“Innovative and invaluable…use this book as your college lifeline.”
— Lynn O'Shaughnessy
Nationally Recognized College Expert
June 18, 2026
Foreign language study is one of the most globally oriented dimensions of an undergraduate education. Whether a student is pursuing Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Russian, or the...
A new analysis of more than 300 selective colleges ranks the top undergraduate feeder institutions to elite MBA programs, by raw volume, by enrollment size, and among schools that...
Emory University ended the 2025 admissions cycle in an unusual position. Application volume grew 12 percent across the five-year window from Fall 2021 to Fall 2025, the published admit...
June 16, 2026
Nashville-based Vanderbilt is a dream school for many stellar high school students. Unfortunately, that dream will remain an unrealized one for most, as roughly 96% of those who apply...
June 12, 2026
Among occupations with above-average AI exposure, 264 are growing while 108 are declining. The correlation between AI exposure and employment growth is near zero. For students and career changers,...
An analysis of 300-plus selective colleges identifies the top feeder institutions to elite medical programs three ways: by raw numbers, by enrollment size, and among schools that outperform their...
June 11, 2026
Michigan is the public flagship that has watched its admissions operation change under unusually heavy weather over the past five years. Application volume has climbed from under 80,000 to...
June 4, 2026
At forty schools, more than half the incoming class is filled before regular decisions go out, and the trend is accelerating. At Davidson College this year, 69 percent of...
Students from 28 states are represented at elite schools at less than half their expected share. For applicants from those states, geography may be the most underused advantage in...
June 3, 2026
A Five-Year Data Report on Admissions, Financial Aid, and What the Application Actually Requires, 2021–2026 New York University does not look like a peer of the Ivies the way...
May 29, 2026
A five-year data report on admissions, financial aid, and what the application actually requires, 2021 to 2026 Five Years of Yale, in Data Selective college admissions has moved through...
May 28, 2026
At some elite schools, transfer applicants face better odds than freshmen. At others the door is essentially closed. Six years of data show which is which. Plenty of students...
Most families researching the University of California system fixate on one number, the campus acceptance rate. UCLA admits 9 percent of applicants. UC Merced admits 94 percent. That spread...
May 27, 2026
So, you’ve decided to take a gap year after high school. Now what? An internet search will reveal droves of possibilities, from international service learning to backcountry survival to...
May 22, 2026
An analysis of 1,202 four-year institutions reveals that prestige commands a real ROI premium. Dozens of overlooked colleges deliver even greater returns for the investment. Every spring, as acceptance...
Cornell University spent the last five admissions cycles doing something none of its Ivy peers has matched. Three different testing regimes ran at once across its undergraduate divisions, and...
May 21, 2026
Did you know that college enrollment numbers have followed a complicated path over the past 15 years? Total undergraduate enrollment peaked in 2010 at about 18.1 million, declined steadily...
Community service projects can look great on college applications. But the difference between a worthwhile community service project and a flimsy excuse to check a box is not only...
As we continue along in the 2025-26 cycle, the American college admissions process continues to be insanely competitive at the very top. Schools that are considered “elite” and “prestigious”...
Some high school students dream of writing for a living, perhaps pursuing an English or creative writing major in college or even attending a creative writing MFA program later...
