Northwestern received 3,022 early decision applications as of the November 1st deadline, an increase of approximately 12 percent from the previous year.  According to Michael Mills, the associate provost for university enrollment, the acceptance rate for early decision candidates is likely to be similar to last year.  Mills also expects early decision admits to make up 45-50 percent of the incoming freshman class.

Click here for the article.

Princeton announced that it received 4,164 single-choice early action applications as of November 11. This represents a 9.4 percent increase from last year, and is attributable to both increased outreach and the removal of the SAT subject test requirement this year.

Click here for the article.

The University of Pennsylvania reported a slight rise in Early Decision applicants for the Class of 2020.  A total of 5,629 early decision applications were received this year, up 140 from last year.

Decisions will be posted on Friday, December 11.

Click here for the article.

When does it make sense to take advantage of early admission?

Here's an article from the Boston Globe, complete with perspectives from admission directors from Boston College, Babson College, Wheaton College and UMass Lowell. 

Click here for more.

Here's an updated list of reported early admission rates for the Class of 2019.

This list includes several popular private and public schools, including Amherst, Bates, Boston College, Boston University, Bowdoin, Brown, Colby, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Duke, Emory, Emory (Oxford), George Washington, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Hamilton, Harvard, Harvey Mudd, Johns Hopkins, Kenyon, Middlebury, MIT, Northwestern, Notre Dame, NYU, Pitzer, Pomona, Princeton, Rice, Stanford, Trinity College, Tufts, University of Chicago, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Williams and Yale.

Click Continue Reading for the list.

University of California counselor conferences have commenced, and there are lots of useful insights to be gleaned—including the latest freshman admission profiles from this past year (Class of 2019).

We've tabulated the findings for you in this post. Two things to keep in mind:

• The profiles are for California residents only
• The profiles are for admitted students, so they're likely to appear more selective than the profile for the class that actually enrolls

Click Continue Reading for the list.

With your college list more or less finalized, give some consideration to early admission—many schools offer it and can be a terrific way to boost odds and minimize wasted motion.  All you need to do is apply 45-60 days earlier than you normally would. 

Here's a list of competitive 4-year institutions offering early admission to applicants.  Depending on the school, these options range from Early Decision (binding) to Early Action (non-binding) and Restrictive Early Action (non-binding with restrictions on where else you can apply).  

The first wave of deadlines is coming up in November, so take a quick look to see if any of your schools offer something worth considering. Or click here to find out how College Kickstart can help you fully capitalize on it.

The National Association for College Admissions Counseling released its 2014 State of College Admissions report last Thursday.  

We had an opportunity to review the 72 page report and took away some key points about overall application and early admission trends.  

The findings strongly reinforce the need for students and families to actively evaluate early admission opportunities as an integral part of their college plan.  

Click on Continue Reading below for the summary.

In this Los Angeles Times article, Carla Rivera writes about the rising number of college applicants taking advantage of early admission programs to remove stress and uncertainty from the admissions process.

The article also looks at early admission from the school perspective, and why/why not schools choose to participate.  

With admission rates falling and the number of early admission programs on the rise, we maintain that every college applicant needs to at least consider the possibility of applying early.  It may not always be appropriate, but when it is, it's a valuable way of maximizing odds and minimizing wasted motion for simply applying 60 days earlier than normal.   

Read the early admission article now

The Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA recently published The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2014, a survey of 150,000+ first-time, full-time students at over 200 four-year U.S colleges and universities.

The study covers a broad range of topics, including college admissions.  What's clear is that students are applying to more schools than ever, they're getting into their top choice schools less frequently, and that early admission is becoming a very important consideration in choosing colleges.  

Click on the Continue Reading link below details.

The University of Virginia reported earlier that it admitted 4,856 Early Action applicants to the Class of 2019.

A total of 16,092 EA applications were received this year, resulting in an EA admission rate of 30% overall.  Virginia residents accounted for 27% of the applicant pool and 42% of the admitted pool.  The early action admission rate for residents was 47% versus 24% for non-residents.  

Click here for the news release.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reported today that it admitted 6,235 Early Action applicants to the Class of 2019.

A total of 17,149 EA applications were received this year, resulting in an EA admission rate of 36%.  

Click here for the news release.

Amherst College announced that admitted 172 Early Decision applicants to the Class of 2019.

A total of 482 ED applications were received this year, resulting in an ED admission rate of 36%. Of the remaining candidates, 187 were deferred to regular admission and 123 were rejected.   

Click here for the news release.

Vanderbilt University reported today that it admitted 22.5% of Early Decision I/II applicants to the Class of 2019. 

Click here for the news release.