Send test scores to test-optional schools when they enhance your application – typically at or above the school's median. Otherwise, withhold and bolster essays, grades, and course rigor.

Yes! Colleges can rescind offers if grades drop significantly.

No, but they show rigor. Focus on excelling in courses available to you.

Every high school has a different way of calculating grades, which makes it difficult to use GPA as a metric for college admissions. Some colleges provide aggregate GPA data for recently admitted students, but this is nowhere near as widely available as test score data. Some colleges standardize GPA themselves [...]

Many colleges switched to a test-optional policy with the onset of COVID-19. However, some colleges (including MIT) have switched back to a test-required policy, so we’d recommend checking the requirements of each university on your college list. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a handful of colleges have committed [...]

Generally speaking, colleges do not make value judgments about the extracurricular activities a student chooses to pursue. They do, however, value quality over quantity; they look for students who commit to particular activities for the long-term and rise to leadership roles within them. Ideally, your student’s extracurriculars should reflect their [...]