Colby College announced today that the submission of standardized test scores is now an optional element of a student's application for admission.      

Click here for the news release.

U.S. News & World Report released their 2019 college rankings earlier today.  Over 1,800 schools were covered nationwide and evaluated on multiple measures of academic excellence and outcomes to produce the final rankings.

Social mobility indicators were added this year, while the acceptance rate was eliminated as a factor and others like expert opinions and test scores were reduced in weighting.

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. 

Stanford announced today that beginning with the fall 2018-19 admission cycle, it will no longer publicize application numbers for early and regular admissions.  

The policy shift is aimed at de-emphasizing the perceived importance of low admission rates.  Stanford plans to continue to report admissions data to the government at the end of each admission cycle.

Click here for the news release.

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

In search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2018-19 application season.  

The list includes schools that simply require the base essay as well as others offering "optional" essays 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 application requirements tracking feature.

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

Money Magazine just released its college rankings for 2018-19. Over 2,000 schools were evaluated based on 26 factors along three categories: educational quality, affordability and outcomes. The result: 727 schools that deliver a great education at an affordable price, with good outcomes post graduation.

The top of the list:

• Princeton University
• University of California - San Diego
• University of California - Irvine 
• University of California - Los Angeles 
• Stanford University
• MIT 
• University of California - Berkeley 
• Baruch College (CUNY)
• University of Michigan 
• University of Virginia 

Click here for the rankings or here for the methodology.

Many colleges and universities have begun updating their websites for the Class of 2023 (2018-19) admission cycle.  While we expect the activity to continue into the late summer, several of the changes we've observed are worth noting. 

In particular, roughly 25 schools have introduced changes to the early admission plans available to you this fall.  Notable changes include a new Early Decision II option at Babson, William & Mary and Washington University in St. Louis, a new Early Action I option at Penn State and Sarah Lawrence and removal of restrictive early action options at Baylor (now Early Decision I) and Boston College (now Early Action).   

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 for our subscribers: the data has already been incorporated into the product, so all you have to do to see how it impacts your plan is re-run College Kickstart.

Click on Continue Reading below for the details.

Hot off the press!  We've had a chance to review the Fall 2018 admissions data released recently by the University of California and thought it would be helpful to summarize it and share our key findings.  

Overall freshman admission rates are up for non-residents and down for residents as the University of California continues to settle on a new normal that accommodates a larger mix of out of state and international students.   If you're an out of state or international student, pay close attention...there continues to be a window of opportunity to take advantage of favorable odds at several UC campuses.

Click on Continue Reading for the details.

Here's an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal on the impact of being a legacy applicant on college admissions.  While the article focuses on how legacy admissions impacts efforts to expand access and diversity, it also sheds light on the legacy advantage at institutions such as Notre Dame, the University of Virginia, Georgetown, Princeton and Harvard, where the legacy admission rate can be as much as 2-5 times higher than the general rate.

Click here for the article

Brown will no longer require the essay component to the SAT and ACT.  

This is one of several initiatives taken by the institution to expand access to low income families.

For applicants planning not to take the SAT/ACT essay, inclusion of a graded paper from a humanities or social science class is recommended.

Click here for the article.

As reported by the Washington Post, Princeton and Stanford universities will no longer require the essay component to the SAT and ACT.  

While the essay is not longer an absolute requirement, Stanford will continue to "strongly recommend" that applicants submit an essay score from either of the standardized tests.  Princeton will require a graded writing sample as a substitute, preferably in English or history.  

Click here for the article.

The University of Chicago launched on June 14 its Empower Initiative to expand access to first generation and low income students.  

The initiative features a test-optional admissions process, enhanced financial aid and programmatic resources to support first generation and low income students through their college experience.

Click here for the news release.