By this point, many colleges and universities have concluded their Regular Decision processes, notified applicants, and released their adjusted acceptance rates for the 2020-2021 admissions cycle. For some elite universities, those acceptance rates plummeted to record lows, such as Harvard’s 3.4% and Yale’s 4.62%. This 2016 satirical piece in the
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended normal practices for colleges and universities around the world, and the admissions process is no exception, adding another layer of stress and uncertainty to an already daunting process. Recently, 70% of schools in the U.S. have become test optional, which means other factors are becoming
In the 2020-2021 admissions cycle, Harvard College received more than 57,000 applications: a record high and a 42 percent surge in applications compared to last year. With three essays included on the application, not including the optional open-ended essay, that means that admissions officers read at least 170,000 responses to
The January 1st deadline is fast approaching! Use this checklist as you finalize your applications or let us help. This first group of questions is meant to help you assess how well you have described yourself as an applicant that is both a fit and a match for the school
Article originally published on Forbes.com College application deadlines are just around the corner. At this point, high school seniors have already done just about all of the heavy lifting: they’ve worked for the past three and half years to build strong academic transcripts and impressive lists of extracurricular activities, and
This article was originally published on Forbes.com Last year’s admissions cycle produced the lowest acceptance rates in history at Ivy League schools and at most other elite colleges in the nation. Harvard’s acceptance rate for the class of 2023 was 4.5%; Princeton admitted 5.8% and Columbia 5.1% of their applicants;
There’s no such thing as a bad question. And when it comes to college admissions, many parents share the same doubts and anxieties. So I thought I’d address some of them here, because if you’re not already working with us (and we hope you will!), you may be wondering about
The college essay is the hardest part of the application process. For many students, it’s difficult to get going: they feel pressured to sum up everything they’ve accomplished, everything they are, in 650 words—so where to begin? And, for many students, it can be just as difficult to conclude: how
You’ve probably heard that it’s a bad idea to write your college application essay about world peace, a sports game (or sports in general), a trip, the death of your pet rabbit, and so on. The truth is that no topic is 100% off limits. Students have gotten into Harvard
Supplemental essays are personal statements. They need to be about you, tell a compelling story, and so on. I know, I know—you’ve already written a personal statement, and now you’re being asked to do so again, over and over. It should go without saying that you can’t reiterate anything you’ve
