Caroline Koppelman
Why This College Essay Question Guide and ...

Why do you want to go to school here? If there’s one prompt you are certain to write more than once, it’s this one. This prompt comes in a few different flavors, but at the end of the day, they all want to know why their school is the perfect school for you and why you’re the perfect student for them. No pressure or anything.

Caroline Koppelman
Official Common App Essay Guide 2024-2025

We’ve spent the last few weeks breaking down the Common App essay prompt by prompt, and today we’re going to give you our ultimate guide to writing the Common App essay. There might be seven different prompts, but ultimately, all schools want the same thing from their applicants’ Common App essays: a story.

Caroline Koppelman
Rejected Early Decision from Columbia 2023

Getting a rejection in the Early Decision round is definitely not easy. But the good news is, it’s really just the start, and that one rejection has no bearing on how you’re going to do with other, similarly competitive schools. The thing about Early Decision is it comes alone and it comes first. It’s sometimes easier to tolerate a rejection when it’s preceded by several acceptance letters. College admissions are extraordinarily competitive these days and the Ivies are just more competitive than any other time or place in history. That’s it. It doesn’t get harder. And Columbia in particular has just a 4% acceptance rate! So, if you’ve been rejected in the Early Decision round, don’t despair. We have some advice about how you might go forward. (And don’t worry, it’s really not that much more work!)

Caroline Koppelman
Deferred by Harvard — Now What? (2023-24)

If you’ve been deferred by Harvard, you are not alone. Harvard is notorious at this point for deferring an enormous percentage of early admission applicants. While most elite colleges with early admissions programs, like early decision and early action, only defer students they are seriously considering for the next freshman class, the statistics Harvard has released on early admission suggest that they take a very different approach.

Caroline Koppelman
Writing the “Why This College” Essay

Even though every college has slightly different supplementary application materials, you’ll likely run into a variation of one question more than any other: “Why do you want to attend this school in particular?” It’s every institution’s way of saying, Let’s cut to the chase. Why us?

science

Does Science Fair look good for College?

When we say, “science fair,” some people think of students in taped glasses and suspenders standing next to nearly identical model volcanos most of which will, undoubtedly, fail to erupt. This image has been hammered in by sitcoms and animated movies, but it’s not what we think of. For us, science fairs are exciting and dynamic gatherings of outstanding STEM students who pursue inspiring projects. They are a place for competition, a place for community, and a place for imagination.

Best Colleges for Geology

Geology is the study of rocks, but it’s also a lot more than that. Students who earn a degree in geology or a related field can go on to work for mining operators, in the fossil fuel and alternative fuel industries, for ecological groups, for engineering firms, as educators, and for governments. Understanding rocks is literally understanding our earth, and so there is a lot you can do with it.

Best Colleges for Oceanography

Oceanography — as is apt for the name — is the study of all things ocean. If you pursue oceanography, often also called Marine Science or Marine Biology, as a major, you’ll be studying animals, plants, geology, water composition, how water moves, and how water changes. Lots of colleges offer it as a major, minor, or concentration, but we think the best place to study oceanography is close to the ocean. You don’t have to, of course. People study outer space from earth, after all, but since you can live out your Finding Nemo dreams, why not do so?