October 2026 Admissions News
October 2026 Preview –
What’s Coming This Month
📅 Mark Your Calendars – Upcoming October and November Dates
🔬 Rising Researchers – Fall Camp Starts Oct 11!
🎓 Rising Seniors – The 2026 STARS Process – Don’t Overlook This Important College Application Step
🎓 Rising Seniors – The CSS Profile: What Seniors Need to Know
⚕️ Medical School Applicants – Should You Send a Medical School an Update?
📷 In the News – Moon Prep Featured Articles
📊 University Updates – What You Need to Know
🎙 White Coat Club – Emotional Maturity: The Skill That Matters More Than You Think
Mark Your Calendars –
Key October & November 2026 Dates
✅ October 11: Fall Research Camp starts – Topics in Neuroscience – register here
✅ October 15: First Major Application Deadline – Some Colleges, Scholarships, Honors Programs, and BSMD Programs use this deadline – Each school has its own deadlines and required materials, so stay vigilant and keep track of each one carefully!
✅ October 15: National Merit Scholarship Application Deadline – Open to National Merit Semifinalists; Invitations are shared with high schools in late August or early September
✅ October 15: American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) [STEM]
✅ October 16: October SAT Score Release
✅ October 21: American Academy of Neurology Neuroscience Research Prize [STEM]
✅ October 21: JEA National Student Media Contests [Journalism]
✅ October 21: Pirates Pitch Competition [Business]
✅ October 23: November SAT – Registration Deadline
✅ October 27: October ACT Score Release
✅ October 28: New York Times Editorial Contests (My Tiny Memoir) [Writing]
✅ October 30: Conrad Challenge [STEM]
✅ November 1: Bennington College Young Writers Awards [Writing]
✅ November 5: Regeneron Science Talent Search [STEM]
✅ November 6: December ACT – Registration Deadline
✅ November 15: USA Biolympiad (USABO) [STEM]
✅ November 17: Winter Research Camp starts – Neural Plasticity – register here
✅ November 23: National Science Bowl [STEM]
Beyond the Classroom: Explore Winter Research Camp Starts Nov. 17
Winter Camp: Neural Plasticity – How the Brain Learns, Changes, and Adapts Led by Anahit S.
Schedule: Every Tuesday and Friday (11/17/26 – 12/18/26 ) from 7:00p – 8:30p ET/ 4:00p – 5:30p PT
View the syllabus
Why You Will Love This Camp:
In this camp, students will explore one of neuroscience’s most exciting concepts: neuroplasticity, the brain’s remarkable ability to learn, adapt, and change throughout life.
You’ll explore how neuroplasticity allows the brain to adapt, form new connections, and strengthen or weaken existing ones as you learn new things. Discover how brain cells (neurons) communicate, how synapses and neural circuits change over time, and how these changes shape learning, memory, and brain development.
Throughout the camp, students will build valuable research and critical thinking skills by reading scientific literature, designing a research study, and presenting their findings in front of their peers in a research poster presentation.
This course is tailored to accommodate various skill levels and is suitable for beginners.
Camp Investment: $3500, Early Bird Discount – $200 | Valid through 10/1/2026
Sign up for these camps now
Seniors: The 2026 STARS Process – Don’t Overlook This Important College Application Step
You submitted the Common App. You paid the application fee. You sent your test scores. Your transcript was requested.
So, your application is complete…right?
Not necessarily.
For students applying to certain colleges this fall, there may be one more important step: completing the Self-Reported Transcript and Academic Record System, better known as STARS.
If that acronym sounds unfamiliar, you may recognize its former names: SRAR (Self-Reported Academic Record) or SSAR (Self-Reported Student Academic Record). These systems have been rebranded as STARS, and a growing list of colleges use the platform to collect applicants’ academic records.
