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Articles tagged with: Hampshire

13 August 2020

The Many Flavors of Test-Optional College Admissions

Posted in Your College List, Class of 2025, Perspectives

testbrokenpencilAs we entered 2020, roughly one-third of the schools in our coverage universe offered some form of test-optional admissions. That figure cleared 70 percent in June and is now hovering at 90 percent with the holdouts largely in the South, particularly the public universities in Flordia and Georgia.

To help you keep up with the changes, we're actively tracking test-optional policies for several popular institutions we cover. As always, the definition of "test-optional" varies by institution and often has strings attached so pay close attention to the details.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of test-optional schools and the type of test-optional policy they employ.  For your convenience, we've included admit rates, test score ranges and links to each school's standardized test policy to help you find suitable candidates for your college list.

College Kickstart subscribers, this is automatically updated and visible as part of the requirements view.

28 June 2018

Class of 2022 Waitlist Notification Dates and Stats

Posted in Class of 2022, Waitlist

UPDATE #2 (6/28)

waitlist2018For those of you that have been waitlisted at one of your top choices, here's a list of 2017 waitlist statistics for several popular private and public schools, along with notification dates and latest status where available.  

Our sample of waitlist statistics from 132 private and public institutions paints the following picture:

  • On average, 13 percent of students accepting a place on a waitlist were admitted
  • 63 percent of the schools admitted 10 percent or less of the students accepting a place on the wait list last year
  • 51 percent of the schools admitted 5 percent or less
  • 16 percent admitted no one

There are several factors driving the low rates, including the size of the waitlist (often very large), and how well a school anticipates its admissions yield. 

Click Continue Reading for the list.

15 June 2017

Class of 2021 Waitlist Notification Dates and Stats

Posted in Class of 2021, Waitlist

UPDATE #3 (6/15)

waitlist2016For those of you that have been waitlisted at one of your top choices, here's a list of 2016 waitlist statistics for several popular private and public schools, along with notification dates and latest status where available.  

Our sample of waitlist statistics from 163 private and public institutions paints the following picture:

  • On average, 18 percent of students accepting a place on a waitlist were admitted
  • 55 percent of the schools admitted 10 percent or less of the students accepting a place on the wait list last year
  • 37 percent of the schools admitted 5 percent or less
  • 11 percent admitted no one

There are several factors driving the low rates, including the size of the waitlist (often very large), and how well a school anticipates its admissions yield. 

Click Continue Reading for the list.

16 October 2016

Colleges With Generous Merit Aid

Posted in Your College List, Affordability

Schools offering merit aid to 20% or more of incoming freshmen

moneyIn search of schools with generous merit scholarship programs?

Look no further.  

Here we've compiled a list of competitive 4-year institutions that offer merit aid to 20% or more of undergraduates.  Merit awards are typically not based on financial need but rather on academic performance and other qualities deemed desirable by the institution.  As such, they can make college more affordable for academically gifted students—especially those that are unlikely to qualify for need-based financial aid. 

Most of these schools automatically consider you for merit scholarships when you submit your application.  

11 August 2016

Common App Extra Essay Requirements (2016-17)

Posted in Your College List, Class of 2021

commonapplogoThe Common App for 2016-17 is now live, and we've just wrapped up our analysis of the real number of short answer/essay prompts required for each school.  If you've been through this process before, you know that just because a school lacks a writing supplement doesn't mean there are no additional essays to complete.  Many schools in fact simply embed these prompts in the main application itself.

This post summarizes the prompts required for 200+ Common Application schools in our coverage universe.  Our definition of a prompt is a question that requires more than a one word or one sentence answer.  It's not perfect, but it should help you gauge the amount of writing you'll need to get through over the next few months.  It'll also help you identify schools that you can apply to without the need for extra essays!

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

25 September 2015

The Darker Side of College Rankings

Posted in Perspectives

huffpostHere's a recent blog post from the President of Hampshire College in the Huffington Post.  It's entitled Results of Removing Standardized Test Scores from College Admissions, and while it's meant to tout the impact of adopting a test blind admissions policy (SAT/ACT scores are not accepted/considered), in reality it's a fascinating perspective on college rankings and how the quest for top rankings can often pressure schools to commit "unnatural" acts.

