SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Which Colleges Superscore the SAT?

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Sep 13, 2023 7:00:00 PM

SAT Strategies, College Admissions

Your SAT scores are an important part of your application, especially as the applicant pool gets bigger and more competitive every year. So how can you make sure colleges will consider your very best scores?

This article will discuss the colleges that superscore the SAT. After giving you a list of every college that superscores the SAT, I'll talk about how you can use this information strategically as you prepare to apply to college. To start, let's briefly review what "superscoring" means.

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177 College Essay Examples for 11 Schools + Expert Analysis

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Posted by Dr. Anna Wulick | Sep 13, 2023 12:00:00 PM

College Admissions, College Essays

The personal statement might just be the hardest part of your college application. Mostly this is because it has the least guidance and is the most open-ended. One way to understand what colleges are looking for when they ask you to write an essay is to check out the essays of students who already got in—college essays that actually worked. After all, they must be among the most successful of this weird literary genre.

In this article, I'll go through general guidelines for what makes great college essays great. I've also compiled an enormous list of 100+ actual sample college essays from 11 different schools. Finally, I'll break down two of these published college essay examples and explain why and how they work. With links to 177 full essays and essay excerpts, this article will be a great resource for learning how to craft your own personal college admissions essay!

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Complete List: The Smallest Colleges in the United States

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Posted by Samantha Lindsay | Sep 7, 2023 6:00:00 PM

College Admissions

You might be interested in going to a small college, but just how small is "small," exactly? In general, schools that are considered "small" have fewer than 5,000 students in total. However, quite a few schools are actually less than 1/10 that size!

In this article I'll describe the characteristics of small colleges and then provide a list of the smallest colleges in the nation by category. That way you can decide if going to a small school really is the right decision for you.

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Is Early Action Binding?

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Posted by Rebecca Deurlein | Sep 4, 2023 9:00:00 AM

College Admissions

Applying to college early can be a good idea for a lot of reasons. Acceptance data shows that students who apply through early action have a slightly higher chance of being accepted. And once accepted, you can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the rest of your senior year.

But is early action the same as early decision? And if you're accepted through early action, is it binding? Let’s take a look at what early action is, how it works, which schools offer early action, and just how soon you have to get your applications in.

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Early Action vs. Early Decision: What's the Difference?

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Aug 30, 2023 11:00:00 AM

College Admissions

 

Would you like to finalize your college plans as soon as possible? If getting an early acceptance letter sounds good to you, then you might want to apply early action (EA) or early decision (ED).

Before choosing one of these admissions plans, you should thoroughly understand what it entails and consider all the important factors. This guide will weigh the options of early action vs. early decision, along with offering advice for choosing the best plan for you. To begin, let's review what you need to know about applying early action.

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The Best UC Schools, Ranked By Experts

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Posted by Ashley Robinson | Aug 21, 2023 12:15:00 PM

College Admissions

Choosing a college in California can be tough, especially since there are so many great options available. One of the best school systems to choose from is the University of California.

In this article, we’ll provide a complete, ranked list of the best UC schools, give you information about each. We’ll list the campuses, give you important stats like how much each costs…and so much more!

That way, you can pick the UC school that’s best for you. Let’s get started!

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How To Find a College That Fits You Perfectly

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Posted by Rebecca Deurlein | Jul 31, 2023 9:00:00 AM

College Admissions

With nearly 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States, the choices can be overwhelming, to say the least. There’s so much to think about when deciding where you will spend the next four years of your life, and it’s sometimes difficult to narrow down the choices.

Inchoosing your best fit college, it’s best to consider as many variables as possible. If you’ve thought through various possibilities and reflected on what you’re looking for in a school, you'll know you’ve chosen the best fit when it’s time to sign your letter of acceptance.

The best fit school is one that suits your personality, matches the goals you have for yourself, will help you reach those goals, and will meet your other needs and wants when it comes to social atmosphere, extracurricular opportunities, and academic opportunities. Fortunately, you have tools and resources at your disposal that will help you figure all of this out. So let’s dive in and discover how to find the right school for you!

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2 Admissions Experts Weigh In on Affirmative Action

Posted by Eren Harris | Jul 17, 2023 9:00:00 AM

College Admissions

In the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark college affirmative action decision, our head of admissions, Eren Harris, sat down to chat with two of the members of our Admissions Advisory Panel: Dr. K.E. Carver, a metaphysics researcher and former admissions officer at Harvard, and Brandon Mack, an experienced college counselor and former admissions officer at Rice University. Their wide-ranging conversation covers how this decision changes admissions, what diversity really means to colleges, and what students need to do going forward. 

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What Is Affirmative Action in College Admissions?

