Solution Prep

08/13/2026

Fewer international students paying full price means fewer scholarship dollars for American students.

American colleges are estimated to have up to 112,000 fewer international students next year, which may mean billions in lost revenue and 40,000 fewer jobs. Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2026/08/12/projected-loss-of-international-students-could-bring-a-34-billion-hit/?utm_source=ForbesMainFacebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ForbesMainFB (Photo: Getty Images)

08/05/2026

What do these districts all have in common?

1. High property values = high property taxes = well-funded school districts

2. Education-focused parents are attracted to buy homes in good school districts

3. Education-focused parents who can afford in-demand houses in good school districts invest in SAT prep

08/01/2026

Y’know what? Sometime the jokes are for me.

If I’m gonna teach 5-10 hours a day, I’m gonna have a good time. And I think that comes through, even if the students don’t get every joke or reference I make.

07/10/2026

See this week's video: As Columbia University becomes the final Ivy League college to reinstate SAT & ACT testing requirements of all applicants, this could have cascading and seismic shifts in how all other colleges review applications and what’s required of students to apply.

Link in the comments

06/15/2026

One reason Columbia’s acceptance rate has gotten so low — just 3.9%* — is because it is (soon to be was) the only remaining Ivy students without elite scores could apply to test-optional (i.e. without SAT/ACT scores).

Incoming high school seniors will still have to option to submit scores or not. But incoming high school juniors will find all 8 of 8 colleges in the Ivy League (an athletic conference, not an academic category) require test scores to apply.

*compared to 6.1% in the last pre-pandemic admissions cycle when test scores were last required

More than three years after deciding to go test-optional permanently, Columbia University will again require applicants to submit standardized test scores, starting fall 2027.

01/26/2026

A low acceptance rate like MIT‘s 5% doesn’t mean they accept the top 5% of high school students.

It means they accept the top 5% of applicants who thought they had a chance of getting admitted to MIT and were willing to write 8 essays to find out.

If you didn’t get into your reach school, try to remember that it was always a reach, that the colleges that accepted you are also ones you were excited enough to apply to, and that you can always apply to your reach school again as a transfer applicant or for grad school.

We can also help with those applications down the road when you’re ready.

01/15/2026

Interesting list. What percent of the colleges on your list are among America’s 50 most applied to?

The class of 2027 saw a tremendous number of talented and impressive applicants. While college admissions have always been competitive, the most recent data suggests that this trend will continue. Surprisingly, some institutions saw a record number of applicants. With 6 schools on this list topping....

12/21/2025

College admission coaches can help a wide array of students in a variety of ways. Take 90 seconds with us to find out who and how.

12/10/2025

Worth watching.

Sounds like pretty familiar advice to anyone who’s ever attended one of our workshops or gone through the admissions process with us.

We are in the middle of that fraught period when high school students are finding out what colleges they’ve been accepted to, with about 60 percent of them g...

11/23/2025

Families who know where to look and how to ask can do pay less.

It's no secret that going to college can be very expensive, with tuition costs rising faster than financial aid. But what's causing that price tag to rise so quickly?