Top Tier Admissions
During my four years reading applications in the Dartmouth admissions office, I reviewed thousands of college essays. Let me be blunt: most were bad. At least 75% were cringeworthy. Of the 25% that were decent, maybe 10% were truly great. So why are so many essays — from smart, capable students — so deeply mediocre? […]
Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, attracts students seeking a strong liberal arts foundation paired with Ivy League rigor. As the smallest of the Ivy League schools, this rural and rigorous college is known for its high-quality academics, emphasis on global learning, and a tight-knit, supportive campus culture. Dartmouth also stands out for its […]
The University of Chicago, an Ivy Plus school in Chicago, Illinois, is well known for its quirky and provocative supplemental essay questions inspired by its students, and this year their prompts are no exception. Applicants must respond to a classic “Why Us?” essay and then choose one of seven prompts to expound more on their […]
Boston College, a top Jesuit university in Massachusetts, released updated supplemental essay prompts for the 2025-26 application cycle. Students applying to BC must respond to one of four possible essay questions unless they’re applying to the Human-Centered Engineering major, in which case they must only respond to prompt #5. The HCE major was launched in […]
Cornell University, an Ivy League institution in Ithaca, New York, has an undergraduate population of over 15,000 students. Effective for students applying for Fall 2026 and beyond, first-year applicants are required to submit standardized test scores. However, each of Cornell’s undergraduate colleges has its own requirements for admission and a distinctive set of majors — […]
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