Cornell University has become the latest top-ranked college to reinstate the standardized testing requirement. However, the high school class of 2025 will be exempted as the requirement will not go into effect until the fall of 2025 for the high...
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Harvard and Cal Tech Reinstate the ACT/SAT Test Requirement
Harvard and Cal Tech have joined the growing list of top colleges that are reinstating the standardized test requirement for the ACT or SAT. Brown, Dartmouth, and Yale have all reinstated this standardized testing requirement within the past several weeks....
Read MoreHarvard Admits 3.6% of the Class of 2028 Applicants
Harvard admitted 1,937 Applicants from a pool of 54,008. This produced an acceptance rate of 3.6% for the current year. Applications did continue their downward trend at the elite Ivy League school. There is speculation that this could be a...
Read MoreYale Reinstates Mandatory Standardized Testing Requirement
Yale University has followed Dartmouth and has now also reinstated mandatory standardized testing for applicants beginning with the Class of 2029. Under the newly labeled “test flexible policy,” applicants will have a choice of submitting a score from the ACT,...
Read MoreA Resurgence for the SAT and ACT?
Don’t look now, but the ACT and SAT tests could be on a bit of a comeback from the brink of irrelevance. This New York Times editorial seems to be sparking renewed discussion about bringing back the standardized test requirement...
Read MoreUVA Admits 25% of Early Decision Applicants
The University of Virginia admitted 1,113, or 24.9%, of its 4,466 early decision (ED) applicants as the school begins to assemble its Class of 2028. This year’s ED applicant pool eclipsed last year’s record pool of 4,243 applications by 5.3%....
Read MoreHarvard Early Applications are Down 17%
Early action (EA) applications to Harvard University dropped 17% to a four-year low. The school admitted 692 of its 7,921 EA applications for an acceptance rate of 8.7% which is a bit higher than last year’s 7.6% EA acceptance rate...
Read MoreYale Admits 9% of Early Action Applicants
Yale University admitted 9.02% of its early action (EA) applicants for its Class of 2028. The Yale Daily News reports this is the school’s lowest EA acceptance rate in over two decades. The number of EA applicants rose to 7,856...
Read MoreUC Berkeley Sued for Alleged Antisemitism
UC Berkeley is being sued by Jewish groups for alleged “longstanding, unchecked antisemitism.” This is one of the first such lawsuits to be filed against an American university since the start of the current war between Hamas and Israel. There...
Read MoreHarvard Nabs 9 Rhodes Scholarships
Harvard University has always done well when it comes to Rhodes Scholarships. The prestigious university has historically performed very well in many other ways as well of course. However, this year, Harvard may have outdone itself. Of the 32 Rhodes...
Read MoreHigh demand for computer science degrees leads to new admission requirements
A surge in demand for computer science degrees has led to additional admission requirements as schools are utilizing enrollment caps to ensure they adequately accommodate their computer science students. The University of Michigan, for instance, awarded 600 computer science degrees,...
Read MoreWest Point Sued for Using Race in Admissions
West Point has been accused by Students for Fair Admissions of illegally using race as a determining admissions factor. The lawsuit accuses West Point of violating the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment and comes months after the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative...
Read MoreUS News 2024 College Rankings
US News released their 2024 college rankings, their first since their methodology revision. The revisions appeared didn’t affect the top of the rankings. Princeton extended its streak as the top-ranked college to thirteen years. MIT occupies second place this year....
Read MoreCollege Board Allegedly Shares Student Information with Facebook and TikTok
According to Gizmodo, the College Board is sharing personal student information such as SAT scores and grade point averages with social media giants Facebook and Chinese owned TikTok. The data allegedly being shared involves ‘pixels,’ an invisible tracking technology used...
Read MoreSAT Tests Canceled for Chicago Area Students
The College Board canceled the SAT test for hundreds of Chicago-area students on short notice. The students were scheduled to take the test on Saturday at the Chicago International Charter School just north of the Lincoln Park neighborhood. The College...
Read MoreThe move to end legacy admissions
In a seemingly knee-jerk reaction to the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision earlier this month, the move to end legacy admissions has shifted into high gear. So far, Occidental College and Wesleyan University are the two highly ranked colleges that...
Read MoreStanford University President to Resign
Stanford University president Marc Tessier-Lavigne announced earlier today that he will resign effective August 31. His resignation follows the release of a report that looked into allegations he failed to correct mistakes in his academic publishings as well as allegations...
Read MoreSupreme Court Rules Against Affirmative Action
Earlier today, the US Supreme Court ruled that the admissions policies used by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote, “Both...
Read MoreUS News Changes Rankings Methodology
US News announced some changes to its college rankings methodology. This is most likely in response to the pushback the publisher received from both law schools and medical schools. While US News historically releases its college rankings in September, the...
