You’ve done your whole Common App, written killer essays and supplements, and you’re ready to press submit. “…wait. Hold on. They’re saying I have the option to add two additional recommenders besides the required ones? I can ask two other people, like my dad’s friend who went here 20 years ago that I barely know, to write me letters of rec? Boy oh boy, what a day!”
Best Extracurriculars for Prospective Foreign Language Majors
If you’re a language person, you’re a language person. Some people aren’t language people, but those who enjoy learning languages, and who thrive in other cultures, should consider majoring in a foreign language in college. Mastery of a foreign language can lead to jobs in policy, in government, in education, in journalism, and even internationally.
Reading List for Columbia Humanities Majors
Columbia University is one of the few colleges that asks students to submit a list of books applicants have read outside of required in-class reading. They know you’ve been working — they have seen your transcript — but they still want to know what you’re doing when you’re off the books and no one is shoving a book in your hand followed by quizzes and papers and expectations.
MIT Legacy Strategy
"My student is a legacy at MIT so that will help them get in," is something we hear often from parents of the students we work with… and we always hate to tell them this, but no, actually it won't. The issue with this belief is that MIT admissions office doesn't look at legacy status.
Yale Extracurricular Activities for High School Students
So Yale is your dream school, but will you get in? A lot of our students are very nervous about their chances at schools like Yale. And we get why: it takes more than great grades and scores to get into Yale. If you are dreaming of Yale, you also need to have great extracurriculars. It isn’t always obvious what that might look like, so we wanted to break it down and give a real example of what the kind of student that gets into Yale looks like.
Best Extracurriculars for Prospective Environmental Science Majors
With climate change becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, studying environmental science in college has never been more popular among students who want to make a difference in the world. If you’re interested in becoming the next great environmental scientist, or even saving us from global warming, you’ll need to think carefully about how you present yourself in your college applications.
What Goes in the Additional Information Section of the Common App?
There are 24 subsections of the Common App, not including the dozens of other ones within the specific college apps themselves. Thankfully, most of them are straightforward, like activities, grades, testing, demographic data, etc. However, there is one section that seems to trip up even the most resolute high-achieving high school student: the additional information section.
How to Write an Amazing and Unique Common App Essay
The Best Extracurriculars for Art History Majors
Art history is, unsurprisingly, the study of the history of art. It’s also a popular college major offered by nearly every university. Despite the popularity of art history at the collegiate level, very few high school students have access to studying art history beyond a course or two (if that, even) in high school. This leaves students in a tough position — how do you differentiate yourself from other applicants when there won’t be much on your transcript to show your interest in art history?
Most Popular Majors at Yale
When going into the college application process, it’s important to think about majors. That might sound scary for students who don’t know what they want to study in college. That’s okay. Think about it this way: schools want to admit high-achieving students who are experts in a particular niche. We encourage our students to hone in on a very specific academic area and use that to apply to a particular program or major. (You can always change your mind about your major once you’re admitted!)
Reading List for Columbia Engineering Majors
Columbia University is one of the few colleges that asks applicants for a list of the books they’ve read, but that doesn’t also give you an opportunity to explain your choices. Instead, it’s a list devoid of additional context. Everything you have to say needs to be in the titles and authors, which means being strategic about what you include is critical.
The Best Extracurriculars for Business Majors
An increasing number of students we work with are even interested in majoring in business in college. It’s been a steep enough uptick that it’s impossible to ignore. Once upon a time, students interested in STEM wanted to go on to get a secure job at a big company. These days, that’s simply not the goal. Young people would rather work harder days and longer hours — but for themselves. And to give themselves the best chance of succeeding they know they need to understand the mechanics, economics, and even the psychology, of business.
How to Get an Internship in High School
You’ve probably heard about college students getting internships, but did you know that high school students can too? Internships provide you with exposure to a field of work, and give you access to people who want to help teach you. Jobs do both of these things too, obviously, but high schoolers typically can’t access a job where they will spend significant amounts of time, learning from and shadowing alongside experienced people in a field you may be interested in studying in college or pursuing professionally. This is what internships can provide, and this is why we encourage them.
UC Schools Legacy Strategy
Maybe your legacy student is dreaming of going to Haas, a UCLA cluster, or even Film School at Santa Cruz. You might be wondering, “will my alumni status help them get into a UC?” It's a question we hear from parents all the time, especially when it comes to UC Berkeley and Los Angeles. So we wanted to break down what legacy means (and doesn’t mean) when applying to top UC schools.
College Athletic Recruiting for Williams
Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Willliamstown, Massachusetts. It’s small, with just over 2,000 undergrads, and it’s in the beautiful – but rural – Berkshires. While technically a college, Williams also has tiny little grad programs for development economics and art history. Williams is also a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), and competes in D3 sports with Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Tufts, Trinity, and Wesleyan. Approximately 35% of the school competes on a varsity or club team and interestingly enough, they also compete D1 in skiing and squash!
The Best Extracurriculars for English Majors
If you’re thinking of becoming a teacher, writer, journalist, academic, or researcher, or even just love reading, you may be considering majoring in English in college. Since you’ve been taking English classes since practically your first day of school, you may be thinking you don’t have to do much to make yourself look like a strong applicant. Get good grades, take additional classes, and read an extra book or two — right? Well, we wish it was that simple. The ubiquity of English courses is actually what makes standing out as a prospective English major quite difficult. Everyone is studying nearly the same topics and reading nearly the same books, so it’s hard to colleges to differentiate you from anyone else unless you do something to stand out beyond the confines of your in-school curriculum.
Most Popular Majors at Columbia
Applying to Ivy League schools these days is no joke. And Columbia is right up there with the absolute best of them. A city campus in the heart of NYC, Columbia is a fantastic school for those interested in outstanding academics in one of the cultural epicenters of the world. But if you want to get into Columbia, you’re going to have to have an ironclad strategy. We help our students gear themselves towards specific programs within the nation’s top universities. Here are the most popular majors at Columbia:
College Athletic Recruiting for Amherst
Putting the small in small liberal arts school, Amherst College is located in, you guessed it, Amherst, Massachusetts. With an undergrad population of less than 2k and a totally open curriculum, Amherst attracts students who want to dive deep into their academic subject of choice. They’re also a very athletic school – and they claim to have the oldest athletics department in the country since they’ve been requiring physical education since 1860. They also played the first college baseball game ever against Williams. Currently, they are part of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), and compete in D3 sports with Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Tufts, Trinity, Wesleyan, and Williams. About 35-40% of the student body competes in a varsity sport.
The Best Extracurriculars for Anthropology Majors
Anthropology is the study of cultures and customs in context, and anthropologists have helped us gain a deeper understanding of ourselves, those around us, and those who came way before us. Archaeology is, after all, a subset of anthropology! So, whether you are curious about ancient cultures or one not too far from you, a major in anthropology may be a great fit. Before you press submit on your application, though, there are some things you should do to make yourself stand out.
College Athletic Recruiting for Bates
Bates College is a small, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine. They’re known for killer academics and an incredibly beautiful campus, but they’re also known for their incredibly strong athletic teams. Bates is a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), and competes against Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Tufts, Trinity, Wesleyan, and Williams in NCAA D3 sports. Their teams are some of the best in not only the NESCAC, but among all NCAA D3 teams. They’re producing olympians!!! So, if you’re looking for a liberal arts education and have athletic talent, you might think that your sport could help you get into Bates. Maybe! Keep reading.