made the conscious decision of applying to Notre Dame as a regular decision application to evaluate all of the acceptances and make a decision to attend the university that was the best financial fit.
A note from Bart's counselor Rabab Darwish
Since Bart aimed to attend Notre Dame, while also looking for potential merit scholarships, the focus at first was for Bart to enhance his ACT scores. After going through our test prep material, Bart was able to increase his ACT composite score to a 33. Thereafter, Bartosz took the test one more time as he completed the test prep material and was able to score a 34. This approach was rather successful as Bart was engaged in robust extracurricular activities, while also working alongside his mother to run their family printing business, so maximizing ACT scores was a component we were able to tackle to strengthen his application. Once Bartosz was able to enhance his ACT score, we focused on showcasing his best personal story throughout the various essay components on the applications.
Sticker Price Case Studies
Student A
- Major: Biology
- College Attending: Saint Louis University
- Original Sticker Price (Cost of Attendance): $70,676
- Scholarships & Aid Offered: $29,000
- Adjusted Sticker Price: $41,676 per year
Student B
- Major: Finance
- College Attending: University of Chicago
- Original Sticker Price (Cost of Attendance): $86,000
- Scholarships & Aid Offered: $59,000
- Adjusted Sticker Price: $27,000 per year
Student C
- Major: Business
- College Attending: Illinois Wesleyan University
- Original Sticker Price (Cost of Attendance): $68,612
- Scholarships & Aid Offered: $34,000
- Adjusted Sticker Price: $34,612 per year
Student D
- Major: Biology/Pre-med
- College Attending: Duke University
- Original Sticker Price (Cost of Attendance): $89,804
- Scholarships & Aid Offered: $21,632
- Adjusted Sticker Price: $63,606 per year
Student E
- Major: Biology/Pre-med
- College Attending: Marquette University
- Original Sticker Price (Cost of Attendance): $67,860
- Scholarships & Aid Offered: $21,632
- Adjusted Sticker Price: $41,860 per year
Milestones
96% Declared a major
96% Applied by the early action deadline
96% Completed FAFSA by October
Assisting the Entire St. Laurence High School Community
We conducted several school-wide workshops in '22
- FAFSA
- Paying for College
- Common App
The future's looking bright
- Currently guiding the class of '24 and adding the class of '25
- Summer professional development session with counseling staff
- Essay Bootcamp workshop offered for the entire school
- Two St. Laurence student internships with HelloCollege
- Custom workshop with Founder Kevin Krebs discussing the importance of financial fit, understanding sticker price, starting early, and how athletics impacts admissions
- HelloCollege counseling team is building connections with colleges to increase St. Laurence notoriety with admissions officers
About the Coughlin Scholars
Mary Tolan - Benefactor
The Dan and Rone Coughlin Family Scholars program matches the top 25 members of the junior class with the resources to not only gain acceptance at the most competitive colleges and universities in America, but to complete their degree on time without accumulating unmanageable debt. This scholarship program was founded in 2021 by St. Laurence Board Member and CEO of Chicago Pacific Partners, Mary Tolan. Mary named the program in memory of her late parents, Dan & Rone Coughlin. The scholarship provides two years of assistance which includes intensive college counseling and a summer internship experience. Students and their families will also work directly with an advisor who will help them maximize their efforts and results during the application, selection and financial aid processes.
