Rona Aydin

Rona Aydin is the founder of Oriel Admissions, a Princeton-based college admissions consulting firm serving families nationwide. An Oxford University graduate, Rona leads a team of former admissions officers from Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia who help students build standout applications to the most selective universities in the country. Her data-driven approach to college admissions strategy has helped hundreds of families navigate the increasingly competitive landscape at Ivy League and top-20 schools.

Posts by Rona Aydin

Swarthmore College ivy-covered campus building representing the complete admissions guide to Swarthmore College, one of the most academically demanding liberal arts colleges in the United States.

Brown vs. Yale: How to Choose Between the Two Ivies for Students Seeking Small-College Academic Intensity

TL;DR: Brown and Yale are the two Ivies most cross-applied by students drawn to small-college academic intensity within an Ivy League research university, and the choice between them is fundamentally a choice between two opposing curricular philosophies: Brown’s Open Curriculum (no general education or distribution requirements; students design their own program) versus Yale’s distribution requirements … Continued

Bridge over Charles River in Boston representing the comparison of Tufts vs Northeastern vs Boston College, the three Boston-area schools most cross-applied by Northeast affluent families.

Tufts vs. Northeastern vs. Boston College: How to Choose Between the Three Most Cross-Applied Boston Schools

TL;DR: Tufts, Northeastern, and Boston College are the three Boston-area schools most cross-applied by Northeast affluent families, and the choice between them is fundamentally a choice between three distinct institutional propositions: Tufts (mini-Ivy academic intensity with strong international relations and engineering, 10.5% acceptance rate for the Class of 2029), Northeastern (the co-op model that produces … Continued

Ivy League flags at Wien Stadium representing the comparison of Penn vs Cornell vs Columbia for prospective students choosing between three Ivy League universities.

Penn vs. Cornell vs. Columbia: How to Choose Between the Three Most Cross-Applied Ivies for Mid-Atlantic Families

TL;DR: Penn, Cornell, and Columbia are the three Ivies most cross-applied by Mid-Atlantic affluent families, and the choice between them is fundamentally a choice between three distinct academic identities: Penn’s preprofessional intensity (anchored by Wharton and a culture of interdisciplinary dual degrees), Cornell’s breadth across seven undergraduate colleges (with the highest accept rate of the … Continued

Rising senior working on the Common Application at a wooden desk during the pre-August 1 sprint, typing on a laptop while preparing essays and college list materials before the August 1 Common App opening date.

The Pre-August 1 College Application Sprint: Exactly What Rising Seniors Must Finish in the Final 4 Weeks Before Common App Opens

The Common Application opens August 1 every year. The 4 weeks immediately before that date are the highest-leverage window of a rising senior's college application timeline. Six core deliverables, week-by-week sprint plan, and the strategic question every family must answer before August 1.

High school student working on a STEM passion project for college admissions, examining a sample under a microscope as part of sustained original research.

Passion Project Ideas for College Admissions: What Counts, What Doesn’t, and How to Build One

A passion project for college admissions is a sustained, self-directed body of work that produces measurable external output and demonstrates the student's intellectual identity over 12-24+ months. Concrete ideas by intellectual bucket, scoping framework, and Common App presentation strategy.

How to Get Into Northeastern University: 5% Acceptance Rate, Co-op Strategy, and Why 105,000 Applications Change Everything

TL;DR: Northeastern University received a record 105,190 applications for the Class of 2030, making it the most applied-to private university in the United States (institutional reporting, March 2026). The acceptance rate for the Class of 2029 was 5.6%, and the Class of 2030 rate is expected to be at or below that figure (Northeastern CDS, … Continued

What’s Your Real Acceptance Rate? Personalized Odds Calculator for 20 Top Schools

TL;DR: The published acceptance rate at Harvard is 3.6%, but that number is meaningless for any individual applicant. A recruited athlete’s acceptance rate at Ivy League schools is roughly 86%. A legacy applicant at schools that track the preference has 2x to 4x the general rate. A first-generation student receives a meaningful boost at most … Continued

Student writing Common App college essay for 2026-2027 admissions cycle

Essay Topic Evaluator: Will Your College Essay Stand Out?

Evaluate Your Essay Topic

University of Pennsylvania Wharton School building

College List Builder: Sort 30 Elite Schools Into Reach, Match, and Safety

TL;DR: A balanced college list requires 2-3 safety schools, 4-6 match schools, and 3-5 reach schools – but most families build their lists based on brand recognition rather than data. This tool categorizes 30 elite universities into Reach, Match, and Safety tiers based on your child’s GPA and SAT score, then shows the ED advantage … Continued

Scholarship & Merit Aid Finder: Top Awards at 25 Elite Schools

TL;DR: Most affluent families assume that elite universities only offer need-based financial aid and that merit scholarships are reserved for lower-income students. In reality, schools like Vanderbilt, Duke, USC, Emory, and WashU offer full-ride and half-tuition merit scholarships that go to high-achieving students regardless of family income. The Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship covers full tuition plus … Continued

Where Should You Apply Early? ED Strategy Recommender for 20 Top Schools

What Will We Actually Pay? Net Price Comparison Calculator for 19 Elite Universities

TL;DR: Families earning $150,000 to $350,000 dramatically overestimate what they will pay at elite universities. Princeton covers full tuition for families earning up to $250,000. Harvard, Yale, MIT, and Penn cover tuition for families earning up to $200,000. At many top schools, a family earning $200,000 pays $14,000 to $30,000 per year – less than … Continued

ED vs. RD Advantage Calculator: See How Much Early Decision Improves Your Odds at 20 Top Schools

TL;DR: Early Decision acceptance rates are two to five times higher than Regular Decision rates at every Ivy League school and most top-20 universities. At Brown, ED applicants were admitted at 16.5% compared to 3.94% for RD – a 4.2x advantage. At Vanderbilt, the gap widened to 11.9% ED vs. 2.8% RD (Vanderbilt Hustler, March … Continued

Ivy League Academic Index Calculator: Find Your Score on the 60-240 Scale

TL;DR: The Ivy League Academic Index (AI) is a 60-240 score that every applicant is assigned, calculated from unweighted GPA and SAT or ACT scores. Applicants generally need an AI above 220 to be competitive at Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, while 210 to 229 is common among admitted students across the broader Ivy League (Hernandez, … Continued

How to Get Into UNC Chapel Hill: 8% Out-of-State Rate and the 18% Cap Every Non-NC Family Must Understand

TLDR: UNC Chapel Hill’s overall acceptance rate is approximately 16%, but the out-of-state rate is roughly 8% – making it comparable in selectivity to Cornell for non-NC residents (UNC CDS 2024-2025, Daily Tar Heel, 2025). A state mandate caps out-of-state enrollment at 18% of each incoming class, which structurally limits the number of OOS students … Continued

Cornell vs Michigan vs Georgia Tech: Which Engineering Powerhouse Is Right for Your STEM Student?

TLDR: Cornell Engineering admits roughly 8-10% of applicants, Michigan Engineering receives over 115,000 total applications with out-of-state rates near 15%, and Georgia Tech received 68,000 applications with a 15% overall rate that drops to approximately 9% for out-of-state students (institutional admissions data, 2025-2026). For STEM-focused affluent families, the choice comes down to three trade-offs: Ivy … Continued