Still struggling with your college essays?  Here's an excellent post from Johns Hopkins University on essays that worked.  It provides seven actual essays submitted by applicants and commentary from the admissions committee on why they worked.

Still looking for ideas on how to write a compelling admissions essay? Then check out this set of essays that worked, courtesy of Tufts admissions.

This blog post includes successful responses for all of the essay prompts included by Tufts, as well as some video commentary on why each one proved compelling to the admissions team.

Click here for the essays.

Here's an excellent post from Connecticut College on essays that worked.  It provides several actual essays submitted by recent applicants along with some tips from the Dean of Admissions.

The University of California has updated its subject test recommendations for fall 2017 applicants. Remember, these are recommendations, not requirements, and they are primarily geared towards applicants in STEM fields.

To our subscribers: this has already been incorporated into the requirements section of College Kickstart.

Click here for the latest subject test recommendations.

With the fall application cycle now in full swing, it's important to keep an eye on interview requirements for the schools on your list—especially if they're looking for evidence of demonstrated interest.  

To make this easier for you, we've compiled a list of popular schools where interviews are required or strongly recommended, along with the degree to which the institution considers demonstrated interest as part of the evaluation.  

In cases like Hillsdale College where interviews are highly recommended and demonstrated interest is very important, it's a good bet than an interview is worth your time.  On the flip side, if interviews are optional and demonstrated interest isn't considered, booking an interview is less critical.  The devil is in the details, so to help you figure out your strategy we've also included a link to each listed school's interview policy.  Do keep in mind that interview requirements may often vary by major.

Click on Continue Reading for the list.

Given how sophisticated colleges have become in recruiting applicants, it's dangerous to rely on old admissions data.  

We've taken a look at our coverage universe and identified schools with notable admission rate differences between the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2019. In addition to providing the admission rates, we've included some commentary to explain why as well as a link back to the source article.

Relative to last year, the number of schools with notable changes is more muted.  Unfortunately, the news from the majority of schools listed is not in your favor, and depending on how you categorize schools, the change may be enough to turn a safety into a target or target to a reach.  On the flip side, we have also identified a few schools where rates have gotten more favorable overall, or for a particular segment of applicants.  Regardless, take a moment to review the list—the last thing anyone needs at this point is a surprise.

College Kickstart subscribers: Class of 2020 admission rates are available for nearly 80 institutions and departments within those institutions in the latest release of College Kickstart.

Click Continue Reading for the list.

Beginning this year, you'll be able to file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form as early as October 1st.  Here's a good article from the New York Times which details some of the changes you should be aware of.

The 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.

Many colleges and universities have begun updating their websites for the Class of 2021 (Fall 2017) admission cycle.  While we expect the activity to continue into the late summer, several of the changes we've observed are worth noting. 

In particular, roughly 20 schools have introduced changes to the early admission plans available to you this fall.  Unsurprisingly, the vast majority have added binding early decision options, including the University of Chicago (Early Decision 1/2), Wake Forest and Wellesley (Early Decision 2) and Tulane (replaced Single Choice Early Action with Early Decision).  Several also introduced/refined their Early Action programs, including Texas A&M (a new Early Action option for engineering applicants) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (revamped).   On the flip side, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo eliminated Early Decision.

If you're considering early admission, be sure to check out our list as it may impact how you decide to apply this fall.   Note for our subscribers: the data has already been incorporated into the product, so all you have to do to see how it impacts your plan is re-run College Kickstart.  

Click on Continue Reading below for the details.

Money Magazine just released its college rankings for 2016-17. Nearly 2,000 schools were evaluated based on 24 factors along three dimensions: educational quality, affordability and outcomes. The result: 736 schools that deliver a great education at an affordable price, with good outcomes post graduation.

The top of the list:

• Princeton University
• University of Michigan
• Harvard University
• Rice University
• University of California - Berkeley
• Brigham Young University
• Amherst College
• Cooper Union
• University of Virginia
• Stanford University

Click here for the rankings or here for the methodology.

Beginning this fall, the University of California will replace the two personal statement prompts in the UC Application with short answer questions that students can choose from.  

Freshman applicants will now choose four out of eight "personal insight" questions to answer.  Each is limited to 350 words and will have equal weighting.

The new questions will be available August 1st as part of the fall 2017 application.

Click here for FAQs or here for the personal insight questions.