STARS allows you to report your high school academic record directly to participating colleges. Instead of relying on an official transcript during the initial application review, colleges can ask you to enter information such as the high school(s) you attended, courses, grades, and your current or planned senior-year coursework. Depending on the college, you may also be asked for information such as standardized test scores or AP, IB, or AICE exams.
Most importantly, STARS is separate from simply submitting your Common Application.
Some colleges require STARS before they consider your application complete. For example, schools currently participating in STARS include Penn State, Rutgers, Clemson, Florida State, the University of Florida, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, NYU, Pitt, Baylor, UConn, and the University of Washington, among others. Requirements differ by institution, so always check each college’s applicant portal and instructions.
Start by getting a copy of your unofficial high school transcript. Do not try to complete STARS from memory. You want the information you enter to match your transcript as closely as possible.
Then, create or log into your STARS account. If you are creating a new account, use the same name, birth date, and email address you used on your college applications. Matching information helps colleges connect your STARS record with your application. If you previously created an SRAR, SSAR, or STARS account, you should use that existing account rather than creating another one.
From there, work carefully through your academic record. You may need to enter your high school information, grading scale, courses, grades, and senior-year courses that are currently in progress or planned. Enter information exactly as it appears on your transcript rather than trying to improve, simplify, or reinterpret it. Do not recalculate grades or convert your school’s grading system on your own.
Before submitting, compare the completed record against your transcript one more time. Check course names, course levels, grades, academic years, and senior-year coursework.
Completing STARS isn’t always enough.
For your record to reach a college, you generally need to submit your STARS record AND link it to that college application. Depending on the school, linking may happen through your applicant portal, a personalized link sent by the college, your STARS ID, or automatic matching based on your email address.
After you submit an application, get in the habit of checking the college’s applicant portal. Look at your application checklist and make sure STARS is marked as received or complete when required.
It may feel like you’re entering information the college could simply find on your transcript, but don’t treat STARS as optional paperwork.
For colleges that require it, your application may remain incomplete until the school receives your STARS record. The University of Oregon, for example, explicitly states that it will not review an applicant for admission until the required self-reported academic record is complete.
Accuracy also matters. Colleges may eventually compare the information you self-reported with your official final transcript. STARS is not a replacement for the final official transcript you will typically need to provide before enrolling.
Before declaring an application finished:
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Check whether each college on your list requires or accepts STARS.
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Get an unofficial copy of your transcript.
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Create or access your STARS account using the same identifying information as your applications.
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Enter your courses and grades exactly as they appear on your transcript.
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Include your current senior-year coursework as instructed.
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Review everything carefully before submitting.
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Submit your STARS record.
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Link STARS to each college that requires it.
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Check each college’s applicant portal afterward to confirm that STARS was received.
The biggest lesson for seniors is simple: Submitting your college application and completing your college application are not always the same thing.
After every application goes in, check your email and applicant portal for additional requirements. STARS may only take a little extra time, but overlooking it can leave an otherwise finished application sitting incomplete.
Seniors – The CSS Profile:
What Seniors Need to Know
You’ve probably heard plenty about FAFSA, but another financial aid form some college applicants need to complete is the CSS Profile.
The CSS Profile is an online financial aid application administered by College Board. While the FAFSA determines eligibility for federal financial aid, participating colleges use the CSS Profile to determine eligibility for their own institutional aid, including grants and scholarships.
Not every college requires it, so check the financial aid requirements for every school on your list.
If a college requires the CSS Profile, completing only the FAFSA may not be enough. Missing the CSS Profile—or its deadline—could affect your eligibility for institutional financial aid.
The CSS Profile also asks for more detailed information about your family’s finances than the FAFSA, so give yourself and your parents time to gather the necessary documents.
The CSS Profile opens October 1, but deadlines vary by college. Some financial aid deadlines also come surprisingly early, particularly for Early Decision and Early Action applicants.
Before submitting your applications:
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Check which colleges require the CSS Profile.
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Record each school’s financial aid deadline.
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Gather tax returns, W-2s, bank statements, and other requested financial information.
