College Admissions Secrets > Blog

The latest news from the world of college admissions.

Aug 18, 2008, ACT deadline approaching

Quick reminder: August 22 is the late registration deadline for the ACT given on September 13.

Aug 12, 2008, Depression, mental health, and college

Newsweek reports that a growing number of college students seem to be facing mental health issues, and colleges are struggling to meet their needs.

Aug 11, 2008, Advice on extracurriculars

CEO mum offers advice on choosing extracurricular activities:

1. Truly enjoy what you do
2. Excel at it
3. Choose an unusual extracurricular
4. Take important life lessons from it
5. Think outside the box

Aug 1, 2008, University of Florida named top party school

According to CNN, the University of Florida Gators have been named the #1 party school.

Jul 29, 2008, "Your momma" jokes can build your vocabulary

Talk about unexpected! The Yo Momma Vocabulary Builder helps you learn vocabulary:

"A typical entry, for 'emaciated,' first presents the word as a joke ('Yo momma's so emaciated, she can hula hoop in a fruit loop.'). The pronunciation is then given, along with a detailed, humor-inflected definition ('too skinny . . . skeletal') that invokes pop culture phenomena like supermodels, the Olsen twins, Gollum from Lord of the Rings, and Ally McBeal."

Jul 22, 2008, Campus videos from TheU.com

TheU.com is an awesome resource for getting a taste of a college. Each college has short, polished videos on specific topics like "Academics" and "The Food," plus a wide variety of user-uploaded videos.

For example, here are two Harvard videos--one about "The Crowd" and another featuring Stewie from Family Guy giving a commencement speech.

Jul 14, 2008, UC and CSU costs increase

With recent fee hikes of around 10%, the University of California (UC) system now charges about $8,000 per year, while the California State University (CSU) system now charges about $4,000.

Including room, board, and books, they cost around $22,000 and $16,000, respectively.

Read more from the LA Times.

Jul 12, 2008, College Admissions Secrets > Choosing a College > Visiting Colleges

The college visit: how to prepare, what to do, and questions to ask.

Jul 12, 2008, Community college vs. university

Educated Nation examines the pros and cons of attending Community College vs. University:

• Class size
• Campus Housing
• Expense
• Caliber of Instruction
• Architecture
• Transition Issues
• Degrees Obtainable
• College Life

While community college might not offer the ideal social experience, the academic experience shouldn't be underestimated. Community colleges have small class sizes and teaching-focused instructors who actually want to be working with students.

Jul 11, 2008, Thoughts on the college visit

An article in SF Gate offers a useful reminder that parents and students may have different approaches to visiting colleges:

"Lots of people think the college visitation phenomenon has become a costly, time-consuming practice that may well yield minimal if not counterproductive results. 'It's impossible to get more than a cursory feel by visiting a campus,' says Lloyd Thacker, founder of the Portland, Ore., Education Conservancy and a leading voice for restoring common sense to the escalating college arms race. Admissions directors and high school counselors acknowledge the risk of false positives (when the weather's good and the tour guide charming) and false negatives (no breakfast, snooty admissions clerk). 'At 17,' says Palo Alto college consultant Irena Smith, 'you do tend to glom onto first impressions and generalize.'"

"The details that I was fixing on didn't interest [my daughter] Phoebe much....Phoebe was doing what most students seem to do. She was 'seeing' herself - or not seeing herself, as the case may be - on a campus. She was instinctively testing the place, like a garment, for its 'fit.'"

Jul 8, 2008, CSU fees increase slightly

Fees for that California State University (CSU) system will be increasing by $276 per year. Chancellor Charles B. Reed reports that the neediest students will receive financial aid to make up the difference, and reiterates that "the total fee, which is just a little more than $3,000 a year, is one of the best bargains in America." Read the interview.

Jul 4, 2008, College admissions: being smart is not enough

In a story entitled "Being Smart Not Enough for College Admissions," NPR reports "this year has been called the toughest ever for high school graduates seeking admission into selective colleges. The result is a lot of super-achieving students are ending up at their 'safety' schools." Advice: students must seek the right fit--not simply brand names--and show each college they're genuinely interested in the school.

Jul 3, 2008, Search for scholarships by topic

CollegeDegrees.com lets you search for scholarships by topic. For instance, there are scholarships for certain academic subjects, races, religions, and even specialty groups like left-handers or athletes.

