College Admissions

Admissions rules and deadlines shift every year, and the same scores can lead to very different outcomes depending on which track you take. Here we unpack the structure of the process, with reasons, so you can judge for yourself what to prepare now.

We explain how early and regular admission differ, what the comprehensive, subject-record and essay tracks actually measure, and how test grades translate into each university's converted score. We also cover applications and waitlist movement, and decisions that are hard to undo once the window passes, such as retaking a year or transferring.

Rather than listing success stories, we leave you with a standard for judging. The aim is that when the admissions guide changes, you can read for yourself what actually changed.