U.S. News & World Report released their 2022 college rankings yesterday.  Over 1,400 schools were covered nationwide and evaluated on multiple measures of academic excellence and outcomes to produce the final rankings.

This year's methodology adjusts for the decline in SAT/ACT test takers and continues to include test-blind institutions.

Princeton retains sole possession of the top spot for National Universities, and Williams College tops the list of Liberal Arts Colleges.  

Click on Continue Reading to see the rankings changes. 

In search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2021-22 application season.  

The list includes schools that simply require the base essay (e.g. personal statement). Keep in mind that many of these schools may have "optional" prompts which you might want to complete anyway to strengthen your application.  

If you're a student or parent with a College Kickstart Plus or Premium subscription, this information is already available to you as part of our key application requirements view.

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

Wondering if it's possible to tour some campuses over the summer?  Then check out our list of top colleges offering on-campus visits.

We've taken the top 50 national universities and top 50 liberal arts colleges from the latest U.S. News rankings and identified those currently open for on-campus visits.  With vaccinations in full force and cases on the decline, many have resumed in-person campus tours.

Unsurprisingly, most of the institutions open for visits have safe practices in place, so make sure you've satisfied the requirements prior to visiting. Also take note that most tours are now limited to just a few families per tour so it's best to sign up as early as possible.  For your convenience, we've included a links to schedule your tour/information session directly.

College Kickstart subscribers: there are now over 500 schools in our coverage universe currently open for prospective student visits and they are now visible in the Summary View, along with links to schedule your visit.

Bookmark this page, as we'll be updating it frequently over the next several weeks as the colleges update their summer visit plans.  

Click Continue Reading for the list.

For those of you who have been waitlisted at one of your top choices, here's a list of 2020 waitlist statistics for several popular private and public schools, along with notification dates and latest status where available.  

Our sample of waitlist statistics from 100 private and public institutions paints the following picture:

• The number of students admitted from the waitlist rose 97 percent year over year from 22,223 in 2019 to 43,867 in 2020

• On average, 29 percent of students accepting a place on a waitlist were admitted in 2020, up from 18 percent in 2019

• 33 percent of the schools admitted 10 percent or less of the students accepting a place on the waitlist last year (vs. 48 percent in 2019)

• 17 percent of the schools admitted 5 percent or less (vs. 29 percent in 2019)

• 3 percent admitted no one (vs. 8 percent in 2019)

These results come as no surprise given the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic last cycle. That said, we strongly caution against assuming a similar level of waitlist activity this cycle as much of this uncertainty is now behind us and most schools are resuming normal operations.

Be sure to bookmark this page as we expect to be updating status over the next several weeks.

Click Continue Reading for the list.

Here's our updated list of regular decision notification dates for the Class of 2025.  As many of you know, schools often post results in advance of their "official" notification dates, so we've compiled the most recently updated dates for you here, along with the notification dates from last year.  Bookmark this site, as we'll post updates often.

Good luck, seniors!

Here's our updated list of early decision and early action notification dates for the Class of 2025.  As many of you know, schools often post results in advance of their "official" notification dates, so we've compiled the most recently updated dates for you here where available, as well as last year's notification dates for reference.   Bookmark this page, as we'll be updating it frequently over the next 30 days.

Good luck, seniors!

U.S. News & World Report released their 2021 college rankings earlier today.  Over 1,400 schools were covered nationwide and evaluated on multiple measures of academic excellence and outcomes to produce the final rankings.

This year's methodology includes consideration of new student debt metrics, social mobility and inclusion of test-blind institutions. The weighting of outcomes has also increased.

Princeton retains sole possession of the top spot for National Universities, and Williams College tops the list of Liberal Arts Colleges.  

Click on Continue Reading to see the rankings changes. 

In search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2020-21 application season.  

The list includes schools that simply require the base essay (e.g. personal statement). Keep in mind that many of these schools may have "optional" prompts which you might want to complete anyway to strengthen your application.  

If you're a student or parent with a College Kickstart Plus or Premium subscription, this information is already available to you as part of our application requirements tracking feature.

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

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.

Combined BS/MD programs are available for talented high school seniors strongly committed to careers in medicine. Institutions offering combined BS/MD programs include Rice University, Northwestern University, Boston University and Case Western Reserve University.

To help you navigate your options, check out our list of combined BS/MD programs. We've included admission profiles where available, program lengths and features, as well as a link to each program's web page for the details.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of combined BS/MD medical school programs now.

For those of you who have been waitlisted at one of your top choices, here's a list of 2019 waitlist statistics for several popular private and public schools, along with notification dates and latest status where available.  

Our sample of waitlist statistics from 132 private and public institutions paints the following picture:

• The number of students admitted from the waitlist more than doubled year over year from 9,882 in 2018 to 21,180 in 2019

• On average, 15 percent of students accepting a place on a waitlist were admitted in 2019, up from 7 percent in 2018

• 48 percent of the schools admitted 10 percent or less of the students accepting a place on the waitlist last year (vs. 70 percent in 2018)

• 27 percent of the schools admitted 5 percent or less (vs. 44 percent in 2018)

• 7 percent admitted no one (vs. 12 percent in 2018)

Given the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, we fully expect the rise in waitlist activity to continue for 2020 (Class of 2024).

Be sure to bookmark this page as we expect to be updating status over the next several weeks.

Click Continue Reading for the list.

Here's our updated list of regular decision notification dates for the Class of 2024.  As many of you know, schools often post results in advance of their "official" notification dates, so we've compiled the most recently updated dates for you here, along with the notification dates from last year.  Bookmark this site, as we'll post updates often.

Good luck, seniors!

U.S. News & World Report released their 2020 college rankings earlier today.  Over 1,400 schools were covered nationwide and evaluated on multiple measures of academic excellence and outcomes to produce the final rankings.

Approximately 13 percent of institutions were reclassified to changes in the underlying Carnegie classification system in 2018.

Princeton retains sole possession of the top spot for National Universities, and Williams College tops the list of Liberal Arts Colleges.  

Click on Continue Reading to see the rankings changes. 

Most schools have completed their updates for the Class of 2024 admission cycle (2019-20), and several of the changes we've observed are worth noting. 

In particular, 16 schools have modified early admission options available to applicants this fall.  Notable changes include the replacement of Early Action for Early Decision I/II at Boston College, the introduction of a new Early Decision I option at Howard University and the University of Virginia, and a new Early Action option at Union College.

If you're considering early admission, be sure to check out our list as it may impact how you decide to apply this fall.   Note to our subscribers: the data has already been incorporated into the product, simply re-run College Kickstart to see how it impacts your plan.

Click on Continue Reading below for the details.

In search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2019-20 application season.  

The list includes schools that simply require the base essay (e.g. personal statement). Keep in mind that many of these schools may have "optional" prompts which you might want to complete anyway to strengthen your application.  

If you're a student or parent with a College Kickstart Plus or Premium subscription, this information is already available to you as part of our application requirements tracking feature.

Click on Continue Reading for the list.