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.

For those of you who have been waitlisted at one of your top choices, here's our initial update of Class of 2028 waitlist notification dates and status where available.  

To get a sense for what's happening at the macro level, we took a look at recently released Class of 2027 waitlist statistics from 84 private and public institutions.  Our analysis paints the following picture:

• The number of students admitted from the waitlist increased 134 percent year over year from 19,000 for the Class of 2026 to 44,000 for the Class of 2027

• On average, 23 percent of Class of 2027 students accepting a place on a waitlist were admitted, down from 19 percent in for the Class of 2026

• Students admitted from the waitlist accounted for 15 percent of Class of 2027 enrollments, up from 8 percent for the Class of 2026

• 42 percent of the schools sampled admitted 10 percent or less of the students accepting a place on the waitlist for the Class of 2027 (vs. 67 percent for the Class of 2026)

Be sure to bookmark this page as we expect to be updating status over the next several weeks.

Click Continue Reading for the list.

Here's our updated list of regular decision notification dates for the Class of 2028.  As many of you know, schools often post results in advance of their "official" notification dates, so we've compiled the most recently updated dates for you here, along with the notification dates from last year.  Bookmark this site, as we'll post updates often.

Good luck, seniors!

Here's our updated list of early decision and early action notification dates for the Class of 2028.  As many of you know, schools often post results in advance of their "official" notification dates, so we've compiled the most recently updated dates for you here where available, as well as last year's notification dates for reference.   Bookmark this page, as we'll be updating it frequently over the next 30 days.

Good luck, seniors!

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

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.

For those of you who have been waitlisted at one of your top choices, here's our initial update of Class of 2027 waitlist notification dates and status where available.  

To get a sense for what's happening at the macro level, we took a look at recently released Fall 2022 waitlist statistics from 101 private and public institutions.  Our analysis paints the following picture:

• The number of students admitted from the waitlist declined 3 percent year over year from 26,000 for the Class of 2025 to 20,000 for the Class of 2026

• On average, 19 percent of Fall 2022 students accepting a place on a waitlist were admitted, unchanged from the previous year

• Students admitted from the waitlist accounted for 8 percent of Fall 2022 enrollments, down slightly from 9 percent for Fall 2021

• 62 percent of the schools sampled admitted 10 percent or less of the students accepting a place on the waitlist for Fall 2022 (vs. 57 percent for the Fall 2021)

Be sure to bookmark this page as we expect to be updating status over the next several weeks.

Click Continue Reading for the list.

Here's our updated list of regular decision notification dates for the Class of 2027.  As many of you know, schools often post results in advance of their "official" notification dates, so we've compiled the most recently updated dates for you here, along with the notification dates from last year.  Bookmark this site, as we'll post updates often.

Good luck, seniors!

Trying to understand how demonstrated interest factors into a college/university you're considering?  Then check out our list of institutions where demonstrated interest is deemed important or very important.  

To compile the list, we've identified every school in our coverage universe where the Common Data Set entry for "level of applicant's interest" is reported as important or very important.  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.  

Nevertheless, the list remains a great way to get a better sense for where visiting a campus (virtually), taking advantage of an optional interview or completing an optional essay prompt may more strongly weigh on your candidacy for admission. 

Click on Continue Reading for the list. 

Here's our updated list of early decision and early action notification dates for the Class of 2027.  As many of you know, schools often post results in advance of their "official" notification dates, so we've compiled the most recently updated dates for you here where available, as well as last year's notification dates for reference.   Bookmark this page, as we'll be updating it frequently over the next 30 days.

Good luck, seniors!

As you evaluate whether or not to submit test scores with your application, consider not only the strength of your score(s), but also the degree to which colleges of interest have embraced students without test scores.

While the colleges themselves have not been particularly forthcoming about the impact of test score submission on admission rate, the latest version of the Common Data Set (CDS) does make it possible to get a sense for the mix of the Fall 2021 entering class that submitted test scores. If 90% of the entering class submitted test scores, applying test-optional may be risky. On the flip side, if 10% of the entering class submitted test scores, you can feel pretty comfortable that applying test-optional won't put your application at risk.

This post focuses on selective, test-optional institutions where a low percentage of the Fall 2021 entering class submitted test scores. In other words, places where you can feel more comfortable applying test-optional.

Note: because the Common Data Set reports the percentage submitting SAT and percentage submitting ACT but NOT the percentage submitting both, we report the results in the form of a range and an index that represents the midpoint of that range. Each school listed has an admit rate of 50 percent or less and an index of 33 percent or lower.

Click on Continue Reading to see 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.

For those of you who have been waitlisted at one of your top choices, here's our initial update of Class of 2026 waitlist notification dates and status where available.  

To get a sense for what's happening at the macro level, we took a look at recently released Class of 2025 waitlist statistics from 120 private and public institutions.  Our analysis paints the following picture:

• The number of students admitted from the waitlist declined 46 percent year over year from 61,000 for the Class of 2024 to 33,000 for the Class of 2025

• On average, 15 percent of Class of 2025 students accepting a place on a waitlist were admitted, down from 32 percent in for the Class of 2024

• Students admitted from the waitlist accounted for 13 percent of Class of 2025 enrollments, down from 27 percent for the Class of 2024

• 61 percent of the schools sampled admitted 10 percent or less of the students accepting a place on the waitlist for the Class of 2025 (vs. 28 percent for the Class of 2024)

As expected, surge in waitlist activity brought on by the pandemic to more normal levels with the Class of 2025, as institutions worked through a surge in gap year deferrals, vaccinations kicked into gear and students were finally able to return to campus. We anticipate waitlist activity to continue to moderate for the Class of 2026.

Be sure to bookmark this page as we expect to be updating status over the next several weeks.

Click Continue Reading for the list.

Here's our updated list of regular decision notification dates for the Class of 2026.  As many of you know, schools often post results in advance of their "official" notification dates, so we've compiled the most recently updated dates for you here, along with the notification dates from last year.  Bookmark this site, as we'll post updates often.

Good luck, seniors!

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.