As my deadline for summer students draw closely to September 15, I chose for this blog to show how excited schools are getting about receiving your applications.

I am also thrilled about those who have sent me pictures of their dorm rooms overseas! Cool!

Our Sarrah Allen at Dartmouth University.

Dear Sandra, I hope this finds you well at the beginning of another academic year! Classes have just begun here, and we are excited to have welcomed our newest Villanovans from across the country and around the world. We sincerely appreciate the significant role that you have played in bringing these talented and engaging students to our community. I would like to provide you with some updates as we continue our efforts to enroll the Class of 2024. Admission Staff: This year, we have added some new faces to our team and have had some changes to recruitment territories. Your contact is:

Alison Herget Associate Director of Admission alison.herget@villanova.edu +1 610-519-4003

Self-Reported Test Scores: I am pleased to share that Villanova will now accept self-reported test scores. Villanova offers your students the option to self-report their SAT and/or ACT scores in the testing section of the Common Application. Should they choose, they may also have their official scores sent to Villanova, but this is not necessary for their application to be reviewed. If they are admitted and choose to enroll, we will require that the official scores be sent directly from the College Board and/or ACT. Senior Grades Requirement: In response to the constructive feedback that we received from the secondary school counseling community, we will no longer require a senior progress report for Early Decision applicants. As we do with all Early Action and Regular Decision applicants, we will require mid-year grades for admitted and deferred Early Decision candidates. Please know that the Admission Committee may reach out to you on a case-by-case basis in order to make a more informed decision. St. Martin de Porres Scholarship In our continued effort to become a more diverse and inclusive community, we have decided to rededicate our merit-based St. Augustine Scholarship resources to the St. Martin de Porres Scholarship for traditionally underrepresented students valued at full tuition. Important Dates: Early Decision (Deadline: November 1. Notification: by December 20) Early Action (Deadline: November 1. Notification: by January 15) Presidential Scholarship Nomination (Deadline: December 1) Regular Decision (Deadline: January 15. Notification: by April 1) Slate.org: If you have not yet registered with Slate.org, we encourage you to do so. It is a free on-line tool that will allow you to monitor your student's application process and ultimately see their final decision. Campus Transformation: See what's been happening here, including the grand opening of our Villanova Commons, featuring six new residence halls, as well as the progress on our Performing Arts Center opening in January 2020. We are looking forward to working with you and your students this year! Best wishes, Michael M. Gaynor Director of Undergraduate Admission

What's New at Tufts

Dear Sandra: We just welcomed the Class of 2023 Jumbos to campus, and it's hard to believe that the next admissions cycle is upon us. Many of us have spent the past few weeks putting the finishing touches on our travel itineraries to visit high schools in our territories this fall. When we have a chance to visit a high school, we enjoy answering the question "What's new at Tufts?" with counselors. So here's what's new on 'the Hill.'

• On September 12th, we are excited to welcome a new dean of admissions, J.T. Duck, to our office. J.T. is coming to us from Swarthmore College where he served as the Director of Admissions. Read more here.

• Our "Voices of Tufts Diversity Experiences" fly-in program application is now open. We offer two versions--one for Arts & Sciences (deadline October 8) and one for Engineering (deadline October 1).

• We adjusted our supplemental questions to provide more options for students to write about various aspects of their identities and interests. The supplement remains a very important piece of our application review.

• Like last year, we will accept students' self-reported testing, though students will be required to submit official testing if they enroll at Tufts. Find more information here.

• In the Class of 2023, just over 50% of enrolling engineers identify as female! We continue to prioritize recruiting underrepresented students to the School of Engineering.

• This fall, Tufts launched and enrolled its first group of students in a Civic Semester, a first-year global program in which students spend their first semester taking courses in an international location. This fall's destination is Urubamba, Peru, and next year Tufts seeks to add a location in China.

• If your students are interested in learning more about Tufts, we encourage them to start here, explore our online tour, read our JUMBO Magazine, or follow us on social media.

We look forward to continuing to partner with you this year in support of your students and to seeing you on the road in just a matter of weeks. If we can answer any questions or concerns, please be in touch and check our our 'for counselors' blogs.

Best wishes for an amazing school year, and Go Jumbos! Sincerely, Rachel Brown Associate Director of Admissions Tufts University rachel_e.brown@tufts.edu