Primer
All PeiPaoLab posts filed under "Primer".
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Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA — Which One Do US Colleges Actually Look At?
Weighted GPA folds AP and honors difficulty into the number and can top 4.0; unweighted caps at 4.0. Colleges look at both — and why UC recalculates its own.
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Common App vs UC App: What's the Real Difference?
US college applicants juggle two systems: Common App for private and most public schools, UC App for California's 9 UCs. Different deadlines, essays, rec rules.
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Is 'Golden 11th Grade' Real or Just a Sales Pitch? Decoding 7 Agent Buzzwords
Agents love calling 11th grade 'the most critical year.' Some of that is true, much of it is sales talk. Here's how to separate the real junior-year milestones from the upsell scripts.
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5 Red-Flag Clauses in Every Agent Contract — Read Before You Sign
The five clauses parents need to lock down before signing with a college admissions agent: admission guarantees, refunds, essay ownership, hidden fees, and exit costs.
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SAT vs ACT vs AP vs EC — What Every US College Applicant Actually Needs
The four pillars of US college admissions explained without the jargon: what each one is, how to prioritize them, and which one parents should actually watch.
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Summer Programs, Research Camps, Internships — Are They Worth It?
Agents often add summer programs, research projects, and internships to your bill — sometimes $15K each. Here's what admissions officers actually weigh, and which add-ons are money down the drain.
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US College Application Timeline: What Parents Should Do from 9th to 12th Grade
US college admissions doesn't start senior year. Here's what parents should focus on each year from 9th to 12th grade — what data matters, when to spend money, and when to hold off.
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What Agents Actually Mean by 'Guaranteed Harvard Admission' — Translated
Agents love phrases like 'guaranteed admission,' 'safety school,' and 'inside connections.' Here's what those three pitches actually mean — read this before you sign anything.
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Is a $30K Agent Package Reasonable? — Itemize the Bill First
Chinese-American agencies routinely quote $25K–$45K for an 'all-inclusive package.' Here's what that money actually buys, where the markup is, and which lines you can cut before signing.