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Articles tagged with: College LIsts

26 June 2025

Great Colleges for Pre-Veterinary Students

Posted in Your College List

vet

Are you a high schooler looking to become a veterinarian? Vet school admissions can be very competitive, and although they are far away, it can be great to get a head start as early as possible. 

The undergraduate school you go to plays a big role in the opportunities available to you as you pursue a career in veterinary medicine and apply to vet schools. To help you find the right school for you with the strongest pre-veterinary program, we’ve organized a list of the top undergraduate schools for students interested in veterinary careers, based on schools with strong animal science programs and universities that have veterinary schools that undergraduates can work with. 

26 June 2025

Highly LGBTQ+ Inclusive Campuses

Posted in Your College List

Nursing

Happy Pride! College can be a great place to explore and develop your identity. Creating a supportive and diverse environment for groups such as the LGBTQ+ community creates a safe community that allows for students to succeed. 

Entering college and pursuing a higher education can often be a stressful and challenging time especially for those moving away from their homes. It’s essential that each student joins a college campus that fosters a safe, inclusive and empowering environment that they learn and grow to reach their full potential and beyond. For LGBTQ+ students, this is particularly essential as they face unique challenges, such as discrimination, isolation or lack of representation. A supportive campus with inclusive policies, accessible resource centers, and student organizations can help cultivate a welcoming and inclusive community that can help students, no matter their identity, thrive. 

We've curated a list of 30 great schools in the United States that you can explore, based on some excellent sources (Campus Pride Index, Movement Advancement ProjectGenny Beemyn), enhanced with our own research.  

20 June 2025

Colleges with Strong Undergraduate Business Programs

Posted in Your College List

Business

In search of colleges and universities with strong undergraduate business programs? 

An undergraduate business degree not only opens the door to a wide range of career opportunities in fields like finance, consulting, and marketing, it also builds a versatile skill set, including data analysis, strategic thinking, and effective communications, that employers across industries value very highly. Apart from academic excellence, a good business program also offers early exposure to real-world experiences and challenges through internships, case studies, and networking opportunities, helping students build a strong foundation and professional connections to stand out in competitive job markets.  

To help you get started and explore your options, we have curated a list of around 40 schools from with great business programs

10 February 2025

Schools Supporting the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR/SSAR)

Posted in Your College List

Updated FEB 2025

Self-Reported Academic Record Several popular colleges and universities now support the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR), also known as the Self-Reported Student Academic Record (SSAR), which allows students to submit their courses, grades, and test results to colleges during the application process.

That said, how the SRAR is used by these institutions varies. To help you navigate it all, we've enhanced the current list of participating institutions with admit rates, test score ranges and details on their polices for domestic first year applicants with direct links to the SRAR section of their admissions websites.

Note that while most of the 30+ participating institutions are public universities, there are a few private universities participating in SRAR/SSAR, including New York University (NYU) which requires the SRAR.

Click on continue reading for the details.

07 October 2024

Boost Your Odds 50% With These Early Action Schools

Posted in Your College List, Early Admission, Class of 2029

earlyactionLooking for a way to enhance admission odds without obligating yourself to attend?  Here's a list of colleges with early action admission rates that are at least 50% higher than their regular decision admission rates.  

Unlike Early Decision, Early Action is non-binding, so it nearly always works to your advantage.  And as the list shows, this advantage can be meaningful if you're a competitive applicant...all for simply applying 45-60 days earlier than normal.  

With most early action deadlines occurring in early November, the time is now to take a closer look. 

24 September 2024

U.S. News & World Report Posts 2025 College Rankings

Posted in College Rankings

usnwr bestcollegesU.S. News & World Report released their 2025 college rankings this morning.  Nearly 1,500 schools were ranked based on 17 factors, with the methodology mostly unchanged from the previous year.  

Princeton retains sole possession of the top spot for National Universities, and Williams College tops the list of Liberal Arts Colleges.  

Click on Continue Reading to see the rankings changes. 

12 September 2024

Keeping Vigil on 2024-25 Merit Scholarship Deadlines

Posted in Your College List, Class of 2029, Affordability

moneyIf you're in the hunt for merit scholarships, be sure to stay on top of explicit deadlines a school on your list might have.

In some cases, like Boston University and USC, it's a hard deadline that you have to meet in order for you to be considered at all.  In others, like Indiana University and many other public institutions, it's a "priority" deadline that maximizes your chances of merit aid before the money runs out.  Either way, merit aid continues to be an excellent way for good students to defray the cost of an education.  

We've compiled a sampling of schools in our coverage universe with explicit deadlines, along with some stats to help you gauge the size and breadth of the institution's merit offerings.  We've also included links to each school's scholarship page for easy access to the details.

Most of these schools automatically consider you for merit scholarships without the need for an additional application.  

College Kickstart subscribers: full listings of 2024-25 explicit merit scholarship deadlines and schools with generous merit aid are already incorporated into the product.

Click on Continue Reading below for the list.

28 August 2024

Common App Schools That Don't Require Extra Essays (2024-25)

Posted in Your College List, Class of 2029

commonapplogoIn search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2024-25 application season.  