Read MoreThe Best Undergraduate Business Schools
Poets & Quants published their 2023 undergraduate business school rankings. The top five undergrad business programs are USC Marshall, Georgetown McDonough, UPenn Wharton, UVA McIntire, and Notre Dame Mendoza, respectively. Many high schoolers dream of studying business when they get...
Read MoreThe Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree
Representatives from a dozen colleges recently met at Georgetown University to lower the costs of a college education. What makes their proposal particularly intriguing is that it involves creating a “true” three-year bachelor’s degree. By “true,” we mean a degree...
Read MoreHarvard’s Class of 2027
Harvard University announced its Class of 2027 and, hopefully to the surprise of no one, its acceptance rate remained very low. The prestigious Ivy League school accepted 1,942 applicants between its early action and regular decision rounds from 56,937 applications....
Read More2023 US News College Rankings
US News & World Report released its 2023 college rankings earlier this evening and Princeton University maintained its stranglehold on the top spot for the twelfth consecutive year. However, one did not have to look far to find changes to...
Read MorePrinceton expands its full-ride scholarships!
Princeton University announced it will offer full-ride scholarships to all applicants from families with incomes below $100,000. Previously, Princeton only offered these scholarships to admitted applicants from families with incomes below $65,000. To be clear, these full-ride scholarships will include...
Read MoreDrop in Applications to Air Force Academy
Applications to the US Air Force Academy have been dropping at an alarming rate. While many other elite schools have seen record increases in applications, the military service academies have seen the opposite. Applications to the USAFA declined 28% last...
Read MoreFraternities Cutting Ties with USC
We don’t usually cover Greek fraternities and sororities. In fact, this may be the first-ever post on the topic for a company started in 1996! However, here we are. Let’s start a year ago, when USC banned all fraternity activities...
Read MoreElite Colleges Lose Bid to End Suit Alleging Admissions Collusion
Yale and MIT were among the elite colleges that just lost their bid to end the class action suit against alleged admissions collusion. Judge Matthew F. Kennelly, a federal judge with the US District Court for the Northern District of...
Read MoreSAT and ACT Illegal in California?
A lawsuit filed in California Superior Court claims the use of the SAT and ACT tests is illegal for the University of California system. The case explains that standardized tests are biased and of little relevance when predicting academic success...
Read MoreUC In-State Acceptance Rates Rebound
The University of California in-state acceptance rates rebounded in 2022 and, overall, were a bit above the in-state acceptance rates of 2019. This increase came even with an increase in applications to the University of California system and demonstrates the...
Read MoreThe 2022-2023 Common Application is Now Live!
This year’s common application went live yesterday. Once again, it will be accepted by over 1,000 colleges and universities across the country. Last year, over 3 million college applicants used it. Chances are at least some of your school choices...
Read MoreWhen a Teacher Retracts a Letter of Reference
The Rochester City Newspaper published an article about a retracted letter of reference that was brought to our attention. The gist of the article is that a young lady at a private high school had a letter of reference retracted...
Read MoreThe Beginning of an SAT Comeback?
If you are against standardized tests such as the SAT, which just about everyone outside the test prep industry seems to be, you might be happy to hear that over 1,700 US colleges and universities will not be requiring the...
Read MoreUVA Announces Class of 2026 ED Statistics
The University of Virginia announced that 1,109 applicants in the early decision round were admitted for its Class of 2026. The number of first-generation admits increased 68% just from last year. Nearly 3,500 ED applications were received this fall and...
Read MoreUniversity of California to keep test-free admissions for the foreseeable future
The University of California made it very clear that it intends to maintain its test-free admissions for the foreseeable future when its senate rejected a proposal to allow students to submit their Smarter Balanced exam scores in their applications. Smarter...
Read MoreYale sees second largest EA pool in its history
Yale University received 7,313 early action (EA) applications for its class of 2026, an eight percent decrease from last year. Only last year’s Class of 2025 submitted more EA applications when 7,939 applied. While this year’s EA pool is a...
Read MoreStanford Extends Test Optional Admissions
Stanford University announced it is extending its test-optional admissions policy for a third consecutive year in 2022-2023. The policy will apply to both freshmen and transfer applicants. The test-optional policy traces its origin to the COVID-19 outbreak and may be...
Read MoreAmherst College Eliminates Legacy Admissions
Amherst College announced it has eliminated admissions preferences for legacy applicants. Currently, 11% of Amherst’s admits are legacy applicants and the policy had been in place since the 1920s. Amherst has always maintained that the legacy admits adhered to the...
Read More2022 US News Best College Rankings
US News & World Report released its 2022 college rankings today and Princeton University held the top spot for the eleventh consecutive year. There was a three-way tie for second place between Columbia, Harvard, and MIT. Yale rounded out the...
