Hot off the press!  We've had a chance to review the preliminary Fall 2023 admissions data released recently by the University of California and we thought it would be helpful to summarize it and share our key findings.  

Overall freshman admission rates increased systemwide from 60 percent to 63 percent year-over-year, fueled by a 2.1 percent decline in applications and 3.3 percent increase in acceptances. If you're an out of state or international student, pay close attention...there continues to be a window of opportunity to take advantage of favorable rates at a couple of UC campuses.

Click on Continue Reading for the details.

Hot off the press!  We've had a chance to review the preliminary Fall 2022 admissions data released recently by the University of California and we thought it would be helpful to summarize it and share our key findings.  

Overall freshman admission rates fell systemwide from 65 perent to 60 percent based on a 3.5 percent increase in applications and 5.1 percent decrease in acceptances. If you're an out of state or international student, pay close attention...there continues to be a window of opportunity to take advantage of favorable rates at a couple of UC campuses.

Click on Continue Reading for the details.

Hot off the press!  We've had a chance to review the Fall 2021 admissions data released recently by the University of California and thought it would be helpful to summarize it and share our key findings.  

Overall freshman admission rates are down for residents, out of state and international students across the board thanks to test-blind admissions and an 18 percent year-over-year rise in total admits. If you're an out of state or international student, pay close attention...there continues to be a window of opportunity to take advantage of favorable odds at several UC campuses.

Click on Continue Reading for the details.

As we entered 2020, roughly one-third of the schools in our coverage universe offered some form of test-optional admissions. That figure cleared 70 percent in June and is now hovering at 90 percent with the holdouts largely in the South, particularly the public universities in Flordia and Georgia.

To help you keep up with the changes, we're actively tracking test-optional policies for several popular institutions we cover. As always, the definition of "test-optional" varies by institution and often has strings attached so pay close attention to the details.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of test-optional schools and the type of test-optional policy they employ.  For your convenience, we've included admit rates, test score ranges and links to each school's standardized test policy to help you find suitable candidates for your college list.

College Kickstart subscribers, this is automatically updated and visible as part of the requirements view.

Hot off the press!  We've had a chance to review the Fall 2020 admissions data released recently by the University of California and thought it would be helpful to summarize it and share our key findings.  

Overall freshman admission rates are up for residents, out of state and international students across the board thanks to a 10 percent year-over-year rise in total admits. If you're an out of state or international student, pay close attention...there continues to be a window of opportunity to take advantage of favorable odds at several UC campuses.

Click on Continue Reading for the details.

Hot off the press!  We've had a chance to review the Fall 2019 admissions data released recently by the University of California and thought it would be helpful to summarize it and share our key findings.  

Overall freshman admission rates are up for residents and steady for out of state and international students as the University of California continues to settle on a new normal that accommodates a larger mix of non-residents.   If you're an out of state or international student, pay close attention...there continues to be a window of opportunity to take advantage of favorable odds at several UC campuses.

Click on Continue Reading for the details.

The University of California has extended the application deadline for those affected by the recent wildfires from November 30th to December 15th. 

Affected applicants MUST file a request for extension.  

For instructions on how to request the extension, click here.

Hot off the press!  We've had a chance to review the Fall 2018 admissions data released recently by the University of California and thought it would be helpful to summarize it and share our key findings.  

Overall freshman admission rates are up for non-residents and down for residents as the University of California continues to settle on a new normal that accommodates a larger mix of out of state and international students.   If you're an out of state or international student, pay close attention...there continues to be a window of opportunity to take advantage of favorable odds at several UC campuses.

Click on Continue Reading for the details.

Here's an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal on the impact of being a legacy applicant on college admissions.  While the article focuses on how legacy admissions impacts efforts to expand access and diversity, it also sheds light on the legacy advantage at institutions such as Notre Dame, the University of Virginia, Georgetown, Princeton and Harvard, where the legacy admission rate can be as much as 2-5 times higher than the general rate.

Click here for the article

Here's an useful article from National Public Radio about how moms and dads can help dial back the pressure for their stressed out high schoolers.  

Click here for the article.  

The University of California and the California Community Colleges announced plans to enhance transfer admission guarantees for academically prepared students.   

Click here for the press release.  

Here's an article from the Wall Street Journal with a look at how college admissions officers at Bucknell, Georgia Tech and Rice are attempting to keep up with surges in application numbers.  With applications being considered in eight minutes (or less), it's vital to stay focused, consistent and compelling in your materials.  

Click here for the article.

Here's a good article from the Washington Post with an inside look at college admissions at the University of Maryland.

Click here for the article.

Here's a good article from the New York Times that sheds some light on the various competiing objectives that colleges need to balance in their admissions processes and how colleges like Connecticut College, Olin College of Engineering, MIT and Yale are exploring new ways to create more holistic pictures of applicants within that context.

Click here for the article.

With the University of California application now open for submissions, it's time to make sure everything is in order.  

Here are six tips for freshman applicants, courtesy of the University of California: