Georgia Tech announced that it admitted 2,399 Early Action 1 applicants to the Class of 2026.  Early Action 1 is for Georgia residents only.  

Early Action 1 applications totaled nearly 6,100, resulting in an admission rate of 39 percent.

Click here for the news release.

Johns Hopkins admitted 520 Early Decision I applicants to the Class of 2026.  

Early decision applicant count was not provided.

Click here for the news release.

Rice University admitted 440 early decision applicants to the Class of 2026.  

Early decision applications increased slightly from last year, though the article did not disclose the resulting admission rate.

Click here for the news release.

The University of Virginia announced today that it admitted 1,097 early decision applicants to the Class of 2026.  

A total of 3,466 early decision applications were received, up 18 percent year over year, resulting in an overall early admission rate of 32 percent.  The resident admit rate was 38 percent versus 25 percent for non-residents. 

Click here for the news article.

College Kickstart for High School Counselors introduces several  capabilities for 2022 to help you better navigate a changing admissions landscape and capitalize on data-driven college planning in new and exciting ways.

We're putting the finishing touches on College Kickstart for Independent Consultants and thought we'd give you a sneak peek of what's in store for 2022, including new tags and filters in MixFixer™, more subscription tiers and an exciting customer roundtable program.

With 2022 right around the corner, we thought it was time to give you a sneak peek of some of the cool new capabilities we've got in store for rising seniors and parents this January.   

The University of Georgia offered 8,917 early action applicants to the Class of 2026.

A total of 21,570 applications were received, up 3 percent from the previous year, resulting in an admit rate of 41 percent.  

Click here for the article.

If you're in the hunt for merit scholarships, be sure to stay on top of explicit deadlines a school on your list might have.

In some cases, like Boston University and the University of Richmond, it's a hard deadline that you have to meet in order for you to be considered at all.  In others, like Indiana University and many other public institutions, it's a "priority" deadline that maximizes your chances of merit aid before the money runs out.  Either way, merit aid continues to be an excellent way for good students to defray the cost of an education.  

We've compiled a sampling of schools in our coverage universe with explicit deadlines, along with some stats to help you gauge the size and breadth of the institution's merit offerings.  We've also included links to each school's scholarship page for easy access to the details.

Most of these schools automatically consider you for merit scholarships without the need for an additional application.  

College Kickstart subscribers: full listings of 2021-22 explicit merit scholarship deadlines and schools with generous merit aid are already incorporated into the product.

Click on Continue Reading below for the list.

With the fall 2021-22 application cycle now in full swing, it's important to keep an eye on interview requirements for the schools on your list—especially if they're looking for evidence of demonstrated interest.  

To make this easier for you, we've compiled a list of popular schools where interviews are required or strongly recommended, along with the degree to which the institution considers demonstrated interest as part of the evaluation.  

In cases like Hillsdale College where interviews are highly recommended and demonstrated interest is very important, it's a good bet than an interview — in-person or virtual — is worth your time.  On the flip side, if interviews are optional and demonstrated interest isn't considered, booking an interview is less critical.  The devil is in the details, so to help you figure out your strategy we've also included a link to each listed school's interview policy.  Do keep in mind that interview requirements may often vary by major.

College Kickstart subscribers: this information is already available to you in the Summary and Requirements views.

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

U.S. News & World Report released their 2022 college rankings yesterday.  Over 1,400 schools were covered nationwide and evaluated on multiple measures of academic excellence and outcomes to produce the final rankings.

This year's methodology adjusts for the decline in SAT/ACT test takers and continues to include test-blind institutions.

Princeton retains sole possession of the top spot for National Universities, and Williams College tops the list of Liberal Arts Colleges.  

Click on Continue Reading to see the rankings changes. 

In search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2021-22 application season.  

The list includes schools that simply require the base essay (e.g. personal statement). Keep in mind that many of these schools may have "optional" prompts which you might want to complete anyway to strengthen your application.  

If you're a student or parent with a College Kickstart Plus or Premium subscription, this information is already available to you as part of our key application requirements view.

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

Most schools have completed their updates for the 2021-22 admission cycle (Class of 2026), and several of the changes we've observed are worth noting. 

Roughly 25 schools have modified early admission options available to applicants this fall.  Notable changes include the resumption of Restrictive Early Action at Princeton, the introduction of Early Decision 2 at Carnegie Mellon, Emerson and Loyola Marymount, and the removal of Early Decision 2 at Syracuse University.

If you're considering early admission, be sure to check out our list as it may impact how you decide to apply this fall.   Note to our subscribers: the data has already been incorporated into the product, simply re-run College Kickstart to see how it impacts your plan.

Click on Continue Reading below for the details.

While the vast majority of institutions in our coverage universe offer some form of test-optional admissions, some have completely eliminated standardized testing from consideration—even if you submit scores.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of schools offering test-blind/test-free admissions for the 2021-22 cycle. For your convenience, we've included admit rates, test score ranges and links to each school's standardized test policy details to help you find suitable candidates for your college list.

College Kickstart subscribers, this is automatically updated and visible as part of the requirements view.

Tired of Googling constantly for the latest application requirements? Look no further — let College Kickstart help you stay on top of your game.