Admissions Blog

Undergraduate Admissions Uncensored

Write Your Best Common App Essay: 2022-2023 Edition

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Here is a dirty little secret: some of the Common App essay prompts will bring you down like quicksand while others give you the exact structure and framing that you need to show and tell a story that colleges will love.

In the below thirty-minute in-depth video I grade and rank each Common App essay prompt in order to help you determine which will give you the best chance of positively differentiating your college application and thus getting you into the colleges on your list.

Sit back, relax (though be ready to take notes), and enjoy this insider’s guide tackling the most important essay assignment of your life so far!

Important Related Links:

Common App Essay: Size Does Matter

Common Application

Why Your College Application Essay is So Bad

Why Your College Application Essay is Awful

Ultimate College Application Essay Brainstorm

Secret to a Successful College Application Essay First Draft

Do you want one-on-one personalized college counseling? Learn more about my college admissions coaching services here.

**Bonus**: Take my “How to Build an Extraordinary Extracurricular Resume” short course here.

Davidson becomes more selective in 2022

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Davidson University in North Carolina has shared its 2021-2022 admissions cycle statistics, which reveal the small and selective school will remain just as small as ever while becoming slightly more selective. Davidson has the goal of enrolling 530 first-year students for the fall 2022 semester.

Of an overall 6,487 students who applied to Davidson this year, only 1,090 were accepted, 335 of which were accepted through Early Decision 1, Early Decision 2, athletic recruitment, or partnerships with access organizations such as QuestBridge and POSSE. This overall 16.8 percent acceptance rate during the 2021-2022 cycle compares to a 17.1 percent acceptance rate during the 2020-2021 cycle and a 19.5 percent acceptance rate during the 2019-2020 cycle, which was the last time Davidson required all applicants submit their SAT or ACT scores. This cycle only 48 percent of students submitted their test scores though no stats were provided on what percentage of admitted students submitted their test scores this time around. Davidson committed a test-optional policy as a three-year pilot; therefore, it will continue for one more cycle as the university tracks and analyzes data related to test-optional admissions and student performance.

Other statistics shared include that of admitted students, 12 percent will be the first in their family to attend college; 29 percent are domestic students of color; and 10 percent are international students/non-US citizens.

Regular Decision notifications were released on March 26, 2022, and students have until May 1 to deposit.

Davidson University Admissions Stats c/o 2024 c/o 2025 c/o 2026
Total First-Year Applicants 5,615 6,422 6,487
Total Admitted (not including wait list) 1,096 1,101 1,090
Admitted through ED1/ED2/Athletics/Partnerships 289 326 335
Defers from prior year 5 13 9
Percent reviewed with Test Scores 100% 50% 48%
First Generation Students (admitted) 99 123 132
International Students/Non-US Citizens (admitted) 88 83 105
Domestic Students of Color (admitted) 305 344 319

15 Liberal Arts Colleges Join Forces for Virtual Fair on the 15th

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Fifteen American liberal arts colleges are getting together for another year of what they are calling 15 on the 15th — a monthly virtual college fair.

Designed for international prospective students and counselors, the goal of 15 on the 15th is to provide the opportunity for students to get to know the fifteen participating institutions in-depth and at their own pace.

On the fifteenth day of each month, from March through December 2022, these fifteen colleges – including Bates College, Carleton College, Claremont McKenna College, Colorado College, Davidson College, Haverford College, Middlebury College, Oberlin College, Sewanee: The University of the South, Skidmore College, Smith College, Union College, Wellesley College, Wesleyan University, and Whitman College – will come together to offer “15 minutes of Tips” for the college application process followed by an hour-long virtual college fair. Each institution will have its own Zoom room for students to meet with an international admission officer and a current student or alum. The format will be the same every month yet there will be different opening topics and tips. This represents a great education and networking opportunity for students.

Those interested in participating should register here.

15 on the 15th: Liberal Arts College Across the U.S.
Virtual College Fair
9:45 a.m. – 11 a.m. Eastern Time
15th each month, March through December, 2022

Those interested only need to register once. Before each college fair registrants will receive a reminder email with the Zoom links to access the main webinar and each college’s room.

The 15 on the 15th website also includes each institution’s international admission officer’s contact information and links to school-specific virtual program offerings.

Ten Unique and Memorable College Acceptance Gifts for All Personality Types

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The hard part – the sweating over grades, exams, and essays and the agonizing wait for decisions – is over. The big moment has arrived – and it is a triumph! It is time to celebrate. Champagne corks are popped; yet, now the question is, what gift should be purchased for the college-bound student? Sadly, gift giving has increasingly become a lost art, so we’ve selected ten neat gifts organized by student personality that will make recently-accepted college students’ hearts swell with pride.

1. Preppy

If the lucky student was admitted to an old-line traditional school with lots of ivy decorating the buildings and he or she has a good sense of humor, then the student will need to brush up on the essentials of proper etiquette outlined in the classic Preppy Handbook:

2. Old Fashioned

Anyone can buy a t-shirt or hoodie in the college bookstore, but a me-too gift is boring. Want to be distinctive? How about throw-back designs on T-shirts featuring vintage school images like the one below, which is a 1960 version of Georgetown. Available for many schools.

