“Innovative and invaluable…use this book as your college lifeline.”
— Lynn O'Shaughnessy
Nationally Recognized College Expert
July 18, 2025
Tom Cruise’s iconic Princeton University interview in the ’80s classic Risky Business leads his character, Joel Goodson, to receive an against-all-odds letter of acceptance. Back in 1983 when the...
July 16, 2025
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is one of the top public universities in the entire United States. Top-ranked computer science, engineering, and business programs, in particular, attract an endless...
Penn State University’s University Park campus, affectionately known as “Happy Valley,” has long been a favored destination of Keystone State residents, many of whom have adopted the Nittany Lion...
July 15, 2025
The Most Common College Admissions Mistakes Milwaukee-Area Families Make and How to Avoid Them The Milwaukee metro region is home to some of the strongest high schools in Wisconsin....
Unlike its Ivy League peers, the undergraduates at Brown University shy away from a competitive, cutthroat classroom atmosphere in favor of a more intellectually curious, artsy, and progressive vibe....
July 14, 2025
In the wake of the Varsity Blues scandal of 2019, it’s not hard to come up with a number of cynical, mocking responses on the topic of “How to...
Many of the 26,000+ annual applicants to MIT would qualify as “geniuses” when measured by sheer IQ and traditional academic achievement. Yet, somehow the majority of this highly capable...
The oldest Jesuit institution in the U.S. is also among the nation’s most elite undergraduate universities. What’s more, its popular Washington, DC, locale helps draw massive numbers of applicants...
July 10, 2025
Fairfield County, CT, families enjoy exceptional school systems, abundant extracurricular options, and a culture that values academic and personal achievement. Students here attend some of the top public and...
In forming the Class of 2028, the University of Michigan received a staggering 98,000 applications, an all-time high. For historical comparison, there were under 24,000 applicants at the turn...
Anyone who went to college thirty, twenty, or even ten years ago would likely be shocked if you told them that Northeastern University, once viewed as more of a...
In recent years, the University of Michigan has opened its doors to more and more out-of-state and international students than at any point in the school’s history. Presently, roughly...
July 8, 2025
Austin is one of the strongest secondary-school markets in the country. Students here benefit from exceptional access to Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, dual enrollment, and post-AP coursework, as well...
July 7, 2025
Families across Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, York County, and the Peninsula face a familiar but high-stakes question: Is a public or private high school the better path...
Over 33,000 high-achieving teens applied to be part of Carnegie Mellon’s Class of 2028, and the vast majority of successful applicants had pristine transcripts and SATs of 1500 or...
July 6, 2025
Few decisions create more anxiety for Columbus-area families than choosing between public and private high school. Central Ohio offers an unusually strong mix of both. On the public side,...
July 4, 2025
Successful applicants to Cornell University universally possess an ‘A’ average in a rigorous high school curriculum, stellar SAT/ACT scores, and a record of accomplishment outside of the classroom in...
It is rare to find a college, even of the public variety, with an annual tuition figure only four digits in length. It is even rarer to find a...
July 3, 2025
Those hoping to enter the Tar Heel Class of 2028 faced tougher competition than at any previous time in UNC Chapel Hill history. To quantify this assertion, there were...
Situated just five miles outside of Boston, the campus of Tufts University has long been a destination point for high-achieving teens in the Northeastern United States. However, as with...
