How do you get accepted to your #1 college choice AND be awarded financial aid? By understanding how different types of colleges award both need-based and merit-based aid, you can put together a college application list that increases both your chances of being accepted and receiving a generous aid package. Here’s how to get college scholarships:

Step 1: Get Accepted to College

The first order of business is to get accepted to a number of colleges. The potential issue is that the criteria for admissions is very different at different universities. The question of how you get accepted to the Ivy League is not the same as the question of how to get into the University of Wisconsin, which is still different from being accepted to your regional four-year college or a less selective liberal arts college. You first need to understand the admissions requirements for the schools you are targeting and follow these requirements very carefully.  

Bear in mind, however, that at the top-tier universities, there are unstated, subjective factors in the admissions process that are not easy to discern. For example, to get accepted to Harvard or any of the other Ivy League schools, you not only need outstanding grades, test scores, and teacher recommendations: you also need to demonstrate things like motivation, energy, curiosity, leadership ability, and special talents. 

Therefore, as you prepare for college during high school, you need to concentrate on your academic performance. No matter where you want to go to college, you must do well academically. But the more ambitious you are, and the more you want to get accepted to the Ivy League or other top-tier universities, you must also cultivate these subjective characteristics. 

Step 2: Earn or Receive College Financial Aid 

It is more difficult to be admitted while also being awarded a merit aid scholarship. Most universities will reserve their scare scholarship dollars for its top performing students and applicants, focusing first on need-based aid and then non-need-based merit aid. You don’t automatically earn consideration for a college scholarship just for applying.  

The better your high school performance, the higher the odds you’ll win a scholarship. For example, the very selective liberal arts college Washington and Lee will award non-need merit-based scholarships to only a very small percentage of its incoming class (see detail below). It reserves most of its financial aid budget for students with high financial need. So, it you want to be awarded The Johnson Scholarship at Washington and Lee (W&L), you need to be among the cream of the crop within its applicant pool.  

Examples of How Financial Aid is Disbursed 

University of Puget Sound – Less Selective Liberal Arts College (LAC) 

At some less-selective private colleges with a high cost of attendance but lower yields, many of its students receive some type of aid, whether it be need-based or merit-based aid. For example, at the University of Puget Sound, 100% of the 430 students in the Class of 2028 received some form of financial aid. 64% (277/430) received need-based financial aid and the remaining 36% (153/430) received merit aid. Puget Sound’s tuition is $65,000 for the 2025-2026 academic year with the total cost of attendance (COA) approaching $88,000. The average aid package for students demonstrating need is just over $59,000. The non-need-based award package for those 153 students was $30,400. 

Bucknell University – More Selective LAC 

But, at the more selective Bucknell University, only 50% (493/991) of the Class of 2028 students are getting any sort of financial aid from the institution, while the other 50% of Bucknell students will pay the full price of admission. 41% (407/991) received need-based financial aid and 9% (86/991) received merit aid (excluding 79 athletes). Bucknell’s tuition is $70,000 for the 2025-2026 academic year with the total cost of attendance (COA) just over $88,000. The average aid package for students demonstrating need is just over $52,000. The non-need-based award package for those 86 students was $19,000. 

Washington and Lee – Even More Selective LAC 

At W&L, which has an impressive endowment for a school its size, 61% (287/472) of the Class of 2028 students are receiving financial aid. 57% (269/472) received need-based financial aid and 4% (18/472) received merit aid. W&L’s tuition is $66,800 for the 2025-2026 academic year with the total cost of attendance (COA) just over $86,500. The average aid package for students demonstrating need is just over $68,500. The non-need-based award package is an impressive $60,000, likely due to many of the incoming 18 students being awarded The Johnson Scholarship. 

Source: College Common Data Set reports. 

Get Accepted to the Ivy League With Financial Aid 

How do you get accepted to the Ivy League with a scholarship? Can you get accepted to Harvard with a merit-based scholarship? The answer is: ‘not likely’. The first issue is that unlike W&L, Bucknell or the University of Puget Sound, Harvard and the rest of the Ivy League do not offer merit-based scholarships. Their financial aid budgets are reserved for students who exhibit financial need. 

For Harvard’s Class of 2028, roughly 54,000 high schoolers applied of which only 1,970 students were admitted, an acceptance rate of below 4%. But, Harvard is very generous to the high-need students it accepts. For the Class of 2028, 920 of the 1630 (57%) enrolled students qualified for need-based aid with the average package totaling $74,000. Only 3 students received non-need merit aid of which the average award was only $6,000.  

What’s the conclusion? While Harvard is very generous to students who qualify for need-based aid, only the most exceptional high-need students in the world will be admitted to Harvard.  

What Are the Odds You Will Receive Financial Aid? 

So, what are your odds of getting accepted with a merit scholarship to an Ivy League university?  

Very small. 

But what are your odds of getting accepted to another college with a scholarship? They could be pretty good, if you are strategic about where you send your applications. 

What Should You Do? 

Understand the financial aid process at different schools 

If you want to get accepted to university with a scholarship, you first need to understand how different schools allocate their scholarship dollars. Use the examples above as reference points while your building your college list. 

What college scholarships do you want? 

Second, you need to make sure what sort of scholarship you are aiming for? Will you be eligible for a need-based aid? If not, you need to hunt for schools that offer merit-based scholarships. 

Where will you most likely get college financial aid? 

Third, you need to look at which schools are more likely to offer YOU a scholarship. You need to carefully assess where you fit in the application pool. If you are going get accepted to university with a scholarship, you need to be realistic about which schools are going to shower you with money. As we have seen, the University of Puget Sound is mostly likely – of the colleges we examined above – to give you a merit-based scholarship. 

Need help with the college admissions process?  

College education is an investment, and college admission to selective schools is very competitive, especially Ivy League and the ever-expanding list of Little Ivies and Public Ivies. So how can you invest your college budget wisely? How can you get accepted to college with scholarships? 

These are questions that the team at Great College Advice can answer. We can help you identify those colleges where you will likely be accepted AND receive a generous aid package. Just contact us on this form and we’ll set up a no-cost, no-obligation meeting so we can learn more about you and discuss how we can help make the college admissions process more successful and less stressful.  

Since 2007, the expert team of college admissions consultants at Great College Advice has provided comprehensive guidance to thousands of students from across the United States and over 45 countries across the world. Great College Advice has offices in Colorado, New Jersey, Chicago, North Carolina and Massachusetts.  

In addition to our one-on-one counseling, Great College Advice extends its support through one of the most active and resource-rich Facebook Groups for college-bound students and their families: College Admissions Experts. With over 100,000 members—students, parents, and experienced counselors—this vibrant forum offers peer support and expert advice like no other.

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“Very carefully.”

The same sensibility applies to choosing a college.  A college may not clamp its toothy jaw around your arm and rip it off, it’s still a good idea to be careful in choosing the right college for you.

Too many kids choose a college based on the wrong criteria.  They look too hard at the architecture, they fret too much about the climate, and they obsess about climbing walls.

As educators, we try to keep the focus where it should be:  on your education.  While the some of the atmospheric issues of architecture and climate–and the amenities like climbing walls–can factor into the choice, we want to help you be sure to consider the kinds of educational environments that will help you succeed.  We want to help you identify the resources, both material and human, that you need in order to propel you personal and professionally into the future.

And the thing is, what’s right for one kid could be just awful for another.  Every student is different, and every student wants and needs different things out of their college education.

So at Great College Advice, we take the time and give the care necessary to help you identify the criteria that will drive your college choice.

And then based on our experience, we will help you identify the colleges and universities that meet those criteria.
 
It’s a fun an exciting process. No alligators.
 

The post Find the Perfect School for You first appeared on Great College Advice.

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Similarly, the rankings organizations use these student to faculty ratios in how they rate different schools against one another.  The lower the ratio, the higher the rank.

However, student-to-teacher ratios are misleading statistics. They really don’t tell you much about the quality of teaching going on at an American college or university. It turns out that the research agrees with me.

Which teachers are included in student to teacher ratios?

In a report by the American Federation of Teachers, entitled, “American Academic: The State of the Higher Education Workforce, 1997-2007,” We learn that adjunct instructors and graduate students are teaching a very high percentage of undergraduate courses in the United States. The AFT updated its research in 2020, only to find that higher education is delivered by an “army of temps” that make low wages–sometimes at or below the poverty line.

The fact is that these ratios do not really reflect how higher education is being delivered and by whom.  These ratios are not a great guide to understanding what is really happening in today’s college and university classrooms.

What is the actual student to faculty ratio? 10%?  25%?  50%?

In thinking about the student to faculty ratio, we tend to assume that the faculty are full-time teachers–most with tenured positions–whose life-calling is to advance human knowledge and impart it to young people in their classrooms.

The facts belie our assumptions.

A 2023 report by the American Association of University Professors using data compiled by the US Department of Education found the following:

At community colleges, it’s worse: four out of every five people teaching a course are non-tenure-track faculty.

At publicly-funded research universities (you know, those “flagship” campuses like UC Berkeley, CU-Boulder, Michigan, and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill). A whopping 41% of the instructional staff members are graduate assistants, 15.8% are part-time faculty, and 14.4% are full-time, non tenure track faculty. So at our “flagship” research universities. On average, only 28.9% of the instructional staff are full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty members.

On average, private universities fare no better, with only about 29% of instructional faculty at both research and comprehensive universities either tenured or on the tenure track. But within this group, it’s important to recognize that different universities have very different mixes of instructional faculty. And as usual, those universities with bigger budgets and bigger endowments will generally have more full-time, tenure-track faculty. Also, many smaller, liberal arts teaching colleges are likely to have a higher proportion of tenure-track faculty. Even though the proportion of these professors has been declining in the past decade, too.

The one major difference of private, comprehensive colleges and universities (i.e., not the doctoral granting research universities) is that you will find very few graduate assistants teaching courses: only 2% of instructional faculty at these institutions are graduate students.

Why is this stuff important?  Because when you hear statistics like “student-to-faculty ratios.” These ratios usually include ALL INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF, including adjuncts and graduate students. Hidden behind this statistical ratio is the dirty, little secret that full-time. Tenured professors of yore are NOT the norm in most larger universities, whether public or private.

So when the admissions office or the leader of your student tour trumpets a low student-to-faculty ratio. Ask in the admissions office some more probing questions. Take a copy of the AFT report with you to the admissions office. Ask what percentage of undergraduate courses are taught by full-time, tenure-track faculty, adjuncts, and where they come from. Ask about the proportion of courses taught by grad students.

And as you ask these questions, watch the face of the admissions officer. It’s going to turn white. After a moment of panic, the officer stumbles off to find the director of admission or the VP for enrollment management. Then these marketing and sales bosses will try to reassure you that “faculty are very qualified” and “incredibly accessible” and “they are required to hold office hours.” They will downplay the importance of these statistics in the AFT report. And they’ll probably fudge the answers (which are publicly available online and reported annually to the US government).

But I assure you, these statistics from AFT are going to give you a better idea of what the undergraduate educational experience will be like.

If you’re interested in more on my take on student-to-faculty ratios, you can get a general explanation of what these statistics mean and don’t mean. How a low student-to-faculty ratio can actually have a negative impact on class sizes, and you can watch a short video in which I ask some students on one college campus what this statistic means to them. And in the meantime, when college representatives tell you that the student-to-faculty ratio on this or that campus is really low, just smile knowingly and ignore them.

Mark Montgomery
Myth Busting College Counselor

The post What is the Student to Faculty Ratio first appeared on Great College Advice.

For a practical parent evaluating this investment, the right consultant should not just help your child compete for Ivy League acceptance; they should also help your family identify the best-fit schools, navigate the financial landscape, and ensure the entire process yields a strong return on your investment. To evaluate any consultant you are considering, start with our comprehensive guide on how to choose the best college admissions consultant.

What credentials should the best independent educational consultants have?

When evaluating an independent educational consultant for highly selective admissions, credentials are your first filter — but they are not the only one. At a minimum, look for membership in one or more of the three major professional organizations: the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA), or the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). Each of these has experience requirements and ethical standards that provide a baseline of professionalism.

Jamie Berger, a highly acclaimed college admissions counselor and veteran admissions expert, is direct about the value of these affiliations: “They don’t vet everyone as carefully as they might, but they do the best they can, and it’s way better than someone who isn’t in any of them.”

