April 2025

Happy April! These are the final few weeks for seniors to make their decision about where to attend next year before the general May 1st deadline. I’m talking with several students making difficult decisions between several good choices. But some are already done with their process. So congratulations to UT San Antonio and Adelphi University! Y’all are getting some great students coming your way.

In other news, The past few weeks I’m seeing the word “chaos” paired with “FAFSA” more often. After the new FAFSA roll-out was not completely smooth and easy two years ago, things were relatively normal last year. But now half of the Department of Education has been let go, and the current administration is hoping to have the entire department dissolved as soon as possible. What does that mean for FAFSA? Nobody’s sure yet. Apparently very few of the core FAFSA staff have left, but there’s a lot fewer support staff and managers around that core. FAFSA has always been a “it works well except when it doesn’t” kind of tool. That’s likely to be eve more true this year. I’ll be watching for more news this summer.

In the meantime, below you’ll find plenty of college admission news and advice from all over the internet as well as from Apply with Sanity. It’s my hope that at least some of it is immediately useful to you.

—Benjamin

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? You can sign up to receive it monthly here.

All of the material on Apply with Sanity is free to anyone. No ads, no pop-ups, no pressure to buy or do anything. All it needs is readers. Will you please take a moment to share Apply with Sanity with a friend, colleague, child, or teacher? Will you share a blog post on a social media feed? Thank you for supporting Apply with Sanity!

Here’s what I covered on the website in March:

Eight questions for juniors. The last six weeks of school are busy for most students, especially juniors. AP Exams, projects, final exams….I try to leave students alone during this time, but first I like to do a quick spring check-in to know how to plan for the summer. Here’s an outline of the conversations I’m having right now. If you’re a current high school junior, or a parent or loved one of one, then this may help you as well.

Three Quick Questions:

The full Three Quick Questions archive. I ask the same three questions:

What is a course, tradition, program or event that is unique to your school?

Naturally every college wants to recruit the perfect student--high grades, high test scores, involved in their community, leadership...everything. But what kinds of imperfect students tend to flourish at your school?

When people come to visit your school, what's a place off campus that you recommend they check out while they're there?

Have a look at this:

100 years of diversity and college admissions. With all the recent focus (and shouting) over DEI, this podcast reminds us that diversity is something American universities have been working on for at least 100 years. It's an interesting history of diversity in higher education admissions.

Here’s what you can expect when Ivy League decisions are released next week. As much as I believe we pay way too much attention to the Ivy League and other “highly rejective” colleges, I have to admit that so-called Ivy Day is still the capstone to every year’s admission cycle. Although Ivy Day happened a few days ago, this is still a good primer on Ivy Day and some of the recent trends in elite college admission.

Here are some blog posts from the archive that are good for this April:

Do I mean it when I say never to turn down a full ride? Though vague and unquantifiable, there is a value--in terms of professional networks, recruiting, social connections, and prestige--to the most elite colleges that can make them more valuable than the full ride at a safety. Kind of. Sometimes.

Five considerations before making a last-minute decision. Every year I talk with students and families going through the last-minute decision process. Usually, the final decision is tough to make because a student is choosing between a few very good, but very different, options. I can’t make the decision any easier for you, but I can perhaps help you be more self-aware of the issues holding you up. Here are five things to consider as you’re making that last-minute decision.

Finding the right college can be like finding the right bottle of wine. And since the wine here is only metaphorical wine, anyone is welcome to enjoy.

Trying to get more financial aid. There’s still time to ask for more money, but you have to move quickly. Understand what you’re asking for and why. Then explain both of those things as clearly as possible to the school. This isn’t the time for clever narratives or emotional pleas. Let them know what the problem is and ask them politely if they’re able to help solve it.