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?

computer science

9th Grade College Strategy for Computer Science

There aren’t many subjects as popular among high schoolers as computer science. We're not sure if it's the allure of potentially coding the next big app, the fascination with how technology shapes our world, or just the fact that computer science and coding touches every part of our modern society. And if you’re here, you’re probably a freshman and want to know what you can do to help prep for college, especially since you think you like the crazy competitive major of computer science.

Computer Science at Dartmouth: Deep Dive

Continuing our series on the reputation of individual departments within larger colleges, or “Is This a Good School for That?”, we’ll be looking into Computer Science at Dartmouth. Some simply know it as the feral cousin of the more reputable Ivies, but this New Hampshire liberal arts institution is notable for its computing legacy and prolific research.

Best Extracurriculars to Get Into an Undergrad Computer Science Program

Love crafting intricate code? Diving headfirst into the realm of artificial intelligence? Tackling complex computational conundrums? Then you're probably thinking about pursuing an undergraduate degree in computer science. Comp Sci is that girl right now, like she’s truly the absolute most popular major on the market right now. This means that Comp Sci is hypercompetitive. Even the most impressive, high-graded, perfect SAT score-having students are struggling to stand out – thankfully, we know how you can.

9th Grade Summer Plans: Computer Science Major

Everyone thinks of summers spent in the great outdoors — and we sure hope you’re doing cannonballs into the lake and eating ice cream every night — but if you’re an aspiring computer science major you’re probably going to want to spend some quality time inside, too. Actually, scratch that — you can go frolic in a meadow if you bring your laptop and a hotspot with you.

Impressive High School Internships in Computer Science

The college application process can be very competitive. We advise our students to get ahead by developing an academic area of expertise throughout high school; a brand, if you will. This should be a specific area of interest around which your extracurriculars and classes align. If you’re interested in computer science and plan on applying to a related program, we have some advice on how to land a great internship.

Best Colleges for Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

If you’re interested in electronics and want to be able to design hardware and software in the future, you may want to study both electrical engineering and computer science in college. We’ve compiled ten of our favorite dual programs, double majors, and majors with a concentration combining electrical engineering and computer science. These are often interdepartmental programs and are great for students interested in entrepreneurship, tech, product design, and physical technological goods.

Classes to Take in High School for Computer Science

Computer Science has become an increasingly popular major. We work with students every year who dream of getting into top-ranked computer science programs. Many of these programs can be really competitive. If you are dreaming of getting into a top-tier computer science program, we suggest starting to explore the field while still in high school. A great way to start is by taking the right classes. Let’s break them down.

Northeastern: Computer Science Major

Northeastern University has developed a reputation for its strong cooperative programs and commitment to practical learning, and its computer science department is no exception. Many aspiring CS students lean towards the most prestigious schools–those traditional paragons of education, the Harvards and Stanford of the world. We find that this is a mistake: many of the best CS programs are located at schools that don’t have the name recognition of Harvard. Northeastern is one of these schools–their CS program is one of the best, specifically for students looking for hands-on learning and real-world work experience.

Georgia Tech: Computer Science

When looking into schools for Computer Science, we find that many of our students inevitably gravitate towards the ‘big name’ schools, prestigious institutions such as Harvard and Yale that have great reputations. While these schools are (obviously) good, there are a number of lesser-known schools that excel in CS, often outperforming their general reputations. Well, Georgia Tech is definitely one of those out-performers: they might not have the general name recognition of Harvard, but in many ways, their CS program is actually stronger.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Computer Science

If you’re interested in computer science, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) could be the school for you. We’ve found that many students are unaware of just how good UIUC’s program is–sadly, the name ‘University of Illinois” doesn’t carry the prestige of a Harvard or Stanford. We’ve got news though–in the world of Computer Science, UIUC is way better than most of those schools.

Best Liberal Arts Schools for Computer Science

When considering a Computer Science (CS) major, many students think of applying to large research institutions that churn out CS graduates and research papers. While these larger universities can offer a great education, we encourage all of our applicants to take a look at some smaller schools too–some liberal arts colleges have great CS programs. Studying at a liberal arts school offers students several advantages: smaller class sizes, more involved professors, and the benefits of a well-rounded liberal arts curriculum.

Best Virtual Internships for High School Students Interested in Computer Science

Computer Science is a field that lends itself nicely to virtual work. This isn’t to say that finding an opportunity will be completely seamless, but it’s definitely a plus that coding and developing has always been done almost exclusively on a desktop or laptop. In an effort to start your research process, we poked around the internet and found a few links that are worth considering. We haven’t vetted every single opportunity, but click here, here, here, and here to get a feel for what’s out there. You can also look into programs by clicking on this link.