| 100% | UCLA | 4 | "When the smog lifts, ___" (pun about a college) |
| 47% | XXXXXXXX | 8 | The lift you get when performing a ballet jump? |
| 46% | ERA | 3 | A period of time, usually mentioned when talking about the past |
| 46% | CROSSWORLDS | 11 | 1996 sci-fi film featuring Jack Black about a college student who holds the key to another dimension |
| 44% | NINETEEN | 8 | 2011 Billy Ray Cyrus song about a high school football star or the age of college sophomores |
| 43% | PUDDNHEADWILSON | 15 | Mark Twain novel about a Northern lawyer who moves to the Deep South, featuring a New York college |
| 42% | GUT | 3 | The part of your body which is often referred to when you get a "feeling" about something |
| 41% | COMMUNITY | 9 | NBC sitcom about a college study group |
| 41% | TAX | 3 | “Cheese ___” (viral TikTok song about the fee that a dog demands when its owner is cooking) |
| 40% | OXYGEN | 6 | About a fifth of the air |
| 40% | EURASIA | 7 | About a third of the land |
| 40% | ASIA | 4 | About a quarter of the UN |
| 40% | XXXXXXXX | 8 | Disney Channel sitcom about a college that teaches dancing? |
| 40% | END | 3 | When the credits roll in a movie |
| 40% | NINE | 4 | When the hands form a right angle |
| 39% | DRUMLINE | 8 | 2002 film about a college marching band's percussion section |
| 38% | DRIVEHESAID | 11 | *1971 movie about a college basketball player, directed by Jack Nicholson |
| 38% | DREAMSCENARIO | 13 | 2023 film starring 18-Across, 41-Across, and Julianne Nicholson about a college professor who becomes famous when he starts appearing to random people in their sleep (2 wds.) |
| 38% | APR | 3 | When the IRS gets a lot of mail (Abbr.) |
| 38% | OUTLAW | 6 | Netflix documentary about a collector, The Pez __ |
| 38% | HADESGONNAHATE | 14 | Catchphrase about a god of the underworld? |
| 38% | EPIPHANY | 8 | Moment when the fog lifts |
| 38% | ISEEIT | 6 | Words when the fog lifts |
| 38% | GREATDEBATERS | 13 | "The ___," a 2007 biography directed by and starring Denzel Washington, based on an article about the Wiley College debate team: 2 wds. |
| 38% | ITSGOTLEGS | 10 | Surprised shout when a spot on the wall starts moving, and what can be said about 17-, 26-, and 43-Across |
| 37% | CAMELOT | 7 | Period about a decade before the 34-Down |
| 37% | ROYALTASTERS | 12 | Lists about a port on the Black Sea |
| 37% | JAWS | 4 | Spielberg thriller about a terror at the beach |
| 37% | OEDIPUS | 7 | Sophocles' play about a Theban king: __ the King |
| 37% | DUTCHMAN | 8 | Wagner opera about a ghost ship, The Flying __ |