Top 3 Ivy League Majors That Are Actually Worth It
0904, 2026

Top 3 Ivy League Majors That Are Actually Worth It

By Sarah M. When applying to college, one of the biggest questions you’ll face is What should I study? While Ivy League universities offer hundreds of majors, student trends are surprisingly consistent across all eight schools. Year after year, three areas dominate: Economics, Computer Science, and the Social Sciences. Understanding why these majors are popular, and how competitive they are, can help you plan a stronger application. 1. Economics: The Classic Ivy League Major Economics

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Do I Need a Passion Project for Highly Selective  Colleges?
1903, 2026

Do I Need a Passion Project for Highly Selective  Colleges?

By Lydia C. In short: No. A passion project is not a requirement for admissions to any college/university, not even to the most selective. Indeed, many successful applicants are admitted without having undertaken a formal independent project. Additionally, not every student has the privilege of time or resources to do an independent project, and colleges understand that you might have significant family responsibilities, a part-time job, or financial or personal

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What Questions Should You Ask Other Students on a College Visit?
1203, 2026

What Questions Should You Ask Other Students on a College Visit?

By Sarah M. When you visit a college campus, admissions tours and official presentations can tell you a lot—but if you really want to understand what life is like there, talk to the students. They live the day-to-day reality of the school, from classes and professors to dorm life and campus culture. Asking the right questions can give you insights you won’t find in rankings or brochures. Here are four

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Do Sports Boost College Admissions?
0503, 2026

Do Sports Boost College Admissions?

By Jennifer L. For many high school students, sports are more than just after-school activities — they’re a core part of your identity, discipline, and community. But when it comes to college admissions, how much do athletics really matter for you? The answer depends largely on how sports fit into your overall college plan. First, consider your role if you participate in sports but do not plan to compete in

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High School Course Planning Tips
0502, 2026

High School Course Planning Tips

By Jennifer L. Selecting courses for a new school year is an important decision that can shape both your academic experience and your future college opportunities. Colleges do not view your transcript year by year in isolation; they read it as a four-year story. Thoughtful course selection in ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade helps demonstrate growth, academic maturity, and readiness for college-level work. 9th Grade: Explore Interests and Build a

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How to Build a Standout Extracurricular Profile
2901, 2026

How to Build a Standout Extracurricular Profile

By Lilly G. In today’s competitive admissions landscape, a strong extracurricular profile is often what sets you apart among thousands of applicants who may have similar GPAs and test scores. A standout extracurricular profile should demonstrate your initiative, leadership and responsibility, as well as how you grow over time. So, how to build a well-planned and meaningful extracurricular profile? Here are some strategies that can be helpful to boost your

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How Has AI Affected College Admissions?
0409, 2025

How Has AI Affected College Admissions?

By Lydia C. Given the rising power of Artificial intelligence (AI) tools in synthesizing strings of words, it has affected the college application process in various ways. On the applicant side, students are able to use these tools to help them brainstorm and research essay application topics as well as to edit and proofread their writing for improved grammar, clarity and spelling.  While we can argue the latter has been

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How Important Are Your Grades in Senior Year?
0507, 2024

How Important Are Your Grades in Senior Year?

by Jennifer L. Very important! Your senior year grades, especially those from the first semester, can significantly influence your college application decisions. The fall semester of your senior year helps demonstrate academic consistency and improvement to admissions counselors. A strong academic finish can highlight your reliability and sustained effort, showing that you are ready for college-level work and will be academically successful at the next level. If your GPA has

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Exploring BS/MD Programs: Accelerated Medical Education starting in High School
0508, 2023

Exploring BS/MD Programs: Accelerated Medical Education starting in High School

by Shiv G. Aspiring young minds often dream of becoming doctors to make a positive impact on people’s lives. For ambitious high school students with a passion for medicine, the BS/MD programs offer a unique and accelerated pathway to achieving their goals. These combined Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine programs are designed to streamline the journey towards becoming a physician, providing a seamless transition from undergraduate studies to

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Jaw-dropping College Admissions Results 2023
0804, 2023

Jaw-dropping College Admissions Results 2023

by Tony T. The Year of 2023 has proven to be another incredible year in college admissions. With the test-optional policy in place for most colleges, dramatically increasing applications caused a dramatic drop of the admission rate for some schools. With a jaw-dropping 120,000 applications for Class 2027, NYU admitted 9,600 applicants with a historic low admission rate of 8%, compared to Class 2026’s 105,000 applications with the admission rate

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Must Know – SAT/ACT for admissions 2023-2024?
2403, 2023

Must Know – SAT/ACT for admissions 2023-2024?

by Tony T. After 3 years of unstable testing registration and proctored test chaos, College Board and its managed SAT have been both in doubt. As a result, more and more higher education institutes have adopted a test-optional policy, which means applicants are not required to submit any standardized test, such as SAT or ACT, to apply to colleges. Ivy League and almost all selective colleges are in the list

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UC Admission Requirements
1912, 2019

UC Admission Requirements

The University of California is one of the world’s leading public research universities and among one of the most coveted universities in the United States. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the basic requirements for admission. To meet minimum admission requirements, you must complete 15 yearlong high school courses with a letter grade of C or better — at least 11 of them prior to your last year of

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2905, 2014

Lower UC Acceptances for Californian Applicants in 2014

As news sites like LA Times (“California Students Feel UC Admission Squeeze”) and San Jose Mercury News (“UC admission harder than ever for Californians”)  have noted in April, an increasing number of Californian applicants were not accepted to their UCs of choice. Especially for coveted schools like UC Berkeley and UCLA, competition between applicants was fierce. For Fall 2014, UCLA received 86,521 applicants and UC Berkeley received 73,771. For the

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