What You Should Know About College Rankings
Elton Lin
We’ve compiled some truths about college rankings that you should know before taking them at face value.
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Helpful tips about college admissions, test preparation and just being a better student, leader and person from ILUMIN Education.
Filtering by Category: College Application
Does Applying to a Different Major Help
Elton Lin
Majors are not equal—or at least, their numbers aren’t. Most colleges see a greatly uneven size distribution between the numbers of students per major, and so these colleges are forced to reject more applicants who declare majors that are particularly competitive at their respective institutions, on account of limited major department resources and space. This trend has bred the common idea that students can more easily get into colleges if they declare less competitive majors, those with lower demand—but the truth is not quite that simple.
Read MoreInterview with Jessica Schulman, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Brandeis University
Elton Lin
We recently had the chance to sit down with Jessica to learn more about the admissions process and how Brandeis has been adapting to the challenges of having students on campus socially distanced.
Read MoreInterview with Guillermo Vasquez, Freshmen Admissions Counselor at Uc Santa Barbara
Tony Flores
We sat down with Guillermo Vasquez, Freshmen Admissions Counselor at UC Santa Barbara to learn more about the admission process and how colleges are adapting to the challenges of COVID-19. Note that this interview took place in June of 2020 and some items have changed, including the UC system deciding to go test blind.
Read MoreInterview with Kelli Gerrans, Admissions Counselor at Pepperdine University
Elton Lin
We’re excited to introduce Kelli Gerrans, an admissions counselor at Pepperdine University and the school’s Northern California representative, so those of you who are interested in Pepperdine University will definitely want to connect with Kelli.
Read MoreNeed to Apply to Some More Schools? Here Are Some Schools Without Supplemental Essays
Elton Lin
Students put blood, sweat, and time into writing their college application essays. The Common App Essay is one of the heftier ones, but it can at least be sent to many schools at once; supplemental essays, on the other hand, are another breed entirely.
Read MoreInterview with Katie Congdon, Northeastern University Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions
Elton Lin
We had the privilege of having Katie Congdon, Northeastern University Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions, join us in a webinar Q&A a few weeks ago to talk about the upcoming changes to admissions and the unique challenges of higher education in the years ahead.
Read More5 Things International Students Need to Consider in 2020
Elton Lin
Current international college students and international applicants alike have been thrown into limbo in the wake of COVID-19, unsure of how they should navigate their college career in the face of the global pandemic. Travel restrictions, college closures, altered application processes—things seem to be shifting every other week to adapt to the changing pandemic. What can international students do to regain their footing and navigate all of this uncertainty?
Read MoreInterview with Tom Fanning, Case Western Reserve University Senior Associate Director of Admissions
Elton Lin
We had the privilege of having Tom Fanning, Case Western Reserve University Senior Associate Director of Admissions, join us in a webinar Q&A a few weeks ago to talk about the upcoming changes to admissions and the unique challenges of higher education in the years ahead.
Read MoreWhat COVID-19 Means for Demonstrated Interest
Elton Lin
Demonstrated interest, or a student’s active, outward display of interest in a college, may seem like a more abstract quality than a student’s GPA and class rigor or test scores, but it still has an impact in the eyes of college admissions. While some colleges don’t track students’ levels of interest as much, the colleges that do really do care.
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