Caroline Koppelman

Best Colleges for Foreign Languages

Some people are simply really good at languages. They immerse themselves and gain proficiency rapidly, and some even collect languages like they’re arcade prizes. If you are one of those people, you may be considering majoring in a foreign language (or two!) in college. College language programs aim towards a high level of proficiency or even fluency in reading, writing, speaking, and cultural awareness.

Best Colleges for African American Studies

African American studies, often a subset of an Africana Studies program, is the study of the African diaspora with a focus on the Americas, especially the United States. As a major, it is interdisciplinary by nature, pulling from history, contemporary studies, cultural studies, political studies, and more. Students interested in majoring in African American Studies should look for programs led by contemporary thought leaders and with research centers connected to the department.

UPenn Legacy Strategy

“Hurrah, Hurrah! He’s going to be a quaker just like his mother!” is something we hear from parents all the time. It always gives us pause. Mainly because most alumni parents don’t really understand legacy admissions at top schools like Penn. They assume their kids will automatically get in, or that it’ll be significantly easier, which just isn’t the case. So if you are a legacy parent (or a student thinking of applying to your dear old parent’s alma mater), let’s break down legacy admissions at Penn.

Best Colleges for Public Relations

Public Relations, sometimes called Strategic Communications, is a strong major for students interested in communications, marketing, brand representation and building, crisis management, or anything else related to the building, maintaining, and marketing of a brand. It is also, however, a fairly rare major at the undergraduate level. Most colleges only offer Public Relations, or a differently-named equivalent, at the graduate level. If you don’t want to wait, you’ll have to do some digging.

Best Undergraduate Colleges for Investment Banking Jobs

Investment Banking is a great path for those who want one thing: intellectually stimulating work money. It’s not the right industry for everyone, but those that want to pursue it tend to be hungry and ready to do what it takes. We conducted a Linkedin search of current employees at the top banks in the country and searched by school to see which ones were top feeders to each. (*Disclaimer: employees appeared in our search if they had the school name on their profile. It’s possible some attended graduate school or even received certifications.)

Best Colleges for European History

Europe is big. That may be an absurd sentence, but it’s worth stating twice: Europe is big. If you are looking to study Europe in college, there’s a lot of literal ground to cover. As you look into major programs, you’ll see that some programs focus on a particular geographic area, others gravitate around particular social issues, while still others are rooted firmly in language.

Yale Legacy Strategy

“Of course, my kid is going to get into Yale. I went there, so they are a legacy!” We hear this way too much. And we hate to hear this because it is really not true, and we don’t like breaking bad news! Most legacies don’t get into Yale. It is the cold hard truth. But, if you are a legacy and you’re interested in your child getting in, read on. Let’s break down what legacy admissions really look like at Yale and how you can best support your legacy as they apply.

Best Colleges for Oceanography

Oceanography — as is apt for the name — is the study of all things ocean. If you pursue oceanography, often also called Marine Science or Marine Biology, as a major, you’ll be studying animals, plants, geology, water composition, how water moves, and how water changes. Lots of colleges offer it as a major, minor, or concentration, but we think the best place to study oceanography is close to the ocean. You don’t have to, of course. People study outer space from earth, after all, but since you can live out your Finding Nemo dreams, why not do so?

College Athletic Recruiting at Middlebury College

You’ve spent the last four years toiling away, both on and off the court/field/mountain/course, and you’re looking for a college that will allow you to play your sport and get a good education. There’s a reason it’s student-athlete and not athlete-student, after all. You’ve settled on somewhere like Middlebury. You’ve been following their stats and know that their acceptance rate has been steadily dropping for years, settling at a competitive 15% for 2022. You may think to yourself, “hey I’m really good at soccer. Maybe that will push me over the edge.” It might, but keep reading.

Best Colleges for Zoology

If you love animals and your favorite weekend activity is birdwatching, visiting a zoo, or strolling along the reptiles section of your local pet store, you may be considering turning your love of animals into a professional career path with a degree in zoology, or a related field. With a degree in zoology, animal biology, or animal sciences, you’ll be able to go into research, work in a high-level role at a zoo, or participate in wildlife conservation. You’ll also be well-positioned if you’re hoping to continue on to a veterinarian school.

UPenn Legacy Guide

We work with legacy students all the time and the most common question we hear is from parents: “Will my legacy kid get in?” The answer can be slightly more complicated than you might think. At top schools like Penn, not every legacy gets in. Actually, most legacies do not get in. It’s just too competitive. So we wanted to break down all the ins and outs of legacy admission at Penn and answer some of the most common questions we get from alumni parents.

Best Summer Ideas for 9th Grade

School’s out, you’re ready to lounge around the house and do nothing. But, if you’re here reading this blog, you’re probably an ambitious student with dreams of top-tier colleges. And students who want to go to top-tier colleges know they need to start preparing for the college admissions process now. We know summer is the time you don’t want to think about school, but thems the breaks, kid.

Best Colleges for Chemistry

We all know what chemistry is, we all take it in high school, and it’s not a major that needs a lot of explanation. But college-level chemistry is a very different animal than what you took as a high school student. The best undergraduate chemistry programs in America train scientific powerhouses who go on to make major breakthroughs, lead large companies, and guide our society toward a better future.  

Best Colleges for Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

If you’re interested in electronics and want to be able to design hardware and software in the future, you may want to study both electrical engineering and computer science in college. We’ve compiled ten of our favorite dual programs, double majors, and majors with a concentration combining electrical engineering and computer science. These are often interdepartmental programs and are great for students interested in entrepreneurship, tech, product design, and physical technological goods.

Classes in High School for Veterinarians

Turning a love of animals into a career is awesome. While many people dream of becoming veterinarians when they are young, usually if you are still serious about it when you get to high school that means you are committed to taking the next steps. While eventually, you’ll need to go to veterinary school, but first you have to go to college. Yes, there are a lot of steps to becoming a vet and your goals can feel very fall off. But there are many steps you can be taking now to set yourself up well. One of the biggest is taking the right classes in high school. What are those classes? Let’s break it down.

How to Develop Your Extracurriculars as a Freshman in High School

“I am only a 9th grader, are you sure I should be thinking about college? Seems premature.” It’s not. The college application process starts the moment you start freshman year. Every year of college matters on your application, plus the earlier you start building your niche, the deeper and more involved you can get. Starting to build out your extracurricular profile in your interest area as a freshman could be the thing that pushes you into admission at schools like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!