Jul 1, 2008, The three kinds of GPAs

Accepted To College examines the three kinds of GPAs that colleges consider: weighted, unweighted, and recalculated. Read more.

Jun 30, 2008, Wait list news

Wait lists have been big news recently:

The New York Times reports "Top Colleges Dig Deeper in Wait Lists for Students."

The Daily Princetonian reports that Princeton is accepting more students off the wait list this year.

Time explains why more schools are turning to wait lists and reminds us that ending up at your "second-choice" school can turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

The Boston Globe says wait lists are growing due to a variety of factors.

Jun 28, 2008, Build vocabulary with DictionarySquared

If you find it tough to memorize word lists, check out DictionarySquared, a free website that helps you build your SAT vocab.

What makes DictionarySquared different? Each word not only comes with a definition, but also comes with sample sentences to give you a sense for the word's flavor and how it's used in context.

As you progress, DictionarySquared quizzes you, keeps track of your words, creates printable flashcards, and even lets you customize those cards with your favorite sample sentences and definitions. There are also more cool features in the pipeline, although the site's creator, a Stanford grad, asked me to keep them under wraps ;)

Check it out!

Jun 28, 2008, College Admissions Secrets > Early Action, Early Decision, etc.

About early action, early decision, restrictive early action, regular decision, and rolling admissions.

Jun 27, 2008, Campus dining reaches new heights

The New York Times reports that colleges are beginning to take campus dining very seriously: "As palates grow more sophisticated and admissions become more competitive, many top colleges are paying attention to dining rooms as well as classrooms."

Jun 26, 2008, Big changes in UC admissions?

The University of California is contemplating major changes in its admissions process:

• Eliminate the SAT Subject Test requirement
• Focus on "individual merits" rather than "a set formula of courses, test scores and grades"
• Guarantee a seat to the top 10% of students, not 12.5% as before

Why the change? "Each year, about 15 percent of UC applicants are found to be ineligible, although many are strong students with high grades...Many were rejected because they had failed to take the SAT subject exams and others because they had a minor variance from the required curriculum. UC found about 64,000 applicants eligible in 2007."

You can read more in SFGate.

Jun 25, 2008, Demonstrated interest

If you're applying to competitive colleges, demonstrated interest could help tip the scales for you.

Here are an article andan opinion piece on demonstrated interest.

Jun 23, 2008, Students can soon hide bad SAT scores from colleges

Starting with the class of 2010, students will be able to pick and choose which SAT Test and SAT Subject Test scores colleges will be able to see. This is promising news for nervous test-takers, though critics point out that the new policy unfairly favors affluent students who can afford more retakes than their less-wealthy counterparts.

To read more, see the L.A. Times article.

Jun 22, 2008, The darker side of tuition breaks for the upper middle class

According to Newsweek, the trend towards big tuition breaks for the upper-middle class at the most elite universities might have some unintended consequences: drawing stellar students away from flagship public universities, and driving some top colleges to cut funds for low-income students in order to attract star students who are upper-middle class.

Jun 20, 2008, Marlboro College goes test-optional

Vermont's Marlboro College has dropped its SAT/ACT requirement. For more score-optional schools, visit fairtest.org.

Jun 19, 2008, Dave Barry on college

Dave Barry's humorous take on the college experience.

Jun 18, 2008, The new SAT isn't much better

The College Board has released a study about the ability of the "new SAT" (launched in March 2005) to predict college performance. Some findings:

• The new SAT is a slightly better predictor of college success than the old one (r = .51 versus r = .48). Unfortunately, that small increase comes at the cost of a longer and more expensive test.
• The Writing section is a better predictor than Critical Reading or Math.
• The SAT is almost as good of a predictor as four years of high school grades.

For more information, check out the articles by Inside Higher Ed and The New York Times.

Jun 18, 2008, News from the University of California

Good news! UCs accepted all eligible freshman applicants this year, although about 8,500 applicants were redirected to UC Merced or UC Riverside, and another 3,000 applicants were accepted at UC Berkeley and UC San Diego starting in the winter or spring terms.

On the minus side, student fees are up 7.4% for 2008-2009.

Jun 16, 2008, College Admissions Secrets > Test-Optional Colleges

Not all colleges require standardized tests like the SAT and ACT.

