Resources & Tips


CEA Blog
Updates to the 2020-21 Early Action/Early Decision Deadlines
In the midst of COVID-19, many colleges and universities are recognizing the fact that this year’s application season may be just sliiightly more stressful than in years past. With many schools having already dropped their standardized testing requirements, some are now looking to pushing back Early Action/Early Decision deadlines as an additional means for taking […]
How to Start Your College Admissions Essay
It’s a classic story of student-visits-campus, and it goes like this. First, student visits campus (duh). Then, student notices campus’ uncanny likeness to a wizarding school that shall-not-be-named. Student declares undying love for campus. Student decides to apply Early Decision because student is All In™. But then student realizes it’s only July. The deadline is […]
Facts about MIT, Princeton University, and USC
We’ve updated our handy dandy supplemental essay guide with prompt breakdowns for MIT, Princeton University, and USC. But before you familiarize yourself with our prompt breakdowns, you should get a little more acquainted with the schools you’re considering dedicating your life to for the next four years! After all, four years is equivalent to 20% of […]
Why Our Founder Thinks Rejection is Good For You
As you send out your college applications and cross your fingers that admissions falls head over heels for your application and admits you without a second thought, it’s important to stay grounded. You’ve spent countless hours crafting the perfect admissions essay and now it’s out of your hands. Our Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, knows […]
Quick Facts about Georgetown, Yale, and the California Institute of Technology
So you’re narrowing down the list of colleges that you’re interested in attending, or at the very least applying to, and finding that it’s harder than it looks. But with application fees up to your eyeballs and college essays up to your clavicles, you know you need to make some decisions. Good news! We have […]
Our Home State Creates Tuition-Free Program
New York has passed a program to make all public schools and universities tuition-free for full-time students, and we could not be more proud as pavement-pounding, hot-dog-eating residents of Manhattan. Students who attend school full time and are on track to graduate between two and four years can take advantage of this new program. Many […]
Yale Welcomes the Use of Technology in College Applications
Are you the next Steven Spielberg? Quentin Tarantino? Ava DuVernay? Well, now is the time to work your cinematic magic, because Yale has opened its arms to digital uploads in place of a short essay! Since more and more of us spend time viewing content than reading it (summer reading list) in our daily lives, […]
The Common App Announces New Application for Transfer Students
The Common App has been a staple for college applicants for years, allowing undergraduate hopefuls to apply to multiple schools through the power of one application (with the choice of one essay prompt). The problem, however, was that all applicants found themselves facing an application meant for high school seniors, when only a fraction of […]
Why Duke is Accepting More Transfer Students than Ever
They say orange is the new black and it seems like transfer is the new freshman. Duke University, a school with an incredibly low acceptance rate, is spreading its wings and accepting more transfers than ever before. But why?! “We want to increase the number of transfer students gradually because there’s an acknowledgement that transfer […]
How this Student Got Into All 8 Ivy Leagues
Yes, he’s done it. Martin Altenburg, a 17-year-old from Fargo, North Dakota has gained acceptance into every Ivy League plus a couple more schools for good measure. You might be asking yourself, “But don’t Ivy Leagues have some of the lowest acceptance rates in the country?” Yes, they do! But Altenburg figured out the […]