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 USC, 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 2024-25 explicit merit scholarship deadlines and schools with generous merit aid are already incorporated into the product.

Click on Continue Reading below for the list.

Are you interested in pursuing a bachelor of science in nursing directly out of high school? These degrees can prepare you for the NCLEX-RN exam as well as prepare you for future nursing training.

Thousands of colleges across the United States now offer Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs that are available to high school seniors applying to colleges. In the last decade, as the number of BSN degrees offered has grown, the amount of open nursing jobs has also increased and is projected to continue growing by 6% over the next decade (Association of Colleges of Nursing).

We’ve put together a list of 28 great nursing programs using a variety of sources. Continue reading to learn more about each.

Honors programs are a terrific way for academically talented students to reap the benefits of a liberal arts education within the context of a large research institution.

To give you a better sense for how this can enrich your college experience, we’ve compiled a list of undergraduate honors programs from top public and private universities across the nation. We've included admission profiles where available, program benefits, whether an extra application is required and a link to each institution's offering for more details.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of top undergraduate honors programs now.

With the fall 2024-25 application cycle approaching, 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.  

For example in cases like Hillsdale College where interviews are encouraged and demonstrated interest is very important, it's a good bet that taking advantage of an optional interview — in-person or virtual — is worth your time and may more strongly weigh on your candidacy for admission.

To compile this list, we first surveyed every school in our coverage universe where the latest Common Data Set entry for "level of applicant's interest" was reported as important or very important.  We then identified the schools where interviews are offered, encouraged, or required. 

 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.   Also note that the Common Data set defines four options—very important, important, considered and not considered—and that inconsistencies are likely to exist in the way colleges define these terms.

This information is current as of 6/26/2024.

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

 

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

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 USC, 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 2023-24 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 all of the media attention surrounding legacy admissions, we thought it would be helpful to compile a list of selective public and private institutions that don't consider legacy status as part of the admissions process.

To come up with the list, we pulled data from the 2022-23 Common Data Set (or Fall 2022 NCES database) for each institution in our coverage universe with acceptance rates of 50 percent or less. We then cross-checked with recent announcements to identify recent changes to policies, such as with Wesleyan University and Occidental College.

Of the 138 schools currently in our coverage universe with acceptance rates of 50 percent or less, 33 percent do not consider legacy status—42 percent for publics and 25 percent for privates.

Bookmark this page, as we expect to update it periodically with institutions opting to drop legacy consideration for this cycle.

Click on Continue Reading for the list

Honors programs are a terrific way for academically talented students to reap the benefits of a liberal arts education within the context of a large research institution.

To give you a better sense for how this can enrich your college experience, we’ve compiled a list of undergraduate honors programs from top public and private universities across the nation. We've included admission profiles where available, program benefits, whether an extra application is required and a link to each institution's offering for more details.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of top undergraduate honors programs now.

Interested in STEM, but not one particular field? Does everything from quantitative finance to epidemiology to electrical engineering to climate science fascinate you? Then consider majoring in applied math!

Almost every university offers a major in mathematics. However, in many schools, the math major focuses predominantly on pure math rather than applied and computational math (ACM). In the former, which is a more traditional discipline, students take primarily theoretical courses like geometry, number theory, and topology. However, for many STEM-focused high schoolers like myself, the latter field may pique their curiosity more. In ACM, students will apply mathematical concepts such as dynamical systems and differential equations, in conjunction with other sciences like biology and physics, to analyze real-world scientific challenges.

In today’s social and technological climate, there has never been a better time to become an applied mathematician. With revolutionary computational resources that enable mathematical modeling and simulation of complex systems, students studying ACM can perform innovative work in any of the fields listed above, and so many more.

Interested in this up-and-coming, groundbreaking field? Then check out our latest list of universities with best dedicated ACM majors nationwide. Using information compiled from individual university websites, we’ve selected a list of the top institutions offering a dedicated ACM program, extensive undergraduate research opportunities for ACM students, and when available, specialized concentrations within the program.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of the universities with the best dedicated applied and computational math majors nationwide.

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.

Honors programs are a terrific way for academically talented students to reap the benefits of a liberal arts education within the context of a large research institution.

To give you a better sense for how this can enrich your college experience, we’ve compiled a list of undergraduate honors programs from top public and private universities across the nation. We've included admission profiles where available, program benefits, whether an extra application is required and a link to each institution's offering for more details.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of top undergraduate honors programs now.

Interested in studying “the skill of the century” and accessing a global market that is worth over $300 billion? Look no further than artificial intelligence (AI) and check out our latest list of colleges with strong undergraduate AI programs in the United States.

The term “artificial intelligence” was coined as early as 1956 and refers to the broad concept of making it possible for machines to perform human-like tasks, such as solving problems, making decisions, understanding language, and processing sounds and images. However, AI only became increasingly popular recently, and along with this rise in popularity came spikes in investment, which led to rapid growth in the AI industry.

Studying AI prepares students to solve problems across a variety of fields and introduces them to a huge job market that continues to expand today. Drawing from U.S. News, TechTarget, CSRankings, Computer Science Degree Hub, Great Value Colleges and Value Colleges, we've curated a list of some of the top undergraduate programs in artificial intelligence across the nation. This list also covers information about the overall admission rates and profiles, offered AI programs, curriculum, and research opportunities and facilities for each listed institution.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of top undergraduate AI programs nationwide.

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 2020-21 explicit merit scholarship deadlines and schools with generous merit aid are already incorporated into the product.

Click on Continue Reading below for the list.

Combined BS/MD programs are available for talented high school seniors strongly committed to careers in medicine. Institutions offering combined BS/MD programs include Rice University, Northwestern University, Boston University and Case Western Reserve University.

To help you navigate your options, check out our list of combined BS/MD programs. We've included admission profiles where available, program lengths and features, as well as a link to each program's web page for the details.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of combined BS/MD medical school programs now.

Honors programs are a terrific way for academically talented students to reap the benefits of a liberal arts education within the context of a large research institution.

To give you a better sense for how this can enrich your college experience, we’ve compiled a list of undergraduate honors programs from top public and private universities across the nation. We've included admission profiles where available, program benefits, whether an extra application is required and a link to each institution's offering for more details.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of top undergraduate honors programs now.