In search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2024-25 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.

In search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2023-24 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.

In search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2022-23 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.

Turn your gaming passions into a career! As the billion-dollar gaming industry rapidly expands into the world of modern entertainment and technology, more universities are beginning to offer game design programs.

Games are not only popular sources of entertainment and leisure, but also serious tools for rehabilitation and education. Now, due to a fusion of advancing technology, burgeoning esports scene, and more, demand for games is exceptionally high. Contrary to longstanding opinions, games are not merely “brain-damaging” activities, but valid academic pathways with high career potential. So go for it!

With help from sources Animation Career Review, GameDesigning and Princeton Review, we’ve curated a list of great game design programs for undergraduates in the United States. The list includes relevant information about the academic profile, resources offered, and degree programs offered from each institution.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of top undergraduate game design programs.

Wondering if it's possible to tour some campuses over spring break?  Then check out our list of popular colleges offering on-campus visits.

We've taken the top 50 national universities and top 50 liberal arts colleges from the latest U.S. News rankings and identified those currently open for on-campus visits.

Unsurprisingly, most of the institutions open for visits have safe practices in place, so make sure you've satisfied the requirements prior to visiting. Also take note that most tours are now limited to just a few families per tour so it's best to sign up as early as possible.  For your convenience, we've included a links to schedule your tour/information session directly.

College Kickstart subscribers: there are now over 500 schools in our coverage universe currently open for prospective student visits and they are identified in the Summary View, along with links to schedule your visit.

Bookmark this page, as we'll be updating it frequently over the next several weeks as the colleges finalize their spring campus programs.  

Click Continue Reading for the list.

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.

Wondering if it's possible to tour some campuses over the summer?  Then check out our list of top colleges offering on-campus visits.

We've taken the top 50 national universities and top 50 liberal arts colleges from the latest U.S. News rankings and identified those currently open for on-campus visits.  With vaccinations in full force and cases on the decline, many have resumed in-person campus tours.

Unsurprisingly, most of the institutions open for visits have safe practices in place, so make sure you've satisfied the requirements prior to visiting. Also take note that most tours are now limited to just a few families per tour so it's best to sign up as early as possible.  For your convenience, we've included a links to schedule your tour/information session directly.

College Kickstart subscribers: there are now over 500 schools in our coverage universe currently open for prospective student visits and they are now visible in the Summary View, along with links to schedule your visit.

Bookmark this page, as we'll be updating it frequently over the next several weeks as the colleges update their summer visit plans.  

Click Continue Reading for the list.

Want to gain valuable career skills and work experience during college? If so, you may want to consider a cooperative education program, or co-op.

Co-ops are fantastic opportunities for students to apply their classroom knowledge to hands-on job experiences. Through co-ops, students balance classroom learning with practical work experience related to careers of their interest. Co-ops allow students to earn money, build their resume, learn useful skills, and boost their employability.

To help you explore your options, we have curated a list of strong co-op programs at schools across the nation. Covering a wide variety of institutions, the following list features the admission profiles, program types, academic areas, and more related to these schools' co-op programs.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of great undergraduate co-op programs nationwide.

In search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2020-21 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 application requirements tracking feature.

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

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.

In search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2019-20 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 application requirements tracking feature.

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

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.

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.

In search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2017-18 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.

Preparing your first college tour and not sure where to start?

Here are some suggestions for schools to visit, grouped by region, to get you rolling. Each list includes 5-6 schools that offer a range of sizes, settings and selectivity to help imagine the possibilities.  We also suggest others worth considering and why.  

Cities currently covered include Boston, New York City, Syracuse, Washington DC, Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.  

Click on the Continue Reading link below to see our suggestions, or try our College Tour Planner to build your own custom campus tour itinerary.