Erik Sullivan's College TestPlan

Admission Matters: The Numbers

Harvard accepted 3.19 percent of applicants to its Class of 2026—the lowest rate in the school’s history—as it saw a record number of applicants for the second straight year. Applications to Harvard jumped by almost 7%, with 61,220 students submitting applications to the school, compared to 57,435 last year.

As numbers trickle in from the most recent admissions cycle, it's clear that getting accepted into local, top-tier colleges is now EVEN MORE COMPETITIVE. The number of applications this year at Boston College (41K), Boston University (81K), and, especially, Northeastern (91K) are staggering. Such high numbers will drive down acceptance rates even further at these institutions as incoming first-year class sizes remain the same and as schools continue their long-standing focus on increasing their yield rates (that is, the number of students who accept an acceptance). In this ultra-competitive landscape, the one certainty is the more data points you can provide to any admissions department the better. You must submit anything and everything that sets you apart and makes your application pop.

Finally . . . all undergraduate admissions decisions will be released by the end of the month. But for most, not all decisions will be delivered in fat envelopes. For those waitlisted at one of their top-choice schools, here's what to do.

1. STAY POSITIVE: While you may not have been admitted initially, placement on a school's waitlist means that you did, in fact, meet all admissions criteria and that you are still being considered.

2. COMMUNICATE WITH THE SCHOOL: Make sure to let the school know whether you would like to remain on its waitlist or not. Most schools require that you do, indeed, ACCEPT your place on their waitlist.

3. OFFER NEW INFORMATION: If you have new information that will benefit your application, reach out to the school to see if you can update your application by writing a standout Letter of Continued Interest.

Although navigating the waitlist at a top-choice school can be a challenge, don't give up: stay positive, contact the school, update your application.

Pleased to offer an Actual Conditions ACT this coming Saturday (9:00 AM to 1:00 PM) for students taking the Apr ACT and for students wishing to complete a diagnostic ACT under actual conditions. Please call 617-721-5516 or email [email protected] to reserve a seat.

March is when things really kick into high gear for AP exam prep. Now is the time for students to start preparing even though it’s tempting to put it off. After all, sitting down to start mastering a whole year’s worth of advanced content is a pretty daunting task for most high schoolers and they often feel the pressure.

If you are looking for manageable yet effective ways to assist them with their APs—and enhance their overall study skills—here are five simple tips.

CREATE CHECKLISTS FOR FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

When the free-response sections of AP exams are evaluated, one of the best ways to earn a three or higher is to make sure you hit each and every rubric criteria. A great strategy for this is to underline or circle keywords in the prompt and to form a checklist from these words or phrases to ensure that you hit everything required. With the time limits of the exams, it is easy to rush and to miss these small details that graders so generously reward.



USE ONLINE RESOURCES—EVEN TUMBLR & TIK TOK!!

In addition to the College Board’s online resources, there are some fun online resources to help get them ready. If your student is growing tired of reading and needs some audiovisual reinforcement, the YouTube channel Crash Course (started by John and Hank Green) has videos on every subject, humanities and sciences. And while Tumblr may not seem like a conventional study resource, there are hashtags for just about every AP class. Here, students will find more than just memes lamenting the difficulty of these exams. The AP Tumblr community actually has resources detailing how best to approach DBQs and how best to prep for success. And don’t sleep on the hashtags for AP classes on Tik Tok; they are surprisingly informative.



SHORT STUDY SESSIONS

Retaining key facts is essential for doing well on AP exams and students are more likely to retain this information with short—but frequent—study sessions. For example, instead of cramming for two hours straight, try twenty minutes of AP Chem, twenty minutes of AP Psych, and then switch to other homework assignments or activities. Then, make sure to get plenty of rest while the hippocampus processes these memories and stores them long term. And then do the same thing the following night.



TEACH OTHERS

Teaching others about what we are learning helps create new memories with that information in a different context and strengthens our neural networks. Instead of quizzing students with flash cards, pick a topic and have them teach you about it.



DON’T LET THEM GO IT ALONE

Students have a lot to juggle this time of year and an experienced AP tutor like myself can help them make the most of their limited study time.

Please feel free to contact us via Messenger.

Spring testing season has arrived!!

For the May SAT, we are offering two, small-group Signature Series: Sun (6:00 to 8:00 PM) and Tue (6:00 to 8:00 PM) starting 3/20 & 3/22, respectively.

Enroll today by calling 617-721-5516 or emailing [email protected].

The March SAT is almost here!!

Today's Essential Final Review(4:00 to 6:00 PM) is available both in person and online.

If interested in attending, please call 617-721-5516 or email [email protected].

Small-group prep course are back both in person and synchronously online.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!