The Educator's Notebook

featured articles

“Does Where You Go To College Matter?” New Studies, Three Conclusions
Atlantic - 12/11/18

“First, to high-strung affluent parents, well-compensated counselors, and other members of the elite-admissions industrial complex: Just relax, okay? You are inflicting on American teenagers a ludicrous amount of pointless anxiety. Even if you subscribe to the dubious idea that young people ought to maximize for vocational prestige and income, the research suggests that elite colleges are not critical to achieving those ends. In the aggregate, individual characteristics swamp institutional characteristics. It’s more important to be hardworking and curious than to receive a certain thick envelope.”
"Here's What’s Going On With Affirmative Action And School Admissions”
NPR - 7/7/18

“An announcement from Jeff Sessions, a Harvard lawsuit, changes in the Supreme Court and proposals for selective high schools in New York City. Here's a rundown of the facts in place, and the latest developments.”
“It's Time To Tell Your Kids It Doesn’t Matter Where They Go To College”
Time - 3/22/18

"Why don’t we tell our kids the truth about success? We could start with the fact that only a third of adults hold degrees from four-year colleges. Or that you’ll do equally well in terms of income, job satisfaction and life satisfactionwhether you go to an elite private college or a less-selective state university.”
A Chance Encounter With An SAT Tutor. A Life Changed.
New York Times - 12/25/17

"He spent hours with me that day demystifying the test-taking and application process and sharing study tools that I still find useful. He taught me the tricks to multiple-choice, and how to strategically answer math questions that I didn’t recognize. He walked me through my difficulties with subject-verb agreements and showed me how to “hack” large passages of text in order to answer reading comprehension questions.”
"10 Things To Know About Getting Into Your Dream College”
New York Times - 11/1/17

"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.”

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“4 Standout College Application Essays On Work, Money and Class”
New York Times - 5/12/17

"The truth, I recently learned, was that not all service is created equal… But I was taught all work is noble, especially the work we do for others. Slowly, my mother’s gingham apron began to look more like metal armor. I learned how to worship my parents’ gift for attentive listening, easily hearing the things guests were incapable of asking for — not sugar with their tea, but somebody to talk with while they waited for a conference call.”
What 230 Colleges Say Is Most Important For Admission
EdWeek - 9/8/16

"An annual survey of admissions officers reiterates an important message for high school students who are worried sick about their SAT or ACT scores: The classes you take and the grades you earn are far more important to us than your test scores… In the fall 2014 admissions cycle, 79.2 percent of responding colleges and universities gave "considerable importance" to grades in students' college-prep classes, while 55.7 percent assigned the same importance to admission test scores for entering freshmen.”
College Admission Report: Data Visualizations And Downloads [report]
NACACnet - 9/8/16

"Learn more about factors in the admission decision, acceptance rates for college applicants, common recruitment strategies, and the status of college counseling in secondary schools… Explore the latest admission statistics for four-year US colleges and universities including selectivity and yield rate trends.”
Stanford Admit Rate Reaches Zero Percent, And Other Humor
New York Times - 3/30/16

"With no one admitted to the class of 2020, Stanford is assured that no other school can match its desirability in the near future. “We had exceptional applicants, yes, but not a single student we couldn’t live without,” said a Stanford administrator who requested anonymity. “In the stack of applications that I reviewed, I didn’t see any gold medalists from the last Olympics — Summer or Winter Games — and while there was a 17-year-old who’d performed surgery, it wasn’t open-heart or a transplant or anything like that. She’ll thrive at Yale.”
“Turning The Tide”: The Great Effort To Change College Admissions
Harvard Graduate School of Education - 1/20/16

"Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good through College Admissions, represents the first time that a broad coalition of colleges and universities have joined forces in a unified effort calling for widespread change in the admissions process. The report includes concrete recommendations to reshape the admissions process and promote greater ethical engagement among aspiring students, reduce excessive achievement pressure, and level the playing field for economically disadvantaged students. It is the first step in a two-year campaign that seeks to substantially reshape the existing admissions process.”
Is The College Admissions Process About To Radically Change?
New York Times - 1/19/16