Read MoreOver 2/3 of colleges are test optional this year
For quite some time now, we have been blogging about the increasing trend of colleges becoming test-optional. According to the Times of India, over 1,600 US colleges are now test-optional and that represents over two-thirds of the country’s 2,330 bachelor-degree...
Read MoreStanford Ranked as Most Selective
Niche.com ranked Stanford University as the most selective university for 2022. With a 4% acceptance rate and a widespread, national appeal, it’s easy to see how the school earned the top spot for this metric. However, please take this ranking...
Read MoreHamilton College student admission workers considering union
Student admission workers at Hamilton College are seeking to unionize. Consequently, the United Food and Commercial Workers has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to represent the students. While we have previously blogged about graduate student...
Read MoreTop UC schools to reduce out-of-state admissions
An amended state budget bill introduced on Friday would see UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego all reduce the number of out-of-state and international applicants admitted. The result would be more in-state applicants admitted to these three top public...
Read MoreTwo UCs accused of favoring wealthy Chinese applicants
The Insider is reporting that UC Irvine and UC Riverside have been favoring wealthy Chinese applicants by garnering special considerations to students from the Pegasus California School, an elite Chinese high school that “guaranteed parents, in writing, that every graduate...
Read MoreThe SAT’s Downsizing
The big news in college admissions this week is the College Board’s announcement that it is discontinuing its subject tests and the 50-minute essay section of its flagship SAT test. This announcement was not surprising and, in our not-so-humble opinion,...
Read MoreSports and College Admissions
Parents of younger children often ask us what sport should their child play to maximize their college admission chances. It’s a great question. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a great answer. That is if you define ‘great’ with a specific one-word...
Read MoreYale Admits 10.5% of Record EA Applicant Pool
Yale University admitted 10.5% of a record 7,939 early action applicant pool for the Class of 2025. This represented a 38% increase in the early action applicant pool of 5,777 from last year. Director of Undergraduate Admissions Jeremiah Quinlan announced,...
Read MoreUniversity of California Standardized Test Policies
On May 21, the University of California announced it was conducting a feasibility study for creating a new standardized test for college applicants. The UC further announced that if such a new test was not ready in time for the...
Read MoreUVA Receives Record Number of ED and EA Applications
The University of Virginia received a record number of early decision and early action applications for its Class of 2025. The 2,918 early decision applications and 28,884 early action applications represented 35% and 15% increases over last year, respectively. It...
Read MoreACT to Pay $16 Million to Students with Disabilities
The ACT agreed to pay $16 million to California students with disabilities. This is the aftermath of the 2018 class-action federal lawsuit filed in California that alleged the ACT violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ACT did not admit...
Read MoreClemson Receives $60 Million Gift for Business School
Clemson University received a record $60 million gift from South Carolina real estate developer W.O. “Billy” Powers. Powers attended Clemson in the 1950s, but did not graduate from the school. However, he did receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree...
Read MoreFrom Test Optional To Test Free
The Washington Post published an article about whether or not the pandemic-driven move to test optional will lead to permanent test-free admission. In other words, will colleges drop the SAT and ACT requirements after the pandemic ends? We will stick...
Read More2021 US News Best College Rankings
US News & World Report released its 2021 college rankings. Princeton, Harvard, and Columbia took the top three spots, respectively, in the national university rankings. Among liberal arts colleges, Williams, Amherst, and Swarthmore took the top three spots, respectively. In...
Read MoreYale Sees Record Number of Gap Years
Yale University saw a nearly sevenfold increase to 341 students who took gap years in the incoming Class of 2024. By comparison, only 51 students in the Class of 2023 chose to pursue gap years. This reduced the number of...
Read MoreJudge Bars University of California from Using SAT or ACT
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brad Seligman issued a preliminary injunction barring the University of California system from using the ACT or SAT for admission. Judge Seligman felt the test-optional policy gave college applicants with access to testing centers during...
Read MoreUGA & GA Tech Waive Standardized Tests for Class of 2021
The University System of Georgia announced it was waiving standardized tests for the Class of 2021 in light of the pandemic. As a result, the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech, as well as the 26 other colleges in the...
Read MoreNCAA Waives ACT and SAT Scores for Class of 2021
In the wake of the pandemic and the havoc it has wreaked on the availability of ACT and SAT tests, the NCAA has waived the test requirements for the Class of 2021 athletes at Division I and Division II schools....
Read MoreNotre Dame’s Class of 2024 Offers Insight Into Yields
The University of Notre Dame announced its incoming Class of 2024 remains larger than expected. The expected incoming class of 2,150 to 2,180 will be roughly 100 more than last year — the number Notre Dame was hoping to maintain...
