College Planning

If you want to get accepted to any college in the U.S., you need to know its admissions requirements. That includes whether you’ll have to submit SAT or ACT scores! Many colleges have adopted test optional admissions policies over the past several years…but what about top schools? Is Harvard test optional? Are Ivy League schools test optional? We know all the changes can be confusing, but we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll walk you through Harvard’s current testing policies and the testing policies at top 25 universities. We’ll also explain whether test scores still matter at test optional schools and how to make decisions about standardized testing.  There’s a lot to cover, so let’s dive in.    What Are Harvard’s Testing Policies? Is Harvard Test Optional?  Test optional admissi...

Two cases before the Supreme Court have the potential to restrict long-standing recruitment and admissions practices at colleges and universities. The cases, brought by a special interest group called Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), allege that race-conscious admissions practices are unfair and violate the Constitution. As liberal arts college presidents, we strongly disagree. Holistic review of applicants is critical to recruiting a well-rounded class, and that includes consideration of the richness of students’ many attributes and interests–including their lived experiences and backgrounds. While each of our colleges has a unique mission, we all work tirelessly to create the most well-rounded student body possible in a competitive admissions market. This means not only striving for...

ChatGPT has become a popular topic of conversation since its official launch in November 2022. The artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot can be used for all sorts of things, like having conversations, answering questions, and even crafting complete pieces of writing. If you’re applying for college, you might be wondering about ChatGPT college admissions’ potential.  Should you use a ChatGPT college essay in your application?  By the time you finish reading this article, you’ll know much more about ChatGPT, including how students can use it responsibly and if it’s a good idea to use ChatGPT on college essays. We’ll answer all your questions, like: What is ChatGPT and why are schools talking about it? What are the good and bad aspects of ChatGPT? Should you use ChatGPT for college essays an...

When the College Board rolls out its new digital SAT format in spring 2023 for international students and in March 2024 for U.S. students, it will be one of the most significant changes the company has made to the standardized test in its 97-year history. This major transition is intended to make the exam more equitable and to reduce test-taking anxiety by aligning the format with how students are already learning online.   But what precisely will be changing? There’s much to know beyond the move from analog to digital. In this article, we’ll provide a sneak preview of the new SAT format so you can prepare effectively.   Key Differences in the New Digital SAT Format Many aspects of the new digital SAT will not be changing from those of the pencil-and-paper version. For example, the test ...

We know that the cost of a college education can seem out of reach for many students. Luckily, there are a number of ways you can reduce the price of your degree, from grants and work-study to student loans. Even better, if you’re an exemplary student, you’ll likely qualify for one or more merit-based scholarships, which are a great way to offset tuition, fees, room, and board. In this post, we’ll discuss what merit scholarships are and provide a list of the top merit aid programs. We’ll also share our expert recommendations on how to apply so you can maximize your chances of graduating with minimal to no debt. Let’s get started! What Is a Merit-Based Scholarship? A merit-based scholarship, alternatively called a merit scholarship, is free money that discounts the cost of college. Wherea...

What is Safety, Target, Reach Anyway? Google “build a college list.” Watch a college search webinar. Read a book about how to apply to college. Guaranteed, they’ll all tell you some version of the same thing: the list of colleges you apply to should include schools that fit into each of three categories: Safety – where you have a 75% or higher chance of getting accepted Target – where you have about a 50/50 shot at getting accepted Reach – where you have a 25% or lower chance of getting accepted Back in the day, the logic behind applying to safety, target, and reach colleges went something like this: Since application deadlines were strict and there seemed to be more college applicants than there were spots, students should strategize when choosing the colleges to apply to so that they ...

Affirmative action is one of the most hotly debated topics in college admissions today. With the recent filing of two lawsuits against elite colleges in the US, people are reconsidering how affirmative action affects college admissions—and whether colleges should change their affirmative action policies.  If you’re applying to college and wondering how the affirmative action debate will affect admissions, keep reading! In this article, we’ll answer the question, “What is affirmative action in college admissions?” and go over real examples of affirmative action in education today.  We’ll also explain how to plan ahead for changes to affirmative action in higher education, and how to put together stellar college applications no matter what happens.   So let’s get started.  (more…)...

