Many American college students study overseas during their junior years, while others spend their entire undergraduate careers at famous schools in English-speaking countries, like St. Andrews in Scotland and Trinity College Dublin, a wonderful, historic school in Dubl...

The Common App recently announced its new essay prompts for 2017-18. Here we describe and analyze changes to the prompts and offer our thoughts on each one.

Do you know any students with outstanding grades who aren’t satisfied with their scores on the SAT or ACT? Many students fit this description, and their scores often cause anxiety about prospects for college admission. Their anxiety is often relieved when they learn ho...

In How and Why You Diversify Colleges (New York Times, May 15, 2016), Frank Bruni explores the efforts undertaken by some elite private colleges to diversify their student bodies, and the benefits that flow from such diversity. We applaud these efforts, but as Mr. Br...

The Making Caring Common Project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education recently issued “Turning the Tide,” the first in a series of reports with the ambitious goal of “inspiring concern for others and the common good through college admissions.” Admissions deans...

In January 2016, a group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education released a report entitled "Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good Through College Admissions," which recommends changes in the college admission process designed to encour...

Many high school juniors and their families are planning to visit colleges during spring break. College visits are an important part of the application process. No college website, online review, or Snapchat story can substitute for an in-person campus experience.  As...

When we first meet with students and their families, they’re familiar with the SAT and ACT. But when we ask whether the student has taken SAT Subject Tests, some, including very good students, don't even know what they are. That’s too bad, because they can offer an adv...