One of the trickiest parts of the Common App is understanding how to make the most of the extracurricular activity section. You might have a ton of activities—or not very many—and be wondering how you should write about your activities to impress college admissions readers.

If you’ve felt stumped by what you’re supposed to do in this section and how to make the most of your very limited space, read on.

In this guide we'll talk about:  

• How many extracurricular activities you should list
• How to choose which activities to list
• How to write about your extracurriculars

But before we get into that, you may be wondering...

If you've applied or are currently applying to Ivy League schools, you've likely heard the phrase "Ivy Day." Ivy Day, or Ivy Admissions Day, is when all the Ivy League schools announce their admissions decisions for regular decision first-year applicants. This year, Ivy Day is March 26, 2025. 

Keep reading to learn more about what to expect on Ivy Day, how to predict future Ivy Day dates, and what to do with your admissions decision(s) once Ivy Day is over.

Yale is one of the most competitive schools on the planet to get into. If you're wondering how to make your application stand out from the crowd, you're in the right place.

In this article, we'll go over everything you need to know about how to get into Yale, including how hard it really is to get into Yale, what Yale is looking for in its students, what test scores and grades you need, and how to ace your Yale application essays.

The State University of New York system of colleges—commonly known as SUNY—encompasses some 64 different campuses throughout New York. These campuses include research universities, community colleges, and even specific programs housed at other universities like Cornell.

Though this means that students who want to attend SUNY schools have plenty of choices, it also means that the SUNY application can feel something like a maze of options. Which school do you need? Which application should you fill out? Are you applying to one school or many?

If you're thinking of attending one of these 64 schools and need assistance filling out the SUNY application, this guide is here to help. We'll be covering admissions requirements, which schools require supplemental essays, and some helpful information for filling out your application.

Transferring from one school to another is a wise or even necessary choice for many students, but it's not without obstacles. College transfer acceptance rates are actually lower than freshman acceptance rates, meaning competition is higher.

This might sound like it's cause for alarm, but, like applying as a freshman, it just means you need to be prepared.

If you need or want to transfer but aren't sure where to go, check out some of the colleges with the best transfer acceptance rates.

Wondering how to get into UC Berkeley? Getting accepted to Berkeley can be tough. How hard is it to get into Berkeley? In 2022-2023, Berkeley's acceptance rate was 15%.

This makes UC Berkeley a "strongly competitive school": it's not quite as ultra-competitive as Ivy League schools, but you'll need to have a strong application across the board in order to get accepted. In the rest of this guide, we'll explain:

• The UC Berkeley admissions requirements, when and how you should apply
• Exactly what Berkeley looks at when they review your application

The eight schools in the Ivy League are among the most well-known and selective universities both within the US and in the world at large. Because of this, Ivy League (and similarly selective non-Ivy) schools have tens of thousands of students from whom to choose their class of 2026.

But what are Ivy League schools' acceptance rates, and how have those rates changed over time? In this analysis, we'll look at Ivy League admissions, from the number of applicants to the number of students who ultimately end up attending.

In addition to the eight Ivy League schools (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, and Yale), we'll also consider eight equally selective non-Ivy League national universities: Caltech, Duke, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Northwestern, Stanford, UChicago, and Vanderbilt.

One of the most complicated parts of transferring colleges is determining what the requirements are, especially when it comes to standardized tests. Unfortunately, there's no simple answer to the question of whether you need to take the ACT as a transfer student, but this guide will walk you through how different school policies vary and explain how much SAT and ACT scores count when applying as a transfer.

Located in Ithaca, New York, Cornell University is a member of the Ivy League and one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

Every year, Cornell accepts several thousand new students as members of its incoming freshmen class. If you're hoping to be one of them, you'll need to make sure that your application is up to snuff. In this article, we'll teach you exactly how to get into Cornell and talk about Cornell admission statistics so you know how you measure up against other applicants.

Looking at college admissions websites and requirements can be overwhelming. Many colleges have slightly different standardized test and letter of recommendation requirements. Furthermore, some colleges require just one personal statement, while others require multiple essays and short answer responses. It can be a lot to keep track of!

So how do you go about preparing your college applications, when colleges seem like they all want slightly different application materials? And how do you make sure you are competitive everywhere you apply? We will explain how to make the most versatile college application.

By versatile we mean an application that will allow you to apply competitively to the broadest range of colleges.

What is a need-aware college? Does a college being need aware mean they won't accept students who need financial aid? What colleges are need aware? 

There are a lot of misconceptions about need-aware colleges and how they handle applicants who need financial aid. Having the wrong information can lead students to skip applying to schools that could still very well accept them and offer generous aid packages. Read this guide to be fully informed on need-aware colleges.

Does your major affect your acceptance into colleges? Can choosing a less popular major give you a better shot at getting into your dream school? If so, what major is easiest to get into college with? 

There are a lot of misconceptions about the role your intended major plays in college admissions and which majors are "best" for people hoping for a higher admission chance. This guide will explain everything you need to know on how your major affects your admission, which majors are typically the most competitive and least competitive, and if it's a good idea to choose a major based on acceptance rates.

Did you receive a priority application from a college but aren't sure what exactly it is? Is it a scam? Does it mean you'll automatically be admitted? Should you apply to schools that offer you priority applications or do you have better options? This guide on priority applications will answer all your questions!

Did you earn an Associate's degree or attend a community college and now want to transfer to a four-year school? Will an associate's degree transfer to any college? What about ultra-competitive colleges like the Ivy League? Transferring to a new school can come with a lot of complications, not least because many schools aren't especially clear about their transfer policies on their websites.

In this article, we explain the process of transferring from a community college to a four-year college, which classes you're most likely to get transfer credit for, the transfer policies of Ivy League and other top-tier schools, and how you can learn the transfer policy of any four-year college in the US.

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.