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The trend , the insights,
the every update you need to know about studying abroad, and more.

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Unlock your potential with our U.S. college admissions  information session on Oct. 6. and 1-on-1 consultation on Oct. 5 & 6. 
Free Info Session Paid 1-on-1 Consultation
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The San Francisco Chronicle complied data about UCs' admissions rates for California seniors, at each public and private high schools in Cali (with 25+ seniors), to UC campuses in 2022, including UCLA, Berkeley and 7 other UCs offering undergrad programs.
  •  Admission and enrollment rates of California seniors at each UC campus
  • UC admission and enrollment rates of seniors at California public vs. private schools
  • The overall application and enrollment rates of each public and private high school in Cali

The full article here: sfchronicle.com/projects/2023/uc-admissions-acceptance-rates/
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QUESTIONS YOU MAY BE ASKED
  • Why are you considering this college?
  • How did you come to include us among your choices?
  • What makes you think this college and you are right for each other?
  • Where else are you applying and why?
  • Which is your first choice?  (Don’t answer if you are not sure. If you are at the school you think is your first choice, then confirm that - but never give another name  Wesleyan doesn’t want to hear “Vassar ”)
  • What do you hope to major in? Why?
  • What are your plans for the future?  What do you expect to be doing ten years from now?
  • What have you liked or disliked about your high school?
  • If you were the Head of your school, what would you change?
  • What would you like to tell us about yourself?
  • What newspapers and magazines do you read? How often?
  • What books not required by your courses have you read recently?
  • What TV shows do you watch?
  • Tell us about your family.
  • How do you spend a typical afternoon after school? Evening? Weekend?
  • What extracurricular activities have you found most satisfying?
  • What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
  • Do you have any heroes, contemporary or historical?
  • How would your best friend describe you?
  • If you could talk with any one living person, whom would it be and why?
  • How do you feel about: the nuclear freeze, nuclear power, use of drugs and alcohol, advertising, gun control, the election?
  • What events have been crucial in your life?
  • What is the most significant contribution you’ve made to your school or community?
  • What is the most important thing you have learned in high school?
  • What do you consider to be your strongest majors or departments: What are the most popular majors?
  • What are other distinctive majors or programs, or other programs, off-campus (ie: study abroad, internships, Washington semester, etc )?
  • What are your admissions criteria? (ie: how much weight is given to courses and grades, test scores, activities, essays, the interview, etc ?)
  • How many (# and %) freshmen return for the sophomore year?
  • What is your policy concerning the granting of credit and advanced standing for AP tests?
  • What are some of your “overlap” colleges (other institutions which your applicants also consider)?         
  • Explain the freshman advising system.
  • What percentage of students lives in campus housing? Describe the various types of residence halls.
  • What percentage of your students continues on to graduate or professional schools?
  • What do students do on weekends?
  • Do you have “no-need” or merit-based scholarships? What kind of student would be competitive for such scholarships?
  • Is it possible to return for an overnight visit on campus and/or visit classes?
  • How are these arrangements made?
  • What role does the personal interview, or alumni interview, play in your admissions decisions?
  • How important are extracurricular activities in the admissions process? How important is community service to you?
  • Many people get to attend exciting summer programs and travel, but I have to work; will that work against me when I apply?
  • What is your financial aid policy? Do you package preferentially? Is there a chance that I will be admitted, but denied aid?
  • How are you able to distinguish between the variety of transcripts you see?  How can you tell the difference in grading policies?
  • Do you make admissions decisions based on perceived level of interest, and how do you assess that? What kinds of things can I do to make sure you know the level of my interest?
  • If I am submitting tapes of my acting/music, is that allowed? Should they be sent to a specific professor to review first?
  • What’s the one thing students say they wish they knew about this college before they enrolled? 
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.  
To get the latest news, join our Line Official Account (@mqz4477g) or subscribe to our newsletter to get the first hand news. ​
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Students and parents should contact colleges in advance to learn more about visitation options. Some schools do not provide personal interviews, but instead, they offer group information sessions that are conducted at various times throughout the day. Campus tours are often given more frequently. It is necessary to make arrangements for personal interviews well in advance. Evaluative interviews mean that the interviews will play a role in the final admission decision. Informational interviews are only used as an opportunity to convey specific information and will not be used in the decision process. Some schools that tend to have high volume offer the opportunity to interview with an alumnus who lives in your area. While some admissions offices do not place the greatest amount of weight on these meetings, you do want to put your best foot forward and take advantage of the opportunity—a great interview may not help very much, but a poor one will certainly hurt your chances.  Note: some alumni groups are better than others in terms of getting these interviews organized. If you are not contacted within a reasonable amount of time after your application has been sent in, don’t fret. Call the admissions office and ask about getting in touch with your area alumni representative. Students should remember the name and request the card of the person who interviewed them at a given college. This facilitates further contact between your school counselor and the college admissions representative regarding a specific student.

