college applications Archives - College Initiative

A College Admissions Consultant’s 7 Pet Peeves – and Strategies for Better Navigating Them

Jill Schwitzgebel — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:08:19 +0000

Working with college applicants and their families, a college admissions consultant experiences some common pet peeves each admissions cycle. Here are some positive strategies to deal with them.

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AP Score Reporting Requirements

Jill Schwitzgebel — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 18:45:05 +0000

Like the return to requiring SAT and ACT exams, AP score reporting requirements may become more common at top colleges.

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5 College Application Red Flags (and some Yellow and Green Ones!)

Jill Schwitzgebel — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 19:58:32 +0000

Occasionally, some college application "red flags" do pop up! Fortunately, I see mainly green flags, but there are some yellow ones too.

The post 5 College Application Red Flags (and some Yellow and Green Ones!) appeared first on College Initiative.

Navigating the Chaos in Test-Optional Admissions

Jill Schwitzgebel — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 20:50:04 +0000

In some ways, it might seem recent announcements just cause even more confusion about test-optional admission. I actually believe they bring some needed clarity.

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Let’s Talk About Application Lists

Jill Schwitzgebel — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 20:02:29 +0000

There's a new trend in college application lists recently, and I don't think it's a positive one. It can be avoided with some "homework."

The post Let’s Talk About Application Lists appeared first on College Initiative.

What Does Holistic College Admission Mean?

Jill Schwitzgebel — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 20:38:40 +0000

A holistic approach is not based solely on GPAs or test scores or other numerical data. So what does holistic college admission mean?

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The End of Race-Conscious Admissions – Or Is it?

Jill Schwitzgebel — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 19:41:53 +0000

If you’re tuned in to higher ed, or maybe the news in general today, you’ll see headlines like “The End of Race-Conscious Admissions” or some go further and say “The End of Affirmative Action.” It seems that it’s not truly accurate. It feels a little too complex to try to explain in a social media...

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The 4 Latest College Admission Tips for 2025-26

Jill Schwitzgebel — Tue, 09 May 2023 01:00:20 +0000

Here are the 4 latest college admission tips for the classes of 2026 and 2027, based on the admission trends in 2025.

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College Applications and ChatGPT

Jill Schwitzgebel — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 21:42:47 +0000

I thought maybe I could avoid writing about ChatGPT and college applications, but it's the elephant in the room if you ignore it these days. What are the implications for college admission?

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How Do Rolling Admissions Work? What You Need to Know

Jill Schwitzgebel — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 21:33:37 +0000

How do rolling admissions work? Does it seem confusing? It’s not! When a college uses rolling admission, it means that they will evaluate applications as they are received. This is different than a college that sets a regular decision deadline to review all applications – that means that a college will not review any applications...

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