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CLA’s High School Internship Program

CLA’s High School Internship Program

Looking to explore the world of business, professional services, or accounting and gain hands-on experience with real projects and clients? Discover your passions and pave the way for your future career with CLA’s high school internship program. Applications for CLA’s High School Internship Program will be open soon.

This program helps students get a head start in considering career options, understand the opportunities available in professional services, and work on real projects. The 2026 high school internship program is an immersive, four-week paid program designed to inspire and grow the next generation of accounting and professional services talent.

Experience Dates: June 15 – July 16 (off the week of June 29 – July 3 off)
Workdays: Monday – Thursday (In Person)
Work Hours: 9am to 4:30pm local time
Attire: Business casual
Technology: All interns are assigned a laptop while in the program.

More information here!

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Announcing the 2026–2027 Common App Essay Prompts

Announcing the 2026–2027 Common App Essay Prompts

The Common App essay prompts will remain the same for 2026–2027 🎉

  1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
  2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
  3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
  4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
  5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
  6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
  7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

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High School Class of 2026 – College Acceptances (Updated)

High School Class of 2026 – College Acceptances (Updated)

Big congrats to all our seniors who shared their results with us! This post includes many of our students’ results reported through the end of January.

ED Admits

Boston College* (6)
Boston University* (2)
Cornell Engineering
Fairfield Nursing
Fordham
Northwestern
Syracuse
Vanderbilt
U. Chicago
U. Michigan
U. Virginia* (2)
Villanova
Wake Forest
WashU
William & Mary

EA Admits

Alabama
American U
Arizona*
Auburn*
Babson
Chapman
Clemson*
College of Charleston
Dusquene
Elon*
ESCP Business School
Fairfield*
Farleigh Dickinson
Flagler
Florida State*
Fordham*
Georgia Tech
Iona
Ithaca College
High Point
Hofstra*
Indiana U, Kelley*
JMU*
Loyola MD*
Loyola Marymount*
LSU
Marist
Michigan State*
MIT
Montclair
NC State*
NJIT
Northeastern*
Ohio State*
Ohio Wesleyan
Ole Miss
Penn State*
Pitt*
Providence College*
Purdue (CS + Other Majors)*
Quinnipiac*
Rider*
Rowan*
RPI
Rutgers*
Sacred Heart
Santa Clara*
Scranton
Seton Hall*
Siena
St. Andrews*
St. John’s*
St. Joe’s*
Steven’s Institute of Technology*
Stony Brook*
SUNY Binghamton*
SUNY Buffalo*
SUNY New Paltz
Syracuse*
Tampa*
TCU
Texas A&M*
Tulane*
U. Central Florida*
U. Colorado, Boulder*
U. of Florida*

U. Georgia*
U. Illinois (CS + Other Majors)*
U. Maryland*
U. Miami*
U. Michigan (CS + Other Majors)*
UNC Chapel Hill*

U. New Hampshire*
U. North Carolina Greensboro
U. New Hampshire
U. of the Pacific
U. Rhode Island*
U. Southern California*
U. South Carolina*

U. South Florida*
U. Tennessee*
U. of Utah*
U. Vermont*
U. Virginia*
U. Wisconsin, Madison*

Villanova*
Virginia Tech*
Washington State
Wooster

*multiple students admitted

BOLD indicates a top choice or reach school for the applicant

High School Class of 2026 – College Acceptances

High School Class of 2026 – College Acceptances

Congrats to all our seniors who shared their results with us. More to come in January when most EAs drop!

This post includes many of our students’ results reported through the end of December:

ED Admits

Boston College* (5)
Boston University* (2)
Cornell Engineering
Fordham
Northwestern
Syracuse
Vanderbilt
U. Michigan
U. Virginia* (2)
Villanova
Wake Forest
William & Mary

EA Admits

Alabama
American U
Arizona*
Auburn*
Babson
Chapman
Clemson*
College of Charleston
Dusquene
Elon*
ESCP Business School
Fairfield*
Farleigh Dickinson
Flagler
Fordham*
Georgia Tech
Iona
Ithaca College
High Point
Hofstra*
Indiana U, Kelley*
JMU*
Loyola MD*
Loyola Marymount*
LSU
Marist
Michigan State*
MIT
Montclair
NJIT
Norhteastern*
Ohio State*
Ohio Wesleyan
Ole Miss
Penn State Main Campus*
Pitt*
Providence College*
Purdue (CS)
Purdue (Other Majors)*
Quinnipiac*
Rider*
Rowan*
Rutgers*
Sacred Heart
Santa Clara*
Scranton
Seton Hall*
Siena
St. Andrews*
St. John’s*
St. Joe’s*
Steven’s Institute of Technology
Stony Brook*
SUNY Binghamton*
SUNY Buffalo*
SUNY New Paltz
TCU
Texas A&M*
Tulane*
U. Central Florida*
U. Colorado, Boulder*
U. of Florida*

U. Georgia*
U. Illinois (CS)
U. Illinois (Other Majors)*
U. Maryland*
U. Miami*
U. Michigan (CS)
U. Michigan*
UNC Chapel Hill*

U. New Hampshire*
U. North Carolina Greensboro
U. New Hampshire
U. of the Pacific
U. Rhode Island*
U. Southern California*
U. South Carolina*

U. South Florida*
U. Tennessee*
U. of Utah*
U. Vermont*
U. Virginia*
U. Wisconsin, Madison*

Villanova*
Virginia Tech*
Washington State
Wooster

*multiple students admitted

BOLD indicates a top choice or reach school for the applicant in EA

Columbia U Engineering – Summer Foundations of Research & Streetscapes (Stipend!)