Read More2020-2021 Common Application Launches August 1
The 2020-2021 Common Application launches tomorrow, August 1. The launch shouldn’t surprise parents who have previously worked with older offspring. The three main differences are the letter of reference mechanism has received a face lift, a new mobile app will...
Read MoreUC Lawsuit Calls Test-Optional Policy Discriminatory
A lawsuit spearheaded by Public Counsel through its project, Opportunity Under Law, against the University of California system is claiming that the UC’s new test-optional policy is discriminatory. Back in the spring, the UC Board of Regents voted to make...
Read MoreThe ACT Test’s Nightmare Weekend
Unfortunately, this weekend was a nightmare for many prospective college applicants. And not for the reasons that would probably jump to your mind immediately that may relate to the pandemic or the widespread civil unrest. Nope. This nightmare was strictly...
Read MoreDropping the “Lee” from Washington & Lee
Faculty at Washington and Lee University voted to drop Robert E. Lee’s name from the school. Three tenured African-American faculty members voted to drop both Lee’s and Washington’s names from the school. Economics professor Jim Casey explained the rationale behind...
Read MoreDartmouth Offers One Year Deferment
Dartmouth College is allowing Class of 2024 students to defer for one year. This should be great news for waitlisted applicants.
Read MoreHarvard University Yield Drops to 81%
The admissions yield at Harvard University, which peaked at nearly 84% last year has dropped to 81% for the Class of 2024. While we have worried a drop was possible due to the extremely liberal leanings of the university and...
Read MoreAll Eight Ivies Are Now ACT/SAT Optional
Northwestern University was one of two top colleges that announced they will not require the SAT or ACT from the Class of 2021 today. The other top college was Princeton. Princeton was the eighth and final Ivy League college to...
Read MoreHarvard Named Top University in the World for Ninth Consecutive Year
Harvard University was ranked the top university in the world for the ninth consecutive year by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR). The CWUR bills its rankings as the largest academic ranking of global universities. Their rankings are based...
Read MoreUSC to Offer Free Tuition to Low-Income Students
The University of Southern California announced that it was offering free tuition to families with incomes below $80,000 starting this fall. The move should help USC attract more diverse and talented applicants and could, hopefully, kick off a new round...
Read MoreHarvey Mudd Drops SAT Subject Test Requirement
Harvey Mudd has dropped the SAT subject test effective this fall. Hence, the Class of 2025 will be the first that won’t have to worry about the two SAT subject tests Harvey Mudd has traditionally required. Thyra Biggs, vice president...
Read MoreJohns Hopkins Drops Legacy Admissions
Johns Hopkins made some waves when they announced they had quietly dropped their legacy admissions a few years ago. Furthermore, the school announced it was pleased with the results. The school claimed it was able to increase its diversity without...
Read MoreHarvard EA Acceptance Rate Climbs to 13.9%
Harvard University announced the early acceptance rate for its Class of 2024 climbed to 13.9%. Harvard admitted 895 of its 6,424 EA applicants yesterday. The 0.5% EA acceptance rate increase was the first increase since 2013. While Harvard admitted fewer...
Read MoreUGA Received Over 16,500 EA Applications
The University of Georgia received 16,585 early admission applications for the Class of 2024. This was down just a bit from last year. However, due to a projected increase in applications, the EA acceptance rate dropped to 42.4%. The mid...
Read MoreSo What’s Your Next Step?
Our college admissions timeline has been updated for recommended applicant activities for November and December to help you stay on the right path whether you are a current applicant or prospective applicant for next year. As always, please don’t hesitate...
Read MoreCalifornia Signed Three New Laws Because of Admissions Scandal
The college admissions scam has led California to legislate three new laws. The first law limits the timeframe within which colleges in California can admit applicants who do not meet their eligibility standards. Additionally, schools in the state must disclose...
Read MoreChanges Coming to the ACT Test Next Fall
The ACT announced some major changes to its test starting in September 2020. In efforts to make the test more “applicant friendly” — and more competitive in the standardized testing market — the ACT will allow students to retake individual...
Read MoreCornell Drop SAT Subject Test Requirement
Cornell University‘s College of Arts and Sciences announced that, with the “broad support” of its faculty, it was dropping the SAT Subject Test requirement. And, with that announcement, Cornell no longer requires the SAT Subject Test. (The subject tests are...
Read MoreThird Parent Sentenced in College Admissions Scam
Earlier today, Stephen Semprevivo became the third parent sentenced in the college admissions scam. The same judge who sentenced Felicity Huffman to 14 days two weeks ago, handed down a four-month sentence to the Los Angeles-area executive. Once again, the...
Read MoreSacramento State Accidentally Admitted 3,500 Off Their Waitlist
Add Sacramento State to the list of schools that has accidentally admitted the wrong group of applicants. In their case, however, the students who were accidentally emailed acceptances were already on the waitlist. Furthermore, Sacramento State routinely offers many of...
