Gateway to Admission

Gateway to Admission Ginger Kroll | Independent College Consultant

I help high school students and parents navigate and succeed throughout the college admissions process! 🎓

Top colleges look for students who demonstrate genuine intellectual curiosity. The New York Times Summer Reading Contest...
09/02/2026

Top colleges look for students who demonstrate genuine intellectual curiosity. The New York Times Summer Reading Contest is a great way to stay engaged with current events, practice critical thinking, and build national recognition over the summer break!

🗓️ Submission Windows:
June 4 – June 11, 2027
July 2 – July 9, 2027
July 30 – Aug. 6, 2027
🎯 Format: Short Response / Article Critique

Learn more at the link in my bio!


Source: nytimes.com

Audio storytelling is a fantastic, modern way to showcase creativity, research skills, and public speaking. Enter The Ne...
09/01/2026

Audio storytelling is a fantastic, modern way to showcase creativity, research skills, and public speaking. Enter The New York Times Podcast Contest by producing an original 5-minute audio piece.

🗓️ Dates: March 31 – May 12, 2027
🎯 Format: Audio Podcast (5 minutes max)

Learn more at the link in my bio!


Source: nytimes.com

Intellectual vitality and social awareness are huge green flags on college applications. The NYT Open Letters Contest in...
08/28/2026

Intellectual vitality and social awareness are huge green flags on college applications. The NYT Open Letters Contest invites students to write a 500-word appeal or protest letter to someone with the power to create change.

🗓️ Dates: Feb. 17 – March 31, 2027
🎯 Format: Opinion Writing / Open Letter (500-word max)

Learn more at the link in my bio!


Source: nytimes.com

Rutgers University Campus Visit!The GTA team was on campus at Rutgers in New Brunswick, NJ this week and intrigued with ...
08/28/2026

Rutgers University Campus Visit!

The GTA team was on campus at Rutgers in New Brunswick, NJ this week and intrigued with its unique blend of old and new, historic and modern. Rutgers is a five-campus system with buses that travel between them all.

Historic revolutionary-era buildings surround a leafy collegiate quad, Voorhees Mall. This part of Rutgers showcases the beautiful Old Queens building on its Queen’s College campus which was a part of the colonial colleges established by a royal charter in 1766. A historical marker reminds you that Alexander Hamilton was here. Rutgers is the 8th oldest university in the nation.

The heart of this campus is tucked away in red bricks and historical landmark signs yet immediately adjacent to the vibrancy of the city of New Brunswick. Right across campus are fraternity and sorority houses with all the lively energy of move-in week, the train line to New York City, cozy little historic pubs and modern apartment buildings. Dozens of restaurants are an easy walk with all kinds of food offerings. We were surrounded by students traveling in large packs who seemed to be in the throes of getting to know each other during orientation.

Rutgers is a Top 50 public university and ranked #1 for research and development. It’s a big school with over 49,000 undergraduates and diverse with over forty Top 25 programs including Philosophy, Urban Planning, Social Work, Business, Physician Assistant and Food Science. It claims #5 in the world for job placement.

With so many different types of academic programs, Big Ten sports, diverse student population, proximity to New York City and its New Jersey and northeast touchpoints there are many different ways to do Rutgers.

This is a school for a confident independent student who is drawn to the idea of city living yet with a beautiful campus setting. A Rutgers student needs to be comfortable with and embrace its bus system connecting campuses, excited about how it is interwoven into New Brunswick and the opportunities of the greater area overall.

There’s something for everyone at a large school like Rutgers!

Standing out in competitive STEM programs requires showing proactive curiosity and real-world engagement. The New York T...
08/26/2026

Standing out in competitive STEM programs requires showing proactive curiosity and real-world engagement. The New York Times STEM Interview Contest gives you the chance to ask a big question and interview an expert in a 2-minute video.

🗓️ Dates: Jan. 6 – Feb. 17, 2027
🎯 Format: Video Interview (2 minutes or fewer)

Learn more at the link in my bio!


