As this year’s college admission season wraps up, it’s a perfect moment to reflect on what we’ve learned. At NuVu, our process tends to evolve each year—not just because admissions are changing, but because we are so different from traditional schools. That difference creates both challenges and opportunities for our students, and we’re committed to learning from each cycle to better support them.

The Stress Remains Universal

Like all high school seniors, our students continue to experience significant stress during the college application process. But the broader college application system still feels broken. When colleges proudly announce acceptance rates as low as 4%, it creates a cascading sense of scarcity and pressure. Instead of celebrating these figures, maybe institutions should reflect on what it means to reject 96% of their applicants. That’s not a badge of honor—it’s a sign of systemic exclusion.

NuVu at the Heart of Student Narratives

This year, almost every single student wrote about NuVu in their college essay. That’s remarkable—and rare. It’s a testament to how deeply NuVu has shaped their learning journeys and identities. Colleges often say they’re looking for students with authentic voices and meaningful experiences. Our students have both in abundance.

Colleges That Understand NuVu—and Where Our Students Thrive

We’ve noticed that certain colleges consistently appreciate NuVu’s approach and recognize our students' unique strengths. These institutions typically align culturally and educationally with NuVu’s project-based, interdisciplinary, and creative philosophy. Such alignment ensures that our students not only get admitted but genuinely flourish.

Olin College: A Model for Innovative Admissions

We remain enthusiastic about Olin College’s innovative admissions approach. After an initial application round, selected students are invited to participate in Candidates’ Weekends—a deep dive into Olin’s culture through design challenges and collaborative activities. Our students thrive in these environments because this is exactly how they’ve learned for four years! We’d love to see more colleges adopt this kind of hands-on, experience-based process.

Thriving in Design, Art, and Engineering Schools

Because NuVu’s pedagogy is studio-based, our students naturally gravitate toward colleges specializing in design, art, and engineering. They’ve consistently succeeded at institutions like Pratt Institute, which doesn’t strictly enforce traditional high school course requirements. Similarly, Parsons and Cooper Union offer admission tasks like Parsons Challenge and the CU Hometest, a creative prompt that closely aligns with NuVu’s studio projects. These open-ended challenges allow our students to shine.

While RISD remains a popular choice among NuVu students, its emphasis on foundational fine-arts skills—such as observational drawing—can sometimes go against our interdisciplinary approach. Still, NuVu students with strong conceptual portfolios often successfully adapt.

WPI and Flexibility in Admissions

Each year, NuVu students choose Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) for engineering, and our graduates have launched successful careers post-WPI. Notably, WPI has consistently demonstrated flexibility toward NuVu applicants—even accepting a student this year who completed all supplemental coursework via Khan Academy on the condition that he take a  summer calculus course in Worcester. This willingness to accommodate alternative educational backgrounds highlights important conversations about prerequisites and flexibility.

Notable Shifts and Recognition

• State Universities: Once nearly out of reach, schools such as UMass-Amherst, UVM, and the Univ. of Michigan have recently become more accessible. Clearly, something has shifted positively, opening new opportunities for NuVu students.
• Carnegie Mellon University: CMU continues to recognize our students' independent thinking and self-motivation, often rewarding their achievements with large merit scholarships—a strong validation of NuVu's educational model.

Clearly, colleges that emphasize portfolios and project-based learning appreciate NuVu students—not despite their unconventional education, but precisely because of it.

Persistent Challenges: Traditional Requirements

Despite NuVu’s strong track record of successes, traditional admissions requirements remain challenging. Many institutions still insist on 24 credits of standard high school coursework, such as four years each of Math and English. Although NuVu is able to adapt to those requirements, we believe colleges should also reconsider these outdated frameworks and prioritize educational quality and depth over format.

Another ongoing friction point is the expectation of traditional letter or number grades as well as an overall GPA. NuVu is skilled at translating our students’ work into conventional metrics, but ideally, more colleges would embrace alternative assessments, reflecting a deeper understanding of diverse educational models.

A Call for Innovation in Admissions

NuVu High School students have been admitted to some of the most selective colleges in the world—not because they followed a prescribed checklist but because they demonstrated a capacity for independent thinking, creative problem-solving, and real-world impact. If universities want to cultivate a student body of true innovators and changemakers, they must evolve their admissions processes accordingly. Imagine a ranking of colleges based on innovation and student-centered admissions approaches. Who would lead this list? It’s time to celebrate and amplify admission models that prioritize creativity over compliance and meaningful depth over superficial box-checking.

Our students are ready—colleges should be, too.