Columbia U Engineering – Summer Foundations of Research & Streetscapes (Stipend!)

Awesome programs for NYC-based students!

For six weeks, students work with Columbia Engineering researchers and participate in programming to develop their academic and professional skills. Students gain practical research experience, collaborate with research faculty, staff, and students, practice new skills, and take part in multi-level mentorship. ENG has two tracks students can apply to: Foundations of Research (FoR) or Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3). 

Program components include experience in working on genuine engineering research projects, research skills and college prep workshops, science communications workshops, and additional supplemental seminars and opportunities. Students are provided with a stipend to support them over the summer. They encourage all rising seniors (current 11th graders) with an interest in engineering and research to apply.

The application is now open! Applicants should know that the application uses the same platform as the graduate school, so some questions may not be relevant for high school students. Those questions can be left blank.

Read more here –> https://outreach.engineering.columbia.edu/eng 

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Jameel Clinic AI & Health High School Summer Bootcamp

Jameel Clinic AI & Health High School Summer Bootcamp

Fantastic opportunity at MIT; application is now open!

More info….

We’re pleased to share that the application portal for the Jameel Clinic AI & Health High School Summer Bootcamp is officially open! As technology continues to accelerate and shape society, we believe it’s critical to equip students with the knowledge to understand some of the biggest challenges facing humanity today. In this rigorous, one-week program, students will have the chance to learn from and meet faculty from MIT and Harvard Medical School while contributing to a final project that will hone their research capabilities in AI and health.

Our bootcamp is designed to bring the “MIT experience” to students, whether it’s Nobel Prize winners or quadruped robots. This program introduces students to transformative ideas from world-class faculty, clinicians, and industry pioneers, helping the next generation of thinkers identify and understand where the real risks and opportunities are when it comes to bringing the power of AI into human health.

Learn more here –> https://jclinic.mit.edu/events/high-school-summer-bootcamp/

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Fit > Prestige

Fit > Prestige

Jeff Selingos’ recent NYT article highlights an often overlooked truth about college admissions: colleges are businesses.

“Elite colleges have convinced us that scarcity equals quality, that a lower acceptance rate means a better education. But their own behavior shows that many of their decisions are more about manipulating the market than academic or any other kind of excellence.”

Everyone needs to start valuing fit over prestige, because only then can we break free of the hold elite colleges have on many of us.

Jeff Selingo’s new book is out, and there’s also a recent interview with the CB Mentor that covers most of the big-ticket items, but it’s also worth a read! Interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-QViIKGcDc

Some takeaways:

-Rank and selectivity are seen as a proxy for quality among parents, and they are not

-You can get a very good deal at less selective schools (merit = tuition discount), where quality and career outcomes are high

-Give yourself permission to widen your lens on the college search!

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Free SAT Bootcamp

Free SAT Bootcamp

Time to prep! Sharing a free program via Schoolhouse.

SAT Bootcamps: 4-week program kicking off on September 5th (schedule selected by student)
  • Perfect for students taking the Oct. 4th SAT
  • Students can choose between Math or Reading & Writing, or take both
  • They’ll meet with a small group of students and a peer tutor twice a week

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Uptown Psychology’s Fall Executive Functioning Intensives

Uptown Psychology’s Fall Executive Functioning Intensives

As the school year gets underway, now is the time to address the executive functioning challenges that can impact your child’s academic and emotional success.

Uptown Psychology’s Fall Executive Functioning Intensives are designed to help children, teens, and young adults build the skills they need to stay focused, organized, and confident throughout the year. Now is the time to solidify these before returning to school. Intensives support students who struggle with:

✅ Staying organized and managing time
✅ Starting and completing tasks
✅ Regulating emotions and attention
✅ Planning ahead and following routines

Led by licensed therapists and former teachers, this structured, evidence-based program includes:

🧠 Individualized skill-building based on each student’s strengths and needs
📅 Short-term, goal-focused sessions that fit into busy school schedules
💻 Flexible options for in-person or telehealth participation
📍 Convenient Upper East Side or available virtually

Whether your child is navigating new academic demands or long-standing executive functioning challenges, UP’s executive function intensives can provide the support they need to succeed.

Learn more by booking a 15-minute consultation here!

Common App Refresh & Rollover

Common App Refresh & Rollover

Common App’s 2024-25 application cycle has ended, and it will be offline for a few days while the system “refreshes” with 2025-26 cycle data.

On August 1, you can “rollover” your account.

Stay up to date on all things Commo App here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/conquerthecommonapp

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