Navigating Elite College Admissions: Strategies for Success
The college admission landscape for the nation’s most competitive colleges has never been more formidable. It’s a precipitous climb to the top as acceptance rates have plunged while the number of applicants has skyrocketed. One major factor driving this dynamic is the movement to adopt test-optional admission policies, meaning applicants can apply without taking […]
College Essay Advice: Expert Insights from Christopher Hathaway
When writing college essays as part of the application process, especially for selective schools, it’s important to reflect on pivotal times in your life that resulted in personal growth and development. This comprehensive college essay advice will help you navigate the process effectively. Christopher Hathaway of Dimension Admissions emphasizes the importance of not rushing the […]
Ten Tips for College List Creation – Advice for Applicants
Creating a college list is one of the most significant steps in your journey to higher education. This process is more than just compiling a list of schools that look good on paper—it’s about finding the right fit for your academic and personal growth. From touring campuses (both physically and virtually) […]
How the Supreme Court’s Impacts College Admissions
When the Supreme Court reversed affirmative action in June, the controversial decision effectively ended race-conscious college admissions — at least how it had been traditionally practiced. In the months that have followed, colleges have changed their college admissions policies, raising questions about how the ruling might impact the corporate pipeline. The court’s […]
Hot Tips for College Essay Writing: Draft in Three Phases
Successful college essays, inclusive of the personal statement and school-specific supplements, are the product of intentional drafting, a college essay writing process that should ideally span months—not weeks, and certainly not hours. But what should that process actually look like? I present it to clients as three distinct, albeit loosely defined, phases. College […]
Navigating Test Optional Policies: Essential Insights for College Applicants
To Test or Not to Test, Is That the Question? Three Essential Things to Know About Test Optional Policies The question of whether to test or not is simple to answer—yes, you should test. Take both the SAT and ACT in order to gauge your relative performance, and then, should it be necessary, test again. […]
Understanding the New SAT and ACT Changes
Modernizing Standardized Tests If you somehow missed it, the SAT began administering its new, digital version this spring in the United States. While responses to the adaptive test were varied, it was a necessary evolution for College Board, and one I believe will be advantageous in the long run by making the test more […]
Which Ivy+ Schools are Actually the Most Selective?
Schools often tout low admission rates as a proxy for a highly competitive academic environment. This blunt instrument fails to account for the quality of the applicant pool, and may distort potential applicants’ understanding of their chances of admission. To help give applicants a more complete picture, Dimension Admissions dove into the Common Data Set […]
How to Overcome Writer’s Block in College Essay Writing
Effective Strategies to Beat Writer’s Block and Craft a Sensational College Admissions Essay With Admissions Season in full swing, high school seniors have donned their thinking caps and picked up their literal or figurative pens with every intention of crafting a sensational college admissions essay, one that will unbolt the gates to their dream schools. […]
Non-Binary Students at Ivy League and Ivy+ Universities
The Evolution of Non-Binary Student Data Reporting Until 2021, the Common Data set did not recognize an option for “another gender” data reporting, thus discounting non-binary students—those identifying as neither male, nor female. In 2021-2022, there was some movement on that front when the Common Data Set indicated with respect to reporting admissions data by […]
