Ten dates land between tonight and Nov 12, in order 📅 - Tonight, Nov 1: Harvard Restrictive Early Action and Yale Single-Choice Early Action 🎯 - Tonight, Nov 1: The Concord Review (history papers) - Tonight, Nov 1: QuestBridge Match Requirements (finalists) - Nov 2, 11:59 p.m. ET: MIT PRIMES (sophomores and juniors) - Nov 3: Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange, a funded year in Germany - Nov 5, 8:00 p.m. ET: Regeneron Science Talent Search (seniors) 🔬 - Nov 5: AMC 10A/12A (your school registers) - Nov 6: regular registration closes for the Dec 12 ACT - Nov 12: Elks Most Valuable Student, $30,000 for the top 20 (US citizen seniors) - Nov 12, 4:00 p.m. ET: NSLI-Y language scholarships Why it matters: seven of these ten fall in the next five days. Next step: find the one or two dates that fit your child and confirm them on the official page today ✅

- Oct 26, noon ET: Congressional App Challenge (grades 6 to 12, participating districts only) 💻 - Oct 27: late registration closes for the Nov 7 SAT - Oct 29, 11:59 p.m. CT: Conrad Challenge Phase 1, free (ages 13 to 18) - Oct 31: Senate Page, Spring 2027, Sen. Alsobrooks (MD juniors; other senators set their own dates) - Nov 1: Harvard Restrictive Early Action and Yale Single-Choice Early Action 🎯 - Nov 1: The Concord Review issue deadline (history papers) - Nov 2, 11:59 p.m. ET: MIT PRIMES (sophomores and juniors; recs due Nov 6) - Nov 3: Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange, a funded year in Germany Why it matters: Nov 7 is the last SAT that can realistically reach many early schools. Next step: circle the one date that applies to your child, then confirm it on the official page today ✅ Other colleges' early dates vary, so check each school's own site. Which date is on your family's calendar this week? Reply with it below 👇

Princeton and Columbia now require tests for Fall 2028 entry, so all eight Ivies will require scores for the Class of 2032 📊 Notre Dame joins for Fall 2028 and Vanderbilt for Fall 2029. Why it matters: "test-optional" is now a temporary label, not a strategy. ACT research also shows average GPAs rising while scores fall, so scores carry more weight. What to do: - Juniors: plan a first official SAT in spring, not December - STEM students taking the ACT: include the optional Science section ✏️ - Sophomores: start PSAT prep this winter, since every state's National Merit cutoff fell this year Next step: write down one target test and one target date for your child this weekend 📅 SAT or ACT for your child? Vote below 👇

Nov 1 (a Sunday) is the early deadline at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Northwestern, MIT, Georgetown, Michigan and UChicago 🎯 Why early matters: Yale admitted 779 of 7,140 early applicants last year, about 10.9%, versus a 4.24% overall rate. A quick check before you hit submit: - Every portal account created and confirmed ✅ - FAFSA, and CSS Profile where required, filed before the early deadline - Essays follow each school's AI rules (Common App bars submitting AI-generated content) - Deadline confirmed on each college's own page, since dates sometimes shift by a day

The Congressional App Challenge closes Oct 26 at 12:00 p.m. ET 💻 - Free, and open to middle and high school students - Teams of up to 4, one app per student - Winners are recognized by their Representative, and apps may be displayed in the Capitol for a year 🏛️ Why it matters: it creates something an admissions reader can actually check, a working app plus a code repository. That beats a line on a resume. Next step: confirm your district is participating (not every one is), then submit whatever working app your child has by Sunday. Have a team-builder? The Conrad Challenge Phase 1 outline (ages 13 to 18, free) is due Oct 29, 11:59 p.m. CT. Is your child coding anything right now? Yes or no below 👇