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Posted by Ashley Robinson | Jun 30, 2023 10:00:00 AM

College Admissions, College Info

Affirmative action is one of the most hotly debated topics in college admissions today. With the 2023 from the Supreme Court that colleges and universities can no longer use their full affirmative action policies in admissions decisions, things are about to change in higher education.

If you’re applying to college and wondering what the new Supreme Court affirmative action decision is all about, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ll answer the question, “What is affirmative action in college admissions?” and go over real examples of affirmative action in education policies and how colleges have used them historically.  

We’ll also explain how the upcoming changes to affirmative action in public and private schools might affect incoming students, and how to put together stellar college applications no matter what.  

So let’s get started.

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Does Early Action or Decision Increase Your Chances of Admission?

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Posted by Rebecca Deurlein | Jun 19, 2023 9:00:00 AM

College Admissions

You might have heard that getting into college is more competitive than ever. Students are applying to college in ever greater numbers, and many apply to multiple colleges, making the pool of applications even deeper.

As a result, you are likely looking for anything that will help you edge out the competition. Your counselors or friends might have suggested applying early action or early decision to increase your chances of being accepted. But does applying early raise the odds of being accepted to the college of your choice?

While not all schools offer these options, about 450 colleges across the U.S. offer one or both early admission option, according to College Board. Many popular and competitive colleges fall into this category, offering one or the other, or both. Read on for an explanation of how early decision and early action work, and whether or not they increase your chances for admission.

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Do Colleges Look at Freshman Grades?

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Posted by Rebecca Deurlein | Jun 1, 2023 5:30:00 PM

College Admissions

Getting into college is increasingly competitive, and more and more students like you are looking at ways they can increase their chances of being accepted. While it’s not uncommon for kids to wait until later in high school to start worrying about their GPA, we don’t recommend this! Your grades begin calculating with your very first assignment, quiz, and test, so it’s important to think about this early on.

But do colleges look at freshman grades? Do these grades matter as much as grades you earn as a sophomore, junior, and senior? Let’s take a look.

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What Do Colleges Look For in Admissions? Why Are the SAT/ACT Important?

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Posted by Dora Seigel | May 28, 2023 2:00:00 PM

College Admissions

 

Applying to college soon? Curious about what colleges are looking for in applicants, especially when it comes to SAT or ACT scores? Not sure how you stack up against other applicants at your dream school? 

If you feel like you have more questions than answers about what colleges look for in admissions, you're note alone. The college admissions process can be very confusing, and it's easy to feel lost and frustrated. In this article, we'll tell you what colleges look for in admissions and how to make your application the best it can be. We'll cover: 

  • What colleges look for in applicants 
  • Why SAT and ACT test scores are important 
  • How understanding college admissions criteria can help your own college admissions process


Let's dive in! 

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Is Harvard Test Optional? Testing Policies for Top Colleges

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Posted by Ashley Robinson | May 15, 2023 10:00:00 AM

College Admissions

If you want to get accepted to any college in the U.S., you need to know its admissions requirements. That includes whether you’ll have to submit SAT or ACT scores! Many colleges have adopted test optional admissions policies over the past several years…but what about top schools? Is Harvard test optional? Are Ivy League schools test optional?

We know all the changes can be confusing, but we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll walk you through Harvard’s current testing policies and the testing policies at top 25 universities. We’ll also explain whether test scores still matter at test optional schools and how to make decisions about standardized testing. 

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s dive in. 

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College Waitlist: What Are Your Chances of Getting In?

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Posted by Hannah Muniz | May 3, 2023 12:00:00 PM

College Admissions

Getting waitlisted at a college certainly isn't a bad thing—your application was good enough to not get rejected!—but it's definitely an uncomfortable place to be. After all, when you're on the college waitlist, you don't know whether you'll be admitted or not, and that alone is anxiety-inducing.

Luckily, there are many things you can do to increase your odds of getting off a waitlist. In this article, we explain how the college waitlist works, what steps to take if you've been waitlisted, and how to raise your college waitlist chances so you can attend your dream school.

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Can You Use ChatGPT for Your College Essay?

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Posted by Ashley Robinson | May 3, 2023 9:00:00 AM

College Admissions, College Essays

ChatGPT has become a popular topic of conversation since its official launch in November 2022. The artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot can be used for all sorts of things, like having conversations, answering questions, and even crafting complete pieces of writing.

If you’re applying for college, you might be wondering about ChatGPT college admissions’ potential.  Should you use a ChatGPT college essay in your application

By the time you finish reading this article, you’ll know much more about ChatGPT, including how students can use it responsibly and if it’s a good idea to use ChatGPT on college essays. We’ll answer all your questions, like:

  • What is ChatGPT and why are schools talking about it?
  • What are the good and bad aspects of ChatGPT?
  • Should you use ChatGPT for college essays and applications?
  • Can colleges detect ChatGPT?
  • Are there other tools and strategies that students can use, instead?

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get started!

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