Beyond organizational membership, the strongest consultants typically share certain background characteristics. Many have completed recognized training programs, such as the UCLA or UC Berkeley IEC certificate programs. Their professional experience generally falls into one of two tracks: former admissions officers at selective institutions, or academic professionals with backgrounds in teaching, university administration, or writing. Some hold the Certified Educational Planner (CEP) designation, which requires additional training — though this credential alone does not guarantee superior results.

The most important credential, however, is one that does not come with a certificate: a verifiable track record. Ask for references from families who have actually worked with the consultant, and look for specific examples of students placed at schools similar to your child’s targets. A firm like Great College Advice brings six counselors with over 100 combined years of experience in college admissions, spanning academic coaching, admissions, professional writing, and student development — a depth of expertise that individual practitioners rarely match.

How much do independent educational consultants for the top 20 schools cost — and is it worth the investment?

Comprehensive independent educational consulting for highly selective colleges typically costs between $5,000 and $20,000, depending on the consultant’s experience, geographic market, and whether you choose hourly or package-based pricing. Understanding the specific pricing tiers can help you make an informed decision.

Is the investment worth it? Sarah Farbman, Senior Admissions Consultant at Great College Advice, frames the ROI in concrete terms: “If you are looking for merit-based aid, the right college counselor could potentially help you save $20,000 or $30,000 per year. So if you’re spending $10,000 upfront, but this person is saving you $20,000 or $30,000 per year off the cost of college tuition times four, that is a significant ROI.”

Jamie Berger reinforces this point, noting that a skilled consultant “might save you $20,000 a year by getting more merit aid” — and can help families discover “hidden gems, off the beaten path” target and likely colleges that offer both academic quality and generous financial packages. One parent in the Great College Advice community shared that just a few hours of strategic guidance from an outside counselor made a significant difference — including a recommendation change that better aligned with her son’s profile, a move she described as well worth the investment.

The bottom line: for families targeting highly selective schools, the consulting fee should be weighed not just against admission outcomes, but against four years of potential tuition savings. 

What is the difference between an independent educational consultant and a high school guidance counselor?

This is one of the most common questions families ask — and the answer often surprises them. High school guidance counselors and independent educational consultants are not interchangeable. They perform fundamentally different roles, and understanding the distinction is critical when your child is applying to highly selective schools.

High school counselors handle functions that no one else can: sending official paperwork including the school report, transcripts, and the counselor recommendation letter from the school to colleges. These are exclusive to the school counselor and are required by every institution.

Where the gap emerges is in the depth and breadth of guidance. At large public schools, a college counselors may be responsible for 500 or more seniors. Even at well-resourced private schools, a college counselor might oversee 40 to 80 seniors — which Sarah Farbman notes is still “four times my personal caseload.” Sarah spends about ½ her time consulting and the rest on operations. A full-time experienced GCA counselor at capacity will have around 15-20 seniors at a time. 

An independent consultant’s smaller roster allows for genuinely personalized guidance: deep self-discovery conversations about values, priorities, and goals; comprehensive national college research; and months of iterative essay development.

The scope difference is equally important. Sarah Farbman puts it clearly: “A high school counselor knows their high school, and they know the colleges that their high school typically feeds into, and that’s helpful. But we keep an eye on a national pool, and since it is a national competitive pool that you’re competing against, you really do want somebody who’s able to have that bird’s eye view.”

Jamie Berger adds that high schools often have their own institutional agendas and “relationship schools” that may shape their recommendations. An independent consultant, by contrast, is focused solely on what is best for your individual student. The ideal approach is not choosing one over the other, but leveraging both: your school counselor for their institutional role and school-specific knowledge, and an independent consultant for strategic depth, essay expertise, and national perspective.

For more on why hiring a college counselor can make a meaningful difference, see our detailed guide.

When should I hire a college counselor if my child is targeting highly selective colleges?

Timing matters — and the earlier you engage, the more value you typically receive. The most common entry point is sophomore year or early junior year. This allows enough time for a thorough college research process, strategic extracurricular refinement, standardized testing decisions, and the multi-month essay development process that highly selective applications demand.

Sarah Farbman captures the philosophy succinctly: “Now is the right time. If you’re a senior and you haven’t done it yet, then now is the right time. But in general, the most typical time that we start working with people is late sophomore year or early junior year, and that is a really great time if you’re hoping for advice about the entire college process.”

For families who begin even earlier — freshman year — the benefits extend to course selection guidance, summer opportunity identification, and building an authentic activities profile that develops organically rather than appearing manufactured. Great College Advice’s Premium and Elite packages are available starting in 9th grade, reflecting the value of this extended engagement.

The critical window for essay development explains why starting in junior year is particularly important for highly selective admissions. Jamie Berger typically works with students for about 30 weeks, meeting roughly once per week. Much of that time is devoted to helping students move beyond what he calls the “gamifying mindset” — the instinct to write what they think admissions officers want — and instead produce genuinely self-reflective essays. This transformation cannot be rushed.

If you are already in senior year and have not yet hired a consultant, it is still worthwhile for strategic guidance on Early Decision versus Regular Decision, essay review, and list refinement. But the earlier you start, the more comprehensive — and impactful — the support can be.

Should I choose a local or online independent educational consultant?

For families targeting highly selective colleges, an online college consultant often provides a structural advantage. The reason is straightforward: competitive schools draw from a national and international applicant pool, so you want a counselor whose experience reflects that same breadth.

Sarah Farbman explains the decision framework clearly: “If you are really hyper-focused only on the colleges in your immediate vicinity — in-state, within a two-hour drive — there’s nothing wrong with going with a local counselor. But if you are planning on broadening your radius at all beyond your immediate vicinity, or if you have a school right next to you that’s very competitive, then you have to know that you are competing against a national pool. And so you actually want a counselor who’s familiar with that national pool.”

Based in Massachusetts, Jamie Berger reinforces this from his own practice, noting that he regularly helps students gain admission to schools 3,000 miles away, including the University of California system and Stanford. His practical advice: “If you’re only applying to the UCs and the Cal States, you probably don’t want to hire me — you could pay less. But generally, it doesn’t matter much anymore.”

From a workflow perspective, the online experience is now virtually indistinguishable from in-person consulting. Sessions happen via Zoom, essays are developed collaboratively in Google Docs, and follow-up communication is typically faster with consultants who are native to the digital workspace. As one community member noted, “A good counselor can make a huge difference in surviving the testing and college application process” — and that impact has nothing to do with whether they are down the street or across the country.

The online model also unlocks access to boutique firms with team members distributed across multiple regions. Great College Advice, for example, has counselors based in Colorado, the NYC tri-state area, Chicago, the Raleigh-Durham area, and Massachusetts — each bringing regional expertise while collectively serving families nationwide. To learn more about how online consulting works in practice, see our article on why and how to talk to a college prep advisor online.

How do the best independent educational consultants actually help students get into their dream colleges?

Understanding what top consultants do, not just what they promise, is essential for evaluating whether this investment makes sense for your family. The best college admissions counselors for highly selective admissions operate across four interconnected areas.

Authentic essay development through deep self-discovery. At schools with admission rates below ten percent, admissions officers have already verified the academic credentials. They are looking for something else entirely. Jamie Berger explains: “The first person reading your essay won’t look like me. They’re probably closer to 28 than my age. They’re probably working at their alma mater. They’re excited, they’re sculpting a class. They have all your data. They don’t want to hear more about your accomplishments. They want to get a little feel for who you actually are.” The best consultants spend months guiding students through this self-reflective process, working through multiple drafts of the personal statement and supplemental essays until the writing is genuinely authentic rather than strategically calculated.

Strategic, balanced college list building. A strong list typically includes around 12 to 15 schools — not 20+ — with a genuine balance of reach, target, and likely colleges where the student would be happy. Jamie Berger is emphatic that “finding happy likely colleges and targets is super important,” and that he pushes families to invest as much thought in the bottom of their list as the top. This is where the best consultants earn their fee: helping you discover how many colleges to apply to and which ones offer the right combination of academic quality, campus culture, and financial generosity.

Team-based expertise. The most effective consulting firms operate as teams, not solo practitioners. Great College Advice has six counselors with over 100 combined years of experience who meet weekly to discuss clients and share insights across different regions and specialties. Jamie Berger notes: “You hire me, you’re hiring all six of us because we meet once a week, talk about our clients, ask questions, and bounce things off each other. And we all are in different regions of the country with different expertise.”

Specialized support for unique application elements. Elite consultants provide targeted help beyond the core application, including interview preparation for Ivy League interviews, strategic Early Decision guidance, and supplemental essay coaching. For students with specialized needs, firms like Great College Advice offer add-on services for athletic recruiting, art and music portfolios, BS/MD programs, and international university applications through the UCAS system.

What questions should I ask before hiring a college admissions consultant?

The initial consultation with a prospective IEC is your opportunity to evaluate whether this is the right partner for one of the most consequential investments in your child’s future. Here are the essential questions, informed by what the best consultants in the industry actually recommend.

Ask about their professional background and credentials. How many years have they been practicing? What pathway brought them to this work? Are they members of IECA, HECA, or NACAC? Have they completed a recognized training program such as the UCLA IEC certificate? Do they attend professional conferences and maintain relationships with admissions offices? Sarah Farbman emphasizes looking for consultants with backgrounds in “academic settings — high school teaching, university administration, admissions work — or professional writing,” as these backgrounds directly translate to the skills most needed in the application process.

Ask about caseload and personalization. An independent consultant’s greatest advantage over a school counselor is personalized attention. If a consultant is juggling 50 students, you are not getting meaningfully different service than your high school provides. The best consultants maintain small caseloads — typically no more than 20 students per senior class at any given time.

Ask for a student-counselor meeting before you commit. Jamie Berger is clear on this: “What’s most important is that the kid meets the counselor and thinks, who do I want to meet with once a week for 30 weeks? Who am I going to work well with?” A good firm will facilitate this introductory meeting and will not pressure you to sign on before it happens.

Ask about their approach to likely colleges. Any consultant who focuses exclusively on reach schools and treats the rest of the list as an afterthought is not operating in your family’s best interest. As Jamie Berger notes, he works with clients “who understand that the bottom of the list and the middle of the list are as important as those top three or four choices.”

Ask about their process. The best consultants use structured assessments — personal, academic, and career-oriented tools — to understand your student deeply before making any recommendations. Look for a systematic approach that includes clear milestones, regular meeting cadences, and defined deliverables, not an ad hoc “we’ll figure it out” style.

Ask about the parent-student dynamic. Strong consultants will keep you informed at key milestones while making it clear that the student is the primary client. Jamie Berger tells parents directly: “You’re paying the bills, but your child is my client.” This distinction is not just philosophical — it is what allows the student to develop the independence and self-advocacy that elite colleges value.

Great College Advice’s Jamie Berger explains the importance of finding the right college fit in this video:

Ready to Find the Right Independent Educational Consultant for Your Family?

Choosing the right independent educational consultant is one of the most impactful decisions you will make in the college admissions process — especially if your child is targeting highly selective schools. The right partner brings national expertise, a personalized approach, and the kind of strategic depth that can make the difference between a good outcome and a great one. Great College Advice’s team of six experienced counselors provides exactly this: a boutique, team-based approach with over 100 combined years of admissions expertise, serving families nationwide.

Schedule a free consultation with Great College Advice to discuss your family’s goals.

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As I listened, the piece grated on me because only one viewpoint was represented here. Specifically, the viewpoint is the idea that education is primarily about getting a job. What was missing was the perspective of those who see education as an edifying experience, who believe that “training the brain” to be nimble, and to be able to “learn how to learn” are the chief values of education (for an explanation of this alternative point of view, see this post).

As part of the broader process of learning how to apply to college, selecting a major that balances career alignment with personal fulfillment is a decision that deserves careful, strategic thought—and ideally, expert guidance. Our approach starts not with a list of “hot” majors, but with understanding the student themselves—their strengths, their weaknesses, and what genuinely motivates them.

Technology Disruption Impacts Job Creation and College Major Demand

Furthermore, many observers (Thomas Friedman, Daniel Pink) have pointed out that many of today’s top-earning jobs didn’t exist ten years ago. And while the professor identified healthcare as a good field to head for, we can also bet that the healthcare industry may undergo tectonic shifts in the next decade (hello, Artificial Intelligence).

Speaking of AI, a Computer Science undergraduate degree was once viewed as a ticket to, at a minimum, a stable and well-paying job that delivered a tremendous ROI. However, that theory is now in question as AI evolves, disrupting jobs such as software development.