Admission Interview: DO'S AND DON'TS

  • Don’t chew gum!
  • Get prepared! You need to do plenty of advance study about the college you are visiting. “Lack of preparation” is the Number One complaint of college admission counselors. Be prepared to discuss intelligently exactly why you are serious about that particular college.
  • Do set an interview strategy for yourself; there will be some things you will want to know about the school and some things you will want the school to know about you. The strategy that you adopt should be consistent with the rest of your application. (eg: drama, athletics, research opportunities, community service programs, etc.) 
  • Arrive early. Try to tour the campus before your interview. Once in the interviewer’s office, don’t sit until you are directed to do so, and don’t move any furniture. 
  • Don’t say “like” and “you know” constantly.
  • Do take your lead from your interviewer, who might open the session with any number of questions, including some that are rather audacious: “Tell me about yourself!” “Why do you want to go to college?” “What do you expect to be doing ten years from now?” “Let’s hear about your most valuable experience?” “What do you think about (a current issue)?” “What are your strengths? Weaknesses?” “How would your friends describe you?” If the interviewer is relaxed, you may be, too. If your sense of humor and the interviewer’s mesh, go with it. 
  • Smile; sit up straight; shake hands firmly; make good eye contact. 
  • Don’t give disjointed one-word answers when asked a question. Provide your interviewer with complete responses. Be as concise as possible when the interviewer is simply trying to clarify a point . The dialogue should flow naturally. The best interviews are really just conversations.
  • Don’t take your parents into the interview with you.
  • Don’t say that you don’t enjoy reading or that you read very little. Reading and college are practically synonymous terms.
  • Don’t ask mundane questions. Try not to ask any questions that you could easily find on the web site, view book, or catalog.
  • Do be genuinely enthusiastic about particular activities, but beware of a bragging tone. There is a definite distinction between enthusiasm and cockiness.
  • Don’t come on too strong or appear over-anxious to impress. Remember that understatement is almost always the preferred style. And while we’re on the topic, don’t try to impress the interviewer with your family and friends. The fact that your father is a noted heart surgeon, author, or politician may be important, but your college interview is not the time to bring this up. To a skilled interviewer you are the important one.
  • Do tell your host about the dedication and steadfastness you’ve developed on the playing field; if you are an athlete and how all of this has had a positive effect on your schoolwork. However, if things weren’t so positive and the academics suffered a bit, admit it at once, but stress the importance of the “total learning experience”--on the field and in the classroom.
  • Do have a sense of what’s going on in the world. As a high school junior or senior, you should be reading newspapers and magazines, for example, The New York Times, Newsweek, or Time magazine. A well-informed discussion of current events with your interviewer may win you a few points. One never knows when one might be asked about a recent Washington appointment.
  • Don’t “knock” your high school experience. Telling your interviewer that your high school experience was beat, the education boring, the teachers uncaring, and the student nerds will only get you labeled a malcontent, a quality most admission officers dislike. However, thoughtful criticism of one’s school and the ways in which it could be better can generate interesting discussion, but beware of having an ax to grind.
  • Don’t play games with admission people. For example, pretending that this is your first interview so that you can be credited with your great social ease, telling half-truths about your extracurricular record, and/or leading the interviewer to believe that his school is your first choice are not appropriate or ethical. Admission officers, particularly experienced ones, are very perceptive individuals who have been through it all before and can quickly spot a phony when they see one.
  • Don’t be brutally honest. Your reasons for going to college might well be to earn a lot of money, improve your status, or make your family happy, but these are not reasons that will sit well with an interviewer, nor are they sound reasons—in and of themselves—for choosing any college.
  • Don’t try to extend the interview unnecessarily. The length of a session is not a measure of its success. The length of an interview is often determined by the number of interview appointments for that particular day. You will get a message from your host that the session is coming to a close.
  • Don’t judge the college by the interviewer (or tour guide). Sometimes students get “turned off” to a school because they didn’t like the interviewer. It would be regrettable if an entire institution were judged on a 30-minute session. Keep an open mind. 
  • Do be courteous to everyone. Administrative staff and tour guides are important cogs in the admissions machine. They have access to admissions officers and will remember your kindness and your rudeness.
  • Terminating the interview may be as important as a good first impression. A “thank you for your interest and time” statement and a good, first handshake (males and females alike) with eye contact provides a good closure. If it was “great”, say so. “This was terrific, I really enjoyed talking with you. Thank you again! ”
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.  
To get the latest news, join our Line Official Account (@mqz4477g) or subscribe to our newsletter to get the first hand news. ​
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Writing each application is the responsibility of the student. We encourage students to consult with parents, teachers, and your TrinityScholar counselors regarding the topic, organization, and effectiveness of the writing. It is imperative that the essay be the student’s own work. Although your TrinityScholar counselor is available to help; however, there should be enough time provided for appropriate editing.  Here are a few questions we receive frequently regarding college essays: Why is the essay so difficult for students? Often there is complete freedom in the answer. Students find it difficult to talk about themselves (don’t want to brag). They struggle with “saying what they (the colleges) want to hear” Some just hate writing essays!

