First Essay Updates of the 2013-2014 Season

June 10th, 2013

Get a head start on your essays with College Essay Organizer.

As promised, we won't wait until August 1 to update essay questions. Boston College and University of Chicago have confirmed their essay questions for the 2013-2014 season, and you can login to your College Essay Organizer account now to find them, or create your account here.

Last year we updated 286 schools before the Common App launched August 1, and we hope to break that record this year, so keep checking back for more updates in the weeks to come!

If you are aware of any college that has released its new application but is not yet updated in College Essay Organizer, odds are we're already working on it. Keep in mind that we are updating not just the required questions but also the many program-specific, special applicant, and scholarship questions. That said, feel free to reply to this email noting any college application you believe is now available, and we will inform you when it will be live in College Essay Organizer.

Here's to a great season!

Make sure to Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter to get our updates and special posts.

Tags: 2013-2014 essay questions, Boston College, University of Chicago
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College Essay Organizer's Protocol with Respect to the Common App (CA4)

May 28th, 2013

With the significant changes to the Common App (CA4), we have received many inquiries regarding how College Essay Organizer will operate this year. After much research via the Common App and the colleges directly, we're glad to tell you that we'll be as proactive for you as ever this season -- and even more valuable! Below are three key points we wanted to highlight:

We won't wait until August 1. We will continue to update essay questions before the August 1 launch of the Common App. Last year, through our special protocol, we updated 286 schools (many of them Common App schools) prior to August 1 and we expect to be just as aggressive this season.

We'll give you all the essay questions for different programs and departments in one easy place. As we understand it, the Common App supplement will require students to select their majors/interests in order to first view those essay questions. This would make it incredibly time-consuming and cumbersome for you to locate questions on your own for all of your students with all their different majors/interests, so you can instead rely on us to do it for you. We will list all of these particular essay questions under each college; you can then simply remove any questions that are not relevant to a given student (or the student can do so on his or her own). Several of you have noted your skepticism regarding whether the Common App will indeed have all of the program- and major-specific essay questions; after all, a few colleges last season claimed to have all such questions listed on their supplements but were in fact missing several questions. College Essay Organizer had each and every one.

We've got all the scholarship essay questions the Common App doesn't. As usual the Common App will not list the hundreds of scholarship essay questions for the colleges -- no change there. So, as always, we'll have them for you. College Essay Organizer had more than 1,000 scholarship essay questions last season, and that number will continue to grow.

Tags: CA4, changes to the Common App, College Essay Organizer, Common App 4
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Tips on Selecting Classes for the Fall

May 15th, 2013

The earlier you start planning for the college application process, the easier it will be when you finally apply.

Now that the end of the school year is near, high school students are selecting their classes for the fall. With this process comes questions surrounding the best way to impress admissions officers down the road. The New York Times Choice blog has posted some great tips to consider when making your class selections. Questions that are addressed by Jeff Rickey, the vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid at St. Lawrence University, include:

How important is a student's transcript when applying to colleges?
What do admissions officers look for when reviewing a student's transcript?
Is it a good idea to take challenging classes in subjects of little interest to the student?
What is the best way to balance extracurricular activities and classes?
Is it better to take Advanced Placement classes or classes at a local college?
Is it better to have an A in an honor's class or a B in an Advanced Placement class?

To see the answers, click here.

Tags: best class to select in high school, best way to impress admissions officers, how important are transcripts, selecting classes
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More Colleges Caught Falsifying Data

April 30th, 2013

Most people would agree that the college application process is stressful for students. The pressure to get into a top college can be intense, and should a student decide to misrepresent himself on his applications, getting caught would likely mean getting shut out of all colleges. Colleges, however, may not be held to the same standards. Bending to pressures of their own, a growing number of colleges have chosen to falsify data in order to attract more elite applicants. Though they have faced little consequences as a result, news is finally reaching the ears of the public. Here are some of the colleges who have been in the news:

Bucknell University admitted increasing students' SAT and ACT scores when reporting to magazines
Claremont McKenna has falsified SAT scores
Dickinson State University lied about the number of students enrolled
Emory Univeristy falsified standardized test scores
George Washington University admitted misrepresenting data
Iona College misrepresented data not only to magazines, but also to its accreditor
Scripps college lied about the debt its students will carry from loans

While unfortunate that students have another thing to worry about during the admissions process, it does highlight the fact that college rankings are not the best decision-making tool when selecting a college. See this article for a list of tips on how students can make the best decision when selecting a college.

Tags: Bucknell, Claremont McKenna, Colleges falsify data, Dickinson State, Emory, George Washington University, Scripps
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National Candidate Reply Date Approaches

April 25th, 2013

Decision day is coming fast.