Generally, the better your grades, the more college options you'll have. However, some students a re under the false impression that you need straight As in order to get into a wonderful college. Students stress and worry that a few Bs will sentence them to an inferior university. Fortunately, getting Bs won't prevent you from being able to go to a good school. There are a number of excellent colleges that admit B students. We'll provide a list of 29 of the best colleges for B students and explain how to find a good college if you're a B student.   Are You a B Student? You Can Still Go to a Great College If you're at the end of your junior year or the beginning of your senior year and you have mostly Bs on your transcript, don't freak out: you can still gain admission to an excellent...

Who doesn’t love a top 10 or a top 100 or a top 200 list? That true whether we’re speaking of college rankings or college football and basketball ratings, or, yes, rankings of scholars. Each year, EdWeek, the Inside Higher Ed or Chronicle of K-12 education, publishes a list of the 200 university-based scholars who it claims did the most last year to shape educational practice and policy. Many of the names come as no surprise. Within the top 10 are such big names as Angela Duckworth of grit fame; Carol Dweck, who coined the terms “fixed” and “growth” mind-sets; Howard Gardner, who challenged the notion of a single type of intelligence; Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the California State Board of Education; and Daniel Willingham, whose many books and articles examine the application of ...

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.   What Is a Need Aware College? Need aware colleges are those that take students' ability to pay college tuition into consideration. This means that, hypothetically, if a school is trying to decide between two students, they may choose the one who requires less or no financial aid because that's cheaper for them. Rising ...

December 14, 2022 Ivy Coach helps reposition the narratives of students after Early Decision / Early Action deferrals or denials (photo credit: Chensiyuan). Did your child receive a deferral or, worse, a denial from their dream Ivy League or other highly selective university in the Early Action / Early Decision round of admissions? If so, grieve the decision for a few minutes — and then get over it because you don’t have time to go through all five stages of grief right now. Regular Decision applications are due in just a couple of weeks. The time is now for your child to take corrective actions to avoid making the same mistakes in the Regular Decision round. So what’s the game plan? Ivy Coach’s PostMor...

We are always eager to hear new ways universities are creating affordable online programs at scale. It is the conversation we never tire of having, and this time, we are talking to colleagues and friends, Georgetown’s Kelly Otter and Coursera’s Betty Vandenbosch. These two leaders from Georgetown University and Coursera recently announced a new online bachelor’s completion program. The program is incredibly competitively priced, at $400 a credit, and scales an on-campus program that serves diverse students. Its most recent cohort was 62 percent students of color and 40 percent military-connected learners. Kelly and Betty agreed to answer our questions about this new program. Q: The in-person bachelor of arts in liberal studies degree completion program has been an institution at Georgetown...

Are you a coder or computer science lover and want to show off your skills? Computer science competitions are a great way to do that! We've gathered information on 10 of the best computer science and coding competitions high school students can participate in. Look over the descriptions that seem most interesting to you, then keep reading to learn everything you need to do to make participating in these competitions stand out on your college applications.   The Best Computer Science Competitions for High Schoolers Below are overviews of 10 of the best computer science and coding competitions for students. For each competition, we  give a brief description, along with who is eligible and what the prizes are. All the competitions below have a focus on computer science. For competit...

College in the US is expensive—too expensive, in fact, for the average student to be able to afford on their own. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 87% of first-year students at four-year colleges were receiving financial aid in 2019-2020. Financial aid is good in all its forms, right? If it helps college students afford their education, what could be the problem? Unfortunately, not all financial aid is created equal—and not all schools can afford to give out "good" student aid. Here, I'll briefly talk about the types of financial aid available (the "good" kinds and the "bad" kinds) before introducing the colleges with the best financial aid programs in the country.   Financial Aid Basics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Financial aid comes from a variety of sour...

Is your goal to become a doctor? Do you want to put yourself on a fast track to medical school and making your dream a reality? If so, you may want to consider applying for a BS/MD program. In this article, I'll explain what these programs are and go over exactly how to get into a BS/MD program, so that you can be one step closer to your dream of becoming a doctor.   What Is a BS/MD Program? A BS/MD program offers you admission to medical school if you meet certain minimum requirements while you're in college or applying to colleges. You can apply for a BS/MD program as a high school student during the regular college application process. Additionally, there are BS/MD programs you can apply to as an underclassman in college. Most people begin applying to med school the summer between the...