Does your high school student need a private admissions consultant? It depends on your situation. Can you afford one? It depends...
Our Push for ‘Passion,’ and Why It Harms Kids (NY Times)
At some point in the last 20 years the notion of passion, as applied to children and teenagers, has taken hold. By the time a child rounds the corner into high school, the conventional wisdom is that he needs to have a passion that is deep, easy to articulate, well documented and makes him stand out from the crowd. This is madness. Read more...
Rethinking College Admissions (NY Times)
A new report suggests that we’re on the cusp of important, necessary changes in the way colleges evaluate applicants.
College Admissions Shocker! (NY Times)
Cementing its standing as the most selective institution of higher education in the country, Stanford University announced this week that it had once again received a record-setting number of applications and that its acceptance rate — which had dropped to a previously uncharted low of 5 percent last year — plummeted all the way to its inevitable conclusion of 0 percent. With no one admitted to the class of 2020, Stanford is assured that no other school can match its desirability in the near future.
College Rankings Fail to Measure the Influence of the Institution (NY Times)
The new U.S. College Scorecard adds valuable information to the vast amount of post-secondary information available through rankings and other resources. But it suffers from many of the same flaws that afflict nearly every college ranking system: There is no way to know what, if any, impact a particular college has on its students’ earnings, or life for that matter. Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/02/business/new-college-rankings-dont-show-how-alma-mater-affects-earnings.html
In Admissions, the Powerful Weigh In (Chronicle)
Most public-university presidents describe their admissions offices as walled gardens, where qualified professionals are free to build classes that reflect an institution’s values of diversity and academic excellence. But a Chronicle of Higher Education investigation reveals varying levels of engagement among admissions officers, board members, and presidents showing that university VIPs routinely inquire about individual applicants. Read more:
http://chronicle.com/article/In-Admissions-the-Powerful/234368
When Choosing a College, How Should Students Gauge the Payoff? (Chronicle)
What you stand to make after college, the government is telling prospective students, ought to be a factor in how you choose that college.
You Were Deferred by Your Top College—What Now? (Time)
A deferral from a college admissions office happens only if you apply early decision or early action. It means that a college didn’t admit you in the early round but will reevaluate your application during the regular admissions period.
Silicon Valley’s College-Consultant Industry (the Atlantic)
For a price, these services help high-school students find summer internships, refine their essays, and prepare for the application process. But is it worth all the effort and stress?
Navigators for the College Bound (NY Times)
Educational consultants’ most valuable contribution may be stress reduction during an emotionally fraught, highly competitive process.
How to Survive the College Admissions Madness (NY Times)
Record numbers of applicants yearn for an elite degree. Most will be turned down.
The Not-So-Early Decision (NY Times)
Thousands of students click “submit” on early-decision applications, hoping for a thumbs-up from their first-choice college. With competition for slots ever increasing, let’s assume the worst: You don’t get in. What then? For those eager to get off the college admissions carousel, there’s a second chance at an acceptance before spring: early decision II.