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Complete both the FAFSA and CSS Profile when required.
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Check whether additional documentation is requested after submission.
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Monitor each college’s financial aid portal to make sure your file is complete.
One more important note: students with divorced or separated parents should check requirements early. Some colleges also require financial information from a noncustodial parent.
Don’t assume that completing the FAFSA means you’re finished with financial aid.
FAFSA = federal financial aid.
CSS Profile = institutional aid at participating colleges.
Check the requirements for every college on your list and treat financial aid deadlines just as seriously as application deadlines. Getting admitted is important—but understanding what you need to do to maximize your financial aid opportunities matters, too.
Medical School Applicants: Should You Send a Medical School an Update?
Some applicants are interviewing, while others may still be waiting for their first invitation. As weeks pass without an update, it can be tempting to contact schools simply to show that you are still interested. But before sending anything, ask yourself: Do I actually have something new and meaningful to share?
When an Update Makes Sense
An application update provides substantive new information that was not available when you submitted your application. That might include:
- A publication, presentation, research milestone, or significant award
- A meaningful new clinical, service, leadership, or employment experience
- Strong new grades or another significant academic accomplishment
- A major development within an activity already included on your application
What About a Letter of Continued Interest?
A Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI) is different from an update. Its primary purpose is to communicate that you remain genuinely interested in a particular medical school.
In October, applicants should generally be cautious about sending a standalone LOCI simply because they haven’t received an interview invitation. Many schools are still actively reviewing applications, and silence does not necessarily mean your application has been overlooked.
A LOCI may be more appropriate after an interview, following a waitlist decision, or when a school specifically welcomes expressions of continued interest. If you have a meaningful application update now, however, you can briefly reinforce your interest in the school within that update rather than sending two separate communications.
Before You Send Anything
First, check the school’s policy. Some medical schools welcome updates, while others restrict or do not accept additional materials. Schools may also require updates to be uploaded through the applicant portal rather than emailed.
If updates are accepted, keep yours concise and purposeful. Explain what has changed, why it is significant, and—when appropriate—briefly connect the update to your continued interest in that particular school.
Most importantly, don’t send an update simply because October feels quiet. Medical school admissions is a long process, and interview invitations can continue well beyond the early fall.
At this point in the cycle, your goal isn’t to find a reason to contact every school. It is to make sure that when you do reach out, you have something worth saying.
Check out our latest articles:
From Student to Future Doctor: How to Prove You’re Ready for The White Coat
5 Steps B.S.-M.D. Applicants Should Take Before Early Deadlines
University Updates You Need to Know
📊 University of Michigan pauses first-semester grading plan: U-M has paused a proposed policy that would have shown first-semester grades for incoming College of Literature, Science, and the Arts students as “pass” or “no credit” on their transcripts beginning in fall 2027. The university has not announced whether or when the plan might move forward.
White Coat Club Episode – Emotional Maturity: The Skill That Matters More Than You Think
What does it actually mean for a 17-year-old to sound “mature” in a college essay?
In this episode, we explore the fine line between demonstrating meaningful life experience and trying too hard to sound wise beyond your years. A strong college essay doesn’t require a dramatic story, an extraordinary accomplishment, or a claim to have solved the world’s biggest problems. Instead, admissions readers want to see students who understand themselves, reflect on their experiences, and begin to recognize the complexity of the world around them.
We discuss common ways essays can unintentionally sound immature—from black-and-white statements and universal truths to focusing too heavily on minor high school drama—and how students can approach these topics with greater nuance. We also explore the importance of taking responsibility for mistakes, considering multiple perspectives, being open to feedback, and showing a willingness to learn and change.
Ultimately, maturity in an essay isn’t about pretending to be older than you are. It’s about being authentically yourself while demonstrating that you are thoughtful, curious, self-aware, and ready to continue growing.
Tune in for practical advice on how students can bring authenticity, humility, nuance, and emotional maturity into their college essays.
Learn more or Listen here.