"Over recent years there’s been a steady escalation of concern about the admissions process at the most revered, selective American colleges. And little by little, those colleges have made tweaks. But I get the thrilling sense that something bigger is about to give. The best evidence is a report to be released on Wednesday. I received an advance copy. …Scores of educators — including the presidents and deans of admission at many of the country’s elite institutions of higher education — contributed to or endorsed it. Top administrators from Yale, M.I.T. and the University of Michigan are scheduled to participate in a news conference at which it’s unveiled.”
Results From Data Crunching 15,000 Successful College Essays
Fast Company - 8/3/15

"AdmitSee found that the most common words on Harvard essays were "experience," "society," "world," "success," "opportunity." At Stanford, they were "research," "community," "knowledge," "future" and “skill." …It turns out, Brown favors essays about volunteer and public interest work, while these topics rank low among successful Yale essays. In addition to Harvard, successful Princeton essays often tackle experiences with failure. Meanwhile, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania tend to accept students who write about their career aspirations.”
Students of Color Are A Majority In Pomona College’s Admitted Class
Pomona - 3/20/15

"For the first time, students of color make up the majority of the class at 51.4 percent. Of these students, 13.8 percent are Asian, 11.6 percent Black/African American, 18.3 percent Hispanic, 7.4 percent multiracial and less than 1 percent Native American.”
In Support Of The Gap Year
New York Times - 1/4/15

"Attendance at “gap fairs” more than doubled in the United States between 2010 and 2013, and enrollment in gap-year programs grew 27 percent from 2012 to 2013 alone, according to Ethan Knight, executive director of the American Gap Association. Many college websites, including Harvard’s and Yale’s, now encourage prospective freshman to consider a gap year; Middlebury even provides links to specific programs.”
What Happens When Athletes Are Recruited in Middle School?
New York Times - 1/26/14

“For girls and boys, the trend is gaining steam despite the unhappiness of many of the coaches and parents who are most heavily involved, many of whom worry about the psychological and physical toll it is taking on youngsters.”

admissions

Some Initial Thoughts On How A.I. Could Support Admissions
Student Doctor Network - 2/12/23
Six HBCUs Upgrade Their Admissions CRMs
Hechinger Report - 2/10/23
In A Test-Optional World, Is Calculus Now A Gatekeeper To College?
WBEZ - 2/6/23
US Secondary And Higher Ed Enrollment Is About To Plummet
Vox - 11/21/22
"4 Trends To Know For Sustainable Enrollment”
NAIS - 10/18/22

View remaining articles (137)

Three C’s Of Marketing To Gen Z Parents
NAIS - 9/1/22
Does Going Test-Optional Actually Change Admissions Outcomes?
Hechinger Report - 7/13/22
“Admissions Without Applications”
Inside Higher Ed - 7/11/22

“In the fall, the college plans to consider some students who haven’t actually applied for admission at all. They will be students who have created profiles through Sage Scholars, which has offered a service since 1995 to help students afford college. This year, in addition to presenting students whom colleges might want to recruit to apply, Sage will also offer some of its several hundred members the chance to look at the profiles (which will contain the interests, grades and test scores of students who have them) and admit students directly… By creating a profile, “you are just saying ‘I’m interested in college.’”
MIT Reinstates SAT/ACT Requirement
MIT - 3/28/22
“Why Good Enrollment Managers Are So Hard To Find”
Chronicle of Higher Education - 1/10/22
Early Action Vs. Early Decision Vs. Regular Decision
Writers Qi - 11/11/21
“Amherst College Ends Legacy Admissions Favoring Children Of Alumni”
New York Times - 10/20/21
Are Leadership Soft Skills Important For Admissions, Too?
Writers Qi - 8/28/21
UC Admissions Went Test Free. How Is Their Incoming Class?
NACACnet - 8/23/21