Read MoreFelicity Huffman Sentenced to 14 Days
Felicity Huffman was sentenced to 14 days of prison time for her role in the college admissions scandal that has dominated news headlines for the past six months. She was also fined $30,000, placed on a one-year probation and must...
Read MoreThe 2020 US News College Rankings
US News and World Report has released its 2020 college rankings. For the ninth consecutive year, Princeton University held the top spot. Rounding out the top five were Harvard (second) and Columbia, MIT and Yale which all tied for third...
Read MoreEnding Legacy College Admissions
The New York Times published an editorial that calls for ending the current system of legacy admissions. For the record, let us unequivocally state that we too are against legacy admissions. To the surprise of almost no one, most Americans...
Read MoreColorado College Becomes Test Optional
Colorado College announced it has become a test optional school for all applicants (freshmen and transfers) effective with applicants for the Fall 2020 term. Up until now, Colorado College employed a ‘flexible testing’ admissions model. In other words, applicants had...
Read MoreThe College Board Admits Its Adversity Score Was a Mistake
Well that didn’t take long. The College Board admitted its adversity score was a mistake. Consequently, the adversity score is being shelved. Earlier today, David Coleman, the College Board’s CEO stated, “The idea of a single score was wrong. It...
Read MoreOur College Book Reviews Have Been Updated
We updated our college book review pages. We have reviews for books related to the college selection process, SAT test prep, SAT Subject Test prep, ACT prep, Advanced Placement prep, PSAT prep, financial aid and college success. Several times a year,...
Read MorePrinceton Review Released Its 2020 College Rankings
Princeton Review released its 2020 college rankings. These rankings aren’t followed nearly as closely as the US News & World Report rankings that the colleges seem to care most about. The PR rankings do, however, cover 62 categories and involve...
Read MoreUpdating Our School Profile Pages
When we haven’t been talking to applicants, we’ve been very busy updating the 75 school profiles of our top national universities, liberal arts colleges and pubic universities. While we update each individual profile at least three times per year, the...
Read MorePenn’s Transfer Acceptance Rate Dropped to 5.9%
The University of Pennsylvania received a record 2,951 transfer applications this past admission season. Consequently, the school also a record-low transfer acceptance rate of 5.9%. Of the 174 transfer applicants admitted, 116 will enroll this fall. Hence, Penn’s transfer yield...
Read MoreCollege Merger Trend Continues
Rowan College and Cumberland County College officially merged earlier today. The new college’s name is Rowan College of South Jersey. This merger is just the latest in a trend of mergers of smaller colleges. Financial pressures and declining enrollments are...
Read MoreFeds Investigating the Harvard Fencing Scandal
There is no shortage of federal investigations into the college admissions scandals. This time, a federal grand jury is investigating the admissions scandal at Harvard involving the fencing coach. It seems embattled head fencing coach Peter Brand now has more...
Read MoreThe Growing Momentum For Test Optional Admissions
About a year ago, University of Chicago became test optional. It was an historic moment. Simply put, Chicago became the first top-ranked national private university to drop the standardized test requirement. Additionally, the school was open it did so with...
Read MoreUniversity of Rochester Becomes Test Optional
The University of Rochester became the latest school to go test optional. It became test flexible back in 2011. That meant applicants who didn’t take the SAT or ACT could submit another standardized national or international test such as an...
Read MoreSAT Biology Subject Test Leaked
The College Board can’t seem to catch a break. Most recently, their adversity score didn’t exactly get the warm reception they must have anticipated. Now, we learn that the SAT Biology Subject Test was leaked. Bob Schaeffer, of the National...
Read MoreThe College Admissions Scandal: Act Two
Over the weekend, the New York Times reported the FBI is investigating the T.M. Landry College Preparatory School. If the name sounds familiar, it’s the private school in Louisiana that boasts of how many minority and underprivileged students it gets...
Read MoreVirginia Tech Has a Popularity ‘Problem’
Currently, public universities are seeing enrollments drop by an average of 1.9%. However, Virginia Tech has a different type of dilemma. That is to say, it has too many students. The school received over 30,000 applications and made offers it...
Read MoreUVA Adds Early Decision Option
Earlier today, the University of Virginia announced it was adding an early decision option for applicants beginning this fall. The application deadline will be October 15 and the notification deadline will be December 15. Furthermore, if you submit your financial...
Read MoreNew Video: Understanding Your Early Admission Options
We just released our newest video. This one breaks down the early admission options and helps you select the one that is best for your unique candidacy. We hope you enjoy it. You can subscribe to our Youtube channel by clicking...
Read MoreThe ACT is Against the SAT’s Adversity Score
The ACT has come out against the SAT’s adversity score. In a recent blog post, ACT CEO Marten Roorda confirmed the ACT will not be following this route. Let’s be clear. This is great news! The SAT has taken significant...