Software Development Job Postings on Indeed

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Computer Science Major: From Bullet Proof to Being Potentially Disrupted by AI

AI as a headwind to the Computer Science major

This ‘AI Threat’ to computer programming is now making families begin to question the ROI of a Computer Science major. The most recent enrollment trend data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center indicates that for the first time in a very long time, the number of Computer Science majors at 4-year colleges and universities declined in both 2025 and 2026. In fact, it decreased a surprisingly large 11% year-over-year to roughly 575,000 undergraduates majoring in the computer science field in 2026. This compares to a 7% increase in Engineering majors to over 700,000 and a 6% increase in Healthcare Services to over 1,000,000 undergraduate majors.

Princeton has seen a material decrease in students declaring for a Computer Science major

At Princeton, computer science has both an A.B. and B.S.E track. For its class of 2028, students declaring the B.S.E. major decreased by 39 students compared to the Class of 2027, falling from 114 to 75. Sophomores pursuing the A.B. track dropped from 51 to 30 compared to the current junior class. Combined, the number of students pursuing computer science degrees decreased by almost 40% just in the past year.

How to Choose a Major in College

As shown above, technology disruptions have and will continue to impact the careers we thought we would have as we declared our college majors.

I think more people should be having this sort of conversation about what education means in the 21st century. While there is no getting around the fact that we all need to earn a living and that our educational backgrounds do–in a very real sense–prepare us for our economic success and social contributions. A purely instrumental view of education can be self-defeating.

New industries and jobs are created and some disappear

When you choose a major, look through the course guides of the potential list of colleges where you are interested in applying. It is important that you have the flexibility to take general courses in areas that provide tools to help you think for yourself and be a multi-disciplinary problem solver.

• For example, does it really make sense to spend a bunch of money to educate oneself to read and interpret X-rays, when much of that work can be outsourced and AI is being trained to improve on human findings?
• Or does it make sense to get a degree in accounting or pursue a career in law? LLMs are being trained on accounting standards and legal precedent so that much of the ‘grunt’ work done by associates can be automated.
• It’s amusing to think that the translation industry used to be a multi-billion dollar field. But, technology has essentially replaced the human worker and so an American with a Masters degree in Chinese language needs to use this knowledge in another industry.

Your education should provide the skills to adapt

The fact is that as we decide upon our major, we have to realize that the economic landscape is going to change. The professional preparation we begin in college is only the start. We have to continue to learn, modulate, and roll with the times. The labor market is going to evolve, and some jobs that pay well today may pay poorly tomorrow. Or vice versa.

So in counseling our clients about their majors, we really try to hone in on the student’s aptitudes and passions: what sort of domains of knowledge to they really enjoy?  What interests them? Then I spend time talking about appropriate learning environments. Because college is really about learning–and not merely about acquiring knowledge.

How Should Students Evaluate Whether a Major Aligns with Their Career Interests?

This is the foundational question, and the answer is more nuanced than most families expect. According to the Great College Advice Family Handbook, students should evaluate a potential major across five key dimensions:

• Professional or vocational connectedness: Does the major prepare the student for a particular job or career of interest? For students who are career-oriented—those who wouldn’t attend college if it didn’t lead directly to employment—this dimension is primary.
• Preparation for graduate school: Does the major serve as a prerequisite for advanced study? For example, pursuing a graduate degree in psychology typically requires a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
• General intellectual development: A major is a student’s first attempt at mastering a particular domain of knowledge using the analytical tools of the field. In other words, students learn how to learn—a skill that transfers across every career.
• Personal enjoyment or fulfillment: Some majors don’t line up neatly with particular professions, but they can be deeply rewarding and provide useful background knowledge for a wide range of paths.
• Ease of completion and strong grades: Students headed to graduate programs may want to select a major where they can complete coursework with high marks. Struggling just for the sake of completing a particular major probably doesn’t make sense.

At Great College Advice, the team uses a suite of proprietary assessments to help students and parents clarify these dimensions. As Sarah Farbman, senior admissions consultant, explains: 

“We have a ‘Why Go to College’ survey that helps us understand why someone is going to college. Some students are career-oriented—if they couldn’t get a job from the college experience, they wouldn’t go. Others want to broaden their horizons and learn more about themselves. Those are two really different schools.” The team also asks parents to complete the same survey separately, which reveals whether the student and parent are aligned on priorities—or whether there’s a disconnect worth discussing.

Great College Advice’s approach includes five proprietary assessments:

1. Why Go to College survey, 
2. Student Questionnaire, 
3. Parent Questionnaire, 
4. Interest Inventory, 
5. The RIASEC assessment—designed to match a student’s personality and career orientation with appropriate majors and college environments.

Does My Student Need to Choose a Specific Major Before Applying to College?

This is one of the most common questions practical-minded parents ask, and the honest answer is: it depends on both the student and the schools they’re considering.

Some colleges don’t require students to declare a major during the admissions process at all. Most selective liberal arts colleges, for instance, admit students without any regard to major—students declare at the end of their second year. But certain programs within universities can be significantly more selective. The business school at Boston College is generally harder to enter than the College of Arts and Sciences. Engineering schools within larger universities often have more stringent admissions requirements and standards.

Jamie Berger advises families to match their student’s level of certainty about a major with colleges and programs that fit that certainty. If your student has a clear direction, the intended major plays a big role in deciding where to apply. But if your student is undecided—or what the Great College Advice team calls “multi-interested”—it may be best to choose a school that allows for exploration.

Even for the undecided student, however, it is important to identify general areas of interest and competence. This is why we ask our students to do so many different kinds of exercises to discover these preferences and personality traits.

One parent in the Great College Advice community shared a perspective that resonated with many families: when evaluating colleges, don’t forget to compare academic support, mental health resources, career services, and first-year advising. “These matter just as much—sometimes more—than walking the grounds.”

Are Certain Majors Required to Enter Specific Careers, or Can Students Succeed with Any Major?

The reality is more flexible than most people realize.

For certain technical professions—engineering, architecture, accounting, dental hygiene, physical therapy—the choice of major is indeed essential for entering the field. But beyond those, the choice of undergraduate major may have surprisingly little bearing on career competitiveness.

Medical school is the most striking example. While students must complete science prerequisites before applying, their actual major can be in the humanities or social sciences. The MCAT has been redesigned to include knowledge of sociology, psychology, philosophy, economics, and even politics. Some medical schools actively recruit students who have pursued majors outside the sciences because, as the Great College Advice Family Handbook puts it, “being a good doctor is not just about being a good technician: one must also be an ethicist, a psychologist, a communicator, and a good business person.”

Law school accepts students with virtually any undergraduate major—a biology major is just as welcome as a political science major.

Journalism has shifted dramatically. Many editors now prefer to hire journalists with substantive majors in economics, business, foreign languages, or sciences rather than a journalism degree.

Jamie Berger frames this in terms of how rapidly the world changes: “The jobs or professions that are the most lucrative today may not be so tomorrow. Think of the computer programmers trained in the 1980s and 1990s who found their jobs outsourced. Think of the rise of social media and the decline of newspapers.” Today’s graduates will have not only many different jobs in their lifetimes but likely more than one career. This is why Great College Advice emphasizes preferences, personality, and aptitude in choosing a major—not just targeting one narrow field.

Expert Perspective: Consider the job prospects of the architect who speaks Chinese, the doctor who understands economics, the engineer who has a passion for art, and the lawyer who understands psychology. No profession in the 21st century stands in isolation from all other domains of knowledge. — Great College Advice Family Handbook

How Can Parents Calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) for a Particular Major?

For practical-minded parents, ROI is often the driving concern—and understandably so. But calculating return on investment for a particular major is genuinely difficult because so many variables affect a person’s earning potential.

The city where your student chooses to live, the organizations they work for, their personal characteristics, and even life choices like marriage all play significant roles in lifetime earnings. While broad averages suggest that engineers generally earn more than poets, you cannot say that all poets will earn less than all engineers.

Where to start: Payscale.com compiles an annual report on the earnings potential of various majors. This is a useful reference point, but treat it as one data point among many.

What to be cautious about: The Great College Advice team warns parents to be skeptical of press articles that focus on the economic value of certain majors or list “average salaries” of graduates. The methodology of these surveys is notoriously weak and the results more impressionistic than scientific. More importantly, any individual’s experience may not match population-level averages.

The team’s advice is direct: “We believe that parents should consider the higher education investment as an investment in their student, rather than as an investment in a particular university or a particular major.” Focus on what subjects and possible career paths will likely make your student both happy and successful—not just what the national average says.

Jamie Berger has spoken candidly about the ROI of the college admissions process itself, noting that finding the right fit—including the right academic programs and merit aid opportunities—is where the real financial return lies. As he puts it: “In terms of increased merit aid and finding the perfect fit, I think it’s totally worth it.”

Practical Tip: Keep in mind that the major is only one aspect of your student’s higher education. The courses and other experiences outside the major may have decisive impacts on a person’s career trajectory. For some students, it may be more helpful to develop a short list of possible majors based on aptitude and interest than to attempt to pinpoint a specific career path before the end of high school.

What If My Student Has No Idea What to Major In—Should We Be Worried?

First, don’t panic. In retrospect, most of us have been poor predictors of our own career trajectories. Your student is not doomed to career failure if they are completely undecided about a major.

When a high school senior says they have “no idea,” this can often be chalked up to youthful exaggeration. An 18-year-old typically has at least some sense of which subjects are more interesting, which come more easily, and which might be worth exploring further. While it might be initially reassuring if the student could identify a specific major, it may be enough to narrow the possibilities down to a cluster of choices that match their primary interests and aptitudes.

The Great College Advice team recommends a three-step strategy for undecided students:

Step 1: Pick colleges with academic strengths that match the student’s general interests—even if those interests are broad.

Step 2: Make sure the school’s career and academic advising system is well structured to provide continued guidance. Not all advising programs are created equal.

Step 3: Encourage the student to explore classes within their cluster of interests during freshman year. This gives them firsthand understanding of both the content of potential majors and the career avenues that branch out from each discipline.

Chances are you were not certain of what you wanted to be when you grew up. Unfortunately, adults ask young people ‘what do you plan to major in?’ all the time—mostly as a way to start a conversation—and we forget how stressful it can be for young people to provide a definitive answer.

The best advice? Help your teen focus on shorter-term goals instead of thinking about “lifelong goals.” The road ahead will undoubtedly have many twists and turns, so better to make concrete plans in the short term than very vague ones for the long term.

How Does Choosing a Major Affect the College List, and What Happens If My Student Wants to Change Majors Later?

This is where the financial implications of the major decision become most concrete—and where strategic planning pays off.

The ease of changing majors varies enormously by school. Some colleges make switching simple, while others require a formal application, minimum GPA, and even an interview. Switching is generally more difficult at large universities, especially when a student wants to move between different schools within the university—say, from arts and sciences to the business school or engineering program.

The hidden cost of changing majors: Students who switch often discover they lack prerequisites for the new major, which can delay graduation by one to three additional semesters. Each additional semester means more tuition payments—a direct financial hit that can undermine the ROI of the entire degree.

However, smaller private colleges may be more flexible in granting waivers or even allowing a student to create their own interdisciplinary major so they can graduate on time.

The Great College Advice strategy for managing this risk is straightforward: if a student is unsure about which major to choose, or has two or three different areas of interest, select colleges with strengths in all of those potential areas. That way, if the student decides to switch, they won’t need to transfer to another university—saving significant time, money, and disruption.

A member of the Great College Advice community offers a practical perspective on how early career focus should work: when it comes to students interested in professional paths like law, “focus on doing activities that really interest her” rather than prematurely narrowing to pre-professional tracks. The right undergraduate experience builds a foundation—it doesn’t need to look like the career itself.

Which Colleges Offer the Best Career Services and Internship Placement, Especially for Non-STEM Majors?

For non-STEM majors—particularly those in liberal arts who are likely to pursue graduate school—the quality of career services can make or break the post-graduation experience.

Sarah Myers advises families to look beyond whether a college simply has a career center. “Every college is probably going to have a career center, but you need to ask: how many staff are there? What are their hours? Do you have to make appointments or can you just drop by?” She also recommends researching the alumni network: “A lot of times colleges publish information about how many alumni have helped out other graduates from that college.”

