Top Tier Admissions
The 2026 college admissions cycle has seen acceptance rates plummet to unprecedented lows, particularly among top-tier institutions. As former Dean of Admissions at Dartmouth, here’s how I read between the lines of these numbers — and what it means for your family. Is Anybody Getting In? The overall acceptance rates at a range of the […]
The University of Virginia (UVA), a flagship public research university in Charlottesville and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, admitted 10,287 students to the Class of 2030 from a record 82,118 applications, according to the Cavalier Daily. The applicant pool grew 27% in a single year—the largest increase in the university’s history—pushing UVA’s overall acceptance rate […]
If you spend any time on college admissions forums, you might come away with an incorrect conclusion: “I need an internship to get into a top college.” The truth is more nuanced and, for many students, far more encouraging. An internship isn’t a “golden ticket”; it’s just one option among many to build your extracurricular […]
The Common App opens August 1. But the most prepared rising seniors don’t wait until then to get started. After AP tests and final exams, it’s important to take a moment to pause and reset after making it through a notoriously rigorous school year. But early summer is also the perfect time to get ahead […]
With AP exams starting, families are asking the same question I often heard during my years in the admissions office at Pomona College: do AP scores actually matter? The short answer is yes, but not in the way most families think. Here’s what admissions officers are really looking for in applications, and how to make […]
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