Click here for the article.

 

17 September 2015

Common App Extra Essay Requirements

Posted in Your College List

Update #6

commonapplogoThe Common App for 2015-16 was posted earlier today, and we've just wrapped up our analysis on the real number of short answer/essay prompts required for each school.  If you've been through this process before, you know that just because a school lacks a writing supplement doesn't mean there are no additional essays to complete.  Many schools in fact simply embed these prompts in the main application itself.

This post summarizes the prompts required for 200+ Common Application schools in our coverage universe.  Our definition of a prompt is a question that requires more than a one word or one sentence answer.  It's not perfect, but it should help you gauge the amount of writing you'll need to get through over the next few months.  It'll also help you identify schools that you can apply to without the need for extra essays!

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

27 August 2015

Colleges with Early Admission Plans

Posted in Your College List, Early Admission

College Kickstart Logo 200x63With your college list more or less finalized, give some consideration to early admission—many schools offer it and can be a terrific way to boost odds and minimize wasted motion.  All you need to do is apply 45-60 days earlier than you normally would. 

Here's a list of competitive 4-year institutions offering early admission to applicants.  Depending on the school, these options range from Early Decision (binding) to Early Action (non-binding) and Restrictive Early Action (non-binding with restrictions on where else you can apply).  

The first wave of deadlines is coming up in November, so take a quick look to see if any of your schools offer something worth considering. Or click here to find out how College Kickstart can help you fully capitalize on it.

02 June 2015

Affordable Alternatives to California Public Universities

Posted in Your College List, Financial Aid

financial-aidIf you're a California resident with financial need, don't assume that it's always cheaper to attend a University of California or Cal State University campus.

Depending on your academic credentials and financial situation, there may be many excellent private school options to consider. Read on to see our list of 50+ affordable alternatives to UC/CSU campuses.  

13 May 2015

Waitlist Admission Rates and Notification Dates

Posted in Class of 2019, Waitlist

UPDATE #1

waitlistpie1415b127For those of you that have been waitlisted at one of your top choices, here's a list of waitlist statistics for several popular private and public schools, along with notification dates and links for more detail if available.  

Our sample of waitlist statistics from 127 private and public institutions paints the following picture:

  • On average, 18% of students accepting a place on a waitlist were admitted
  • Half of the schools admitted 10% or less of the students accepting a place on the wait list last year
  • 35% of the schools admitted 5% or less
  • 9% admitted no one

There are several factors driving the low rates, including the size of the waitlist (often very large), and how well a school anticipates its admissions yield. 

Click Continue Reading for the list.

12 February 2015

Suggested College Tour Itineraries

college tours mapPreparing your first college tour and not sure where to start?

Here are some suggestions for schools to visit, grouped by region, to get you rolling. Each list includes 5-6 schools that offer a range of sizes, settings and selectivity to help imagine the possibilities.  We also suggest others worth considering and why.  

Cities currently covered include Boston, New York City, Syracuse, Washington DC, Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.  

Click on the Continue Reading link below to see our suggestions, or try our College Tour Planner to build your own custom campus tour itinerary.

 

18 September 2014

New Schools Added to College Kickstart

Posted in Product Announcements

Expanded coverage of an additional 30 schools

 

College Kickstart Logo 200x63Good news—we've just expanded the College Kickstart database by another 30 schools, bringing the total to 225 competitive 4-year colleges and universities.

The following schools have been added to the list: 

 

New Additions

SchoolSchool
Austin College Bennington College
Bentley College Butler University
College of St. Benedict Cornell College
Drexel University Emerson College
Fairfield University Goucher College
Guilford College Hampshire College
Hillsdale College Juniata College
Marquette University Providence College
St. John's University - MN St. Michael's College
Sarah Lawrence College SUNY - Geneseo
SUNY - ESF SUNY - Stony Brook
The College of New Jersey Transylvania University
University of Dayton University of Denver
University of Florida University of Minnesota
Villanova University Wheaton College - MA

 

For the complete list, click here.

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