Sarah’s personal experience illustrates why this matters. As a psychology major at Colgate University—a small liberal arts college—she was able to spend extensive time with a career advisor who had deep knowledge of the student body and remembered other psychology majors she had previously advised. That personalized guidance led Sarah to an enriching teaching experience in Japan that ultimately shaped her career in counseling.

What to look for in career services:

The Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL) group of colleges are well known for being exceptionally nurturing institutions with strong career support—a good starting point for families prioritizing post-graduation outcomes for liberal arts students.

When building your college list, treat career services as a key criterion alongside academics, campus culture, and cost. Evaluate the school’s schedule too—if your student is at a college that goes later into the summer, they may have fewer opportunities for summer jobs and internships. These details, which often seem minor during the application phase, can significantly impact long-term career success.

Looking for an Admissions Counselor?

Great College Advice is a college admissions consulting firm with six counselors and over 100 combined years of experience. The team provides personalized guidance—including proprietary career and personality assessments, strategic college list development, and “How to Choose a Major” information sessions—to help families make informed decisions about their student’s future. Learn more about our services on a complimentary call.

The post Pros & Cons of Choosing a Major Based on Pay first appeared on Great College Advice.

Clients ask the team at Great College Advice repeatedly to explain the relationship between the financial aid and admissions offices to help them understand how financial need is factored into admissions decisions. Usually, these questions revolve around whether a college is “need-blind” or “need-aware.” So in this post, we’ll try to shed some light on how the admissions and financial aid offices work together. More importantly, we’ll provide some insight on the difference between a need-blind and need-aware college and how a college’s financial aid policy may impact whether you ultimately decide to apply there based on affordability.

Need-Blind Admission Policies and Enrollment  Management

Generally, the Admissions and Financial Aid offices are operated separately. But usually, the two are overseen by a Dean or Vice-President of Enrollment Management, or some such title. This should give you a clue that the two offices, while administratively independent, are two sides of the same coin.

Both are tasked with recruiting and then retaining students, providing just enough resources to keep the income flowing into the university. Tuition dollars, after all, are the lifeblood of any institution of higher education. Both offices have the responsibility to keep the dollars flowing in.

As prospective students apply to the university, they send their applications to the office of admissions, naturally. They apply for financial aid around the same time. Their applications for aid are processed by the Office of Financial Aid. So, it seems, in some ways that the two are separate, and most colleges like to help create the image that admissions decisions are completely separate from financial aid decisions.

Believe me, they are not.

Colleges That Offer Need-Blind vs Need-Aware Admission

Only one group of colleges can make any claim that the two decisions are separate: those practicing “need-blind” admissions. These colleges are generally very wealthy with large endowments, and their number is quite small. I’ll come back to this exception in a moment. But suffice it to say that the financial aid and admissions offices must work together if they are to ensure the continuity and adequacy of the institution’s income stream.

Both the admissions and financial aid offices start the process with an annual budget–an amount of money that can be used for financial aid.

Some of this budget is “hard” money (interest income from endowed scholarships). But the overwhelming majority of financial aid is given in the form of discounts on the price of tuition. Colleges may call these “grants” or “scholarships,” but internally colleges discuss their “discount rate”: the average discount off the tuition sticker price they will offer in a given year.

A large percentage of the financial aid budget goes to fund currently enrolled students. Most (but not all) colleges distribute their aid budgets to ensure that current students can continue their progress toward their degrees. Keep in mind that any individual’s financial need can change from year to year, or even from semester to semester. In order to retain students, perhaps 75% or more of the total financial aid budget goes to continuing students.

Does Need-Blind Admission Really Exist?

Admissions officers try to read your application without prejudice. But admissions officers have clues regarding a family’s ability to pay.  Most applications ask whether you plan to apply for financial aid. If you check “no,” then you are considered a full-pay student. In addition, colleges review family background. If the father is a surgeon and the mother an attorney (or a plumber and a waitress, respectively) admissions officers make some plausible assumptions about the ability to pay. All colleges subscribe to demographic analytic software packages which provide detailed income information on zip codes and even neighborhoods!

Once the admissions office has made a decision on which students to admit, the director will submit the entire list to the financial aid office for review. The financial aid office compares the aggregate financial need of the entire class with the amount of aid available for incoming freshmen. If the need far exceeds the dollars available, financial aid will kick the list back to admissions with the comment, “if we admit this class, we’ll go broke–go back to the drawing board.”

If this occurs, then the admissions office begins another review of applications, focusing on those kids who are “on the bubble,” or who are borderline admissions cases. Needy students on the borderline will be rejected, and replaced with students who didn’t quite make the cut–but who can pay full price. This process will continue until the admissions office can resubmit the list, and the financial aid office is satisfied that the institution will not over-commit itself.

Now let’s look at the small number of colleges who claim that their admissions process is “need-blind.” These colleges are wealthy. They not only have a high discount rate, but they also have endowment funds to draw upon if, for some reason, the admissions office ends up admitting way too many students with financial need. But “need-blind” does not mean “need-ignorant.”

Experienced admissions staffers know that they cannot admit a freshman class comprised solely of students who need a full tuition scholarship. They have to balance the full-pay students against the full-pay students. Even wealthy colleges have budgets that are not infinitely expandable. Admissions staff at “need-blind” colleges simply have a bit more wiggle room.

As I have said, admissions officers do have clues about a student’s ability to pay right on the application. In this sense, all college admissions processes are “need-aware.”

More evidence that need-blind admission is a myth

There is one other piece of evidence that helps us to understand that need-blind admission doesn’t really exist in ideal form. Colleges publish statistics about how many of their students receive different types of aid. We can track, for example, the percentage of the entering freshman class received need-based at Brown.

If Brown were truly and completely “need-blind” and not “need-aware,” we would expect that from year to year, there would be relatively big fluctuations in the amount of aid awarded. Some years, the class might be comprised of lots of kids who had high financial need but were otherwise remarkable applicants. In other years, maybe fewer remarkable, poor kids apply.

What the statistics tell us, however, is that Brown’s financial aid budget is fairly steady from year to year (discounting inflation). And–more important–the percentage of entering students receiving need-based financial aid is also fairly steady in the mid to high 40% range (for the Class of 2029 cohort 860 of 1750 enrolled students received need-based aid with the average award package totaling almost $69,000).

We do not see those expected fluctuations from year to year based on the quality of the applicants. Strangely, no matter who applies, the percentage of aid recipients stays roughly the same from year to year and even decade to decade.

Need-Blind vs Need-Aware in Admission–A Summary

So what conclusions can we draw from this relationship between admissions and financial aid?

• First, full-pay students have an admissions advantage over scholarship students at most universities. This fact is not one that we like to admit, but reality bites, sometimes.
• Second, students who need aid to afford college should consider applying to schools where they are at the top of the selectivity curve. You do not want to be “on the bubble,” because you either are less likely to be admitted or your aid package is likely to be less generous than at a college where you are one of the top recruits.

To be even more specific, if the middle 50% (25th – 75th percentile) score on the SAT for Lafayette College is between 1360 and 1490, the high-need student with a 1360 will be less desirable than the high-need student with a 1490. If you have a 1360 and need a generous aid package, look for colleges that have a middle 50% SAT range of 1250-1350, and your chances go up for both admission and financial aid.

Need help with the college admissions process? 

The team at Great College Advice has years of experience working with thousands of students as they navigate the college admissions process.  We can help you prepare, select, and apply to colleges to give you the best chance of being accepted to your top choices.  Not only can we help identify the right fit schools that also fit your college budget, but we will also help you with every other aspect of this process. Want to learn more?  Just contact us on this form and we’ll set up a no-cost, no-obligation meeting so we can learn more about you and discuss how we can help make the college admissions process more successful and less stressful. 

The post Financial Aid, Admissions, and “Need-Blind” Policies first appeared on Great College Advice.

Why Demonstrated Interest Matters

At many colleges, demonstrated interest can play a meaningful role in the admissions process. Admissions offices want to enroll students who are genuinely excited about attending, not simply applying as another option. When a college believes an applicant is likely to accept an offer of admission, it can improve the institution’s yield rate—the percentage of admitted students who ultimately enroll. While not every college tracks demonstrated interest, those that do often view it as an indicator of enthusiasm, initiative, and thoughtful college research.

• Can strengthen your application: At colleges that consider demonstrated interest, showing authentic enthusiasm can provide a modest advantage, especially among applicants with similar academic profiles.
• May improve your admissions odds: Colleges seek students who are likely to enroll if admitted, helping them manage enrollment and maintain a strong yield rate.
• Shows you’ve done your homework: Visiting campus, attending information sessions, connecting with admissions representatives, or participating in virtual events demonstrates that you’ve taken the time to learn whether the college is a good fit.
• Reflects a thoughtful college search: Meaningful engagement signals that you’re making intentional decisions about where you apply rather than submitting applications indiscriminately.

Admissions officers have a job to do: fill up the incoming class each year. This job is getting more difficult due to demographics and headwinds such as less international students. So, admissions officers need to adjust the dials every year with the shifting trends. For example, WashU is now considering demonstrated interest for its 2026-2027 application cycle as part of broader admission changes that includes introducing Early Action and no longer requiring supplemental essays. WashU explains the reasoning for tracking demonstrated interest going forward:

Frankly, we think demonstrated interest is often seen as a one-way street, meaning students feel pressured to find ways to impress admissions offices. This isn’t about contacting the Admissions Office to tell us you’re interested.

Instead, we think it’s about offering a variety of opportunities that students can choose from to explore our community, academics, and student life. Website searches and joining our email list are great places to start, but we also want students to be able to ask questions and engage in conversations that will help them find out if WashU is the right fit for them.

On the top of our list (and hopefully yours!) is a campus visit. We love to welcome visitors and introduce them to our amazing community. See where you will study, explore the food scene, meet current students, and so much more. A WashU experience extends beyond our beautiful campus, and a visit gives you a chance to see all that St. Louis has to offer.

Bottom line: Demonstrated interest matters to us because we know it will help you learn about WashU and whether you can truly see yourself here. It will also allow you to build your best application.

How Do I Demonstrate Interest Through a Campus Visit?

What Are the Best Virtual Methods to Demonstrate Interest When I Can’t Visit Campus?

• Keep It Brief: Three to four sentences maximum. Admissions officers read hundreds of emails and appreciate conciseness.
• Be Specific: Ask one substantive question that isn’t easily answered on the website. Reference something specific about the school that connects to your genuine interests. Generic emails that could be sent to any school signal laziness.
• Be Professional: Use a professional email address (ideally firstname, lastname, not a nickname). Include your full name, high school, and graduation year. Proofread carefully—typos and grammatical errors signal carelessness. Use a clear subject line like “Question About [Specific Program] from Prospective Student.”
• What to Avoid: Never send form emails to multiple schools—admissions officers can tell. Don’t ask questions you could easily Google. Avoid excessive follow-ups or requests for information readily available online.
• Sample Effective Email Structure: Introduce yourself in one sentence (name, high school, graduation year). Express specific interest in one program or opportunity. Ask one thoughtful question. Thank them briefly for their time.

How Can I Use High School Visits and College Fairs to Demonstrate Interest?

Maximizing High School Visits

Making the Most of College Fairs

What Is the Best Way to Demonstrate Interest Through the Applicant Portal?

1. Complete Your Profile: Fill out every section of your applicant profile thoroughly. Upload any optional materials that strengthen your application. Respond promptly to any requests for additional information.
2. Attend Everything Relevant: RSVP “yes” to virtual events, webinars, and admitted student programming. Participate in major-specific information sessions. Join official social media groups for prospective or admitted students. Attend virtual office hours if offered.
3. Stay Consistently Active: Log in regularly throughout the admissions cycle. Read and engage with the content the admissions office shares. Complete any optional surveys or questionnaires.
4. Quality Over Quantity: While clicking through every link matters less than genuine engagement, don’t just attend events passively. Ask questions. Participate in discussions. Show that you’re actively evaluating whether the school is right for you.

How Do I Demonstrate Interest Through the Admissions Interview?

Before the Interview

During the Interview

After the Interview

When Should I Start Demonstrating Interest, and What’s the Ideal Timeline?

Sophomore Year

Junior Year (Fall)

Junior Year (Spring/Summer)

Senior Year (Fall)

Senior Year (Post-Application)

Get Personalized Guidance for Your College Journey

Every student’s path to college is unique. The demonstrated interest strategies that work for one applicant may not be right for another. Knowing which schools actually track engagement, when to visit, and how to make meaningful connections requires expert insight tailored to your specific situation.

