91̽

Caroline Koppelman
Official Common App Essay Guide 2025-2026

We’ve spent the past few weeks breaking down each Common App essay prompt one by one, and now it’s time for the grand finale: our ultimate guide to writing the Common App essay. Sure, there are seven different prompts, but at the end of the day, every school is looking for the same thing: a story.

Caroline Koppelman
How to Write Common App Essay Prompt 7: Example ...

We’ve been waiting for this one: it’s finally time to dig into Prompt #7, the crown jewel of the Common App essay prompts.

Caroline Koppelman
Ultimate Guide to Letters of Continued Interest ...

Getting waitlisted or deferred from your dream school is hard. We know it’s hard! You feel rejected, but it’s this weird non-rejection rejection that can leave you feeling lost and confused. And while a lot of things in college admissions are totally out of your control, there is something you can do if you’ve been waitlisted or deferred to give yourself another chance. A letter of continued interest, sometimes known as a waitlist letter or deferral letter, is one of the few, actionable things you can control when admissions decisions seem so out of your control. It’s your only chance to make a good second impression, and we help students write them every single year.

Caroline Koppelman
Ultimate Guide to Getting Waitlisted 2025

Getting waitlisted is the ultimate limbo – it’s not not a rejection, but it’s not a full-on denial, either. And depending on your circumstances, you could be feeling everything from mild disappointment to full-on panic. Don’t get yourself into a tizzy just yet, because there are things you can do to give yourself a shot at getting off the waitlist and make sure that you have a plan in place for the next year.

Caroline Koppelman
Best Early Decision II (ED2) Schools 2024-2025

Hey, look, sometimes ED doesn’t work out the way we want it to, and we have to change strategies. If you just got rejected or deferred from your ED/EA option, we’d like to introduce you to our good friend, Early Decision 2. ED2 is just as binding as ED, and it signals to the school that you are serious about attending that school, and guess what? Schools like when you’re serious about them.

rejections

What do I do if I’m Rejected ED?

If you’re reading this in the fall, before you’ve heard back from your ED/EA school:

This is a great place to be in. It’s not too late for anything. Start your other supplements today and put just as much work into them as you have into your ED/EA school. Work equally on the array of schools on your list––safeties, targets, and reaches. To find guidance about how to write the supplements for your schools, poke around the blog. We have dozens of detailed blog posts for supplements (like this one, this one, or this one). 

Why Did I Get Rejected?

We have gotten hundreds—approaching thousands—of emails and calls in the past week. Early decision has come out and people don’t understand why they were deferred or rejected. Our students did phenomenally well, but it seems, as we predicted, that more people than ever are getting turned away. This makes sense. School’s haven’t increased the number of kids they accept while applicant pools have expanded exponentially. It’s incredibly hard to get in. And people don’t like that.

Top 8 Reasons You May Have Been Rejected

The 2017-2018 college admissions season is officially over. Yes, waitlists are pending, but the vast majority of high schools seniors know where they are going to end up come fall. All of our kids got into one of their top choices, but our results are always outlines. For many students, the last few weeks have been a wakeup call. With acceptance percentages continuing to plummet, that was truer this year than ever. The question remains, though: Why? Why didn’t you get into that school you thought you were a perfect fit for on paper? Why didn’t being a legacy give you the boost you needed? Or why wasn’t your full-slate of extracurriculars what got you over the lip? Here are eight reasons you may have been rejected:

“I Was Waitlisted and Rejected from Every School I Applied to. What do I do now?”

College acceptances are out, and, as happens every year, we’ve been flooded with emails from upset parents and freaked out kids. These are NOT emails from our clients. Our kids did amazingly. They killed it, getting into the Ivy League and other highly-competitive schools, receiving impressive scholarship packages, and invites to honors programs. Our only kids who only got one acceptance are those who got in ED and so didn’t submit any other applications. Again, NOT our clients.

Acceptance: Why Did I Get Rejected and What Do I Do with Myself Now?

Getting that letter can be really tough. You worked your butt off this year. You spent countless hours studying for standardized tests. You came early to school and stayed late for sports practices and club meetings. You spent time and money with the hopes that they would see in your essays what you, yourself, know you are capable of and yet, it didn’t work out. We know. We’ve been there, too.

What to Do If You Get Rejected from Your Early Decision School

Getting rejected from your Early Decision school can be heartbreaking. You’re 17 or 18 years-old. This is probably the first big rejection of your life and even if it’s not, it’s the first time you’ve been rejected by something so recognizable in society. Losing your student government race can be crushing, too, but getting rejected from a place you’ve heard of since you were a little kid can be rougher and you know what? It’s okay to be heartbroken.

What Do I Do If I Get Rejected from My Early Decision School?

We know. Just seeing this headline makes you want to slam your computer shut and call in sick from school. Take a deep breath. We’re not saying you’re going to get rejected or even . While, every year, kids do get rejected from the , most of our students get in where they want to go. However, we always recommend a contingency plan because the only thing worse than not getting in is not getting in and having no backup plan. Let’s call this insurance.  

Reasons for Getting Rejected from Safety Schools

Last year we had a student named Scott who was objectively incredible. He had a 2200 on the SATs, 700+ on multiple SAT2s, , and had an A GPA. He had his sights set on some very competitive schools, but he knew he had to have a few safeties, including Tulane, just in case. Not only was he supremely qualified but his mom went to Tulane and still helped out at the school with alumni relations. Much to his surprise, Scott was rejected from Tulane Early Action. 

A Letter To Students Upon Receiving Their First Rejection

I hope this process has not made you feel like a failure. You are not a failure, and deep down you know that. Even the most confident and strong-willed person will feel crushed when getting rejected from a university. But as cliche as it is, a rejection is not a reflection on who you are. That said, rejection is the worst, especially during this process.