Most schools have completed their updates for the 2024-25 admission cycle (Class of 2029), and several of the changes we've observed are worth noting. 

Over 20 schools have modified early admission options available to applicants this fall.  Notable changes include American University (new EA1), Carnegie Mellon (ED2 removed), RIT (new EA1), UConn (new ED1), University of Florida (new EA1), UT Austin (new EA1), and University of Vermont (new ED2).

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 run College Kickstart to see how it impacts your plan.

Click on Continue Reading below for the details.

Most schools have completed their updates for the 2023-24 admission cycle (Class of 2028), and several of the changes we've observed are worth noting. 

Roughly 30 schools have modified early admission options available to applicants this fall.  Notable changes include the addition of Early Action 1 at Marquette, Muhlenberg and St. Lawrence University, the removal of Early Decision at Virginia Tech and removal of Early Decision 2 at Baylor.

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.

In search of schools that offer financial aid to international applicants?

Look no further! We've compiled a list of 30 schools worth considering. To create the list, we considered two factors: international student representation and the breadth and depth of international aid packages.  

We've also included admission rates for each institution and whether aid packages are need and/or merit-based.

Click on Continue Reading for the list

Are you a first generation/low income applicant looking for a great place to get a college education?

While the natural tendency may be to simply look at your local public university, it might in fact not be the most affordable choice or the one that gives you the best chance to graduate on time. On the flip side, there may be private schools worth considering with great financial aid and high graduation rates, but if these institutions lack socioeconomic diversity and the critical support services and community to help you adjust, they may be poor fits as well.

Using data gathered from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, we’ve developed a list of approximately 30 institutions where Pell-eligible students have an opportunity to thrive without compromise. Each institution features healthy socioeconomic diversity, high graduation rates, good support programs and low debt at graduation.

Click on Continue Reading to learn more about the schools that make the cut.

As we entered 2020, roughly one-third of the schools in our coverage universe offered some form of test-optional admissions. That figure cleared 70 percent in June and is now hovering at 90 percent with the holdouts largely in the South, particularly the public universities in Flordia and Georgia.

To help you keep up with the changes, we're actively tracking test-optional policies for several popular institutions we cover. As always, the definition of "test-optional" varies by institution and often has strings attached so pay close attention to the details.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of test-optional schools and the type of test-optional policy they employ.  For your convenience, we've included admit rates, test score ranges and links to each school's standardized test policy 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.

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. 

U.S. News & World Report released their 2018 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.

Princeton retains sole posession 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. 

Here's our latest list of reported early admission rates for the Class of 2020.

This list includes several popular private and public schools, including Amherst, Bard, Boston College, Boston University, Bowdoin, Brown, Colorado College, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Dickinson, Duke, George Washington University, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Hamilton, Harvard, Harvey Mudd, Johns Hopkins, Lafayette, Middlebury, MIT, Mount Holyoke, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Pitzer, Pomona, Princeton, Scripps, Stanford, Tufts, Union College, University of Georgia, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, Vanderbilt, William & Mary, Williams and Yale. 

Click Continue Reading for the list.

The Common App for 2016-17 is now live, and we've just wrapped up our analysis of the real number of short answer/essay prompts required for each school.  If you've been through this process before, you know that just because a school lacks a writing supplement doesn't mean there are no additional essays to complete.  Many schools in fact simply embed these prompts in the main application itself.

This post summarizes the prompts required for 200+ Common Application schools in our coverage universe.  Our definition of a prompt is a question that requires more than a one word or one sentence answer.  It's not perfect, but it should help you gauge the amount of writing you'll need to get through over the next few months.  It'll also help you identify schools that you can apply to without the need for extra essays!

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

The Common App for 2015-16 was posted earlier today, and we've just wrapped up our analysis on the real number of short answer/essay prompts required for each school.  If you've been through this process before, you know that just because a school lacks a writing supplement doesn't mean there are no additional essays to complete.  Many schools in fact simply embed these prompts in the main application itself.

This post summarizes the prompts required for 200+ Common Application schools in our coverage universe.  Our definition of a prompt is a question that requires more than a one word or one sentence answer.  It's not perfect, but it should help you gauge the amount of writing you'll need to get through over the next few months.  It'll also help you identify schools that you can apply to without the need for extra essays!

Click on 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.

In search of colleges with more intimate learning environments?

Look no further, we've identified 50+ schools that fit the bill.  To make the grade, each school has to have at least 70% of their classes with fewer than 20 students and a student/faculty ratio lower than 10:1.

The result: an eclectic mix of private liberal arts colleges and universities where teachers are more likely to know your name, including several institutions featuring tutorial-style or self-directed study programs.

We've included admission rates, mid-50th percentile SAT and ACT scores and links to each school's website to help you explore the possibilities.

Click on Continue Reading for the details. 

Need-blind schools do not take financial aid into consideration when making admissions decisions.  Knowing these schools can be invaluable for making sure you or your teen's application is getting maximum consideration with regard to financial aid.

Here we've compiled a list of private schools that practice need blind admission for full-time, first year, U.S. citizens and permanent residents.  Please note that not all of these schools offer financial aid to meet 100% of demonstrated need. Note also that the list isn't exhaustive—it's meant to cover the more competitive 4 year institutions in the nation.

This list is integrated into the latest update to College Kickstart. 

Need-Blind Schools