In December I posted that Minnetonka High School senior Abigail Hansen was contributing to a New York Times series of essays by students going through the college selection process. Hansen has apparently chosen the University of Minnesota — and defends her choice here: A few weeks ago, I was engaged in the expected and obligatory Read more →
New York Times writers Jacques Steinberg and Eric Platt on the “bewilderment” that huge admissions waiting lists inspire: How can a college … possibly explain to an applicant that Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh has offered 5,025 students places on its waiting list this year, for a freshman class that will likely be less than a Read more →
University of Pennsylvania alumni interviewer Andrew Ross tells Bloomberg News why he (and apparently other Ivy League grads) is getting tired of interviewing dozens of students only see so few of his recommendations get in: “Is it worth it to interview if I’m not going to have any influence on the students getting in? If Read more →
In explaining why parents should not flip out over college admissions — which has its infamous waiting period this month — columnist George Will recalls what an admissions consultant told a room full of Ivy-League-obsessed parents: “There are 36,000 high schools in this country. That means there are at least 36,000 valedictorians. They can’t all Read more →
Scott Anderson, director of outreach for the Common Application, explains one reason there’s no guarantee that successful college admissions essays for purchase are any good: Essays play an important role in a student’s application, but they rarely seal the deal in the way that essay vendors imply. (And, fortunately for me, they seldom torpedo the Read more →
ladybugbkt via Flickr And this has exactly what to do with your research interests? Chronicle of Higher Education blogger “Female Science Professor” talks about how graduate-school applicants need to write more about their scholarly experiences and interests — and can the cutesy stuff: At the risk of sounding like a cranky old science professor, I Read more →
University of Texas senior Dan Treadway writes in The Huffinton Post: Applying to schools is the fun part. It’s a blast to imagine yourself in different parts of the country, waving from a postcard while you traverse the mountains that I thought existed in the state of Texas. We need to hook this guy up Read more →
University of San Francisco professor Ruth Starkman says it gives an early admissions candidate freedom: Consider the deferral letter like any other job application where the employer has said the vetting process is incomplete and asks you to wait. Now you have two options: You are no longer bound to that school and may have indeed Read more →
Counselor Sue Biemeret warns about the consequences of children not facing up to the potential for rejection from their favorite colleges: I often worry about the student who compiles a long list of colleges where admission is iffy for every single school except for the one they have deemed their “safety school.” And I also Read more →
Alex Friedrich