College Updates For The 2022-23 Admissions Cycle:
Harvard University will be test-optional again this admissions cycle. Harvard states that applicants who do not submit standardized test scores are not disadvantaged. Students applying to Harvard should make sure they have taken challenging math courses to be competitive applicants. An interesting fact about this school is that all first-year students are categorized as undecided and choose their major in their second year.
UPenn, Columbia University, and Duke University will also continue their test-optional test policy for this year. For Columbia, this test-optional policy applies to transfer applicants and there will be new additional financial funding for low-income students.
Cornell University is now offering Cognitive Science as a new major. They also have multiple test-free majors for students to choose from: Agriculture and Life Science, Architecture, Business, and Hotel Administration. Cornell does not have admission interviews.
Yale University had very few waitlist acceptances last admissions cycle, as well as very low transfer acceptances. Admissions rates overall were 4%.
University of Pennsylvania has said they have preference for a positive angle in their essays. Students should keep this in mind as they tackle those essay questions.
University of Michigan will also be test-flexible this year. In fact, 40% of applicants did not submit test scores. Acceptance rates were 17%.
University of Toledo, as a college often found on our BS/MD applicant college lists, is also test-free for awarding merit scholarships. Only a transcript is required.
Wellesley College is not only also test-optional again this admissions cycle, they have stated a particular interest in weighing a student’s demonstrated writing skills and quantitative reasoning in the admissions decision. Their admissions rate was 13% last year.
SUNY Upstate BS/MD partnership schools have increased the number of seats in a few of their programs, so Purchase College and University of Albany both now have 20 seats. There are plans for Syracuse University to have 20 seats in the future. There is an upcoming webinar with information about these pathways on October 20. Sign up here to attend.
Best Colleges For Your List
This month, students are often revisiting their college lists and making last-minute additions, especially when it comes to adding Target and Safety pre-med programs. While many students rely on college rankings to cultivate their list, there are often other factors like price and campus opportunities that can mean more than the institution’s ranking in the long run. We thought a recent article on Money.com did a great job of summing up the questions we are hearing from students in our recent meetings, from essay advice to college list suggestions. Read our Applying Early guide for a refresher on all of the early application options and details on navigating Early Decision vs. Early Action or applying Regular Decision. Use our college list resource to ensure your college list is well-balanced. Every student needs a strong application deadline strategy!
If you are in the position, like many of our Moon Prep students, of considering adding a few safety schools to your college list, check out our article on Forbes: Over 40 Colleges Without Supplemental Essays 2022-2023.
More Than The Personal Statement
Many high school students apply to college with very little guidance, assuming that they need to complete the Personal Statement for the Common Application and maybe 3 additional essays. Unfortunately, we have seen firsthand the shock on parents’ faces when they see the number of essays included in their student’s college list, as many of our BS/MD students apply to 20+ colleges, which can mean writing 70+ essays. These supplemental essays can be tricky to navigate. If you’re having trouble getting started, read our guide to cover the most Common Supplemental Essays.
FAFSA Is Open!
It is financial aid season, with the opening of the FAFSA on October 1st. At Moon Prep, we encourage every one of our students to apply for the FAFSA or CSS Profile because there is a great amount of unused financial aid reported each year, so it can never hurt to apply. We wanted to provide you with some resources to help submit this (often daunting!) form. To feel fully prepared to navigate the types of financial aid available, we invite you to watch our Financial Aid webinar, as well as use our guide to Understanding The FAFSA as you fill out the form.
For underclassmen, it’s time to be strategic about how you spend time outside the classroom during the school year. Thankfully, we have you covered. Registration is now open for the Winter session of Rising Researchers, Machine Learning for Health Equity Research Intensive Camp. This an 8-week (January 9 – March 23) online research class under a researcher from UMass Amherst. The course is designed to provide you with an introduction to statistical and machine learning techniques for understanding, finding, and explaining health equity gaps in electronic health records data.
The best part? Students receive 2 college credit hours and there are no course prerequisites, 9-11 grades are encouraged to apply.
Apply by November 1 to get $200 off the total cost!
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