COLLEGE
One of the biggest misconceptions people have about opting out of school is that one cannot get into college without a diploma from an accredited high school. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, for the great majority of people, getting into college, especially a top college, is much easier for those who opt out of school than it is for those who stay in school. While there are select private schools, very affluent public schools, and public magnet and charter schools (predominately in the Northeast U.S.) that tend to send a significant number of students to top colleges, these schools are few and far between. Further, they are typically filled with students who tend to come from families that colleges are eager to court (e.g., the very wealthy, politicians, celebrities), or they are filled with the type of students who have always performed exceptionally well on standardized tests and who are willing to work neurotically to maintain perfect grades in lieu of deeper learning. However, even most of these students would be better off opting out of school if their goal is to gain admittance into highly selective colleges and universities.
Gone are the days when college admissions committees at the top schools (e.g., Harvard, Stanford) were looking for the well-rounded student with a 4.0 GPA, a 1600 SAT, who played three sports and served on student council. Today, the schools are looking for young people who first and foremost have an insatiable desire to identify, understand and solve questions and problems about the world around them. Stanford University uses the term “intellectual vitality” to describe such an orientation. These admissions committees are also looking for people who have superior academic skills, have demonstrated excellence in some manner (e.g., athletics, community organizing, entrepreneurship), and who add substantially to the class profile in terms of personality and diversity.
Students who test into public magnets may be positioned to present themselves as having superior academic skills, but their intense workload makes it extremely hard for them to demonstrate excellence outside of the classroom. Likewise, students who attend expensive college prep schools or the most affluent public high schools are often able to present themselves as having superior academic skills, and they often come from families that the schools are eager to court, but they also have limited time to demonstrate excellence outside of the classroom or organized extracurricular activities.
Abromies, however, are able to position themselves much better in the admissions process than their traditional schooled peers. Without the pressure of earning perfect grades in a wide variety of subjects, Abromies are able to engage in deep learning in the areas that matter most to them. This results in a much more meaningful understanding and appreciation for the areas they choose to investigate, allowing them to quickly demonstrate excellence, and better prepare themselves for college and post-graduate work. At the same time, Abromies are able to develop superior academic skills by focusing on maximizing literacy and numeracy without having to waste time worrying about a GPA or class rank.
By freeing themselves of the requirements of conventional schooling, Abromies have much more time to engage in activities that allow them to do remarkable work in areas they care about, such as creating beautiful works of art, conducting world-class research, or starting businesses or social movements. In the eyes of the college admissions committees, because Abromies have full agency over their education and everything is of their own volition, Abromies are able to clearly demonstrate heightened levels of intellectual vitality. The opportunity is one that escapes virtually all traditional schooled students.
At Abrome, we have no desire to push kids onto a college pathway. However, for those who choose to make college a part of their learning pathways, the Abrome learning community can serve as an excellent launching pad. Additionally, Antonio Buehler has a deep competency in college and graduate school admissions, and will personally support interested Abromies in their college admissions journeys. Having volunteered for West Point and Stanford admissions, and with over 13 years of experience as an admissions consultant, Antonio has produced outcomes that are unmatched by any school in Central Texas (see below).
To save space, we did not list 15 other colleges that one of Antonio’s candidates gained admission to. The schools not listed on this graphic are Pepperdine University, University of Minnesota, Clark University, Indiana University, University of Nebraska, University of San Francisco, Arizona State University, Bentley College, Emmanuel College, Lesley University, Menlo College, Pace University, Simmons College, Southwestern University, and Texas State University.
Note: Antonio Buehler and Mridul Batra easily found each other in 2013 as students in the Master’s in Education (Ed.M.) program at Harvard University. Surrounded by students eager to make conventional schooling work, Antonio and Mridul stuck out for wanting to find ways to help young people escape conventional schooling in the service of youth liberation. They formally founded Abrome in 2014, and both moved to Austin after graduation to create such alternatives. Their original idea did not work out as they had hoped, and Mridul chose to return to India where he continues to work to alter the possibilities of schooling. Antonio, meanwhile, planned for the next iteration of Abrome. Building off of his prior experience helping people apply to and gain entry into highly selective universities (particularly Harvard, Stanford, and MIT) Antonio provided college admissions consulting services under the Abrome name for a year to bridge the gap. Antonio stopped providing college admissions services personally or under the Abrome name once Abrome formally opened as a Self-Directed Education community in 2016.