Why do colleges ask you to write an essay?  
  • To get a small glimpse into what makes you “tick”.
  • To evaluate your skills as a writer.
  • To gauge interest in the school – ie: “What is it about X college that made you want to apply?”
  • To get a sense of the strengths and passions you might bring to campus.
What should the essay reveal?
  • Originality; your own unique view or a particular episode in your life.
  • Some aspects of yourself that does not appear elsewhere in the application.
  • A lesson learned, a core value, a greater understanding, the benefit of some kind of experience (ie: a job, a journey, a family reunion) work very well.
  • The effects of particular people, objects, cultural background, works of art or literature, local or international events on the student. (Stress the impact of these things more than the things themselves -- how have these made me who I am?)
What to avoid?
  • Platitudes and clichés (or paternalism in community service essays!)
  • “My coach, my hero…” (or other athletic essays that may end with --“and through this experience, I learned the values of hard work, determination, and giving 110% ”)
  • Being overly critical… it’s ok to look skeptically at any issue, but be thoughtful about it.
  • Length!  If an app says that the essay needs to be 500 words, 550 may be ok, but 900 is not.
  • Essays that don’t ultimately reflect back on you: “my dad/mom, my hero” in which only the parent is spoken about and no sense of the student is given.
  • Flatness. The key to a great essay is in the details: “My dad taught me how to cook” vs. “Slicing red bell peppers into thin, crescent moons, my father said ‘a sharp knife is the most important tool for any cook…” Which creates a more vivid scene?
  • Gimmicks. Highly risky. Sometimes lists, recipes, poems, and other non-traditional responses go over well, but it’s a subjective process; you never know how these kinds of essays will be received. Discuss such responses thoroughly with your college counselor before submitting them to a college.
Here are sample essay topics:
  • Discuss the influence of a person, work of fiction, experience, or event of international/local importance on you.
  • Think up a question you think should be asked in a college essay—and then answer it.
  • What’s the worst mistake you’ve ever made?
  • If you had $10 and a whole day free, what would you do?
  • What is it about [name of college] that makes it a good choice for you?
  • You have just completed your 300-page autobiography, please share with us page XXX.
  • If you could meet any one person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
How your TrinityScholar Counselor Can help:
  • Talking things through. We can offer suggestions or provide an angle for your essay that you have not considered. These conversations often lead to interesting options.
  • Reviewing your writing by checking for obvious errors in grammar, usage, and style.  Plus we can give feedback as to the overall tone and effectiveness of the essay. We would also help you better organize your stories and you want to make sure that your voice is the one that is heard.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.  
To get the latest news, join our Line Official Account (@mqz4477g) or subscribe to our newsletter to get the first hand news. ​
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Most of the time, students would apply to more than one school, so here's the sample check list to make sure you won't miss anything.
COLLEGE INFORMATION
  • Name of the school
  • Telephone 
  • Website
  • ​Information Requested on (date)
  • Application Requested on (date)
APPLICATION FORMS
  • Application Deadline
  • ​Early Decision/Application Deadline
  • Secondary School Report Due by:
  • Turned into them on:
  • Separate Part I?
  • Mailed on:
  • On Common App? Supplement?
  • Application fee $
  • Application mailed on
  • ​1st Teacher rec. given to whom on which date
  • ​2nd Teacher rec. given to whom on which date

