Johns Hopkins offers undergraduate students a mid-sized college experience within a major research university. Located in the heart of Baltimore, Maryland, the university is #1 in the United States for research and development spending and has housed 29 Nobel Laureates. It is particularly known for programs in medicine, medical research, and medical engineering, especially public health. The acceptance rate is 9%, and 98% of admitted students are in the top 10% of their class.

The College at Columbia University is one of the best undergraduate liberal arts schools in the world, at one of the worlds’ best universities. To call it exceptional is an understatement. To call it highly sought-after is also an understatement. Columbia is home to some of the best programs and professors in the world for nearly any academic subject, and gaining access through admission is extraordinarily competitive. The College is particularly known for its uniquely rigorous CORE curriculum, a college of literature, arts, and music courses all students are required to take for graduation. The CORE is intense, and many students equate it to completing a second major.

Washington and Lee is a small liberal arts school in Lexington, Virginia. W&L is also home to the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics for those students who are interested in studying business within the framework of a liberal arts school. The acceptance rate hovers around 19%. Their supplement is broken down below:

The University of Michigan is a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It’s a big school with strong academic programs and more than 1,600 clubs. The acceptance rate hovers around 23%.

Dartmouth is a private Ivy League liberal arts school in Hanover, New Hampshire. It is the most rural Ivy League and the only one with its own ski mountain. There are approximately 4,400 undergrads, and the acceptance rate is 8.8%. This means it is about twice as easy to get into Dartmouth as it is to get into Harvard, making Dartmouth a “more accessible Ivy” while still being one of the most selective and prestigious schools in the country.

The undergraduate college at Harvard University is a mid-sized liberal arts school within a massive private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard is the oldest university in the United States and is widely recognized as one of the world’s best schools. With an endowment that makes it financially comparable to a small country, Harvard is a mammoth institution that wields enormous power. Last year, Harvard received 43,330 applications for first-year admission. The acceptance rate was 4.6%, and 1650 students enrolled.

Georgia Tech is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s a medium-sized (about 16,000 students) tech-focused school that puts a major emphasis on the importance of research opportunities. The acceptance rate for the class of 2024 was 20%. Georgia Tech changed their supplement this year. We’re breaking it down below:

Boston College is a medium-sized Jesuit research university in Boston, Massachusetts. Religion does not have to be a primary aspect of your education should you attend Boston College, but the Jesuit background informs life on campus in two ways: curiosity and academic learning are seen as crucial elements of understanding the world and practicing faith, and students are expected to address and engage with social issues. The acceptance rate for the class of 2024 was 24%. Let’s break down their supplement:

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.

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:

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.

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:

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%.

Villanova University is a private Catholic school in Villanova, Pennsylvania. There are 6,500 full-time undergraduate students, and a Villanova degree is considered one of the best economic values in the United States.

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.

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.

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.

The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university. As its name suggests, it’s in Boulder, Colorado and about 29,000 undergraduate students attend the school. It’s a big school in a city setting, and students at Boulder love the outdoors. The most popular majors are computer science, psychology, and integrative physiology. The acceptance rate is around 80%.

The University of California application is the California-specific application for the nine UC schools: UC Davis, UC Berkeley, UC Merced, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, and UC San Diego. The UC Application is similar to the Common Application, but it is an entirely different system, requires some different information, and has its own deadline: November 30th.  

Washington and Lee is a liberal arts school in Lexington, VA with about 1,750 undergraduate students. Although Washington and Lee is small, the school is home to a few unique programs including Poverty studies and the Williams school, which is a business education within the framework of a liberal arts curriculum. The school also has an interesting schedule: there is a fall term, a winter term, and then a spring term. Spring term is only four weeks long, and during that time students take only one class and do a deep dive on a specific subject. The acceptance rate for the class of 2023 was 18%.