Application Strategy – Elite4usa.com

Of 312 selective colleges, 56% factor in how interested an applicant seems. Yet Harvard, MIT, Stanford and UCLA ignore it entirely. Here is how to check any school's official Common Data Set (C7), why WashU just started counting it again, and what seniors should do now for the schools that care.

Application Strategy | College Admissions

Colleges May Know If You Opened Their Email — Demonstrated Interest, School by School

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee October 9, 2026October 9, 2026

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

Georgia Tech, UNC, UGA, Tulane and others cut supplemental essays for 2026-27, and Yale dropped "Why Yale." Fewer essays does not mean an easier application. Here's how to research and write the "Why Us" essays that remain, why brochure language fails, and what to cut inside 150 to 350 words.

Application Strategy | College Admissions

Supplemental Essays Are Disappearing — Which Makes the Remaining “Why Us” Heavier

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee August 12, 2026

The 2026-27 Common App prompts are unchanged, which means August is for writing, not researching. How to choose a topic, structure 650 words, open the first paragraph, run three to five revision passes, and avoid the trap that erases the student from their own essay.

Application Strategy | College Admissions

Finish the Common App Essay Draft in August — From Blank Page to First Draft

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee August 6, 2026

The Common App renamed its Activities section to Activities and Experiences this year. Here's why ten slots is a ceiling and not a quota, how to order them so the first three carry the story, and how to write inside the 150/50/100-character limits.

Application Strategy | College Admissions

Ten Activity Slots: Don’t Fill Them All — The Top Three Are the Application

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee August 5, 2026