As you complete your college application and later the supplement questions, most colleges would ask you to indicate your “intended major,” “alternative majors,” or something as simple as “area/field of interests.” There are countless myths about what to put down and whether your answer affects your chance of getting in. Every school can be different when it comes to undergraduate admissions: some schools have requirements for different colleges within the school, while some wouldn’t look at intended major at all.
What To Do If Your GPA Is Bad
If you’re an upperclassman with a mediocre GPA, you might be worried about your chance of getting into your dream college. In this post, we offer some ways for you to mitigate the negative impact of bad grades at school as well as the steps to take proactively.
What Kind of Community Service Should I Do
Many high schools put a strong emphasis on community service and encourage their students to participate in campus-wide events to serve those in need. However, the purpose of community service is to understand how we, as high schoolers, can do our part and make our community better. Many students, especially in Asian countries, think they must do impressive large-scale projects–traveling to different cities and countries–so they can add these experiences to their college application and impress admissions officers. Sorry to break the news, but let me tell you why this could potentially jeopardize your chance of getting into your dream schools.
Schools that Use the Coalition App
If you are currently applying or plan to apply to U.S. colleges, you must have heard about the Common Application, also known as CommonApp. It is an online application for students who plan to apply to multiple schools but requires you to fill out the basic information once. CommonApp can save you a lot of time because once you fill out your basic info, you now can focus on every school’s supplements. Now, there is another online application serving the same purpose, namely the Coalition Application.
SAT Subject Tests (SAT 2) Overview
If you were/are prepping for your SAT, chances are you also need to take the SAT II: Subject Tests. These tests are used for colleges to identify and determine a student’s strength and interest in particular subjects, such as math, literature, history, etc. SAT II is offered six times a year, and because each test is 60 minutes, students may choose to take up to three tests on the same day. Most colleges (especially prestigious schools) would specifically ask for 2 or more SAT II scores, while some are test-flexible or test-optional.
SAT Percentiles of the New SAT (since 2016)
As soon as you finish—or even before—your official SAT test, you’re probably wondering what a good score on the test should be. Today, we’ll introduce SAT percentiles for the new SAT administered since 2016, and help you understand how good your score is compared to others’.
Popular Schools Among International Applicants (and their acceptance rates)
In the past 10 years, almost every college in the U.S. has been receiving more and more applications. some have doubled, or even tripled the number since the end of last century. While many schools are adjusting their enrollment and also accepting more students, increasing popularity means the applicant pool is more competitive than ever. In 2017, UCLA became the first school to reach 100,000 applications in a single application season. We will look at the acceptance rate of some popular schools among high schoolers.
How to Write the Common App Essay (Part 2)
Previously, we discussed the general strategies when it comes to writing Common App essays, and examine the following three topics:
How to Write the Common App Essay (Part 1)
The Common Application (Common App) is the easiest way to submit your information to colleges, but the toughest part of filling out the app? Essay. You Common App essay will be sent to every school you apply to through the application, and could the your first impression to most of the schools. Today, the Common App offers 7 essay prompts for their applicants (6 official prompts + 1 topic of your choice). We will examine all of them and help you decide what to write about, and how to write it.
Donate to Colleges? Legacy and Development Case
Colleges consider many different factors when they decide who to accept from thousands of potential applicants. Besides standardized tests, GPA, extracurricular activities and personal essays, one thing that is constantly overlooked is legacy. In fact, many of you have probably never heard of this term if you didn’t grow up in the U.S. or Canada. We will talk about what legacy means and how it may affect your chances of getting into colleges.
How Should International Students Choose between the ACT and SAT?
Every month, especially in summer, parents either come into my office or message me, asking the same question: “Should my son/daughter take the ACT or SAT?” Frankly, it is impossible to answer this question without knowing the student—everyone’s different, and when it comes to standardized tests, you must always take a few mock tests to know which one suits you better.
Format of the ACT and SAT
The new SAT is very different from its predecessor, but it’s changed for the better. Test-takers now know the exact order, number of questions, and amount of time given in each section.
Top 25 Best Music Schools in America
If you’re interested in either musical performance or music theory, chances are you’ve thought about applying to a music school or becoming a music major/minor. Here’s the list of Best Colleges for Music in America according to niche.com!
Top 40 Best Engineering Schools in America
Computer science, business/economics, psychology, and pre-med have been many high schoolers’ intended majors in recent years. However, the one program that remains popular throughout decades is engineering. From mechanical to nuclear, chemical to aerospace, engineering has been regarded as applied science by many who seek professional training prior to landing a job in the science and tech industry. Here’s a list of some of the best schools in the U.S. with a strong undergraduate engineering program, as well as some, though without a graduate level engineering program, remain popular because of their strong undergraduate program.
Understanding the UC (University of California) Schools System
Schools in the University of California (UC) system have always been some of the most popular college choices for high schoolers all over the world. The UC’s also include many prestigious institutions on the annual US News rankings, and are widely regarded as the best public school system in the nation. This post is an overview of the UC system and serves as a directory for those who are interested in applying to any of the UC schools.
Schools with the Most International Students
Today, more and more U.S. colleges today receive applications from high schoolers overseas. International students have become a huge part of the learning experience on campus, contributing to school diversity with their knowledge, ideas, and cultures. The following list includes national universities and liberal arts colleges with the highest percentages of international students as of 2018.
Colleges that Don’t Require the SAT
You have probably heard rumors about prestigious schools (U Chicago, Wake Forest, Brandeis, etc.) no longer requiring SAT scores from their applicants. While the content is certainly correct, the truth is, most of these news reports are misleading—not requiring SAT scores is by no means suggesting it’s easier to get into these prestigious school. In fact, the opposite may be true.
30 Most Popular Schools That Do Not Require Application Essays (US News Top 200)
One thing that keeps high schoolers from applying to multiple schools is college essay. Besides Common App or Coalition prompts, most schools will have their individual supplements where you must answer short questions or even write long essays in response to their prompts. We’ve compiled a list of schools that are popular among recent applicants. These schools do not require additional essays and generally have a good reputation and/or are ranked high in multiple published rankings.
How to Choose a College
Choosing colleges could seem like an intimidating process until you actually begin. The process is basically twofold and can be simplified into two essential questions.
4 Reasons to Take the SAT
This post is part one of the “4 Pros” series for those who are uncertain about picking the SAT or ACT. We will show you the 4 pros for taking the SAT. If this sounds like you, it is likely that you will have a better test result by taking the SAT as opposed to the ACT.