At Great College Advice, our team of veteran college admissions counselors has helped thousands of ambitious students navigate the complexities of college admissions. We’ll help you build a strategic approach to demonstrated interest, identify which schools on your list care most about engagement, and develop an application strategy that maximizes your chances at your dream schools.

Ready to take the next step? Schedule your free consultation today and discover how personalized guidance can make the difference in your college admissions journey.

The post How to Demonstrate Interest: Practical Methods first appeared on Great College Advice.

Quick answer: Pre-professional students headed for medical, law, or dental school must take a field-specific admissions exam — the MCAT for medicine, the LSAT for law, and the Dental Admission Test (DAT) for dentistry. Unlike undergraduate admissions, there is no test-optional path into professional or graduate school. Most students should treat the exam as a junior-year milestone, complete prerequisite coursework first, and build in time for a possible retake before application deadlines.

Pre-professional students face a testing landscape that looks nothing like the SAT or ACT they navigated in high school. The stakes are higher, the preparation windows are narrower, and — critically — there is no test-optional escape hatch. Whether a student is headed toward medicine, law, dentistry, or another graduate-level profession, a standardized exam sits squarely between their undergraduate years and their professional school application.

The confusion is understandable. Many students who applied to college during the test-optional wave of the early 2020s never developed a serious relationship with standardized testing. That experience creates a dangerous assumption: that graduate and professional programs operate the same way. They do not. As Pam Gentry, a Senior Admissions Consultant at Great College Advice who specializes in pre-professional pathways, puts it directly: “There’s no test-optional heading into grad school.”

This guide maps the major standardized tests for pre-professional students, explains the timing decisions around each, and provides a framework for approaching preparation with the seriousness these exams require.

Is the MCAT or LSAT test-optional?

No. There is no test-optional option for medical, law, or dental school. Professional and graduate programs require a standardized admissions exam, and a strong score is non-negotiable for competitive applicants.

The SAT and ACT measure readiness for undergraduate education. The MCAT, LSAT, and DAT measure readiness for specific professional programs — and they are designed accordingly. Each is field-specific, longer, and more cognitively demanding than its undergraduate counterpart.

At the most selective programs, scores serve as a threshold filter: admissions committees use them to sort through thousands of applicants with similar GPAs, research experience, and extracurricular profiles. A student who underperforms cannot compensate with a strong personal statement alone. The stakes are also real on the downside: a weak score can close doors to programs entirely, while a strong score opens access to more selective institutions.

For students who have always been anxious test takers, that reality requires deliberate preparation — not just content review, but building the confidence and stamina high-stakes testing demands.

What standardized tests do pre-professional students take?

The exam depends on the professional path:

• MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) — required for U.S. medical school admission.

• LSAT (Law School Admission Test) — required for U.S. law school admission.

• DAT (Dental Admission Test) — required for dental programs, on a path that closely parallels pre-med.

Other graduate programs have their own required exams. As Pam Gentry notes, “working with your advisor at your college or university will help you understand what you need to do and what needs to happen.”

When should pre-med students take the MCAT?

Most students should take the MCAT by spring or early summer of junior year if they want to apply directly to medical school, or during a gap year if they want more preparation time. Both paths are valid.

A student performing strongly in undergraduate science coursework can study for the MCAT at the end of junior year and apply directly, entering medical school without a gap year. Alternatively, a student can take a gap year to study more thoroughly and achieve a stronger score.

As Pam Gentry explains: “Both options are valid. It really depends on what the student’s experience is in their undergraduate program and what they hope to get out of it.”

The decision is not just about readiness — it is about what the student wants from their undergraduate years and whether they have completed enough prerequisite science coursework to sit for the exam with confidence. A good pre-health advisor at the student’s college is the right resource for navigating this choice. Students sometimes take the MCAT more than once to reach their target score, so the timeline should be built with enough runway before deadlines to allow for a retake.

When should pre-law students take the LSAT?

The LSAT’s timing logic mirrors that of the MCAT. Students whose undergraduate programs are going well and who have the bandwidth to study can take the LSAT at the end of junior year or the summer after, positioning themselves to apply to law schools in the fall of senior year. A gap year is equally valid for students who want more preparation time.

As with the MCAT, retaking the LSAT is a recognized part of the process. Students should verify each program’s score policy before deciding whether to retake.

What do pre-dental students need to know?

Pre-dental students follow a path that closely parallels that of pre-med students. They work with their college’s pre-health advisor to complete required science coursework and time their admissions exam to align with their application cycle. As Pam Gentry notes, pre-dental students “are very similar to pre-med students” and will have a pre-health advisor to help them identify what dental schools are looking for. Great College Advice also helps families compare the best U.S. schools offering pre-dental programs with strong pre-health advising.

But dental programs want more than strong test scores. As Pam Gentry puts it, dental programs “want students who are well-rounded and have grown as a human into a mature adult while they’re in college.” A strong score is a necessary threshold, not a sufficient one — clinical shadowing hours, research experience, and demonstrated personal development all factor into a competitive application.

How do you build a pre-professional testing timeline?

The timing of professional school exams is determined by the intersection of prerequisite coursework, application deadlines, and the student’s own academic readiness. Four principles apply across these exams:

1. Complete prerequisites first. The MCAT and dental exams require specific science coursework before the content is fully accessible. Sitting for the MCAT before completing organic chemistry, for example, creates an avoidable disadvantage.

2. Decide on the gap-year question early. This choice shapes the entire timeline. Students applying directly must take the test by the spring or early summer of the junior year. Students planning a gap year have more flexibility but should still test before or during the gap year — not after starting a new job or program.

3. Built in a retake runway. Most professional school exams can be taken multiple times within limits. Scheduling the first attempt early enough preserves the option of a second attempt before deadlines.

4. Work with your pre-health or pre-law advisor. Every college with a meaningful pre-professional population has advisors whose job is to navigate exactly these decisions, tailored to the student’s record and goals.

How should pre-professional students prepare?

The preparation principles match undergraduate testing — but the volume and intensity are substantially higher. Professional school exams demand sustained preparation over months, not weeks. Four practices apply across all exams:

• Practice with full-length, timed exams. Familiarity with format and time pressure matters as much as content knowledge. Complete multiple full-length practice tests under realistic conditions before the exam date.

• Identify and target specific weaknesses. A diagnostic practice exam reveals which content areas cost the most points. Weight preparation toward those gaps, not toward content already mastered.

• Choose the right preparation format. Self-study with official materials, private tutoring, and structured prep courses each suit different learners. Students who need accountability often benefit from a course; self-directed students who have identified gaps may get more from targeted tutoring.

• Start earlier than feels necessary. The students who underperform are almost always the ones who underestimated the timeline. The same early-start discipline that works for SAT preparation applies here, scaled up to months of work.

For students who struggled with test anxiety in high school — especially those who applied test-optional to undergraduate programs — the professional school requirement is a signal to address that anxiety directly, not defer it. As Pam Gentry observes, students who “suffered from anxiety and didn’t do well on their SATs or ACTs” need to “work through those issues because they do need to take those tests in order to get into some pre-professional schools.” Building test-taking confidence is a skill that develops through repeated, structured practice.

The mistake that derails pre-professional students

The single most common error is treating the professional school exam as a senior-year problem. By senior year, the application cycle for most programs is already underway. A student who has not taken the MCAT or LSAT by the fall of senior year is, in most cases, looking at a gap year, whether they planned for one or not.

The correction is straightforward: treat the exam as a junior-year milestone, not a senior-year task. Build the timeline backward from the application deadline, identify the latest acceptable test date, and schedule the first attempt at least one cycle earlier to preserve retake options.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a test-optional path to medical, law, or dental school? No. There is no test-optional option heading into professional or graduate school. The MCAT, LSAT, and DAT are all required.

What test do pre-med students take? The MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) is required for admission to U.S. medical schools.

What test do pre-law students take? The LSAT (Law School Admission Test) is required for admission to U.S. law schools.

When is the best time to take the MCAT or LSAT? For students applying directly to professional school, the end of junior year or the following summer is the deadline. Students taking a gap year have more flexibility, but should still test before or during it.

Can you retake the MCAT or LSAT? Yes. Students sometimes retake these exams to achieve their target score. Verify each target program’s score policy, and schedule the first attempt early enough to allow a retake before deadlines.

How long does it take to prepare? Professional school exams demand sustained preparation measured in months, not weeks, including multiple full-length, timed practice tests.

Planning your pre-professional path

The MCAT, LSAT, and DAT are central to the pre-professional journey, not afterthoughts. Each requires a preparation investment measured in months and sits at a fixed point in an application timeline that does not accommodate last-minute pivots. The students who navigate this successfully plan early, work closely with their pre-health or pre-law advisors, and treat test preparation as a structured academic project rather than a cramming exercise.

If you are a pre-professional student — or the parent of one — and want to build a college selection and undergraduate planning strategy that sets up a strong professional school application, the team at Great College Advice works with students at exactly this intersection. Identifying the right undergraduate program, building the right academic foundation, and understanding the testing timeline from day one is how we help students arrive at their professional school applications prepared, not scrambling.

Ready to map out your pre-professional path? Schedule a free consultation with Great College Advice to talk through the right undergraduate fit, testing timeline, and game plan for your professional school goals.

The post The MCAT, LSAT, DAT, GRE: Which Standardized Tests Do Pre-Professional Students Need? first appeared on Great College Advice.

Getting into veterinary school is one of the most competitive post-grad school challenges — more selective, in many respects, than medical school. The path requires years of deliberate preparation that most aspiring vets don’t fully understand when they first declare their interest in animal medicine. If you’re a pre-vet student, or the parent of one, the decisions you make during the undergraduate years will determine whether you’re a competitive applicant — or whether you’re reapplying for the second or third time.

That’s not a scare tactic. It’s the reality that our advisors at Great College Advice work through with pre-vet students every year. The good news is that the path is navigable when you understand what vet schools actually want, which undergraduate programs set you up for success, and what alternatives exist if the US route doesn’t work out on the first attempt. This guide covers all of it.

Why Vet School Is Harder to Get Into Than Most Students Expect

The most common mistake pre-vet students make is underestimating how difficult veterinary school admission actually is. As our advisor Pam Gentry puts it: “They love animals, and they wanna be a vet, and they are good at science, and they’re predisposed to understanding the biology — but they don’t always get that it is very difficult to get into vet school.”

The difficulty is structural. There are fewer veterinary schools than medical schools in the United States, and demand for admission far exceeds supply. Unlike medical school, where a qualified applicant has dozens of programs to choose from, the vet school applicant pool is competing for far fewer seats. This means that a student who would be a strong medical school candidate — excellent GPA, solid test scores, relevant experience — may still not gain admission to a US vet program on the first application cycle.

Understanding these early changes helps you approach the undergraduate years. It also opens up a strategic question that most pre-vet students never think to ask: Are there pathways outside the US that lead to the same outcome?

Choosing the Right Undergraduate Program

Animal Science Access Is Non-Negotiable

The single most underappreciated factor in pre-vet undergraduate planning is access to animal science coursework. Pam Gentry is direct on this point: “There are fewer colleges and universities in the US that offer animal science, and having access to animal science classes is very, very important, and we need to look for schools that offer that.”

Pre-vet students don’t necessarily need to major in animal science — but they do need to attend an institution that offers and makes those courses accessible. This is a concrete filter to apply when building a college list, not an afterthought. A student who enrolls at a liberal arts college without an animal science program may find themselves unable to complete the coursework that vet schools expect to see on a transcript.

Pre-Vet Advising Infrastructure Matters as Much as Prestige

Beyond course availability, the quality of pre-vet advising at an undergraduate institution is a direct predictor of application success. Gentry recommends looking specifically for “colleges and universities across the US that have strong pre-vet advising” and notes that the goal is to send students to institutions “that have a high success rate” in placing students into vet programs.

This is a different framework from the one most families use when choosing a college. Prestige rankings don’t capture pre-vet placement rates. A mid-tier state university with a robust animal science department and a dedicated pre-vet advisor may produce more successful vet school applicants than a highly ranked liberal arts college with no such infrastructure.

The table below summarizes the key factors to evaluate when choosing an undergraduate program as a pre-vet student:

The Clinical Experience Requirement Most Students Underestimate

Veterinary schools require documented hours of hands-on animal experience — both with companion animals and with large or exotic animals, depending on the program. This is not a checkbox item that can be completed in a summer. Competitive applicants typically accumulate hundreds of hours across multiple species and clinical settings during their undergraduate years.