On May 1st, students must make a final decision regarding the college they would like to attend for the next four years. While this decision is an important one, and undoubtedly stressful for many, it is now in the hands of the student to make the decision to accept or reject a college. Seniors are busy making final visits to colleges in order to weigh the pros and cons and determine the best fit. The New York Times Choice blog posted some tips to consider when narrowing down your choices:

Take rankings with a grain of salt. While it is helpful to investigate the quality of the food, campus safety, and job placement, rankings can be misleading, and won't necessarily lead you to find your best choice college.
Once you've done your research, go with your gut. Ultimately, you're the one who has to spend four years at a particular college, so after studying the facts and listening to your friends and family, take your gut feeling into account.
Give a college a second chance. Even if you visited on a rainy day or didn't get the best first impression, it may be worth giving a college another visit. The weather or other factors can play a big part of an initial impression, but it may not be representative of the college on a day-to-day basis.
Once you make your decision and send in your deposit on May 1, don't look back. After all the hard work that went into getting to that final decision, you deserve to relax with confidence knowing it will all work out for the best!

Tags: decide which college, may 1, national candidate reply date, NY Times Choice Blog
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2013 Acceptance Rates Reported

April 16th, 2013

Just when you think acceptance rates can't get any lower...

Now that college decisions are out, acceptance rates are trickling in, offering a realistic view of the admissions process. While many seniors experienced disappointments, it is easy to see that they are far from alone. Juniors who may already be experiencing some fear of what's to come can benefit from a larger view of the process as well. And it's important to keep in mind that, ultimately, the majority of students find a college that feels just right for them, even if it's not where they expected to end up.

Here are a few examples of top schools' acceptance rates that continue to go down each year:

Columbia University had 33,531 applicants and accepted 2,311 applicants
Brown University had 28,919 applicants and accepted 2,649 applicants
Johns Hopkins had 20,614 applicants and accepted 3,465 applicants
UNC at Chapel Hill had 30,815 applicants and accepted 7,806 applicants

For a complete list of available acceptance rates, click here.

Tags: Brown, college acceptance rates, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins, UNC
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Upgrades, Survey Results, IECA Conference, and Deactivating Accounts

April 9th, 2013

We are so excited to dive into the new admissions season with independent consultants and wanted to highlight a few key things now that spring is here.

Upgrades Independent Consultants Asked For (and More)

Within the next few weeks, before the new admissions season officially starts, we'll unveil the following features, which include dozens of new elements:

- Customize your RoadMap so that you can control exactly how each client's information is presented.

- Enjoy a more intuitive user experience with our enhanced layout and recently updated algorithm.

- Get down with our completely re-designed website, which will be more modern and student-friendly.

Your Common App Survey Results

Here are the results of our survey regarding whether the Common App's new personal statement still allows students to write on any topic they wish:

71% = Yes, either because of the first prompt or all the prompts collectively

11% = Most likely

10% = Not sure

8% = No

These results are consistent with College Essay Organizer's position that the new essay prompts indeed allow students to write on a topic of their choice. If you have any question about this, please don't hesitate to contact us, as we are happy to explain the reasoning here.

Last Season's Student Accounts Will Be Deactivated Today

This is our reminder that all student accounts from last season will be deactivated today (whether accessed through CollegePlannerPro, MyCCA, or our site directly). Contact us if you need any info from a deactivated account. You can begin creating new accounts for this coming season immediately.

IECA Conference

We hope to see you at the IECA Conference in Chicago this week, and invite you to visit our table and say hello. We will be answering all questions and providing private demonstrations as requested. Plus, one lucky member who stops by will win five FREE student accounts for this coming season!

Thanks and hope to see or talk to all of you soon!

Dan Stern & the College Essay Organizer team

Tags: 2013-2014 essay questions, Common App survey, Deactivating accounts, IECA Conference
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Ivy League Acceptance Rates Decrease

March 28th, 2013

By now, students have either heard from colleges or are anxiously awaiting a decision over the next few days. However, the statistics are already being released. Seven of the eight Ivy League schools have lower acceptance rates this year. Interestingly, decreased acceptance rates occurred whether or not there was an increase in the number of applications. Fortunately, as applicants should remember, there are over 2,000 schools across the United States where students can receive a quality education, and not be faced with intimidating acceptance rates.

Here is a sneak peak of the latest Ivy League acceptance rates:

Cornell, whose applicant pool totaled 40,006, admitting 15.15% this year.
Columbia reviewed 33,531 applications, and admitted 6.89%.
Yale received 29,610 applications, and accepted 6.72%.

For a complete list of acceptance rates, see this article.

Tags: acceptance rates decrease, ivy league acceptance rates
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More Colleges Are Becoming Test-Optional

March 4th, 2013

Are you thinking of opting out?

While almost all students take the SAT or ACT at some point in their high school careers, their scores are not always reflective of their true abilities in the classroom. According to this entry posted on The NY Times Choice blog, a growing number of colleges continue to recognize this by making standardized testing optional for applicants:

"If you are a student who wants to opt out of the standardized testing game, you now have two alternatives: you can withhold your scores from test-optional institutions, or you can apply exclusively to schools on this growing list, dropping out of the testing process entirely. Fairtest.org, a standardized testing watchdog, points out that more than a quarter of all American colleges and universities are now test-optional in some form."

This is a positive change for students who struggle with standardized testing or have a strong belief that it shouldn't be used to evaluate applicants. As a result, many colleges are adding more and more essay questions, as personal statements often tell colleges more about students than test scores do.

Tags: faintest.org, NY Times Choice Blog, opt of of standardized testing, Test-optional schools growing
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