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221 stories in the current index

National / TEST-OPTIONAL · DATA

Test-Optional Does Not Mean Test-Irrelevant

Applicants who submit scores are often admitted at higher rates, but the raw gap cannot tell a student whether submitting caused the advantage.

Test-OptionalSATACT

National / FINANCIAL AID · DEADLINES

The Financial-Aid Deadline Is Not One Deadline

Federal availability, college priority dates and supplemental-document requests form separate calendars that can determine whether an affordable offer arrives on time.

Financial AidDeadlinesFAFSA

Ivy+ / SEPTEMBER 11 · NEWS & ANALYSIS

Dartmouth’s Dialogue Initiative Is Becoming a College-Choice Signal

New reporting examines first-year dialogue training and the college’s reputation for debate. Applicants can investigate the educational experience without treating it as an admissions formula.

Campus ClimateCollege FitDialogueFree Expression

National / DATA INVESTIGATION · COMMON APP

Common App Data Shows the Work Outside School That Applications Used to Hide

More than 870,000 applicants identified at least one responsibility or circumstance. The AO reconstructed what the topline obscures: the heaviest response burden falls disproportionately on first-generation and international students.

Common AppApplicant ContextFirst GenerationInternational Students

Admissions Consultants / INDUSTRY INVESTIGATION · RANKINGS

Collegewise Says Consultant Rankings Hide Their Methods. Its Own Interest Belongs in the Frame.

A September essay identifies pay-to-play placement, self-reported outcomes and undefined success rates. The AO tested the critique against a reproducibility standard and adds the disclosure its argument requires: Collegewise competes in the market it is judging.

Consultant RankingsAdvertising DisclosureSuccess RatesCollegewise

Top 50 / BREAKING · ESSAY REQUIREMENTS

Four Colleges Cut Supplements, but Their Fall 2027 Writing Workloads Still Differ

The AO compared live instructions after new national reporting and found that ‘essays are out’ means three different things: removing a short answer, pausing a why-school response or dropping one optional prompt while retaining another.

Supplemental EssaysApplication RequirementsFall 2027

Admissions Consultants / COMPANY BLOG

InGenius Prep publishes a premium-consulting value framework

The September article names an outside accounting firm while leaving families to request the cohort definition, denominator and full audit scope behind advertised outcomes.

Admissions ConsultantsCompany blogInGenius Prep

Admissions Consultants / COMPANY BLOG

Collegewise challenges consultant-ranking methodology

The firm’s September essay flags affiliate relationships and unstandardized success rates; its competitive interest is material context for readers.

Admissions ConsultantsCompany blogCollegewise