Brown is the artsy Ivy. This isn’t because it is an arts school, but rather because the culture of the university embodies the ethos of the arts. This is amplified by where Brown is located, in the creative hub of Providence, Rhode Island, and who it has as a neighbor: RISD, one of the most famous creative schools in the world. Brown takes bits and pieces from the communities around it, adding exceptional research opportunities and unique educational approaches to the mix. They have an open curriculum that encourages exploration and discovery, which is very much on theme. Brown receives well over 40,000 applications each year and aim to admit about 2,400. The acceptance rate for the Class of 2029 was 5.65%. Then, it dropped. For the Class of 2030, the acceptance rate went down .3% to 5.35%.

Princeton is located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has a suburban feel and a very tight-knit on campus culture. It is also part of the coveted Ivy League, and boasts some of the best academic programs in the country across nearly any subject you could dream of studying. Unsurprisingly, getting into Princeton is exceptionally difficult. The university delays release of admissions data, but the overall first-year acceptance rate for the Class of 2029 was 4.4%.  

Yes! We’ve done it! This 🥳 is  🎉the 🚨 final 💥countdown!!! As the last installment of our “How to Write the Common App Essay” series, this post will break down the one and only Prompt #7.

Columbia University is one of the most prestigious schools in the United States in one of the most beloved and even mythic cities. New York City is iconic even before you consider plopping an Ivy League campus in the midst of Manhattan. A few minutes of walking takes students to relaxation in Central Park and a few minute-long train ride brings the same students to their internships on Wall Street. Columbia students benefit from both the social and career resources of New York, and the university is known as a feeder for top-tier financial, consulting, and tech companies. The first-year acceptance rate for the Class of 2030 only 4.23%.

Yale is a prestigious Ivy League university in New Haven, Connecticut, and one of the most wildly recognized brands in education globally. The university is more than famous, and is renowned for offering exceptional opportunities on campus, through global learning, and following graduation. The university student body is a little less than half Undergraduate, or 6,740 undergraduate students. One of the things that students’ treasure about the Yale undergraduate experience is the campus community. About 75% of undergraduates live on campus, bringing together students from all over the world to live and learn together. Yale received nearly 55,000 applicants for the Class of 2030. Of that group, 47,779 applied in the regular decision cycle. A much smaller group applied early. The overall acceptance rate was 4.2%.

Harvard is quite possibly the strongest brand in the world of college admissions. It’s also a top-tier university that attracts students from around the globe. A Harvard degree doesn’t guarantee a successful career post-college, but the cultural fixation on the university makes it seem like it may — and it does give students a major leg up when they enter the workforce. Getting in is, unsurprisingly, difficult. The acceptance rate for the Class of 2029 was 4.2%, and they receive over 40,000 applicants annually. The number Harvard admissions is most obsessed with, though, is actually the yield, or the percentage of accepted students who commit to the university. For the Class of 2029, 83% of accepted students joined the class and 90% of international students.

Talk to any engineering nerd or computer wizard in your orbit, and there is one school that always ends up at the top of their college list: MIT. For most, it’s a dream school that is far out-of-reach. The expectations of the university are so massively high, and the pool they have to pick from is so accomplished and enormous, that the acceptance rate dropped to a mere 4.6% for the Class of 2029. If that is intimidating, the feeling is valid. Every year, though, students get in — there is a new class each fall, after all.

There’s a very specific moment a lot of students have early in college, or even before school starts:“I could probably be doing more than this.”

We’re nearing the end of the road in our Official Common App Essay Guide this year, folks! That means you’re very close to being fully informed on your options when it comes to writing the personal statement for your college applications. If you need a quick reminder on why this is such a big deal, it’s because this essay is the bedrock of your application. With these 650 words, you need to introduce yourself, leave a memorable impression, and, most importantly, connect with admissions officers on a human level. The best test scores, grades, and extracurriculars in the world won’t matter if you sound like an AI agent or a walking red flag.