The practical implication: pre-vet students need to begin seeking clinical placements, veterinary shadowing, and animal handling experience from their first year of college, not their junior year. Students who wait until they’re ready to apply often find they don’t have the breadth of experience that admissions committees expect.

This is also one of the reasons that vet school admission on the second or third attempt is common and not a sign of failure. As Gentry notes, students “need to be prepared that maybe they won’t get in the first time, but they could get in the second time, or they could get in the third time after getting some clinical experience. That can often be the case that you don’t get in right away.” A gap year or two spent in a clinical setting — working as a veterinary technician, on a farm, or in a wildlife rehabilitation program — can transform a borderline application into a competitive one.

The International Pathway: A Strategic Option Most Pre-Vet Students Don’t Know Exists

One of the most valuable pieces of information our advisors share with pre-vet students is that a veterinary degree earned outside the United States is recognized globally — including in the US and Canada. This opens a strategic alternative that most families never consider.

Gentry explains: “You can do your vet work in the UK and have it translate across the globe. You could go to Australia, you could go to a European country, and come back to the US or to Canada with a degree in veterinary sciences and practice.”

More specifically, approximately 10 US undergraduate programs offer a direct pathway to the Glasgow School of Veterinary Science. For students who complete their undergraduate years successfully, this route provides a structured, internationally recognized path to veterinary licensure. Gentry notes: “I often put those undergraduate programs on their list because that is a pathway that they could likely be successful with, assuming they do well in their undergraduate years.”

For students applying directly to UK veterinary schools, the process differs from the US model. Students with experience with animals and foundational coursework in biology and chemistry can apply directly to UK veterinary programs — and the qualifications earned are recognized globally.

This matters strategically. A student who doesn’t gain admission to a US vet program on the first cycle has a genuine, high-quality alternative rather than an indefinite holding pattern.

Being Well-Rounded Is a Requirement, Not a Bonus

A pattern that runs through every professional health program (and vet school is no exception) is that admissions committees are not looking for students who did nothing but study science. For pre-professional students, Gentry notes that programs “want students who are well-rounded and have grown as a human into a mature adult while they’re in college.” The same principle applies across professional health programs, including those looking for the best schools in the US offering pre-dental programs.

For pre-vet students, this means that the undergraduate years should include genuine engagement outside the laboratory and the clinic. Leadership roles, community involvement, creative pursuits, and experiences that demonstrate self-awareness and interpersonal maturity all contribute to a stronger application. The student who spent four years exclusively optimizing their GPA and accumulating clinical hours — without developing a sense of who they are — is a less compelling applicant than one who did both.

This is the insight Gentry identifies as the most common mistake pre-professional students make: “Pre-professional students need to not just focus on growing academically as a student, but to grow socially and within their community, and find their voice and find who they are. Professional schools want people who know who they are, who’ve had some experiences, along with the qualifications they need.”

Common Mistakes Pre-Vet Students Make

Choosing an undergraduate college without checking for animal science access. Before finalizing a college list, confirm that the institution offers animal science coursework and has a pre-vet advising track with documented placement history.

Delaying clinical experience until junior or senior year. Begin seeking veterinary shadowing, farm experience, and animal-handling opportunities in the first semester of college. Breadth across species and settings matters as much as total hours.

Treating the first application cycle as the only acceptable outcome. The correction: build a plan that accounts for the possibility of reapplication. A gap year in a clinical role is not a setback — it is often the differentiator that makes the second application successful.

Ignoring international pathways. The correction: research UK and Australian veterinary programs during the undergraduate college search, not after a US rejection. The ten US undergraduate programs with direct pathways to Glasgow should be on every serious pre-vet student’s list.

Focusing exclusively on academics at the expense of personal development. The correction: engage authentically in activities outside the classroom. Vet schools, like all professional programs, admit people, not transcripts. While maintaining a high weighted GPA vs. an unweighted GPA is important for your initial college entry, vet schools will look for a consistent record of academic excellence and personal growth.

What a Strong Pre-Vet Strategy Actually Looks Like

The pre-vet students who gain admission to competitive programs share a common profile: they attended undergraduate institutions with animal science access and strong pre-vet advising, they accumulated diverse clinical experience starting in their first year, they developed as whole people alongside their academic credentials, and they understood from the beginning that the path might require more than one application cycle.

The students who struggle are those who treated vet school admission as a straightforward extension of undergraduate academic success, assuming that a strong GPA and a love of animals would be sufficient. They are not.

If you’re a pre-vet student or a family navigating this decision, the most valuable thing you can do right now is get the undergraduate college choice right. That single decision determines whether you have access to the coursework, the advising, and the clinical pathways that make a competitive vet school application possible.

Our advisors at Great College Advice work with pre-vet students from the college search stage through the professional school application process. If you’re building a college list with vet school in mind, we can help you identify the programs that give your student the strongest foundation, including the international pathways that most families don’t know to consider. Reach out to start that conversation.

The post How to Get Into Veterinary School first appeared on Great College Advice.

Most lists of “best pre-law schools” rank universities by prestige and leave it there. That’s not especially useful — and according to the counselors at Great College Advice, it can actually send students in the wrong direction.

“To get into fantastic law schools, you need to be engaged. You need to be aware of what’s going on in the world,” says Pam Gentry, senior admissions consultant at Great College Advice. “A lot of students choose to major in political science, but that’s not what’s important. What’s important is being engaged and putting yourself out there — working on those skills of leadership, community involvement, of being a good listener.”

That reframing shapes how the schools below were selected. Each one earns its place not just because of name recognition, but because it consistently delivers the specific combination of analytical writing practice, community engagement, internship access, and intellectual depth that law schools actually evaluate. Within that list, the right school for any individual student depends on fit — campus size, culture, location, and the environment in which that student does their best thinking.

How to Read This List

Each entry includes a standout pre-law feature, recommended majors, and a best-fit profile — because the goal is not to rank schools against each other, but to help you identify which environment is right for you.

1. University of Virginia

Type: Large public research university | Location: Charlottesville, VA (2.5 hours from Washington, D.C.)

Why It Works for Pre-Law

UVA is one of the few universities in the country that offers a named Government major — a distinction that Pam Gentry specifically highlights as rare and valuable for pre-law students. The department is built around exactly the analytical reading and writing skills that law school demands, and UVA’s robust pre-law advising infrastructure gives students clear pathways for LSAT preparation, internship placement, and faculty mentorship.

Proximity to Washington, D.C., means students can access federal agencies, think tanks, and major law firms for internships — the kind of hands-on engagement that strengthens law school applications far more than an impressive transcript alone.

Standout Pre-Law Feature: Named Government major; direct pipeline to D.C. internship ecosystem

Recommended Majors: Government, Economics, English

Best Fit For: Students who want a large, resource-rich public university with strong pre-law culture and access to policy and legal institutions

2. Dartmouth College

Type: Ivy League research university | Location: Hanover, NH

Why It Works for Pre-Law

Dartmouth is the other institution Pam Gentry names specifically for offering a Government major — a meaningful differentiator in a landscape where most universities offer only Political Science. The college’s relatively small size for an Ivy means undergraduates have closer access to faculty than at larger peer institutions, which matters for developing the writing skills and faculty relationships that translate into strong law school recommendations.

Dartmouth’s quarter system also allows students to take a wider variety of courses across disciplines — an advantage for pre-law students who want to pair their government or economics coursework with writing-intensive electives in English or comparative literature.

Standout Pre-Law Feature: Government major with Ivy-caliber faculty access; smaller scale than most research universities

Recommended Majors: Government, Economics, Comparative Literature

Best Fit For: Students who want the prestige and resources of an Ivy but in a more intimate academic environment

3. Georgetown University

Type: Mid-size research university | Location: Washington, D.C.

Why It Works for Pre-Law

Georgetown’s location is its most distinctive pre-law asset. Students are embedded in the legal and policy capital of the country, with direct access to federal courts, Congressional offices, the State Department, law firms, and public interest organizations. For students who want to test their interest in law through internships before committing to an LSAT prep cycle, no campus in the country offers more immediate access.

Georgetown’s own robust pre-law advising program, combined with a student body that skews toward policy and public service, creates a peer environment that reinforces the kind of engagement and awareness that Pam Gentry identifies as essential for law school readiness.

Standout Pre-Law Feature: D.C. location with unmatched access to legal and policy internships

Recommended Majors: Government, Justice and Peace Studies, Economics, English

Best Fit For: Students drawn to public interest law, policy, or international law who want real-world exposure during the undergraduate years

4. Amherst College

Type: Small liberal arts college | Location: Amherst, MA

Why It Works for Pre-Law

Amherst consistently appears on law school placement lists not because it has a pre-law advising center to match Georgetown’s, but because its curriculum does exactly what law schools reward: it forces students to read primary texts carefully, construct written arguments, and defend those arguments in seminar settings. That is, in essence, what law school is.

Amherst’s open curriculum — with no distribution requirements — allows pre-law students to design a rigorous course of study in whatever combination of disciplines builds their strongest analytical foundation. Small class sizes mean writing receives close faculty attention, which is how undergraduate writing actually improves.

Standout Pre-Law Feature: Writing-intensive liberal arts curriculum with no distribution requirements; exceptional law school placement rates

Recommended Majors: English, Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought (LJST), Economics, Political Science

Best Fit For: Students who thrive in small seminar environments and want a curriculum that prioritizes analytical writing above all else

5. University of Chicago

Type: Large research university | Location: Chicago, IL

Why It Works for Pre-Law

UChicago’s Core curriculum is, by design, one of the most intellectually demanding undergraduate experiences in the country — and it maps almost perfectly onto what law schools evaluate. Students read primary texts across philosophy, social science, natural science, and the humanities, write extensively in response to those texts, and are expected to engage in rigorous argumentative discussion. That is not incidental preparation for law school; it is essentially the same cognitive training.

Chicago’s urban location provides strong internship access in legal and policy settings, and the university’s pre-law advising resources are extensive. The intellectual culture here rewards exactly the kind of student who wants to become a lawyer for the right reasons — because they find ideas genuinely compelling.

Standout Pre-Law Feature: Core curriculum that trains analytical argument at the undergraduate level better than almost any other program in the country

Recommended Majors: Economics, Political Science, English Language and Literature, Philosophy

Best Fit For: Intellectually driven students who want to be challenged across disciplines and are serious about developing the writing and argumentation skills that define legal practice

6. Williams College

Type: Small liberal arts college | Location: Williamstown, MA

Why It Works for Pre-Law

Williams routinely places among the top liberal arts colleges for law school admission, and the reason is structural: its tutorial system, in which pairs of students meet regularly with a faculty member to present and defend written arguments, is essentially a replication of the law school seminar in miniature. Students develop the habit of writing analytically, receiving critical feedback, and revising — skills that most undergraduates at larger universities develop far more slowly.

Williams also maintains a strong alumni network in law and public policy, which students can begin building through the college’s career resources as early as sophomore year.

Standout Pre-Law Feature: Tutorial system that builds analytical writing and argumentation through regular one-on-one and small-group faculty engagement

Recommended Majors: English, Political Economy, History, Comparative Literature

Best Fit For: Students who want an intimate academic environment with exceptional writing instruction and a tight alumni network in law

7. Northwestern University

Type: Large research university | Location: Evanston, IL (bordering Chicago to the north)

Why It Works for Pre-Law

Northwestern offers pre-law students an unusual combination: the scale and resources of a major research university, proximity to Chicago’s substantial legal and business ecosystem, and one of the strongest undergraduate writing programs among Tier 1 universities.

Northwestern’s pre-law advising is well-resourced, and its alumni network in law is active and geographically distributed — particularly valuable for students interested in corporate law, where firm relationships matter.

Standout Pre-Law Feature: Strong writing requirements university-wide; Chicago internship access; active pre-law alumni network

Recommended Majors: Economics, Political Science, English, Philosophy

Best Fit For: Students who want a large university environment with strong writing standards and immediate access to urban legal and business internships

8. Pomona College

Type: Small liberal arts college | Location: Claremont, CA

Why It Works for Pre-Law

Pomona is part of the Claremont Consortium, which means students have access to five colleges’ worth of courses, faculty, and resources while still experiencing the intimacy of a small liberal arts campus. For pre-law students, this is a significant structural advantage: they can pursue deep writing-intensive coursework at Pomona while drawing on the broader consortium for economics, government, and policy courses at Claremont McKenna.

