What looks good on a college application? It's the question nearly every high school student will ask at some point while applying to college. But is there a clear answer?
Fortunately, the answer is yes! Read on to learn what colleges look for in applicants, what looks really good on a college application, and what kinds of myths there are about good things to put on a college application.
In popular culture, college life is often portrayed as a nonstop party full of fun, bacchanalian times. While these portrayals are a bit exaggerated, some colleges have garnered reputations as being particularly festive. This raises the following questions: should you go to a party school? And can you get a good education at a party school?
In this article, I'll define what a party school is, provide party school rankings, and explain how you can still get a quality education from a college known for its epic parties.
As the year begins to transition into fall, you likely have going back to school on the brain. But August is also a great time to take your SAT—you can get it done before application deadlines, it'll give you lots of time to study, and even time to take it again if your score isn't where you'd like it to be.
In this article, we'll give you all the information you need to figure out if the August SAT date is right for you. We'll tell you when it is, when scores are released, and even how to prepare for this test so you can do your best.
What are the best universities in the UK? If you're a US or other international student thinking of attending college in the UK, then it'll help you immensely in your search to have an idea of what the best universities in the UK are based on reputation, selectivity, and student satisfaction.
We'll go over the six biggest potential benefits for US students studying in the UK and then provide you with a list of the 13 best universities in the UK. After that, we'll look at a quick comparison of the best colleges in the UK and the best US schools before giving you some critical tips for finding the best UK institution for you.
Thinking of attending college in our friendly neighbor to the north? Whether you're a US or other international student, if you're considering heading to Canada to continue your education, you'll definitely want to know what the best universities in Canada are.
We'll explain the biggest benefits of attending a Canadian school before introducing our picks for the 12 best universities in Canada. We'll then go over how these top schools differ from the top schools in the US and explain the six factors you need to consider before you apply to a university in Canada.
You’ve studied and now you’re geared up for the ACT math section (whoo!). But are you ready to take on the most challenging math questions the ACT has to offer?
If you're up for the challenge, preparation starts by understanding the toughest question types you'll face on the ACT. So if you’ve got your heart set on that perfect score (or you’re just really curious to see what the most difficult questions will be), then this is the guide for you.
We’ve put together what we believe to be the most most difficult math question types the ACT has given to students in the past 10 years, complete with strategies and answer explanations for each. These are all real ACT math questions, so understanding and studying them is one of the best ways to improve your current ACT score and knock it out of the park on test day.
Let's dive in!
It's tempting to judge the quality of a school based on its admissions rate. Although this is a reasonable way to assess schools in most cases, there are some special circumstances that might result in extremely low acceptance rates at less academically demanding colleges.
In this article, I'll list the most selective colleges in the United States, tell you why they accept so few applicants, and provide you with some advice on how to apply successfully.
You've sent out your applications and can't stop envisioning yourself at your top-choice school. But then the unthinkable happens: you get a college rejection letter. You start to wonder: what went wrong? What do I do now? Is it still possible to attend my top-choice school?
The truth is that I've been in this exact same situation. In 2008, I got rejected from my top-choice school, Stanford. The rejection letter hurt, but on the plus side, it taught me a lot about what I did wrong, both in my application and my overall high school career.
In this article, I use my own rejection experience as a guide to explain how likely a college rejection is for you, how to avoid getting rejected from college, and the steps to take in case your top-choice school just isn't that into you.
The University of California schools are widely regarded as some of the best public universities in the nation. Because I have provided college counseling to hundreds of students in California and chaperoned college visits to UC campuses, I'm very familiar with these colleges and know people who have attended each of the nine UC schools that offer undergraduate education.
In this article, I will describe the UC system, profile each of the University of California colleges, and explain how to choose which UC school to attend.
If you're wondering whether there are any colleges with late application deadlines, you're in luck! Lots of colleges have application deadlines in February or later, and many more keep rolling admissions open until all their spots have been filled.
Here, we give you a full list of colleges with late application deadlines. But before diving into this list, let's consider an important question: what exactly is considered a normal deadline?
Most people have at least heard of the Ivy League, but not everyone knows which schools belong to the venerable group. Is Stanford Ivy League? Is Duke Ivy League? Is MIT Ivy League?
In this article, we'll answer these questions and more as we take a look at which schools comprise the world-renowned Ivy League and which schools are most often mistaken for Ivy League institutions. We'll also explore what being in the Ivy League means for schools and how Ivy League schools compare with those not in the Ivy League in terms of national rankings and selectivity.
Do you dream of building driverless cars or a space elevator? You should check out the best engineering schools in the US!
But with so many different engineering schools out there and intense competition for the top programs, how can you figure out where you should apply? To help you decide, we've compiled a list of the best engineering schools in the US. We'll explain a little bit about each school on the list as well as provide rankings within specific subfields of engineering.
Have you heard of the Yale Young Global Scholars program but aren't sure if it's worth attending? YYGS is a summer program for high school students run by Yale University. Some attendees love their experience, while others don't feel the program is worth its high price tag. So, should you apply?
This article will explain exactly what the benefits and drawbacks of YYGS are, as well as the questions you need to ask yourself before you make a decision to attend.
If you're a high school student who lives near Columbia University and wants to participate in an extracurricular honors program, you can't do much better than the Columbia University Science Honors Program (Columbia SHP).
This honors program experience can give students a big leg-up on college and scholarship applications...but unfortunately, it's really hard to get accepted to the Columbia SHP.
But don't worry: we're here to help. In this article, we'll walk you through the Columbia SHP application process, including:
Now, let's get started!
Columbia University is a prestigious school, not just because of its low acceptance rate or high starting salary for graduates. It's one of the oldest colleges in the US, and has had huge numbers of well-known graduates, including Founding Fathers, famous directors, and politicians.
Like any Ivy League, Columbia is a place for both education and networking, creating a solid foundation and social circle for your future career. But first, you have to know how to get into Columbia. And with a school and selective as Columbia, that's going to be difficult—but not impossible.
Follow this guide to get your college application in shape for a Columbia acceptance!
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Holly R.
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