Getting started
Beyond YC: three founder programs with real prestige
September 15, 2026 · 2 min read
Y Combinator gets most of the attention, but a handful of other programs carry comparable weight for young founders.
Read more →Latest
More from the archive
- Deadlines
Five research programs still open if you're missing a paper
A research paper is one of the harder credentials to build late. These five programs still have September windows open.
August 28, 2026 · 3 min read
- Getting started
Five prestigious programs and competitions for juniors
Several of the most selective academic programs in the country are built specifically for eleventh graders.
August 25, 2026 · 3 min read
- Getting started
Five programs built for ambitious freshmen and sophomores
Prestigious programs aren't only for upperclassmen. These five are a strong fit for ninth and tenth graders.
August 21, 2026 · 3 min read
- Applications
How to stand out beyond debate and volunteering
Debate and generic volunteering are on nearly every application. Here's how to take the same instincts further.
August 18, 2026 · 2 min read
- Inside admissionsMembers
Early decision vs. early action: what the numbers actually show
Dartmouth admitted 21.6% of its early decision applicants last year and 3.8% of everyone else. Here is what that gap is made of, and when binding yourself is worth it.
November 3, 2026 · 7 min read
- Inside admissionsMembers
The waitlist, by the numbers
Yale admitted 32 of the 738 students who stayed on its waitlist. UNC admitted 2,099 of 5,258. Purdue went from 9 to 3,916 in a single year. Here is what drives the odds.
November 3, 2026 · 5 min read
- Inside admissionsMembers
Applying out of state to a public university: the real odds
At UNC, residents got in at 37% and out-of-state applicants at under 10%. At Virginia Tech, out-of-state applicants did better than Virginians. The difference is state law and tuition.
November 3, 2026 · 5 min read
- Inside admissionsMembers
Which colleges actually give merit aid, and how much
At Oberlin, every first-year without financial need got a merit award. At Northwestern, 1% did. One line in the Common Data Set tells you which kind of school you're applying to.
November 3, 2026 · 5 min read
- Inside admissionsMembers
Test-optional in 2026: who requires scores again, and when to send yours
Last season, more than half of Common App applicants sent an SAT or ACT score for the first time since the pandemic. Here's the current list of who requires one, and what the colleges that brought tests back found.
November 3, 2026 · 5 min read
- Inside admissionsMembers
Does visiting or emailing a college help? 165 colleges answer
We checked how 165 colleges rate 'level of applicant's interest' in their own Common Data Sets. 101 say they don't consider it at all. 13 call it important or very important.
November 3, 2026 · 4 min read
- Inside admissionsMembers
The Common Data Set: one free document that answers most admissions questions
Almost every number in these guides comes from a standardized form most colleges publish each year. Here's where to find it, which lines to read first, and the four calculations worth doing yourself.
November 3, 2026 · 3 min read
- Inside admissionsMembers
What a scholarship committee actually does with your file
Most applications get a first read of well under two minutes. Knowing how that read works changes what you put where.
August 11, 2026 · 4 min read