SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Vanderbilt is one of the United States' highest-ranked colleges. With an acceptance rate of just 7 percent, it's ranked as extremely competitive. It's no surprise—Vanderbilt is known for having a wealth of appealing programs, including its school of medicine, the Peabody College of Education and Human Development, and Blair School of Music.

Because it's extremely competitive, you'll need to set yourself apart as a prospective student. That doesn't mean just your grades and impressive extracurriculars; it also means writing a killer essay to go along with your application.

In this guide, we'll tell you everything you need to know about Vanderbilt's supplemental essay, including some ideal topics, some pitfalls to avoid, and even some analysis of past Vanderbilt essays that have worked.

When talking about college essays, we tend to focus on the Common Application prompts, and it's true that many students will need to write a Common App essay. However, there are actually quite a few schools, including both public and private universities, that don't use the Common App and instead ask applicants to respond to their own college essay prompts.

Luckily, college essay prompts tend to be pretty similar to each other. In this guide, I'll list all the college essay questions for popular schools in the US (and a few abroad) and then break down the patterns to help you brainstorm topics and plan how to approach multiple essays efficiently. After reading this guide, you'll be able to strategize which essays you'll write for which colleges.

Many students think that they should begin looking at college scholarships once they actually start applying to college—so some time early in their senior year. Although it's true that many big-name scholarships require applicants to be high school seniors, there are some great awards out there for younger students as well.

So why not get a head start on applying for scholarship awards? You could win money for college, sure, but you'll also get experience with the scholarship application process before submitting even more applications during your senior year.

We've compiled a list of scholarships for high school juniors. This list will be a great place to start, but you might also want to search for more targeted awards (e.g., by geographic area). You can browse the scholarships below based on whether they're competitions or merit-based scholarships. And be sure to read to the end for tips and strategies on getting the most scholarship money possible!

One of the most important questions you'll have to ask yourself during the college selection process is whether or not your top-choice school is affordable for your family.

Affordability has a huge impact on college decisions. Some students will luck out and be offered a nice scholarship by their school that will make things affordable; others will win independent scholarships. Usually, though, both of these options for financing your education are based on merit, and there is a lot of competition.

But did you know that some schools are committed to making sure all admitted students can afford to attend, regardless of whether they are scholarship recipients? Read on to see a list of colleges that meet full need, or provide for 100% of their students' demonstrated financial need.

UC vs CSU: they might have similar letters, but they're definitely not the same thing! The University of California and the California State University are two highly regarded public university systems based throughout California. But what is the difference between UC and CSU? How are the UC and CSU schools different and how are they alike?

In this UC vs CSU guide, we give you a comprehensive comparison of Cal State vs UC and go over what these differences and similarities mean for you and your college choices. First, though, let's take a look at what the UC schools and CSU schools actually are, starting with the UC system.

It's never too early to start saving up money for your college education. Even if you are only in your first or second year of high school, there are plenty of opportunities to start bringing in money that will pay for your tuition, books, fees, and living expenses a couple of years down the line.

You might be surprised to learn that there are actually hundreds of scholarships available to underclassmen. If you're just starting your hunt, use this list of the best scholarships for high school freshmen and sophomores to get started.

If you're a writer—fiction, non-fiction, or fanfiction—you can put those skills to work for you. There are tons of writing contests for high school students, which can award everything from medals to cash prizes to scholarships if you win.

Not only will a little extra money, whether cash or scholarships, help you when it comes time to pay for college, but the prestige of a respected reward is also a great thing to include on your college application.

Read on to learn more about what writing contests for high school students there are, how to apply, and what you could win!

Figuring out your college essay can be one of the most difficult parts of applying to college. Even once you've read the prompt and picked a topic, you might wonder: if you write too much or too little, will you blow your chance of admission? How long should a college essay be?

Whether you're a terse writer or a loquacious one, we can advise you on college essay length. In this guide, we'll cover what the standard college essay length is, how much word limits matter, and what to do if you aren't sure how long a specific essay should be.

There are tons of numbers associated with college applications: GPA, class rank, standardized test scores, maybe some AP tests. It can be a lot to take in. If you’re taking the ACT, then you might be worried about how you’ll do on it. What’s the worst ACT score you could get? What’s the worst score you could get and still have a shot at getting into your dream program?

In this article, we'll break down the lowest possible ACT score and explain why you’re not likely to actually get it. We'll then discuss the minimum ACT score for college admissions, how to choose colleges based on your score (whatever it might be), how to set an ACT target score based on your colleges, and what you can do if you think your ACT score is too low for your desired schools.

Is your goal to become a doctor? Do you want to put yourself on a fast track to medical school and making your dream a reality? If so, you may want to consider applying for a BS/MD program.

In this article, I'll explain what these programs are and go over exactly how to get into a BS/MD program, so that you can be one step closer to your dream of becoming a doctor.

If you're interested in attending a small college, you may be wondering which schools offer the most rigorous academic experience combined with the best quality of life.

In this article, I'll give you a list of the best small colleges in the nation based on student reviews and academic ratings, as well as some more specific great small college options.

Applying to college is a confusing and stressful process, but waiting to hear back from the colleges you applied to can be just as anxiety-inducing. When do college acceptance letters arrive?

In this guide, we explain when to expect to receive your college decision notifications. We also give you a chart of estimated college acceptance dates for 2025 and offer helpful tips on what to do as you wait for your college acceptance letters.

Are you struggling to decide between attending Stanford or MIT? Both are among the highest-ranked universities in the world, and both are particularly known for excellence in STEM programs. So how can you choose between them? In this guide, we compare MIT vs Stanford on a variety of key factors, in both a quick reference chart and in longer explanations. We then walk through the five questions you need to ask yourself in order to make the most well-informed decision and choose the school that's best for you.

MIT and Harvard are two renowned institutions that consistently top national college ranking lists and are known for their premier academics, distinguished faculty, and vibrant communities. But which university is better: MIT or Harvard? More importantly, which is a better fit for you?

We give you a complete MIT vs Harvard comparison and introduce four essential factors you must consider to help you figure out which school is an ideal match for you. Before all that, though, let's take a look at what types of schools MIT and Harvard actually are.

Many students start college in the fall after they graduate high school, but their planning and applying starts years before. Application deadlines may be in the fall or winter of senior year, and completing each step on the path to college might start as early as freshman year.

This article answers all your questions about when to apply for college: when do you complete each step of the process, and when are your college deadlines? After reading this, you'll know exactly when to apply to college and what steps are needed.