“We are enrolling one of the most academically accomplished and diverse classes in our history. I’m certain there will be much scrutiny over the academic performance of this class in their first year, but I would encourage anyone analyzing that data to recognize the overlapping impact of COVID on these students—both in their junior and senior years and leading into their first year on our campuses.”
Wait-Listed? Some Colleges Offer Semester Abroad As A Way In
Wall Street Journal - 8/14/21
What Students Write About In Their Essays, By Income Level
New York Times - 5/26/21
"High Schools Are Posting Their College Lists. Don’t Be Misled.”
New York Times - 5/7/21
Admissions In Jeopardy: “A Guide to Ethical Practice In College Admission”
Inside Higher Ed - 5/3/21
Five Myths Of College Admissions: Deadlines, Selectivity, And More
Forbes - 4/26/21

“Myth 2: Acceptance to college is a game of tiny percentages, in which only a very few applicants get in. Fact: The average acceptance rate for four-year colleges in the U.S. has hovered around 65% for more than a decade. Which means that there are sufficient spaces for many more students than are currently enrolled in higher education.”
Rethinking Tuition? Here Are Some Levers To Pull
NAIS - 4/1/21
A New Program For Disadvantaged Teens Is Shaking Up Admissions
New York Times - 2/18/21
"5 Things Every Family Should Know About Paying For College”
NPR - 2/17/21

“Roughly 90 percent of people do not pay the full price. They get some kind of a discount. The number families will actually pay varies widely depending on how desperate a particular institution is to put heads in beds and whether it's particularly desperate for some kinds of people more than others… There is the need-based aid system running on one set of train tracks and then right next to it, in parallel, there's the merit aid system – runs on its own set of tracks.”
Common App Report On How Demographics Are Changing In Applicant Pool
Inside Higher Ed - 1/26/21
How Prestigious Admissions Offices Can Promote Equity
Psychology Today - 1/25/21
Merit Aid For College: What Is It, And Should You Tell Your Kids About It?
New York Times - 1/23/21
“The Exquisite Angst Of Applying To College In A Deeply Anxious Year”
New York Times - 11/27/20
“Three Enrollment Takeaways From the Latest NAIS Trendbook”
Enrollment Mgmt Assoc - 10/22/20
Four College Essays On The Topic Of Money
New York Times - 8/28/20
“Three Shifts For College Counselors During And Beyond COVID-19”
Global Online Academy - 8/19/20
"How The Coronavirus Has Upended College Admissions”
NPR - 8/12/20
“How To Normalize The College Search Process For Juniors”
New York Times - 6/3/20
“Enrollment Decision-Making Amid COVID-19: 4 Effects to Manage”
NAIS - 5/25/20
UC System Considers Phasing Out SAT And ACT Application Requirements
New York Times - 5/21/20
Thoughts On Enrollment Strategy In A Time Of Higher Summer Melt
Enrollment Mgmt Assoc - 5/6/20
Survey Of 405 Parents Of College-Bound Seniors Re: Enrollment Plans
Brian Communications - 4/1/20
COVID-19: One University Makes Standardized Tests Optional For Admission
Case Western Reserve - 3/18/20
Detailed Study Of The Effect Of Merit Aid On Higher Ed
New America - 2/13/20
Tips From Three Counselors About College Admissions (APs, Internships, etc)
Medium - 2/12/20
Should Schools Go Legacy-Blind?
Boston Globe - 12/1/19
How To Have More Caring Conversations About College Admissions
Harvard Graduate School of Education - 11/4/19
NACAC: “2019 State of College Admission” Report
NACACnet - 11/1/19
SAT And ACT Decline In Use, But Are Still A Big Factor In Admissions
Education Dive - 11/1/19