Pomona’s pre-law advising is active, its alumni network in California’s legal community is strong, and its academic culture rewards exactly the kind of rigorous, text-based analytical thinking that law schools seek.

Standout Pre-Law Feature: Access to Claremont Consortium resources with the academic culture of a small liberal arts college

Recommended Majors: English, Politics, Economics, Philosophy

Best Fit For: Students interested in California or West Coast legal careers who want a liberal arts foundation with broader course access than a single-college campus provides

9. University of Michigan

Type: Large public research university | Location: Ann Arbor, MI

Why It Works for Pre-Law

Michigan is the strongest public university option on this list for pre-law students who are weighing cost against outcomes. Its undergraduate pre-law advising is among the most developed in the country, its alumni network in law is enormous and geographically wide, and its programs in political science, economics, and English are consistently ranked among the best at any public institution.

For families concerned about the cost of law school, building a strong application from a well-resourced public flagship is a legitimate and strategically sound path. Michigan’s in-state tuition makes it one of the most cost-effective routes to a top-tier law school application.

Standout Pre-Law Feature: Exceptional pre-law advising infrastructure; enormous alumni network; cost-effective relative to peer institutions

Recommended Majors: Political Science, Economics, English Language and Literature, Philosophy

Best Fit For: Students, particularly Michigan residents, who want the resources of a major research university without the cost of a private institution — and who are thinking strategically about the total cost of an undergraduate-plus-law-school path

10. New York University

Type: Large research university | Location: New York City, NY

Why It Works for Pre-Law

NYU’s single greatest asset for pre-law students is also its most obvious one: New York City. No other city in the country offers comparable density of law firms, courts, public interest organizations, corporate legal departments, and policy institutions — and NYU students have direct access to all of it through internship pipelines that begin in the first year.

For students who learn best by doing — who want to be working in a legal setting during their undergraduate years, not just studying about the law — NYU’s location is unmatched. The university’s pre-law advising is strong, and its faculty connections to the legal world are deep.

Standout Pre-Law Feature: Unparalleled internship access in one of the world’s most active legal markets

Recommended Majors: Politics, Economics, English and American Literature, Philosophy

Best Fit For: Students drawn to corporate law, public interest law, or international law who want real-world legal experience woven through their undergraduate years from day one

The Underlying Logic: What These Schools Share

Every school on this list delivers some combination of the four things that Pam Gentry identifies as genuinely predictive of law school success:

Analytical writing practice — not just a writing requirement, but a culture in which writing is taken seriously and improved through sustained feedback.

Community engagement — a campus environment, location, or advising culture that actively encourages students to lead organizations, pursue internships, and connect their academic work to the world outside the classroom.

Major flexibility — the freedom to pursue English, economics, government, or comparative literature rather than defaulting to political science, because those majors build the analytical skills law schools actually evaluate.

Internship access — through location, alumni networks, or advising infrastructure that gives students the opportunity to work in legal settings before they apply to law school.

No single school on this list is right for every student. The right choice is the one where a specific student will write the most, engage the most, and grow the most — not the one with the most prestigious name.

A Note on Timing

One practical point worth flagging: the LSAT does not go away. As Pam Gentry notes, “There’s no test-optional heading into grad school.” Students who struggled with standardized tests in high school need to begin thinking early about building the confidence and test-taking skills they will need for the LSAT — typically taken at the end of junior year or the summer after. The undergraduate school you choose should have pre-law advising that supports that preparation, not just helps you pick a major.

Working With Great College Advice on Pre-Law Planning

The college list is only one piece of the pre-law puzzle. At Great College Advice, our counselors work with pre-law students to identify the undergraduate environment that fits their specific academic profile, legal interests, and long-term goals; and to build a plan for the undergraduate years that positions them competitively for law school admission. If you are working through this decision, we are happy to help you think it through. Request a free consultation today.

The post Top Pre-Law Schools to Consider Applying to first appeared on Great College Advice.

One of the most persistent myths in pre-med advising is that biology is the only viable undergraduate major for students who want to become doctors. It isn’t. Medical schools evaluate applicants on a combination of science GPA, MCAT performance, research experience, and intellectual depth, and that last quality can be built through almost any major. The choice of undergraduate major matters far less than most students assume, and understanding why changes how you should approach the next four years.

At Great College Advice, our counselors work with students who are serious about medical school from the moment they start thinking about undergraduate programs. The question we hear most often is some version of: “Do I have to major in biology?” The answer, consistently, is no.

Do Medical Schools Require a Biology Major?

No. Medical schools specify a defined set of prerequisite courses, not a specific major. According to Great College Advice counselor Pam Gentry, those requirements typically include four biology courses, four chemistry courses, two physics courses, enough calculus to support performance in those science classes, and at least one social science course. Any student who completes those courses, regardless of their major, meets the academic baseline for medical school admission.

The distinction matters because it opens the door to a much wider range of undergraduate experiences, and medical schools actively value that breadth.

Can Pre-Med Students Major in the Humanities?

Yes, and medical schools often value it. As Pam Gentry puts it: “Med schools love students who major in the humanities. They love students who major in the social sciences. Be a religion major, be a psychology major, be an English major, because they need doctors who have excellent critical thinking skills.”

When an applicant arrives with a degree outside biology, admissions committees understand that the student has spent years engaging in analytical writing, grappling with complex ideas, and thinking across disciplines. That signals the capacity to relate to patients, navigate ambiguity, and bring a perspective to medicine that goes beyond the clinical. Majoring in the liberal arts before medical school is a well-established path that admissions committees increasingly recognize.

There is also a structural scheduling advantage. An English major typically requires eight to ten courses to complete the degree. A biology major requires twelve to sixteen. A student majoring in English who also completes the pre-med prerequisite sequence has used their scheduling flexibility to explore more of what undergraduate education offers, before the demands of medical school narrow that window permanently.

Which Undergraduate Majors Are Best for Pre-Med Students?

The following table compares the most common undergraduate major choices for pre-med students across the dimensions that matter most for medical school preparation.

Biology and Neuroscience are the familiar path. Approximately 60% of pre-med students major in biology, making it the most common choice by a significant margin. Neuroscience covers similar scientific ground while being more concentrated. Students who know they want to work in research from day one, and who want the most direct overlap between major coursework and prerequisites, will find either path efficient. The tradeoff is differentiation. When most applicants share the same major, standing out requires doing something distinctive with the rest of your time.

Humanities majors are the most underutilized option for pre-med students. English, comparative literature, religion, and philosophy develop the analytical writing and critical reasoning skills that medical schools explicitly value. A student who has spent four years reading complex texts, constructing arguments, and writing analytically has built a cognitive toolkit that translates directly into the kind of doctor who can communicate a diagnosis clearly, navigate a difficult family conversation, or think through a clinical ethical dilemma.

Social sciences sit between the sciences and humanities in prerequisite overlap and analytical development. Psychology is worth highlighting specifically: it fulfills the social science prerequisite requirement, develops behavioral and analytical reasoning, and connects directly to the patient-facing dimensions of medicine.

What Actually Determines Medical School Admission?

The major is a vehicle, not the destination. The overall medical school acceptance rate is roughly 40%, making it one of the most competitive graduate pathways in the United States. The factors that determine admission are consistent regardless of major:

• Science GPA: Grades in the prerequisite science courses are the most heavily weighted academic metric. This is true whether a student majors in biology or English. The science courses are the same, and performance in them is what counts. Students considering BS/MD combined programs should note that these pathways carry even stricter GPA thresholds during undergraduate years.

• MCAT score: The Medical College Admission Test evaluates scientific knowledge, critical analysis, and reasoning. Strong preparation is possible from any major, provided prerequisite coursework is complete.

• Research experience: Medical schools want evidence that applicants understand scientific inquiry in practice. Biology and neuroscience majors have a structural advantage here, but students in other majors can pursue research through pre-health advisors, faculty relationships, and summer programs.

• Well-rounded development: As Pam Gentry describes it, a competitive pre-med applicant is “somebody who’s engaged in what they love and has shown interest in the world, along with getting good grades in their science classes.” Understanding how colleges weigh grades versus extracurricular activities is essential for building a balanced profile.

Is the Undergraduate Experience More Than Just Medical School Preparation?

Yes, and treating it as a waiting room is the most common mistake pre-professional students make. Professional schools want applicants who know who they are, who have had real experiences, and who have grown as people alongside accumulating the required qualifications.

This point extends beyond medicine. As Great College Advice counselor Sarah Myers notes: “It’s really important to have a broad knowledge of the world and to have interacted with people from different disciplines on your college campus. You’ve got to start to spread your experiences out more. Those are the people who are the most successful.”

Admissions committees read personal statements, conduct interviews, and evaluate letters of recommendation precisely because they are trying to understand who the applicant is as a person, not just whether they can pass organic chemistry. Students who spend their undergraduate years doing nothing but studying science, accumulating prerequisites, and optimizing for GPA are often less competitive than students who have also led organizations, engaged in meaningful service, pursued creative interests, and developed a clear sense of their own values. Building a strong extracurricular profile is not an optional extra for pre-med applicants.

Does the Undergraduate Institution Matter for Medical School?

Yes, but not in the way most families assume. Elite universities do have strong medical school acceptance rates, but so do many state flagship programs and small liberal arts colleges, often at a fraction of the cost. Given that medical school itself can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, the financial calculus of undergraduate choice is a real consideration.

Small liberal arts colleges offer something large research universities sometimes cannot: direct access to faculty research from the first or second year. For pre-med students who need research experience on their application, a smaller institution where a first-year student can actually work alongside a professor, rather than waiting years for a spot in a large lab, can be a meaningful advantage. The benefits of studying science at a small liberal arts school are frequently underestimated by pre-med families. Understanding the difference between a research university and a liberal arts college is a useful starting point when building your college list.

The right undergraduate program for a pre-med student is one that offers the prerequisite courses, strong pre-health advising, access to research, and an environment where the student can genuinely thrive academically, socially, and personally. As Great College Advice counselor Jeanette Hadsell puts it: “It’s looking beyond the name of the school. It’s the program specifically, and the environment where the student is going to thrive.”

How Should a Pre-Med Student Choose Their Major?

Start the pre-health course sequence in the first year, which is required regardless of major, and delay major declaration until sophomore year when most schools allow it. That window gives students time to discover where their intellectual interests actually lie before committing to a course of study.

The decision matters not because the wrong major closes the door to medical school, but because the right major can make the next four years genuinely meaningful rather than merely strategic. Biology is a valid choice. So is English, psychology, neuroscience, or religion. The variable that matters most is whether the student is engaged, growing, and building the kind of intellectual and personal depth that medical schools are actually looking for.

Ready to Find the Right Path to Medical School?

Our counselors at Great College Advice can help you think through the full picture: prerequisites, program fit, research access, and how to build an undergraduate experience that positions you for medical school without sacrificing the breadth that makes those four years worth having.

Schedule a free consultation

The post Top Undergraduate Majors for Medical School first appeared on Great College Advice.

For families navigating the college search, understanding how colleges package financial aid can mean the difference between a degree that launches a career and one that burdens a graduate for a decade.

The core challenge is straightforward: award letters are not standardized documents. As our counselors at Great College Advice consistently emphasize, they are designed to make institutions look as generous as possible, which means families must do careful work to separate “other people’s money” (grants and scholarships) from “your money later” (loans) and “your money earned” (work-study wages). Understanding these distinctions is one of the most important things a family can do before committing to a school.

Why the Sticker Price Is Not the Whole Story

The sticker price of a selective private university is not what most students pay. But the gap between sticker price and actual cost depends entirely on how a school packages its aid, and loans are the variable that families most frequently misread.

When a financial aid award letter lists a large “aid package,” that figure can include a mix of grants, subsidized federal loans, unsubsidized federal loans, and work-study. A subsidized loan defers interest until graduation; an unsubsidized loan begins accruing interest the moment it is disbursed. Neither is free money. As our counselors explain, loans are still your money — you are just paying it back later, with interest. Work-study wages are still your money — you are earning them at an hourly wage, which makes a limited dent in a large annual bill.

The practical implication: two schools with identical sticker prices and identical “total aid” figures can produce dramatically different out-of-pocket costs depending on how much of that aid is grant-based versus loan-based. A school offering $40,000 in grants and $5,000 in loans is a fundamentally better financial offer than one offering $30,000 in grants and $15,000 in loans — even though the second school’s total aid number looks larger on paper.

