CollegeVine Expert FAQ

I've been trying to decide whether to pursue the IB or AP track at my school and I'm wondering about the difficulty level of each. Are IB courses generally more difficult than AP courses, or does it d …

Hello everyone. I'm trying to figure out what a competitive unweighted GPA would be for Ivy League schools. Is there a specific range or minimum requirement I should aim for? Feeling a bit stressed ab …

Hi, I'm a junior and currently looking into colleges. I know Stanford is highly renowned, but I can't seem to find information about whether it's considered a research university. My intended major is …

Hi everyone, I'm a junior who's interested in conducting research during college, and I've been considering applying to Columbia University. However, I'm not sure if it's considered a research univers …

I want to include a conversation between my friend and me in my college essay to illustrate a point. Is it acceptable to use dialogue in my essay or should I avoid it altogether?

I have heard that applying Early Decision can help your odds of getting accepted, but is that true? If I apply ED to my top-choice school (which is a little more selective than my other options), will …

Hi all, I'm currently looking into applying to Boston University, and I was wondering if it's considered a research university. I'm interested in participating in research as an undergrad, so I want t …

Hi guys! I'm a junior gearing up to make my college list, but I want to make sure I'm doing thorough research before deciding on which schools to apply to. There are so many aspects to consider - from …

Hey everyone! I've been researching New York University, but I'm not quite sure if it's known as a research university. As a prospective business major, I'm hoping to participate in research related t …

Hey everyone! I'm a high school junior and have been researching college applications. Can you apply both Early Action and Early Decision to different schools? For instance, if I wanted to apply Early …

I've been working on my college applications and I have a really strong essay that I think effectively tells my story. Is it okay to submit this essay to multiple schools? Are colleges able to tell if …

As I was going through my list of potential colleges, I noticed some are classified as private research universities while others are public research universities. I'm looking to study computer scienc …

Hi everyone, I'm really passionate about both engineering and theater, and I was wondering if it's possible to double major in these two fields at schools like Stanford, MIT, or the Ivies. Would it be …

Hey guys! I'm a high school junior, and I've been thinking about the college application process. I have good grades and some extracurriculars, but I'm worried that I won't stand out among the thousan …

Hey everyone, I'm considering applying to Purdue University and was wondering if it's known as a research university. If so, what kind of undergraduate research opportunities are there, especially in …

Hello! I'm a high school junior and I've been considering taking a gap year before starting college. What are the pros and cons of taking a gap year, and how might it affect my college applications? I …

Hi all! I'm a high school junior and I'm starting to think about my college applications. I have a lot of extracurricular activities, but I'm not sure which ones to include on my application. Should I …

Hi, I recently took the SAT and received a 1400. I'm not sure if that's a strong enough score to apply to Ivy League schools. Should I retake the test or focus on other parts of my application? Any ad …

Hey guys, I want to apply to Ivy League schools like UPenn and Brown, and I've heard that they care about rigorous coursework. How many AP classes should I aim to take during high school to show that …

Hello! I'm curious if it would be easier for me to transfer into an Ivy League school after a year or two at another college, rather than applying as a freshman. Does anyone have any experiences or in …