Read MoreThe SAT Will Be Adding an ‘Adversity Score’
The non-profit College Board, which administers the SAT, is adding an ‘adversity score’ to test takers’ score reports. Quite simply, the College Board is concerned about how income inequality influences test results. The idea of the adversity score is to...
Read MoreGeorgetown Yields Just Under 50% for Class of 2023
Georgetown University yielded 1,585 commitments from 3,206 admission offers for the Class of 2023. This resulted in a 49.4% yield. It is also a bit below last year’s 51% yield. As a result, the school will be turning to its...
Read MorePrinceton Admitted 13 Transfer Applicants Again This Year
Princeton University once again admitted 13 transfer applicants in its second year of reinstatement. This year, the number of applicants fell from 1,429 to 1,003. Consequently, the acceptance rate rose from 0.9% to 1.3%. Once again, Princeton clearly reiterated, it...
Read MoreHarvard’s Yield Increases to Nearly 83%
Harvard University saw its yield rise to nearly 83% for the Class of 2023. For comparison purposes, the esteemed university yielded 81.7% of its admits for the Class of 2022. We’ve seen one demographic turn down Harvard offers with any...
Read MoreLow-Income Washington Residents to Receive Free Tuition
The Washington Legislature approved a plan that guarantees free tuition to all state residents with family incomes below $50,400. As a result, budgetary constraints will longer exclude any qualified residents. In other words, the waitlist for the state’s Need Grant...
Read MoreHoly Cross Inches Away from Need-Blind Admissions
College of the Holy Cross is inching away from its need-blind admissions policy. The school cited ballooning financial aid expenditures. In the last four years, those expenditures increased from $49 million to $67 million. It turns out Holy Cross has...
Read MoreSiena and Albany Law Sign Agreement for Five-Year BS/JD Program
Siena College and Albany Law School have signed an agreement creating a five-year program that awards an undergraduate degree as well as a J.D. degree. To shave two years off completion time, admitted students will study year round. Additionally, they...
Read MoreThe School of Data Science at UVA
The University of Virginia is one step closer to opening its School of Data Science. Yesterday, the school’s Faculty Senate approved the school’s general structure. Consequently, the next step is to gain approval from the State Council of Higher Education...
Read MoreEvaluating the Classic Learning Test
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal article about a new competitor to the SAT and ACT generated a lot of buzz. Additionally, it generated a lot of questions to us. The questions were mostly variants of, “Should my student take it?” First,...
Read MoreBribes for In-State Tuition
The press is loving this. A seemingly endless cycle of college admissions scam news that currently captures the public’s attention. So, yesterday, federal prosecutors announced a former registrar at Delaware State University admitted to accepting $70,000 in bribes. Crystal Barr,...
Read MoreWilliam & Mary broke records with its Class of 2023
William & Mary received a record 14,670 applications for its Class of 2023. (Actually, this was a very small increase over the 14,644 applications for its Class of 2022.) While the school didn’t give out much information, it made “over...
Read MoreHaverford Accepts Record Low 16.1% of Class of 2023 Applicants
Haverford College admitted a record-low 16.1% of its Class of 2023 applicants. The school received nearly 5,000 applicants. These applicants represented 40 states and 32 foreign countries. Furthermore, 49.2% of those applicants self identified as students of color. Jess Lord,...
Read MoreThe Admissions Scandal Comes to Harvard
It seems Harvard University has become embroiled in its own college admissions scandal. Earlier this week, Harvard learned of a questionable real estate transaction involving its fencing coach. Various media claim the coach, Peter Brand, sold his home for nearly...
Read MoreUniversity of Chicago Accepts 5.9% of Its Class of 2023 Applicants
The University of Chicago admitted a record-low 5.9% of its Class of 2023 applicants. Additionally, the school received a record number of applications. Dean of Admissions Jim Nondorf simply stated the school received “almost 3,000” more applications than last year....
Read MoreDartmouth Accepted Record Low 7.9% of Its Class of 2023
Dartmouth College admitted a record-low 7.9% of its Class of 2023 applicants this year. Dartmouth received a record 23,650 applications this year. This year, 51% of domestic applicants self identified as people of color. Additionally, 16% of the admits are...
Read MoreColumbia Accepts Record Low 5.1% of Its Class of 2023
The Cold, Hard Facts Columbia University admitted a record-low 5.1% of its Class of 2023 applicants. Additionally, applications rose to a record 42,569 from 40,203 for the Class of 2022. By comparison, the acceptance rate for that Class of 2022...