How Financial Aid Packages Work in Practice

The Need-Based Foundation

Need-based aid applies to students whose families demonstrate financial need through the FAFSA and, at most private institutions, the CSS Profile. Because the federal government has faced delays in recent years, many families often wonder how long does FAFSA take to process and how that timeline affects their final award letters. The CSS Profile is administered by the College Board — the same organization that runs the SAT and AP exams — and allows private colleges to apply their own institutional methodology to assess a family’s financial situation. This means a college’s determination of what a family can afford may differ from the federal Student Aid Index produced by the FAFSA. Some schools calculate need more generously than the federal formula; others calculate it more conservatively.

Work-Study: Earned Income, Not a Grant

Work-study — a campus employment opportunity that allows students to earn wages applied toward their college costs — is a standard component of aid at many institutions.

The distinction matters for two reasons. First, work-study wages are earned income, not a grant. A student who is offered $3,000 in work-study must actually work those hours to receive that money. Second, as our counselors note, the structure of work-study varies by institution: some colleges assign students a guaranteed position, while others require students to find their own on-campus job — a process that can be competitive for the more desirable roles. Families should read award letters carefully to understand whether a work-study figure represents a guaranteed placement or an opportunity they must actively pursue.

Need-Blind vs. Need-Aware Admissions

Some colleges evaluate applications without considering a student’s ability to pay: a practice called need-blind admissions. A school that is need-aware, by contrast, may factor financial need into admissions decisions, particularly for students on the margin of acceptance.

The distinction becomes especially significant for international students. As our counselors explain, some universities are need-blind for domestic students but need-aware for international applicants — meaning that while they actively seek international diversity, they cannot offer full need-based scholarships to every international student who qualifies, because their endowment does not support that commitment at scale. The more endowed an institution is, the more likely it is to offer need-blind admissions and robust financial aid to international students.

Applying This Framework to Your College List

Comparing Award Letters Across Schools

The most effective way to evaluate financial aid offers is to standardize the comparison. At Great College Advice, we use a structured spreadsheet that breaks down the full cost of attendance at each institution — tuition, fees, housing, food, travel, books, and supplies — and then categorizes every aid component by type: grants, loans, and work-study. The spreadsheet calculates the actual out-of-pocket gap at each school and the cumulative loan burden a student would carry over four years.

This approach surfaces comparisons that award letters obscure. A school with a higher sticker price and a larger grant offer may yield a lower net cost than one with a lower sticker price and a package that includes significant loans. The numbers become clear only when every component is categorized, and the true gap is calculated.

Reading Award Letters Without Getting Misled

Several specific traps appear consistently in financial aid award letters. First, confirm whether a scholarship is annual or one-time. A $10,000 award that applies only to the first year is worth $10,000 total — not $40,000 over four years. Second, identify whether any scholarship carries conditions: some merit awards require students to maintain a specific GPA, participate in a particular program, or continue playing an instrument. If those conditions are not met, the award disappears. Third, distinguish between subsidized and unsubsidized loans. A subsidized loan defers interest until graduation; an unsubsidized loan begins accruing interest immediately upon disbursement. Both are debt, but the long-term cost differs meaningfully.

Merit Aid vs. Need-Based Aid: A Strategic Consideration

Some highly selective institutions do not offer merit-based aid — their financial aid generosity flows entirely through need-based grants. As our counselors explain, schools like Yale, Princeton, and Stanford do not give merit-based scholarships — a student could be the strongest applicant in the country and still receive no merit aid at these institutions.

This creates an important strategic implication for families: highly selective schools are not the right financial target for every student. A family that does not qualify for need-based aid — or qualifies only partially — may find that a strong regional university offering significant merit scholarships produces a lower net cost than a highly selective school where they receive minimal grant funding.

Building a college list that includes institutions known for generous merit aid — and where a student’s academic profile positions them as a competitive candidate for those awards — is the most reliable path to minimizing college costs for families above need-based aid thresholds.

The Financial Aid Decision Is a List-Building Decision

Understanding how financial aid is packaged is not just an exercise in reading fine print — it is a framework for building a smarter college list. A financially sound college list includes schools across the selectivity spectrum, with deliberate attention to which institutions offer strong need-based grants, which offer strong merit aid, and which offer both in ways that align with a family’s financial profile.

The families who navigate this process most successfully are those who treat financial aid as a variable they can influence through list construction—not a fixed outcome they receive after admission decisions are made. Knowing which schools offer grants versus loans, which schools offer merit discounts as a recruitment strategy, and how to read the award letters that arrive in the spring gives families the information they need to make a decision that serves a student’s education and their financial future.

If you want help building a college list that accounts for both admissions fit and financial outcomes — including identifying which of the best engineering schools in the US belong on your list — our counselors at Great College Advice work through exactly this analysis with every family we serve. We know which institutions are genuinely generous and how to position students to access that generosity.

Need professional help in college admissions? Schedule a free consultation.

The post Understanding Financial Aid Award Letters first appeared on Great College Advice.

Every spring, thousands of families search for the same thing: a ranked list of the best pre-med schools in the country. The expectation is a tidy hierarchy — Penn at the top, followed by a handful of elite names, with a clear signal that admission to one of them guarantees a medical school seat four years later. That list doesn’t exist, and chasing it can lead pre-med students into choices that make the path to medicine harder, not easier.

At Great College Advice, we’ve worked with pre-med students for decades. What we consistently find is that the schools that produce the strongest medical school applicants aren’t always the most prestigious ones — they’re the ones where a specific student could earn excellent science grades, access meaningful research, and still have the bandwidth to become a fully developed human being. Here’s what that actually looks like in practice.

#1. A College Where You Can Actually Earn Strong Science Grades

This is the single most important factor for any pre-med student, and it’s the one most families overlook when building a college list. Medical schools evaluate the science GPA separately from the overall GPA. Performance in biology, chemistry, and physics is the clearest academic signal in the application — and it matters more than the name on the diploma. The practical implication is significant. Competition in science courses at elite universities is fierce. A student who earns excellent grades at a well-supported state flagship or a small liberal arts college can be a stronger medical school applicant than one who struggles for average grades at a highly competitive institution.

As our senior admissions consultant, Pam Gentry, explains: “Getting into medical school in the US is very difficult — it has about a 40% acceptance rate. The most important thing a student needs to do to get into med school is to have a good GPA in their science classes, and that can be done at Penn, but the competition is certainly more fierce.” The honest question isn’t “which school is the most prestigious?” It’s “at which school am I most likely to earn A’s in organic chemistry?”

# 2. State Flagship Universities

State flagship programs — the primary public research universities in each state — consistently produce competitive medical school applicants. They offer robust pre-health advising offices, extensive research infrastructure, and the breadth of course offerings that pre-med students need. The cost advantage is also substantial. An undergraduate degree at a private institution can cost $300,000 and more — and medical school adds significant additional expense on top of that. In-state tuition at a flagship university can provide equivalent pre-med preparation at a fraction of the cost, which matters enormously when you’re planning a career that involves multiple advanced degrees.

“There are a number of fantastic undergraduate programs in the US at colleges and universities where students can be highly successful of achieving their goal of getting into med school without spending the same amount of money,” Gentry notes. “Med school is so expensive in the US that sometimes families come and say, ‘They’re going to med school, but they don’t want to spend three hundred thousand for undergrad.'” The trade-off is that large introductory science classes can make it harder to build relationships with faculty. That’s a real consideration, but it’s also one a student can navigate with intention.

# 3. Small Liberal Arts Colleges

Small liberal arts colleges are among the most underrated pre-med environments in the country. Their student-to-faculty ratios are lower, which translates directly into greater access to undergraduate research — often more accessible than at large research universities where undergraduates compete with graduate students for lab positions. The academic culture at these institutions also tends to support the kind of broad intellectual development that medical schools actively value: writing, critical thinking, engagement across disciplines.

A student at a liberal arts college who pursues a humanities or social science major while completing the required science prerequisites is building an application that stands out — not despite that choice, but because of it. For more on why the liberal arts model works well for ambitious students, see our guide on the educational advantages of liberal arts colleges.

# 4. Med Schools Want More Than Biology Majors

One of the most common misunderstandings in pre-med planning is the assumption that biology must be the undergraduate major. It is not a requirement, and the flexibility this creates is significant. Every pre-med student must complete the same prerequisite courses regardless of major: four biology courses, four chemistry courses, two physics courses, sufficient calculus to support those sciences, and at least one social science course. But the major itself is wide open — and medical schools actively value the diversity that non-biology majors bring.

“Med schools love students who major in the humanities. They love students who major in the social sciences,” Gentry says. “Be a religion major, be a psychology major, be an English major — because they need doctors who have excellent critical thinking skills. When a student comes to them with an undergraduate degree outside of biology, they know they’ve engaged in writing and thought about other topics, and that makes them able to relate to patients and helps them become better doctors.”

The structural difference matters too. An English major might require only eight to ten courses to complete, compared to twelve to sixteen for a biology major. That scheduling flexibility creates real room to complete prerequisites, pursue a meaningful major, and still explore the broader undergraduate experience.

# 5. Programs With Strong Pre-Health Advising Infrastructure

A strong pre-health advising office is one of the most important — and least glamorous — variables in evaluating a pre-med school. The best pre-health advisors don’t just check boxes. They track the school’s medical school acceptance rates, understand the MCAT, support students through the application process from start to finish, and help students understand what a competitive application actually looks like at different medical schools.

Questions worth asking directly: Does the school have a dedicated pre-health advisor, or does pre-med advising fall under general academic advising? What is the school’s track record of medical school acceptances? Does the office provide committee letters of recommendation, and how competitive is that process? The answer to these questions tells you more about a school’s pre-med environment than its ranking does.

#6. Colleges That Give You Real Research Access

Medical schools want to see that applicants have engaged with scientific inquiry beyond the classroom. Research experience — working in a lab, contributing to a faculty project, or conducting independent study — signals intellectual curiosity and the capacity to function in a scientific environment. At large research universities, undergraduate research spots can be competitive. At smaller colleges, access is often more direct. When evaluating schools, ask specifically how undergraduates access research opportunities and what the typical timeline looks like — can a first-year student begin working in a lab, or is that typically reserved for juniors and seniors? Both large and small institutions can provide strong research access. The key is knowing what to ask — and asking it before you commit.

# 7. Schools Where You Can Be More Than a Pre-Med Student

Medical schools are explicit about wanting students who are well-rounded. A pre-med student who leads a student organization, pursues a serious interest in the arts, or engages in community service is not wasting time. They are building the application that medical schools are actually looking for. “Med schools are interested in students who are well-rounded, not just students who can perform well in science classes,” Gentry explains. “A pre-med student is really somebody who’s engaged in what they love, and has shown interest in the world, along with getting good grades in their science classes.” The right pre-med school is one where the schedule and culture allow for that kind of engagement — not just a pressure cooker designed to filter students out before they reach their applications.

# 8. BS/MD Programs

Combined BS/MD programs, in which a student is conditionally accepted to both an undergraduate program and a partnered medical school simultaneously, represent a distinct option worth understanding — but not for most students.

Veteran college admissions expert Jamie Berger is direct about this: “BSMD programs are insanely selective, and I don’t think there are that many 16-year-olds who know they want to be a doctor. I don’t necessarily recommend it except for that very rare kid. It’s kind of like going and becoming a Division 1 athlete — you don’t get to have that full college experience. You’re already in a career training program for four years.”

Some programs, like the University of Pittsburgh’s direct admission pathway, offer meaningful security and are worth serious consideration for the right student. But applying without also building a strong conventional college list is a risk — these programs are hard to get into, and the experience of a student who enrolls can feel narrowly focused in ways that aren’t right for everyone.

The Right Question to Ask

Families who arrive at Great College Advice with a list of “the top pre-med schools” are usually surprised to find that we don’t spend much time on that list. What we spend time on instead is understanding the student: their academic profile, their financial situation, where they’re likely to thrive rather than just survive, and what they want from the undergraduate years beyond the pre-med track.

The best pre-med school in the country is the one where your student earns excellent science grades, gets into a lab, and becomes the kind of well-rounded person that medical schools are genuinely looking for. That school exists at many price points, in many formats, and across many ranking tiers.

If you’d like personalized guidance, our team at Great College Advice specializes in exactly this kind of strategic planning for pre-med students. Book your consultation today.

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