“The strength of first-year students' grades in all their high school courses — and grades they earned in college prep classes — were the most influential factors for administrators, the association found… Slightly fewer than half of colleges and universities that responded to survey… believe the two tests are "considerably important" in admissions.”
On Recruiting Internationally: Understanding Current And Emerging Markets
NAIS - 11/1/19
Groups Threaten To Sue Universities For Using SAT/ACT In Admission
AP News - 10/29/19
How Admissions Offices Are Leveraging Online Data About Applicants
Washington Post - 10/15/19

“The admissions officer also received a link to a private profile of the student, listing all 27 pages she had viewed on the school’s website and how long she spent on each one. A map on this page showed her geographical location, and an “affinity index” estimated her level of interest in attending the school.”
“Harvard Won The Admissions Trial But Has Changed Its Process Anyway”
Quartz - 10/3/19
Google Adds More College Information To Search Function
TechCrunch - 8/15/19
Test-Optional Admission Policies Continue To Grow
Education Dive - 8/13/19
“How Does An Admissions Officer Read Your Application?”
Story2 - 8/6/19
Can Virtual College Advising Help Rural Students?
Hechinger Report - 6/11/19
Should Admissions Office Use A.I. To Scan Applications?
Fast Company - 5/17/19
Test-Optional Admission Policies Are Gaining Momentum
University Business - 4/11/19
Reminder: The Huge Majority Of Colleges Aren’t Selective (That’s Ok)
Atlantic - 4/10/19
Rural Students Go To Colleges Less B/c Colleges Recruit Them Less
Hechinger Report - 3/6/19
“Turning The Tide II”: How Parents And High Schools Can Reduce Distress In Admissions
Harvard Graduate School of Education - 3/1/19

“[This report] offers guidelines for high schools and parents in promoting ethical character. It also describes how some high schools and colleges are working to promote greater ethical engagement among high school students, level the playing field for economically disadvantaged students, and reduce excessive achievement pressure. The report also includes a pioneering statement from admissions deans seeking to advance Turning the Tide’s goals.”
“Dear Therapist… The College Process Is Rigged Against My Son”
Atlantic - 2/18/19
“Acceptance Rate Of Elite US Colleges From 2015 To 2018, Visualized”
Digg - 12/20/18
A Guide To Going To College In The UK
Bridge-U - 11/23/18
From The Harvard Trial: Four Ways Applicants Get In To Elite Institutions
New York Times - 11/7/18
The Harvard Admissions Case: Athletics, Race, And Equity
Atlantic - 10/23/18

“All applicants to Harvard are ranked on a scale of one to six based on their academic qualifications, and athletes who scored a four were accepted at a rate of about 70 percent. Yet the admit rate for nonathletes with the same score was 0.076 percent—nearly 1,000 times lower.”
“How I Know You Wrote Your Kid’s College Essay” (Plus Comments!)
New York Times - 10/3/18

[From the comments:] “The fact that [anyone] can call themselves a "college essay consultant" belies the article's entire premise that there is anything "authentic" left in the college application process.”
How Top College Acceptance Rates Have Dropped In The Past 12 Years
Priceonomics - 9/25/18
Does Interest In Racial Justice Penalize Black Students In Admissions?
The Conversation - 9/5/18

"My findings revealed that white admissions counselors were, on average, 26 percent less likely to respond to the emails of black students whose interests and involvements focused on anti-racism and racial justice… I focus my solutions on what institutions can do, not how black students should comport themselves to fit into a white environment.”
"A Surprisingly Simple Way To Help Level The Playing Field In… Admissions”
New York Times - 8/27/18

“Underrepresented students are less likely to take admissions tests more than once. Encouraging them to retake tests — as many of their high-income, white and Asian-American peers do — could close a substantial portion of the income and racial gap in enrollment at four-year colleges. That’s the conclusion of a working paper released on Monday”
Selective Colleges Increasingly Admit Students For Sophomore Year
Hechinger Report - 8/23/18

