Admissions Blog

Undergraduate Admissions Uncensored

Colby Working to Help Rural Students Attend College

Posted on by Leave a Comment

Colby College has announced that it has been selected as an inaugural member of the Small Town and Rural Students (STARS) College Network.

The STARS College Network is a group of sixteen colleges and universities across the United States working together to increase access, affordability, and college advising for students from rural and small-town communities. The other current colleges STARS colleges include Brown University, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Case Western Reserve University, Columbia University in the City of New York, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, The University of Chicago, The University of Iowa, University of Maryland, College Park, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University.

As part of its membership, Colby will help fulfill a critical role as the sole small liberal arts college in the network, ultimately committed to helping students from small-town and rural communities enroll in, succeed at, and graduate from the undergraduate program of their choice. Events, workshops, and college access opportunities in conjunction with this new membership are in the works beginning as early as this summer.

Colby College is a private liberal arts college located in Waterville, Maine, in the northeastern United States.

With easy access to outdoor recreational activities, including hiking, skiing, and rafting, strong academic programs, particularly in the fields of environmental science, biology, and economics, a student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1, a commitment to becoming carbon-neutral by 2025 and large investment in sustainable infrastructure and practices on campus, a vibrant campus community with a wide variety of clubs and organizations, and a strong athletics program, Colby College offers a unique combination of academic excellence, environmental stewardship, and a dynamic campus community in a beautiful location.

Colby College has an Island Campus on Benner Island.

University of Chicago shared more about the STARS initiative as well, including the fact that it is supported by a $20 million gift from Trott Family Philanthropies, the foundation of University of Chicago trustee Byron and Tina Trott.

USC First-Year Applications Up 17%

Posted on by 2 Comments

University of Southern California received nearly 81,000 applications for first-year admission during the 2022-2023 admissions cycle, which is a 17% increase over last year. This comes after USC introduced Early Action as an application plan last summer.

Meanwhile, USC will make Regular Decision notifications later today, Friday, March 24. According to Kirk Brennan, USC’s Associate Dean and Director of Undergraduate Admission, “In hopes of minimizing disruption of school days around the globe, our release is scheduled for the late afternoon Pacific time. Students should wait for our email stating the status is available before visiting the USC applicant portal.”

Ultimately, the university will accept around 8,000 first-year applicants for fall 2023 admission, which includes the 2,470 admitted through Early Action. Though this total is only slightly smaller than last year, with the increased application numbers, the competition for limited space was noticeably higher. USC will post final enrollment statistics later this year.

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 25, USC will email approximately 1,000 admitted students results of their merit scholarship application.

USC does not use a waiting list. Instead, it offers a smaller group of students (roughly 1,200 this year) admission to the spring term, which begins in January 2024. If after May 1 USC has room in its fall class, it will invite some spring admits to change their term to fall. All students who submit their spring Intent to Enroll form by May 1 will be considered for any available space. Students in this situation are asked to refrain from sending any other documents to be considered for fall.

In other news, the LA-based research university announced earlier this month that it will now have a new campus in Washington, DC.

New York University vs. University of Southern California

Posted on by

If you only have one more spot to fill on your college list and it comes down to New York University or University of Southern California, here are the factors you should consider before making the final cut.