Jun 16, 2008, Keeping college admissions in perspective

Will Dix, a former Admissions Dean at Amherst, helps keep the college admissions process in perspective with this humorous glossary of admissions terms. An example:

Ivy League: Used as a synonym for "perfection" or "heaven" when used as a noun by those unacquainted with subtlety: "Cynthia is in the Ivy League." Translation: "Cynthia has achieved immortality."

Jun 14, 2008, University of California admission statistics

The most recent University of California admissions statistics are available in this PDF.

Jun 12, 2008, Great tool for solving math problems

Not sure you correctly simplified that expression or solved that problem? Just type it in and hit "submit" to check your work. Check it out!

Jun 12, 2008, Yale to increase enrollment

Yale is poised to expand enrollment by 15% with the addition of two new residential colleges (dorms). The New York Times also notes that Princeton, Stanford and Amherst are also considering expansion. Read more.

Jun 9, 2008, Got a hook?

A Pennsylvania newspaper reminds us of the value of "hooks," particularly for those applying to the most competitive schools. See article.

Jun 7, 2008, Want to get in? Pray for sun.

Here's a humbling reminder that luck does play a role in the college admissions process: the Boston Globe reports that weather impacts admissions decisions. For instance, "applications reviewed on the sunniest days were more than 10 percent likelier to be accepted."

May 31, 2008, Video interview about the admissions process

A Dean of Admissions at Vanderbilt, Douglas Christiansen, addresses common questions in this 23-minute video Q&A.

May 29, 2008, New Ivies?

Stiff competition means top students are going to an ever-broader range of colleges. With that trend in mind, Newsweek has christened "25 New Ivies."

May 28, 2008, College Admissions Secrets > What Colleges Want > Demonstrated Interest

The role of "demonstrated interest" in college admissions.

May 28, 2008, Keeping stress at bay

Heading into finals, you may find these stress-reducing tips useful.

May 27, 2008, Top colleges dig deeper in wait lists

"In what may be a happy surprise for thousands of high school seniors," The New York Times reports, "highly selective colleges [are digging] deeper into their waiting lists."

May 26, 2008, In search of authenticity

What do colleges want? According to Pomona’s Bruce Poch, it’s authenticity. Check out the article.

May 25, 2008, 25 Hottest Schools

Newsweek announces its 25 Hottest Schools, including "Hottest for Sports Fans," "Hottest for No SAT or ACT Needed," and "Hottest for Free Tuition."

May 23, 2008, The pros and cons of grade-monitoring sites

The New York Times reports on the growth of sites that enable parents to track students' grades minute by minute. While many students bemoan the lack of privacy, some parents and administrators have noted that the sites "[open] up communication between parents and teachers," serving as "a fabulous parenting tool."

May 22, 2008, Legacy students retain an edge in admissions

ABC News reports that even in this competitive admissions environment, legacy students are maintaining their advantage.

May 21, 2008, SAT scores available

Scores from the May 3rd SAT are available starting Thursday, May 22nd. Get them here.

May 20, 2008, Smith College makes admissions testing optional

Smith College has made the SAT, ACT, and SAT Subject Tests optional for most applicants. To learn about other colleges with optional admissions tests, visit fairtest.org.

May 16, 2008, The pressure is on

The New York Times reports that, thanks to a demographic bubble, current high school students find themselves in an especially competitive and stressful world.

May 15, 2008, The secret to raising smart kids

"Don't tell your kids that they are [smart]. More than three decades of research shows that a focus on effort—not on intelligence or ability—is key to success in school and in life."

May 14, 2008, Terry Savage on paying for college

As college costs rise at twice the rate of inflation, financial expert Terry Savage offers advice to families deciding how to pay for college.

May 13, 2008, Late registration for June SATs

Thursday, May 15th is the last day to register for SAT testing in June.

May 8, 2008, College Admissions Secrets > SAT Test > Interpreting Your Writing Score

Understanding the essay and multiple-choice sub-scores on the SAT Writing section.

May 8, 2008, Coed dorm rooms

Two dozen colleges offer the option of coed dorm rooms, including Wesleyan, Brown, University of Pennsylvania, Oberlin, Cal Tech, and UC Riverside. Stanford will soon follow suit.