“Nearly one in five full-time freshmen drop out. Conditional admission gives universities a line on applicants ready to start as sophomores, filling the resulting empty seats and beds and keeping tuition coming in.”
Should Admission Be By Lottery?
Atlantic - 8/1/18
"How Elite Schools Stay So White”
New York Times - 7/24/18

“Instead of focusing on who from the margins is able to get in, we would do better to direct our attention to the fundamental ways selective admissions and educational institutions maintain the privileges of whiteness.”
Financial Aid In Exchange For A Share Of Future Earnings?
Minnesota Star Tribune - 7/23/18
“Harvard Lawsuit Is About Affirmative Action, Not Asian Americans”
Boston Globe - 7/17/18
"I'm An Activist For Asian Americans. I support Affirmative Action”
Washington Post - 7/12/18
Princeton And Stanford Drop SAT And ACT Requirements
Washington Post - 7/5/18
Elite Schools Should Get Much Bigger (via Harvard Admissions)
Bloomberg - 6/28/18
University of Chicago Stops Requiring SAT And ACT
Chicago Tribune - 6/14/18
Google Adds College Information To Search Function
Google - 6/12/18
"5 College Application Essays About Work, Money and Social Class”
New York Times - 5/11/18
Students And Admissions Officers Reflect On Same College Essays
New York Times - 5/11/18
For Kids, College Decisions Are As Much About Money As The Admission
NPR - 5/1/18
Making Standardized Tests Optional Can Enhance Diversity
KQED - 4/26/18
Admissions Offices Under Legal Scrutiny: Antitrust, Discrimination
NPR - 4/11/18

"The Justice Department is reportedly investigating possible antitrust violations by a number of elite colleges related to the sharing of information between them to enforce the terms of their early-admissions programs.”
“How To Level The College Playing Field”
New York Times - 4/7/18
Should Schools Use Massive Waitlists?
NPR - 4/5/18

"In the spring of 2017, Dartmouth College, a small ivy league school in New Hampshire, offered 2,021 waitlist spots to applicants. Of the 1,345 who chose to stay on the waitlist, not a single person got in.”
On Parents Managing Their Own Stress About College Applications
New York Times - 3/24/18

“I have a child who’s a junior in high school, which means that everywhere I go, people want to talk about one thing: college.”
MIT And Others Welcome Students Who Miss School For Protests
MIT - 2/22/18