Read MoreUniversity of Pennsylvania Admits 7.4% of Its Class of 2023
Earlier today, University of Pennsylvania released its regular admissions decisions for its Class of 2023. The overall acceptance rate dropped to 7.4% from 8.4% last year. However, while applications hit a record high, they only represented a 1.1% increase over...
Read MoreBrown University Accepts 6.6% of Its Class of 2023 Applicants
Earlier today, Brown University released its admissions decisions for its Class of 2023. The university admitted 6.6% of its applicants overall and 4.8% of its regular decision applicants. Both of these acceptance rates were record lows. These are also significant...
Read MoreHarvard Admits Record Low 4.5% of Its Class of 2023
Earlier this evening, Harvard University admitted a record-low 4.5% of its Class of 2023 applicants. The 1,950 admits represent every US state as well as 89 foreign countries. The Mid Atlantic was the most represented region at 21.7% of all...
Read MorePrinceton Admits 5.8% of Its Class of 2023 Applicants
Earlier this evening, Princeton University extended admissions offers to 5.8% of its Class of 2023 applicants. This acceptance rate is a bit higher than last year’s record-low 5.5%. Of course, that was due to a 7.3% drop in application volume...
Read MoreYale Admits 5.9% of Its Class of 2023
Yale University admitted 2,178 applicants out of a record pool of 36,843. Consequently, its acceptance rate dropped to 5.9% from 6.3% last year. These admitted applicants represent all 50 states as well as Washington, DC and Puerto Rico. They also...
Read MoreCornell Admits 10.6% of Its Class of 2023
Cornell University extended admissions offers to 5,183 students a few hours ago. Cornell received 49,118 applications for its Class of 2023. This was a slight decline from last year’s 51,328 from prospective members of its Class of 2022. However, Cornell...
Read MoreUniversity of Virginia admits 23.8% of Its Class of 2023
University of Virginia extended 9,726 admission offers to a record 40,869 applicants for its Class of 2023. This year’s acceptance rate of 23.8% is significantly lower than last year’s acceptance rate of 26.5%. This acceptance rate drop applied to both...
Read MoreEmory Admits 15% of Its Record Class of 2023 Applicant Pool
A record 30,017 prospective Class of 2023 students applied to the Emory University College of Arts and Sciences. Consequently, the acceptance rate plummeted from 18.5% last year to 15% this year. As Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Enrollment and Dean...
Read MoreMiddlebury Admits 15.9% of Record Class of 2023 Applicant Pool
Middlebury College admitted 1,175 applicants from its record Class of 2023 applicant pool of 9,750. As a result, the school’s acceptance rate fell from 16.7% last year to 15.9% this year. For comparison purposes, Middlebury accepted 19.0% of its Fall...
Read MoreUSC Acceptance Rate Hits Record Low
The University of Southern California received over 67,000 applications for its Class of 2023. This year, the acceptance rate fell to 11%. For historic perspective, the acceptance rate was in the mid 40% in the late 1990s. Two years ago,...
Read MoreEarly Lessons from the College Cheating Scandal
Tomorrow marks the one-week anniversary of the massive college admissions scandal announcement. While the dust is obviously still settling, we see three early lessons, or takeaways. First, testing accommodations will likely become even harder to obtain. This one hurts. For...
Read MoreThe Largest College Admissions Scam Ever Prosecuted
What happened “The largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted.” Those aren’t our words. That is a direct quote from United States attorney, Andrew Lelling. The forty arrested participants read like a “who’s who” of Hollywood stars and wealthy executives. (Felicity...
Read MoreGeorgia Tech Applications Jump 4% for Class of 2023
Georgia Tech received 36,936 applications for its Class of 2023. That represents a roughly 4% increase from last year. Since the school isn’t growing its student body, the acceptance rate dropped yet again. Overall, the acceptance rate dropped to 18.8%....
Read MoreHackers Tried to Sell Admissions Files
It seems hackers broke into three college databases and tried to sell the application feedback to the applicants. The three colleges were Grinnell, Hamilton and Oberlin. Furthermore, the main commonality appears to be that all three liberal arts colleges use...
Read MoreThe Common Application and CollegeNET Settle Antitrust Case
The Common Application and CollegeNET just agreed to a confidential settlement. And, just like that, nearly five years of antitrust litigation ended with a screeching halt. What we do know is The Common Application will “modify certain of its challenged...
Read MorePrinceton Class of 2023 Applications Drop 7.3%
Princeton University applications for the Class of 2023 dropped 7.3%. However, the 32,808 applications still represents the second highest application volume in the school’s history. We believe the drop is inconsequential. Furthermore, we believe Princeton will admit yet another very...
Read MoreThe Role of Race in College Admissions
First of all, we strive to be politically neutral. We seek to avoid controversy. Furthermore, we simply wish to report facts. However, with all the recent news involving race in college admissions, we decided to address this in a blog....