3. Hipster

If the student is hip, how about a cool banner to hang in his or her dorm room?

4. Discerning

Maybe something a little more elegant. How about a Halcyon Days box?

5. Gamer

Maybe the incoming student is a STEM major and a gamer. In that case, a version of Monopoly customized to their school is on point so he or she can learn the names of buildings and streets on campus.

6. Artistic

These whimsically illustrated items would be the perfect gift for the artiste. Offered by the California-based catstudio, they make bags, glasses, pillows, towels, art prints and more for hundreds of schools.

7. Fashionista

If the rising freshman has a great sense of fashion and style and you have a big budget, then an elegant watch with the school’s logo on it might fit the bill for her.

8. Sporty

If the student is going to a big football school, then they will need lots of apparel to wear to the games. How about a customized jersey with the student’s name on it? Available for scores of schools.

9. The Type A

Is the grad a natural worrier or type A personality who likes to have anything thought through beforehand? Then, The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College by Harlan Cohen is the perfect gift, and a New York Times bestseller.

10. All Types

A customized gift box from Etsy tailored to your recipient puts the perfect finishing touch on your gift(s).

 

The above post was sponsored by Collectable Ivy, specialists in collegiate memorabilia. For a fuller selection of unique, vintage, and special gift items, check out the thousands of items at CollectableIvy.com.

Notre Dame Accepts Only 17% Early Action As Record Number Apply

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University of Notre Dame saw the number of students who applied via its Restrictive Early Action (REA) plan skyrocket this fall. A record 9,683 students applied to Notre Dame Restrictive Early Action in 2021. In 2020 7,744 students applied to Notre Dame Restrictive Early Action. That represents an over 25% increase in just one year.  Those applying to Notre Dame Restrictive Early Action have until May 1 to deposit and were able to apply to other colleges with Early Action programs but they were not allowed to apply concurrently via other colleges’ binding Early Decisions plans.

Yet, despite far larger numbers of REA applications to review, Notre Dame only accepted two more students REA in 2021 than it did in 2020; Notre Dame accepted 1,673 REA applicants in 2020 versus 1,675 REA applicants in 2021. This means that Notre Dame’s Restrictive Early Action acceptance rate dropped from roughly 22% to 17% in just one year, which helps bolster Notre Dame’s place in the realm of hyper-selective U.S. universities.

Meanwhile, a full 30% of REA applicants were accepted without submitting scores from the ACT or SAT. This is a huge change from just two years ago when scores from either the ACT or SAT were required of all admitted applicants. A full 46% of REA applicants to Notre Dame in 2021 applied without submitting test scores.

Unusual among many other selective U.S. universities, Notre Dame also shared that of those students accepted Restrictive Early Action in 2021 there are roughly even numbers of Asians/Pacific Islanders (12%), International students (12%), and Black students (10%).

Notre Dame released REA admissions decisions on Thursday, December 16, 2021, at 6:42 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, in a nod to the university’s founding year of 1842. Of the admitted student pool, 1,204 high schools are represented, including 43% public, 40% Catholic, and 18% private. A full 26% of accepted students indicated intended majors in the College of Arts and Letters, 22% in the College of Engineering and School of Architecture, 24% in the Mendoza College of Business, and 28% in the College of Science.

Typically, Notre Dame admits between 1,600 and 1,800 in its REA pool and a larger number in its Regular Decision pool, which this year has an application deadline of January 1, 2022. Last year, 1,768 students who were deferred during the REA round eventually earned admission during the Regular Decisions admissions cycle. This year, 1,599 REA applicants were deferred.

 

Yale’s Early Action Acceptance Rate Rises As Fewer Apply

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What goes up must come down. Yale, which saw its largest ever Single-Choice Early Action applicant pool in 2020, experienced a noteworthy decline in Early Action apps this fall.

The New Haven, Connecticut Ivy received 7,288 Single-Choice Early Action applications during the Fall 2021 admissions cycle, which is down nine percent compared to last year when Yale had 7,939 apply using the university’s Single-Choice Early Action plan. The 651 fewer applications this year indicates that the fanfare surrounding Yale’s decision to go test-optional may be wearing off.

As a result, Yale’s EA acceptance rate increased slightly from 10.5% in 2020 to 11% in 2021.

Meanwhile, this year (2021) 31% of students who applied through early action were deferred for reconsideration in the spring, 57% were denied admission, and 1% of applications were withdrawn or incomplete. Last year (2020) 50% of students who applied through early action were deferred for reconsideration in the spring, 38% were denied admission, and 1% of applications were withdrawn or incomplete.

Newly minted accepted Yale students have until May 2, 2022 to reply to their offer of admission. Traditionally, the vast majority of those accepted go on to matriculate.

