With its overall admission rate still hovering near 3%, Harvard University is one of the most selective universities in the United State and in the world. Further, the quantity and caliber of students applying to Harvard and other Ivy League Schools has risen dramatically in recent years, a fact that continues to make the admissions process that much more competitive. While there is no exact formula to gaining acceptance to an Ivy League school or a similarly-ranked institution, there are ways to substantially increase your likelihood of admission to these types of colleges. At Spark, we find ..read more

In recent years, top schools have seen increases in applications of 30, 40, even 50 percent, leading to some of their lowest-ever admission rates. This year, college applications have again mostly increased, with only Columbia University, Harvard University, and MIT seeing a slight decrease in overall applications (of the schools that reported their admissions data). Of course, more applications doesn’t mean more spots; if anything, many selective colleges had to accept even fewer students this year than they did last year, between keeping their class sizes at standard levels and re ..read more

Every year, college admission rates seem to get lower. This might be expected at Ivy League schools like Harvard University, Yale University, and Brown University, whose admission rates have dropped to record lows in recent years. But the trend is widespread at selective schools. Last year, schools like Tufts University, Northeastern University, New York University (NYU), and Tulane University all saw their admission rates drop below 10%. Meanwhile, many additional colleges, from Boston University to University of Virginia (UVA) to the University of Miami, saw their admission rates drop below ..read more

As of May 2023, there are major legal cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court right now dealing with the role of affirmative action in college admissions, brought by the group Students for Fair Admissions against Harvard University and other well-known universities. Of course, we can’t predict the future; like everyone else, we can only speculate as to how the Fair Admissions case will be decided, and what consequences might ensue. But given how influential these rulings may be on the future of college admissions, we thought it might be beneficial to offer a survey of past cases on this subje ..read more

After the 2020-2021 admissions cycle marked the hardest year ever to gain admission to a top-ranked school, no one quite knew what to expect for the following year. Would the trends hold for the Class of 2026, or would we see a return to pre-pandemic numbers? We have an answer now. Although applications didn’t rise as much as they did last year, they did hold steady or rise further. On the surface, the gains are modest, but the fact that applications continued to rise at top schools after last year’s astounding increases is significant. Even More Students Submitted Applications to Ivy+ Schools ..read more

When the pandemic began, nearly all colleges and universities in the United States dropped their testing requirements when it became impossible for students in some areas of the country to find a test center and date reliably. Then, as the pandemic continued, many colleges extended their policies for another year or longer. Initially, however, it seemed like the Ivy League was eager to return to requiring test scores. Then, in December 2021, Harvard University shook the testing and college admissions world by declaring that they would not require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores through ..read more

On April 22, 2020, Cornell University dropped a bomb in the college admissions world. Due to the disruptions to test dates caused by COVID-19, the university said it would not require the submission of SAT or ACT scores by applicants in 2020-2021. Numerous other colleges and universities announced temporary or permanent test-optional policies before this, but coming from an Ivy League school, the announcement woke everyone up. Could it be that even the most elite universities were souring on standardized tests? Would the SAT and ACT fall prey to the coronavirus pandemic? As it turns out ..read more

It’s official! Ivy Day has come and gone; the most selective schools in the United States have made their offers to the Class of 2024. It was a wild year, beginning with some upsets in the Early Decision round and then completely turned on its head by the ongoing, global public health emergency known as COVID-19. So, what did we learn? What lessons can we take away from this very strange year? Admission Rates Went… Up?? Well, one thing is for sure. After years and years of admission rates plummeting at top schools, with every subsequent year offering “record high” numbers of applications and ..read more