Source: nytimes.com

Admissions officers love seeing students pursue creative passions outside the classroom. The New York Times Visual Art C...
08/24/2026

Admissions officers love seeing students pursue creative passions outside the classroom. The New York Times Visual Art Contest invites you to capture your reality through photography, filmmaking, painting, sculpture, or graphic design.

Submitting your work to national competitions demonstrates initiative and builds a strong creative portfolio for college!

🗓️ Dates: Oct. 28 – Dec. 9, 2026
🎯 Format: Visual Art (All visual mediums accepted)

Learn more at the link in my bio!


Source: nytimes.com

The New York Times My Tiny Memoir Contest is the perfect opportunity for high schoolers to practice telling a compelling...
08/22/2026

The New York Times My Tiny Memoir Contest is the perfect opportunity for high schoolers to practice telling a compelling story in just 100 words. Sharpening your personal narrative skills now will make drafting your Common App essays so much easier!

🗓️ Dates: Sept. 16 – Oct. 28, 2026
🎯 Format: Personal Narrative (100-word max)

Learn more at the link in my bio!


Source: nytimes.com

We’re growing again at Gateway to Admission, and I’m thrilled to welcome Tammy Marsan as our new Client Success Manager!...
08/20/2026

We’re growing again at Gateway to Admission, and I’m thrilled to welcome Tammy Marsan as our new Client Success Manager!

This hire is especially meaningful to me because Tammy is also my sister-in-law, and I’ve had the privilege of knowing her for more than 25 years. During that time, I’ve watched her become an invaluable asset to every organization and executive she has supported, from working alongside the CEO of a talent search company to supporting the superintendent of a local school district.

Tammy is incredibly organized, resourceful, responsive and, most importantly, someone who genuinely enjoys helping people. I know firsthand that when Tammy takes responsibility for something, it gets done and it gets done well.

As our Client Success Manager, Tammy will help ensure that our families have a seamless experience with Gateway, from their first interaction with us throughout their time as clients. She’ll also be helping our growing team stay organized behind the scenes so our consultants can continue focusing on what matters most: our students.

After 25 years, I already know what a pleasure Tammy is to work with. I’m so excited that our Gateway families will get to know her, too.

Welcome to Gateway, Tammy!

Extracurricular Opportunities for Rising Sophomores and Juniors Part 5 🧪📚Love marketing, entrepreneurship, or fast-paced...
08/17/2026

Extracurricular Opportunities for Rising Sophomores and Juniors Part 5 🧪📚

Love marketing, entrepreneurship, or fast-paced business pitches? DECA is where you belong. 🚀🛍️

DECA gives high school students hands-on experience solving real business challenges through interactive role-plays, case study simulations, and written business plans.

Here’s how the competitive path works:
🔹 Step 1: Join your school’s DECA chapter when the fall semester starts.
🔹 Step 2: Choose an event cluster (Marketing, Finance, Hospitality, Entrepreneurship, or Management).
🔹 Step 3: Compete at district and state levels to qualify for DECA’s legendary International Career Development Conference (ICDC).

• For Rising Sophomores: Getting involved early gives you a massive advantage in mastering on-the-spot case study role-plays before senior year.
• For Rising Juniors: Finding your niche now lets you build a deep, cohesive business profile for college applications.

📩 Message us or drop a comment below to find the DECA event category that best fits your student's personality and strengths!

Extracurricular Opportunities for Rising Sophomores and Juniors Part 4 🧪📚Future Business Leaders of America is one of th...
08/14/2026

Extracurricular Opportunities for Rising Sophomores and Juniors Part 4 🧪📚

Future Business Leaders of America is one of the premier ways for high schoolers to gain real-world skills in finance, economics, technology, and public speaking.

Here’s how the competition pipeline works:
🔹 Step 1: Join your school’s FBLA chapter in the fall.
🔹 Step 2: Pick an event category aligned with your strengths.
🔹 Step 3: Compete at local and state conferences to earn your ticket to the National Leadership Conference (NLC) in the summer.

• For Rising Sophomores: It’s the single best time to start building a multi-year competition track record early.
• For Rising Juniors: Choosing the right event category now allows you to turn a standard extracurricular into a recognized "business specialty" by senior year.

📩 Send us a DM or comment below to help your student choose the perfect FBLA event category!

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