TESTING
  • # of Subject tests required
  • Writing test? Other specific tests?
  • Subject test scores released on
  • Official test scores requested
  • From ETS on
INTERVIEW & VISIT
  • Required/ Recommended?
  • Campus or Alumni?
  • Campus App’t on which date at where
  • ​Alumni Interview on which date at where
  • Campus visit planned on
  • Tour at
  • ​Info session at
SUPPLEMENTARY INFO
  • Type:
  • Mailed on:
  • ​Add’l recommendation from:
  • Given on:
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.  
To get the latest news, join our Line Official Account (@mqz4477g) or subscribe to our newsletter to get the first hand news. ​
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While ISEE and SSAT serve very similar purpose with similar test structure and content, there are still some major difference between these two test. Should you take ISEE or SSAT? That's a big question? First, we compare ISEE and SSAT for you in detail.
   
ISEE
SSAT
Test content & Structure
Multiple choice sections: Math, Verbal, Reading + Essay
Multiple choice sections: Math, Verbal, Reading + Essay
Purpose
For admission assessment to independent schools 
For admission assessment to independent schools ​
Levels
Primary: students applying to grades 3-4
Lower: students applying to grades 5-6
Middle: students applying to grades 7-8
Upper: students applying to grades 9-12
Elementary: students applying to grades 4-5
Middle: students applying to grades 6-8
Upper: students applying to grades 9-12
Essay
One expository essay
Middle: choice between 2 creative writing prompts
Upper: choice between a creative prompt and an expository prompt.
Guess Penalty
No
1/4 point for wrong answer
Verbal Questions
Yes, synonyms and sentence completions
Yes, synonyms and analogies
Limited times of test-taking 
1/ season, 3 / year
No
When to take
Several times a month, depending on test centers
Once a month
Online registration account
One per parent/ guidance, under which could have several independent test-takers' accounts available
One per test-taker
Paper or online
Both
Paper only
Score report submitting
Can choose which scores to submit to which schools
Can choose which scores to submit to which schools
Score report
  • Shows scores for each 4 sections
  • Won't show to the recipient schools how many times you take the test
  • Won't show to the recipient schools what other schools you send the report to.
  • Shows only 3 scores, combining 2 math sections together
  • Won't show to the recipient schools how many times you take the test
  • Won't show to the recipient schools what other schools you send the report to.
The major differences between ISEE and SSAT lie in scoring, content, guessing strategy, and test dates, as you can see from the above comparison table.
You might want to consider the followings when deciding which test to go.
  • Which test(s) is accepted by the school(s) you are applying to?
  • What's your strength? If you are good at math, ISEE might give you some advantages by showing both math sections individually. 
  • How often you'd like to take the test?
  • Are the test seat available? Would the test date match your application deadline?
However, as the decision of which schools to apply to, to take either ISEE or SSAT is very personal and depends on a number of factors. Also keep in mind that neither ISEE nor SSAT is the only factor for your school admission assessment. After reading our ISEE intro, SSAT intro, ISEE FAQ, and SSAT FAQ, we recommend to take the practice tests first to better understand the test format.
​
At TrinityScholar, we offer ISEE/ SSAT prep in different ways:
  • Self-Paced: Online test prep materials for you to access at all time. A self-paced and self-organized way of learning that best fits your schedule
  • Self-Paced Package: Online test materials +  tutoring + extra practice tests
  • 1-on-1 Tutoring: materials and hours at your choice, completely customized (time, location, focus) tutor program with veteran instructors
  • Customized Groups: completely customized tutoring for 3 or more students.