Tulane Early Action Admit Rate Plummets to 10%

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Jeff Schiffman, Tulane’s former director of undergraduate admission, may be gone, but elements of his transparent approach live on as Tulane has recently shared some interesting data points relating to its Early Decision and Early Action admits for its undergraduate Class of 2026.

Decisions for Tulane Early Decision applicants were released on November 22 and decisions for Early Action applicants will be released on Monday, December 20 at 5:00 p.m. EST. According to Owen Knight, Tulane’s Director of Admission Engagement, the university expects between fifty-five and fifty-eight percent of next year’s freshman class to be comprised of Early Decision students. Due to the fact that Tulane over-enrolled last year and saw a twenty-five percent increase in the percentage of students accepting the offer of admission over the previous year, Tulane will be admitting a jaw-dropping 1,650 fewer Early Action (EA) applicants this year. This will speed up a trend of EA at Tulane becoming hyper-selective, especially relative to how the admissions plan used to be at Tulane prior to Tulane bringing back ED a few years ago.

As a result, Tulane anticipates marginally more offers of admission for deferred students and Regular Decision applicants than in the past. The overall admission rate for Early Action applicants is just ten percent, which is half the EA admission rate in 2017.

Overall, Tulane is planning for its Class of 2026 freshman class to be roughly 1,750 students.

Forty-six percent of Tulane’s Early Action admitted students for the Class of 2026 identify as BIPOC, which is a 70% increase, over twenty-seven percent of students who identified as such in 2017.

Knight also notes that Early Decision II is currently available through January 12 for students who are starting a new application for admission or for students who have already applied Early Action. Students who have already applied may switch to EDII via their Green Wave portals.

 

 

 

5 Smart Summer Tips for Wise Rising Seniors

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It’s summertime, which means that many rising high school seniors are pondering the best way to spend a couple of months away from schoolwork.

For some answers, we turn to college admissions expert and college application coach Craig Meister – on location on the beach – for five important oceanside advice videos for rising high school seniors to ensure that they make the best personal choices for how to make the most of summer break.

1. Best Summer College Application Completion Advice

 

2. Summer Job vs. Summer Internship

 

3. Pre College Programs vs. Local Options

 

4. Is Summer SAT or ACT Prep a Smart Use of Time?

 

5. Don’t Forget to…

Craig is a college admissions coach and founder of CollegeMeister. He previously held university admissions and high school college and career counseling positions in Baltimore, West Palm Beach, and Rio de Janeiro.

Colgate’s 2021 Admissions Stats

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Colgate University’s Class of 2025 is going to look a bit different than its Class of 2024 thanks in no small part to Colgate’s decision to go test-optional. Colgate is happy to brag that total applications for the incoming fall class shattered all previous records: 17,537 (a 104% increase over last admissions cycle) students applied and thirty percent of these students identified as “domestic multicultural” otherwise known as applicants from inside the U.S. who didn’t check “white” on the Demographics page of the Common App.

Here are some more “highlights” from Colgate’s 2020-2021 admissions cycle (as of 3/25/21, thus action taken on waitlisters in the weeks since late March won’t get counted below):

Applicants
17,537 total applications
30% identify as domestic students of color
41% included test scores

Admitted Students
3,011 admitted (17% acceptance rate)
60% of the class was admitted EDI or EDII
3.88 is the average GPA
60% included test scores
32% identify as domestic students of color
50 states + D.C. and 53 countries (citizenship) represented

Thus, Colgate remains a heavy user of ED to lock in super fans. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

University of Exeter makes international student scholarship and admissions news

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University of Exeter, a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive UK universities, has shared some exciting news for prospective international students: a new scholarship opportunity.

The UK university, which has four campuses – Streatham and St Luke’s (both of which are in Exeter) and Truro and Penryn (both of which are in Cornwall), is offering a range of full, £10,000 and £5,000 tuition fee scholarships for international fee-paying students starting in September 2021. These undergraduate Global Excellence Scholarships are on offer across a number of academic programs. In particular, Global Excellence Scholarships recognize high academic achievement and assist students in accessing Exeter’s dynamic teaching and learning community. For more information click here.

Yet, news of Exeter’s international student scholarships isn’t all there is to report from the southwest of England. Exeter is also currently running a number of online live chats for a number of undergraduate programs. These live chats are a chance to talk to a current student and, where available, a member from an academic department from the subject a student is interested in studying. Students can ask any questions about course content, teaching, assessment, applying and student life at Exeter. To find dates and sign up for such a chat click here.

Meanwhile, if a chat isn’t enough for you, but you can’t make it to Exeter’s campus in person, the university’s new virtual tours are the next best thing. These 360 Virtual Campus Tours of Exeter’s impressive campuses in Devon and Cornwall allow students to take a look around the university’s accommodations, sports centre, library, seminar rooms, and lecture theaters. To learn and experience more of Exeter and its campuses, we recommend perusing the university’s YouTube channel.

With so much valuable information at your fingertips online, there’s not better time to seriously consider studying at Exeter.