Andy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee – Elite4usa.com

At UCLA last fall, nursing admitted 0.5%, computer science 7.3%, and the general College 11%. The major you check works very differently at private universities and at large public universities that admit by school or major. Using official policies from UC, UW, Michigan, UIUC and Purdue, here is how to fill in the major box whether your student has decided or not.

Application Strategy | College Admissions

Undecided or Declared? How the Major Box on the Application Changes Your Odds

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee October 8, 2026October 8, 2026

USC opened Early Decision to nearly every undergraduate program, the University of Michigan is in its second year of ED, and the University of Florida and Florida State University are offering ED for the first time with an October 15 deadline. Here are the deadlines, decision dates, exceptions, how ED differs from EA, and what families should check before signing.

College Admissions | Early Applications

New Early Decision Options This Year — USC, Michigan, UF and FSU: Should Your Student Apply ED?

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee October 6, 2026October 6, 2026

One Cal State Apply application reaches all 22 CSU campuses. Submission opens October 1 and closes November 30, with a $70 fee per campus. With no essays and no recommendations, the self-reported a-g grades and the major you choose carry the application. Here is how the CSU GPA is calculated, what 'impacted' means, the bar for out-of-state students, and what California's Direct Admission letters do and do not cover.

Applications | College Admissions

The Cal State (CSU) Application — No Essays, So Your Self-Reported Grades and Your Major Choice Decide It

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee October 6, 2026October 6, 2026

The Common App has Additional Information (300 words) and Challenges and Circumstances (250 words). The UC application has two Additional Comments boxes (550 characters and 550 words). Four boxes, four different purposes and limits. Here is what belongs in each, and why leaving them blank is often the right call.

Applications | College Admissions

The ‘Additional Information’ Boxes on the Common App and the UC Application — What to Write, and When to Leave Them Blank

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee October 1, 2026

The Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship (up to $55,000 a year) is added in the Common App just like a college. Emory needs one checkbox; WashU and Vanderbilt ask for essays in a separate portal after you apply; and the Financial aid section can match your student to outside awards. Here are the scholarship deadlines that are not your application deadlines: Nov 11, Nov 15, Dec 1, Dec 16.

College Admissions | Scholarships

Scholarships You Can Apply for Through the Common App — The Process Is Simple. Missing It Is the Problem.

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 29, 2026September 29, 2026

Once the early applications are in, alumni interview requests start landing in late October. Here is what your interviewer does not know about your student, how four groups of colleges handle interviews differently, the 24-hour reply rule, and the questions that quietly cost points.

College Admissions | Interviews

The Alumni Interview Email Just Arrived — How to Prepare, and What Not to Ask

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 25, 2026September 25, 2026

The day after the application goes in, senior grades become a second application. Here is how first-quarter grades enter early review, why fall semester grades decide a deferral, what the counselor sends in January, the three reasons an offer gets rescinded, and how to report a schedule change.

College Admissions | Senior Year

Filing the Application Is Not the Finish Line — Senior Fall Grades, the Mid-Year Report, and Rescinded Offers

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 23, 2026September 23, 2026

UC reads no recommendation letters and considers no test scores. What reaches the reader is what your student types: courses and grades, twenty activities, and four Personal Insight Questions. Here is the filing window, the GPA math, the fees, and how to plan November.

College Admissions | UC Applications

The UC Application Plays by Different Rules — October 1 to November 30

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 19, 2026September 19, 2026

Georgia Tech, UNC, UGA, UT Austin, Clemson, South Carolina, Florida and Florida State close their early rounds on October 15, two weeks before everyone else. Here is the full list, the new binding Early Decision plans at both Florida publics, the separate document deadlines, and a four-week plan to make it.

College Admissions | Early Applications

The Deadline Isn’t November 1 — Eight Universities That Close on October 15

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 17, 2026September 17, 2026

The October 3 SAT is the last SAT with scores back before November 1 early deadlines. Which colleges require scores again this year, how to use the middle-50% range to decide whether to submit at a test-optional school, the difference between Score Choice, superscoring, and all-scores policies, and what sending official scores costs and takes — a practical guide for senior families.

College Admissions | SAT

October SAT: Send the Score or Not? The Last Test Before Early Deadlines and How to Decide

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 15, 2026September 15, 2026