The list includes schools that simply require the base essay (e.g. personal statement). Keep in mind that many of these schools may have "optional" prompts which you might want to complete anyway to strengthen your application.  

If you're a student or parent with a College Kickstart Plus or Premium subscription, this information is already available to you as part of our key application requirements view.

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

15 July 2024

Great Colleges for Nursing Majors

Posted in Your College List

Nursing

Are you interested in pursuing a bachelor of science in nursing directly out of high school? These degrees can prepare you for the NCLEX-RN exam as well as prepare you for future nursing training.

Thousands of colleges across the United States now offer Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs that are available to high school seniors applying to colleges. In the last decade, as the number of BSN degrees offered has grown, the amount of open nursing jobs has also increased and is projected to continue growing by 6% over the next decade (Association of Colleges of Nursing).

We’ve put together a list of 28 great nursing programs using a variety of sources. Continue reading to learn more about each.

18 September 2023

U.S. News & World Report Posts 2024 College Rankings

Posted in College Rankings

usnwr bestcollegesU.S. News & World Report released their 2024 college rankings yesterday.  Approximately 80% of the nearly 1,500 schools ranked returned their information, including 99 of the top 100 ranked national universities and 97 of the top 100 ranked national liberal arts colleges.

Significant changes were made to this year's methodology, including more emphasis on social mobility and outcomes and changes to weightings.

Princeton retains sole possession of the top spot for National Universities, and Williams College tops the list of Liberal Arts Colleges.  

Click on Continue Reading to see the rankings changes. 

13 September 2023

Keeping Vigil on 2023-24 Merit Scholarship Deadlines

Posted in Your College List, Affordability

moneyIf you're in the hunt for merit scholarships, be sure to stay on top of explicit deadlines a school on your list might have.

In some cases, like Boston University and USC, it's a hard deadline that you have to meet in order for you to be considered at all.  In others, like Indiana University and many other public institutions, it's a "priority" deadline that maximizes your chances of merit aid before the money runs out.  Either way, merit aid continues to be an excellent way for good students to defray the cost of an education.  

We've compiled a sampling of schools in our coverage universe with explicit deadlines, along with some stats to help you gauge the size and breadth of the institution's merit offerings.  We've also included links to each school's scholarship page for easy access to the details.

Most of these schools automatically consider you for merit scholarships without the need for an additional application.  

College Kickstart subscribers: full listings of 2023-24 explicit merit scholarship deadlines and schools with generous merit aid are already incorporated into the product.

Click on Continue Reading below for the list.

03 September 2023

Selective Institutions That Don't Consider Legacy Status

Posted in Your College List

UPDATE #2 (9/3)

Legacy AdmissionsWith all of the media attention surrounding legacy admissions, we thought it would be helpful to compile a list of selective public and private institutions that don't consider legacy status as part of the admissions process.

To come up with the list, we pulled data from the 2022-23 Common Data Set (or Fall 2022 NCES database) for each institution in our coverage universe with acceptance rates of 50 percent or less. We then cross-checked with recent announcements to identify recent changes to policies, such as with Wesleyan University and Occidental College.

Of the 138 schools currently in our coverage universe with acceptance rates of 50 percent or less, 33 percent do not consider legacy status—42 percent for publics and 25 percent for privates.

Bookmark this page, as we expect to update it periodically with institutions opting to drop legacy consideration for this cycle.

Click on Continue Reading for the list

31 August 2023

Great Schools for International Financial Aid

Posted in Your College List

International Financial AidIn search of schools that offer financial aid to international applicants?

Look no further! We've compiled a list of 30 schools worth considering. To create the list, we considered two factors: international student representation and the breadth and depth of international aid packages.  

We've also included admission rates for each institution and whether aid packages are need and/or merit-based.

Click on Continue Reading for the list

30 August 2023

Common App Schools That Don't Require Extra Essays (2023-24)

Posted in Your College List

commonapplogoIn search of schools with no extra Common App essays?  Look no further, check out our list of popular schools here, updated for the 2023-24 application season.  

The list includes schools that simply require the base essay (e.g. personal statement). Keep in mind that many of these schools may have "optional" prompts which you might want to complete anyway to strengthen your application.  

If you're a student or parent with a College Kickstart Plus or Premium subscription, this information is already available to you as part of our key application requirements view.

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

26 July 2023

Great Colleges for International Relations Majors

Posted in Your College List

International RelationsInterested in pursuing an interdisciplinary field that delves into how individual states and global interactions impact diplomacy and conflict? If so, consider majoring in International Relations (IR)!

In International Relations, students can evaluate how global, regional, and domestic factors influence relations between state actors. Given the vast variety of tracks within international relations, such as an emphasis on international economics, human rights, or global health, international relations also serves as a perfect interdisciplinary supplement to other fields of study. Studying International Relations prepares students for a wide variety of careers, ranging from law to politics, and the major continues to expand as the world becomes increasingly globalized.

To help you evaluate your options, we've curated a list of great undergraduate International Relations programs in the United States based on Foreign Policy magazine's Best International Relations Schools in the World. Our list covers a mix of private and public universities and liberal arts colleges, and includes admission rates, test profiles, program highlights and links for more information.

Click on Continue Reading for the list

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