Feel free to come to talk to our consultants by live chat, call: 886-2-2771-6002, Line: @mqz4477g, or email to info@trinityscholar.com
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​Students and parents (and unfortunately many school counselors) are often unfamiliar with the Early Round (Early Action or Early Decision) option at many of America’s elite schools. We have crunched the data on the Early Round vs. Regular Decision admission rates, which should show you that whenever possible, you should apply to EA/ED.
 
While most Ivy League Schools offered Early Decision options, Princeton, Harvard, and Yale offer Restricted Early Action option to students. If student choose to apply to one of them, they cannot apply to any other private schools in the early stage, and public schools that offer ED options.
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​If you look at the admission rates for Early Round, they are significantly higher at all 8 schools. (We have developed a ratio, which we term ER/RD, which measures how great of an advantage ER applicants have.) The ER/RD ratio ranges from 2.1 (Cornell) to 3.0 (Harvard). In simpler terms, it means you are 2.8x more likely to be admitted to Brown applying in ER than in RD.
 
Though Stanford has decided to not release their early round admission data, we can assume the situation is similar since all elite schools are still competing with each other for elite students.
 
Based on the above data, we can easily find out that, because of the timing of application, students with similar/ same background & academic performance will have diversely application outcome. Therefore, we highly recommend you to organize your timeline and work on your college application scheme at the earliest possible, including ahead preparation for related tests. This way, you can apply to your ideal colleges at the most advantageous timing and hence gain the admissions successfully. 
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​   In the last couple years, the admission requirement on standardized tests, i.e. SAT, ACT, AP, IELTS, TOEFL, and so on, is getting more and more diversified and flexible. According to “Will UC schools drop their SAT scores requirement?”, a recent article on L.A. Times, by TERESA WATANABE, it said that the University of California system, one of the largest public university system in the U.S., is considering dropping the SAT and ACT as an admissions requirement, for the reason that the standardized tests are increasingly seen as an unfair admission barrier.

Our Takeaways

Now, there are more than 1000 universities in the US have adapted this “test-optional” policy and you can have the full list from Fair Test’s website.  https://www.fairtest.org/university/optional
 
However, when you look into the details, there are different situations that fits different applicants.
 
1. No SAT/ACT at all for all students – such as Pitzer College (except homeschooled, Joint Medical Program applicants, and students attending schools from which grades are not provided.)
 
2. No SAT/ACT for US or Canadian citizens, still required for international students. – such as Brandeis University
 
3. Applicants can choose to submit different test results such as SAT, ACT, 3 AP test results, or 3 SAT II Subject Test results. However, this might also come with additional requirements. For example, the University of Chicago requires at least 1 of these SAT subjects has to be math or science, and 1 be English, Social Science, Arts or World Languages. As for AP exams, they need to be at least one in Math, Computer Science, or Science and at least one in English, History, or Language..
 
University of California system is the most popular college system in the US with nearly or over 100,000 applicants to its top 3 campuses (LA, SD and Berkeley), and the single largest university source of customers for the College Board. Test-optional is not an easy decision to make. It’s highly doubtful that UC will go with no requirement for all applicants, but set up new application rules. So, here comes a more important question, “what’s the fairer alternative(s) of SAT and ACT as admission requirements, free from family income, parents’ education, or even race?”