Applying to U.S. colleges can be a confusing and stressful process. Part of this stems from the fact that schools typically have several application rounds and deadlines that you need to know about. Understanding and leveraging these different options, however, can provide a strategic advantage in the college application process.

Business is the number one undergraduate degree in the US. According to the National Center of Education Statistics, 19% of bachelor degrees granted in 2019-20 were business degrees. However, some of the most selective universities do not offer undergraduate business degrees.

As a University of California alum and California native, I cannot imagine another institutional system that truly offers something for everyone. From STEM to humanities, research to innovative arts, extremely focused students to those still figuring out their next steps, highly selective campuses to those with a great foundation for exploring yourself, the UC system packs it all in one and offers limitless options to explore, develop, and shine! 

When applying to arts programs or majors, many colleges will require an art portfolio for college admission. This is a critical piece of your college application that often requires many hours of planning and creating to ensure that you’re accurately highlighting your creative background, skills, and interests.

So, you’re a high-level athlete who wants to compete collegiately. You’ve committed time, effort, and energy to being the best athlete you can be, competing for your high school team, your club team, working on speed and agility, lifting weights, and developing your skill set.

Have you dreamt of an intimate and intellectually rigorous college experience, one where you engage in deep classroom discussions around a single table with your professor and classmates? Seminar style classrooms, like the one described above, is the bread and butter of liberal arts colleges.

Demonstrated interest is an important part of the college application process, and there are a lot of ways for students to show their interest in colleges throughout the school year.

In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate crisis, and rapidly changing domestic and international political landscapes, have underscored the need for a new generation of leaders who are motivated and well-prepared to address complex societal challenges. Across sectors, it is important to elevate the importance of measuring program impact, identifying policy recommendations, and contributing to the public sphere.

From a summer job at the ice cream shop to attending your dream college to landing that perfect job after graduation, there’s one thing that they likely have in common: an interview. You will probably do many interviews over the course of your lifetime, and for some students, the college admissions interview is their first experience with interviewing.

As an academic advisor, it is not uncommon for my advisees to find a subject they are passionate about but express concerns that it is a poor choice to declare as their major. After all, with STEM majors increasing in numbers and taking center stage these days, and their marketability and professional trajectory obvious, students interested in the social sciences and humanities can feel like they have chosen a major with an ambiguous career or graduate school path.