“A disciplinary action associated with meaningful, peaceful participation in a protest will not negatively impact their admissions decision, because we would not view it as inappropriate or lacking integrity on its face.”
Is All Press Good Press? Middlebury Sees Record Applications
Middlebury - 1/22/18
De-Valuing The AP, New Transcripts - Is College Admission Changing?
Peter Gow - 12/17/17
Why Admissions Offices Should Be Clearer About Criteria
New York Times - 12/5/17
Some Colleges Have “Instant Admission Days”
US News & World Report - 12/4/17
“The Case For Eliminating The SAT And ACT In UCal Admissions”
Berkeley - 12/1/17
On Writing College Essays
Washington Post - 10/28/17
“Good Grades Are Still A Primary Factor To Getting Into College”
Cleveland - 10/27/17
When A News Source Finds Admissions Notes On A Racial Subset
BuzzFeed - 5/19/17
On The Surprisingly Large Role Of Imagination In The College Decision
New York Times - 4/26/17
How Some Admissions Offices Are Using Data Targeting
Atlantic - 4/10/17
On The Role Of Being A Good Person, In College Applications
New York Times - 4/4/17
Stories Of Kids Finding Their Way To College. And Not.
New York Times - 3/24/17
Weissbourd: Making College Admissions (And Childhood) More Caring
Atlantic - 12/21/16
Bloomberg Propels Initiatives To Make Colleges More Diverse
New York Times - 12/13/16
Harvard Admits 14.5% Of Early Applicants
Harvard - 12/13/16
“The Myth Of The Sports Scholarship”
Chronicle of Higher Education - 11/20/16
Reflecting On Goals Can Help College Applicants Find Focus
Harvard Graduate School of Education - 11/14/16
Does A LinkedIn Profile Help Kids In The College Admission Process?
New York Times - 11/5/16
"How To Make Sense Of College Rankings”
New York Times - 10/29/16
What HS Seniors Say They Want To Say To Their Parents, But Can’t
Washington Post - 9/16/16
Another Cry For More Stories About Average College Admissions
Washington Post - 4/26/16
Despite Frenzy for Elite Schools, Nat’l College Admit Rate Is Stable
New York Times - 4/20/16
Media Focus On Elite Schools Distracts From National Norm
FiveThirtyEight - 3/30/16
Broad Data On The Rise Of The Chinese International Student
Wall Street Journal - 3/17/16
What Is The “Coalition For Access, Affordability, And Success”?
KQED - 3/7/16
Video Chat And The Admissions Process - A Whole New Direction?
NPR - 2/10/16
Or Is The Whole College Admissions System Misguided?
New Yorker - 1/28/16
5 Ways Admissions Processes Shut Out Poor Students
NPR - 1/15/16
A New (Selective?) Common App. Is It More Or Less Stressful?
New York Times - 10/26/15
MIT Uses MOOC Performance As Admission Test To Masters Program
MIT - 10/7/15
One Parent’s Story Of Hiring A College Advisor
New York Times - 9/20/15
New York Times Covers The College Scorecard Launch
New York Times - 9/12/15
US DOE Launches Scorecard Of (Most) Colleges In America
US Department of Education - 9/12/15
MOOC Courses Are Showing Up On College Applications
New York Times - 8/25/15
Student Writes Fake Rejection Letter. Gets Real One. [Humor]
Boston Globe - 4/3/15
For Most People, Attending Ivies Doesn’t Make An Income Difference
Slate - 4/1/15
Book Review of Frank Bruni’s: “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be”
New York Times - 3/22/15
Rebutting Frank Bruni: Maybe Elite Schools Do Foster Success.
Quartz - 3/22/15
Eight-Year Interviewer For Harvard Quits, Vents on Gawker
Gawker - 3/18/15
A Friendlier Argument Against Applying To The Ivies
New York Times - 3/13/15
Challenges For Asian Americans During Admission Season
LA Times - 2/21/15
10 College Admission Trends
LinkedIn - 12/3/14
Top Schools Haven’t Gotten Harder to Get Into, For Top Students
New York Times - 11/29/14
An Alternative to the Common App?
Chronicle of Higher Education - 10/31/14
Khan Academy Offers College Advising
Khan Academy - 10/28/14
A College Application Essay [Humor]
New Yorker - 10/20/14
LinkedIn Ranks Colleges By Career Placement
LinkedIn - 10/1/14
4 Pieces of Advice From Former Yale Admissions Officer
Forbes - 9/30/14
How One Man Makes a Mint Gaming College Admissions
Businessweek - 9/3/14
Why Aren’t Top Colleges Enrolling More Low Income Students?
New York Times - 8/25/14
NY Times Features Four College Admissions Essays about Money
New York Times - 5/9/14
An Argument Against Admitting Legacy Students
New York Times - 4/24/14
Is There Gender Parity in College Admissions?
Washington Post - 3/26/14
Students and Families Stress About Summer Activities
Boston Globe - 3/5/14
Ditch the SATs? Grades are Better Predictors of College Success
NPR - 2/18/14
After Decades of Growth, Ivy Applicant Pool Size Begins to Stabilize
Harvard Magazine - 2/3/14
10 Social Media Tips for Student Recruitment
EduGuru - 1/28/14
Revolutionizing Recruitment: How Low-Income Students Find Great Colleges
Smithsonian - 12/1/13
Why Most High-Achieving, Low-Income Kids Don’t Apply To Top Colleges
New York Times - 10/16/13

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