Read MoreDuke Announces Smallest Tuition Increase in Over 20 Years
Duke University announced its smallest tuition increase in over 20 years. The 3.9% increase should be more than offset by an anticipated 4.2% increase in the financial aid endowments. Click on the “Financial Aid” tab of the hyperlinked Duke University...
Read MoreHarvard Reports Record Applicant Pool for Class of 2023
Applications to Harvard University rose 1.4% to a record of 43,330. International applications remained strong. Additionally, the application growth was strong in the South. Harvard also reported minority applications increased. Not surprisingly, applications from prospective computer science majors experienced the...
Read MoreDon’t Believe Everything You Read
We received a call from an ambitious mother. She asked which vacation would be best for her daughter’s college applications. It was a bit of an unusual query. Consequently, after some open-ended questions, we learned the mother read an article...
Read MoreACT Study Finds Rural Students at a Disadvantage
According to the ACT’s latest report, “Rural Students: Technology, Coursework and Extracurricular Activities,” rural students suffer a distinct disadvantage. The lack of high-speed, broadband Internet access is hindering rural students. Specifically, this is affecting their ability to participate in online...
Read MoreMiddlebury Received Record Number of Applications for Class of 2023
Middlebury College received a record 9,750 applications for its Class of 2023. Additionally, the school also received a record number of applications from students of color. Two regions drove the 5.6% growth in applicants. Firstly, there was a 16% increase...
Read MoreCollege Board Riles Critics By Changing AP Registration
The College Board announced students will be required to register for the Advanced Placement (AP) exams by November 15. Currently, schools must order their AP tests by late March and set their own deadlines for their students. Students who register...
Read MoreDartmouth Receives Record Applications for Class of 2023
Dartmouth College received a record 23,641 applications for its Class of 2023. Expanded recruitment programming and the revamped admissions website and social media platforms largely drove the 7.3% increase from the 22,005 applications received last year. Dartmouth expects the 574...
Read MoreComputer Science Now Fills Science Requirement for UC Application
The UC Application now allows 2020 (Class of 2024) applicants to count computer science as a science requirement. Up to now, it has been counted as an elective. The expansion of the “Category D” choices will make it easier to...
Read MoreHamilton College Reports 34% Increase in Applications
Hamilton College received 8,338 applications. That is a 33.6% increase for its Class of 2023. Bear in mind last year’s 6,240 applications was a record as well! The school further reported that the applicants hailed from 49 states and 121...
Read MoreHampshire College Likely to Close Soon
Hampshire College, a small private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts opened in 1970. And it may be closing soon. This past Friday, its board of trustees voted not to accept an incoming class for this fall. However, the school...
Read MoreUniversity of Virginia Admits 26% of its Class of 2023 Early Action Applicants
University of Virginia admitted 6,550 of its 25,126 early action applicants for its Class of 2023. The 26.0% acceptance rate was down slightly from last year’s 27.5% acceptance rate. Early applications increased by 17%. Consequently, the school was able to...
Read MoreOur February Newsletter will be Published on Monday
The February edition of our Insider Edge newsletter will be published on Monday. In addition to exclusive savings offers, this month’s issue will include: Acing Your College Scholarship Essays! Why College Admissions Interviews are Important College Post of the Month...
Read MoreBoston College Switches to Early Decision for Class of 2024
Boston College announced that it will be replacing its early action admissions with binding early decision admissions starting next year for the Class of 2024. Are you are a high school junior with interest in Boston College? Now is the...
Read MoreBoston College Class of 2023 Early Action Applications Surge
Boston College saw early action applications increase by over 53% from 10,350 last year to 15,862 for the Class of 2023. The average ACT score for admitted applicants increased from 33 last year to 34 this year and the average...
Read MoreUNC Chapel Hill Defends Use of Race in Admissions
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill filed written documents in court asking that a lawsuit from the Students for Fair Admissions group be dismissed. If that group’s name looks familiar, it may be because it is the same group that sued...
Read MoreAccused ACT test takers can now sue
Somerset County Judge Michael Rogers of New Jersey has ruled that a New Jersey teen can sue the ACT and the clause that limits test takers to binding arbitration (thus forfeiting their right to sue) is “unconscionable” and “void as...
Read MoreThe 2019-2020 Common Application Essay Questions
The Common Application announced earlier today that the 2019-2020 common application essay questions will remain the same again this year. The organization cited “extensive counselor feedback” and “the added benefit of consistency” as the main reasons. For whatever it’s worth,...
Read MoreGeorgia Tech Released Its Early Action Decisions
Georgia Tech released its Class of 2023 early action decisions and admitted about 4,000 applicants. EA applications rose 12% to 20,289 and the in-state and out-of-state acceptance rates were 39.6% and 14%, respectively. Early action isn’t binding and, historically, Georgia...
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