Iris Berkley

Pulling the curtain back on college & graduate school admissions since 2005.

06/08/2026

What happens when a kid uses Minecraft economics to redesign real warehouse logistics...and it works?

He ends up studying Finance at one of the best business schools in the Southeast.

is one of those rare students who connects everything.

Redstone circuits → supply chains
IB Philosophy → housing equity
Track coaching → leadership theory

He didn’t fit a mold. But he did keep asking, “whose needs aren’t being met?” until the answer pointed him somewhere bigger.

This fall: Warrington College of Business, University of Florida. Finance major. Let’s go!!!! 🐊

📍 UF Warrington | Finance | Class of 2030

06/03/2026

✅ She founded a nonprofit.
✅ Moved a corporate fundraising needle from $30K to $300K.
✅ Led her school’s yearbook and cultural diversity program.
✅ And wrote college essays that actually sounded like her.
💅
Meadow is headed to USC and the Marshall School of Business this fall, and the world isn’t ready.
🔥
If you’re a family wondering what “standing out” really means in today’s admissions landscape, this is it.
👏
It’s not about perfection. It’s about purpose.
🤘
So proud!!! Fight On. ✌️

05/28/2026

The college admissions landscape is shifting, and if you’re applying for Fall 2027, you need to update your strategy now. 👇

Here’s what changed:
🎓 University of Florida is introducing a binding Early Decision option for the first time. Applications open August 1 with an October 15 deadline. You’ll need a signed commitment from you, a parent, and your counselor.

🎓 Florida State University is also adding binding ED, driven by a record-breaking 100,000 applications last cycle. If admitted, you’ll have until January 15, 2027 to submit your enrollment deposit.

🎓 USC is expanding Early Decision to nearly all undergraduate majors (excluding Dance, Music, and Dramatic Arts). The ED deadline is November 1, 2026, and merit scholarships still apply.

🎓 Georgetown is joining the Common App for the first time in its history, starting August 2026. It’s a 3-year pilot, and the Georgetown-specific application will still be available. Expect more competition and potentially lower acceptance rates. (I misspoke in the video!🙈)

⚠️ And at the UC System, STEM faculty are pushing to bring back SAT/ACT math score requirements for undergraduate STEM applicants beginning 2027-28... a significant reversal from the university’s test-blind policy!

Big moves across the board. Whether you’re a rising junior or senior, now is the time to reassess your school list, timeline, and ED strategy.

💬 Save this post and share it with anyone who’s in the middle of their college search. Which of these schools are on your list?

https://news.ufl.edu/2026/05/early-decision/

https://www.provost.usc.edu/early-decision-admissions-fall-2027-applicants/

https://news.fsu.edu/news/university-news/2026/04/30/fsu-announces-early-decision-admissions-plan-for-2027/

https://www.georgetown.edu/news/georgetown-announces-new-undergraduate-admissions-processes/

https://ucstudentsuccess.org/

05/27/2026

Did you know your college could take your outside scholarship money? 👇

This is called scholarship displacement. And it affects thousands of students every year without them even realizing it.

Here’s what happens: you win a private scholarship, feel amazing about it, and then your school quietly reduces your financial aid package by the same amount. Your bill? Stays exactly the same. 😶

What you should do:
✅ Ask your school about their displacement policy BEFORE accepting outside scholarships
✅ Request that aid be reduced from loans first, not grants
✅ Look for schools with “scholarship-friendly” financial aid policies
The more you know, the better you can advocate for yourself. 💪
Drop a ❤️ if this helped you, and share this with someone heading to college soon!

🔍 scholarship displacement | financial aid tips | college scholarships | FAFSA help | paying for college

05/26/2026

Most students go to college to find their purpose. Shyam already found his.
✨
At 18, he has transformed bacteria to fluoresce, used CRISPR to knock out genes in E. coli, conducted AAV gene therapy research at a university lab, taught students with autism using strategies he invented, and written and published a book for teens navigating autoimmune conditions.
🔥
Instead of waiting for the world to make space for him, he spent his time making space for others.
🤎
This fall, Shyam heads to Brown University as a Biochemistry & Molecular Biology major, and I have a feeling I will be reading about his research in a few years.
🔬
Shyam, the patients you’ll one day help don’t know your name yet. But they’re lucky you’re coming.
🎉
Congratulations!!!

05/21/2026

She mixed salicylic acid into her concealer before school one morning.

That’s where it started. Where others saw a problem, .stef saw chemistry.

What followed was field research on wildfire zones alongside university professors. And the creation of a campus store with merch her whole school community can wear with pride.

She didn’t collect experiences. She connected them.

That same pattern-recognition, that instinct to zoom out and ask why, ran through all of it.

And now the University of Michigan gets to see what happens next.

This is the work. And I couldn’t be more proud!!! 💙〽️

05/19/2026

Tonight I got to do one of my favorite things...talk college with real families who have real questions.
🙌
These slides were built for Corona del Mar High School’s Class of 2027, but honestly? If you’re applying to a 4-year school, this applies to you too.

Save it. Send it to a friend. Drop your questions below. ⬇️ My inbox is always open. 🫶

05/15/2026

She watched someone blend a human brain in a Vitamix. And thought, “I need to know more.”

That’s Makenna.

Equal parts class clown and criminal justice crusader, Hamilton superfan and forensic science devotee. She’s a cheerleader who stays up too late googling the Innocence Project.

And that’s just the beginning!

Makenna is one of the funniest souls I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with and this fall, she will be taking all of her fabulousness to Texas Christian University.
Congratulations, .murray !!!!

05/07/2026

Nobody told to look closer.

She just always did.

At religious texts worth arguing with. At girls in research interviews who aced every test and still couldn’t be kind to themselves. At strangers on the 2 train, reading to their daughters, revealing the quiet roots of a city she thought she already knew.

Naomi didn’t collect experiences. She interrogated them.

And somewhere between a childhood spent under billboard lights, nationally published columns, and a subway commute that became a masterclass in human connection, she became someone who writes the world into focus.

This fall, she takes that gaze to the University of Pennsylvania, where it will only sharpen.

Congratulations, Naomi!! I couldn’t be prouder of you. The world needs your eyes on it. 🌍✨

Address

120 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA
92660

Telephone

+19494132422

Website

http://www.collegeboundacademics.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Iris Berkley posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The School

Send a message to Iris Berkley:

Want your school to be the top-listed School/college in Newport Beach?