What Colleges Want In An Applicant (Everything)

[MULTIZ321]

What Colleges Want In An Applicant (Everything)
By Eric Hoover/ Education Life/ The New York Times/ nytimes.com

"The admissions process is a maddening mishmash of
competing objectives, and an attempt to measure the
unmeasurable: you. No, it isn’t fair, and likely never will be.

The admissions process is out of whack. Just ask the heartbroken applicant, rejected by her dream school. Ask high school counselors, who complain that colleges don’t reward promising students for their creativity, determination or service to others. Even the gatekeepers at some famous institutions acknowledge, quietly, that the selection system is broken.

Ask five people how to fix it, though, and they’ll give five different answers. Sure, you might think colleges put too much stock in the SAT, but your neighbor’s kid with the near-perfect score thinks it should matter a lot. More than half of Americans say colleges shouldn’t give children of alumni a leg up, according to a recent Gallup poll; yet nearly half say parental connections should be at least a “minor factor.”..."

Applicants to Olin College of Engineering finish a design challenge — to create a space vehicle — before being admitted. Credit Olin College of Engineering


Richard

 

[MULTIZ321]

10 Things to Know About Getting Into Your Dream College
By Eric Hoover/ Education Life/ The New York Times/ nytimes.com

"There’s no magic formula for getting into a selective college, but over a decade covering admissions for The Chronicle of Higher Education, I’ve picked up a thing or two. These takeaways, based on hundreds of interviews with admissions deans over the years, may help you navigate the process...."

Paula Scher


Richard

 

[MULTIZ321]

Six Myths About Choosing a College Major
By Jeffrey J. Selingo/ Education Life/ The New York Times/ nytimes.com

"Many colleges ask you to choose a major as early as your senior year of high school, on your admissions application. Yet there’s a good chance you’ll change your mind. The Education Department says that about 30 percent of students switch majors at least once.

Students get plenty of advice about picking a major. It turns out, though, that most of it is from family and friends, according to a September Gallup survey. Only 11 percent had sought guidance from a high school counselor, and 28 percent from a college adviser. And most didn’t think that the advice was especially helpful. Maybe it’s because much of the conventional thinking about majors is wrong...."

Richard

 

[am1]

I would make it 100% on merit. Not sure how merit is best determined. "tiebreakers" for legacies is fine as I do not see that going away. Also give the athletic department some passes if the athlete meets a minimum standard.

 

[klpca]

I would make it 100% on merit. Not sure how merit is best determined. "tiebreakers" for legacies is fine as I do not see that going away. Also give the athletic department some passes if the athlete meets a minimum standard.

You would think but it just isn't true. Case in point, my middle kid. Took every AP class available (come to think of it, maybe missed one or two) from a very good public school, 4.3+GPA, high SAT scores, captain varsity lacrosse, section leader in the band, plus all-state honors, first chair orchestra, scouts, volunteering yadda yadda yadda. Got into every school she applied - with scholarships - except UCLA and Notre Dame (accepted into Cal and UCSD among others). Go figure. What more can you do? When 98,000 people apply to a school, a lot will be turned away. http://fox5sandiego.com/2017/12/14/ucsd-receives-record-number-of-applications-for-fall-2018/

In the end, she went to UCSD (turns out that she only applied to Cal to see if she could get in - not happy about spending extra money for that application!) and had a pretty good experience. But the system is a total mess.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

FWIW...UCLA has the most applications of any university in the nation with a record of over 100,000 applicants this year. Lower in-state tuition plus sunny location and great academics = high desirability. This also applies to attracting top notch faculty, for the first time, UCLA tied with Cal this past year on several rankings for top public institution in the U.S.

As a taxpayer it sucks to pay high Calif state taxes and see a high achieving teen not get into the university of her choice - especially when they are giving away spots to out of state applicants who may not have the same level of achievement, but cover the costs with 2x the Calif in-state rate. With the exception of UC Merced, our teen's high school counselor advised the kids that all UCs are reach schools and they should apply to UC but expect to get in out of state colleges and Junior Colleges.

 

[bogey21]

My college career was a long time ago (1954-1968). The reason for the large number of years were interruptions for military service and being transferred 5 times by my employer post military. Because of this I attended 9 (yes 9) universities before I graduated. One thing I noticed was that getting accepted as a transfer student was easy because I had great grades.

This leads me to believe that the best way for a kid to get into the school of his/her choice is to go somewhere decent for their Freshman Year, get good grades, then try to transfer into the University he/she wants to graduate from. Just a thought.

George

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@bogey21 I agree, most junior colleges are top-notch and the transfer rate is much better than applying as a freshman. It is also much better to get your general ed requirements out of the way at a fraction of the cost. For kids that don't know what they want to do yet this is a great option. I have one of each: 1 at 4 year UC and 1 at Junior College. This is the right choice for both of these kids. Some kids really benefit from the first year college freshman dorm living experience; others are not ready.