Swarthmore is a small liberal arts school in Swarthmore, PA—a small town outside of Philadelphia —with about 1,600 undergraduates. It’s a part of the in the area, which consists of Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford. Students are able to take classes relatively easily within the tri-college consortium, as well as cross-register with the University of Pennsylvania.
Should I apply ED during Coronavirus/COVID-19?
We love lists. We’ve written a lot of itemized lists over the years that help guide you through various overwhelming steps of this big process we call the college admissions cycle. It’s July, which means it’s time to begin finalizing your college lists and deciding on which school(s) you’re going to be applying to during early decision or early action deadlines. Commitment seems super scary, now more than ever. So we understand that the prospect of early decision might seem nearly impossible to consider. Right now there are more questions than answers, and more information gets released every single day that seems to impact students and their admissions chances and college experiences.
How to Write the Duke Supplement Essays 2020-2021
Duke is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Most Duke students are sports and school spirit fanatics who can also handle a competitive and intense academic environment. Being admitted to Duke is no easy feat, and the acceptance rate for the class of 2024 was 7.7%. Let’s look at their supplemental questions:
How to Write the Tufts Supplement Essays 2020-2021
Tufts is a small-ish liberal arts university outside of Boston, in Medford, MA. Tufts has ~5,800 undergraduates, and just about as many graduate students on their campus. Its mascot is Jumbo the elephant, which is cute. Fall 2020 is going to be a situation for students, with online and in-person offerings.
Should I Submit My SAT or ACT Scores 2020
The pandemic has impacted nearly every industry around the globe. Universities are no different. For the first time in modern history, schools have largely been forced to become test-optional. While many schools were headed in this direction already, we thought it would be years before we saw a real domino-effect in schools ditching test scores as a prerequisite. Since access to exams themselves is uncertain at best at the moment, a trend that was perhaps a ways into the future has arrived, at least for now.
How to Write the University of Virginia (UVA) Supplement Essays 2020-2021
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Just over 17,000 students attend the school and the acceptance rate for the class of 2024 was 20.5%. It’s a big school with a lot of school pride. UVA is comprised of a set of undergraduate colleges, and you’ll answer the prompt that aligns with the specific college you’re applying to. We’re breaking it down below:
Harvard’s Plan for Fall 2020: Coronavirus Update
How to Write the University of Chicago Supplement Essays 2020-2021
The College at the University of Chicago is a liberal arts school within a research university in Chicago, Illinois. The approximately 6,300 undergraduate students at the University of Chicago are known for being passionate, smart, and insatiably curious. The College has rigorous academic distribution requirements, and the Ivy League-tier academics come with an Ivy League-tier admissions process. The acceptance rate is 6%.
How to Write the Villanova Supplement Essays 2020-2021
Class of 2021: Community Service During the Coronavirus
Last month, Harvard released a via their Making Caring Common Project, called “For Colleges: Endorse ‘Care Counts in Crisis: College Admissions Deans Respond to COVID-19’” a letter endorsed by 350+ higher ed and other industry leaders across the nation. Just a few of these endorsers include deans from American University, Boston University, Bowdoin, Bucknell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Kenyon, MIT, Northwestern, Oberlin, Pomona, Smith, Stanford, Yale...and the list goes on.
How to Write the Yale Supplement Essays 2020-2021
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, but you probably know it better as part of the Ivy League. Whatever it is that you want to study, it’s safe to say that Yale has one of the best programs in the world for it. The students agree. 99% of first-year students return for their second year. If you get into Yale and you can manage the work — you stay.
How to Write the Barnard Supplement Essays 2020-2021
is an all women’s college in New York City. There is a huge sense of community and there has been a 60% increase in applications over the past five years. Barnard students can take classes at nearby Columbia University, but steer clear of writing about Columbia in your supplement. The acceptance rate for the class of 2024 was just under 11%. We’re breaking down their supplements below. Please note that the last question is optional, which is a trap. There is no such thing as an optional supplement when a school’s acceptance rate is 11%. It’s crucial that you submit a response to all three prompts.
How to Write the Brown Supplement Essays 2020-2021
is an Ivy League school that is located in Providence, Rhode Island. Just over 7,000 undergraduates attend the school, and the acceptance rate for the class of 2024 was 6.9%. Brown is known for its open curriculum, but there is a common misconception that it’s an ideal fit for students who want to figure out things along the way. This is false, and you certainly shouldn’t mention the words “open to exploring Brown’s many options” in your supplement. To succeed at Brown, you need to be a self-starter who can think ahead and structure their education in a meaningful way.
How to Write the Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) Supplement Essays 2020-2021
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, with an undergraduate student body of around 7,700. Many students seek out WashU for their exceptional research programs, opportunities, and facilities, but the university is more than a just petri dish for research. One in every three students take part in study abroad, 75% participate in intramural (club) sports, and 80% pursue multiple majors or minors. It’s also a geographically diverse school, as 90% of undergraduate students come from out of state. Despite coming from far and wide, the campus community is very close, and there are many traditions that foster deep bonds among students and faculty. One of our favorites is DUC N’ Donuts — or free donuts and coffee on the first Friday of each month.
College Tuition: Coronavirus/COVID-19
There’s a lot of chatter right now around the price of attending college online. Colleges are basically charging the same price for a significantly downgraded product. They’re hoping that their demand is relatively inelastic so they won’t see a drop in their yield and revenue. Most parents and students think this is W I L D (why would you ever pay full price if you’re getting, at best, 10% of a product?). There are a ton of class-action lawsuits surrounding this. Fun.
Williams Reopening Fall 2020: Coronavirus/COVID-19 Update
Last week, Williams announced a plan for reopening in the fall. The announcement, , detailed plans to move forward with an in-person semester with additional safety measures in place. College life will be different this year, and the letter mentions “significant adjustments to the way we live and learn.”
Creating a College List During Coronavirus/COVID-19
If you’re reading this blog post, you’re probably in the process of creating your college list. This is a good thing because schools will be releasing their supplements next Month, and ideally, you’ll have your list narrowed down by then. But between the daily test-optional updates, vague news stories about school openings and safety measures, and the fact that you might not have been able to visit any colleges due to their early closings, we understand that creating a school list might be harder than you had anticipated.
Coronavirus Question: Should I Go to a Local College and Then Transfer?
Students often have thoughts about how they can creatively work around the competitiveness of the college admissions system. In fact, some have tried to cut in line by transferring to lower-performing schools for their junior and senior years to graduate with a better standing for their resume. While this scenario isn’t cutting in line, per se, one question we’ve gotten from students is whether or not they should go to a local college and then transfer to a college they’d prefer to attend. Here are our thoughts:
Summer Job Ideas for High Schooler Juniors
Tips for Applying to Brown During Coronavirus/COVID-19
ICYMI, Brown is test-optional for the upcoming school year. We broke down their announcement here. Their statement is unnecessarily wordy and yet despite its length, it does not provide any groundbreaking information. Essentially, send in your scores if you’ve done well because Brown says, verbatim, “we will continue to review test scores that are submitted.”