College Admissions Counseling Blog

In October 2005 thousands of students took the SAT. This was not news until information started to come out that the scoring on many of those tests was wrong and in many cases lower than they should have been. Supposedly this occurred because of extra moisture in the area where the tests were being scored. A lawsuit resulted and it was announced today that the Collegeboard and NCS Pearson, the company scoring the tests, would pay $2.85 million into a settlement account to be used to pay damages to the students involved. Each student that took the October 2005 SAT is entitled to $275. If the student believes she can show damages greater than that they can file a form for additional review. Such forms are subject to binding awards made by a retired judge.

It is good that this matter has now been resolved but unfortunately many of these students will have no way of proving their damages exceed $275. While the mistakes in scoring may not have made any difference in admissions or financial aid, none of these students will truly know what it was that they might have missed. This news comes under the category of sometimes life just isn't fair.

Bruce Poch, the Dean of Admissions at Pomona College in Claremont, California, last week responded to questions about college admissions from Newsweek readers. Pomona College is a selective college and is a part of the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of 5 excellent colleges. Although Mr. Poch did not say any thing too surprising, it is always helpful for students and their parents to read what an insider to the selective college admissions process has to say about their world.

Here is an interesting take from another college admissions counselor who also happens to be a lawyer. Steve Goodman, a counselor in Washington DC advises students to make a small mistake on their college application to convey authenticity to the colleges. Since colleges are looking for the "real" you, making a mistake, which no one would purposely do, makes you seem more authentic.

Although I understand why Mr. Goodman is making such a recommendation, I would advise against such a tactic. Students should be trying to convey who they are to the colleges without the use of the pretend mistake. Writing a strong essay, getting appropriate recommendations, and properly completing your application are all ways to communicate the real you. Besides, mistakes are common enough without trying to make a mistake that you might come off looking like you didn't care enough in the application to avoid all of the mistakes. Moreover, this is a very fine line to walk. You want a little mistake, but not too big a mistake. What spelling error is appropriate and what makes you look uneducated? The biggest problem I have with this is by faking a mistake you are not conveying who you are but rather try to fake who you really are.

Do colleges play games in the application process? Sure they do. But that doesn't mean that you need to play games such as fake mistakes to convey the person behind the application.
Be yourself and you are more likely to be accepted at and enjoy attending the right college for your needs.

One of the topics I cover in advising students about finding the right college is to look at the middle range of test scores to find if they are competitive for any particular college. This middle range is often called the 25% to 75% range. There are several potential problems with using this approach , however, and I wanted to point them out.

First, is the danger of combining middle range of test scores in critical reading, math and writing. US News in their current ratings is an example of how this problem occurs. If college A reports that their middle range on the critical reading portion of the SAT is 650 to 750 we know that 25% of students scored above 750 on the critical reading section of the test and 25% scored below 650. If that same college reports that their middle range on the math section is 620 to 720 we can again determine how many students scored above 720 and how many were below 620. The problem occurs when we combine these two sets of ranges to say that the middle range for critical reading and math at school A is 1270 to 1470. This is not necessarily accurate because the student who scored 750 on critical reading did not necessarily score 720 on math. If this is student is strong in reading and weak in math they might have only scored 550 on math. Therefore in combining the scores you are presented with a false level of what the middle range is. Most likely the range is lower than stated because the person who does very well on one subject often does less well on the other subject. This combining of scores is what US News did in providing test scores averages for their ratings and thus the ratings are not accurate for comparing test scores.

Having a false range of test scores may cause some students to not apply because they believe there scores are too low compared to the average when in fact they might be solidly in the middle if breaking out the scores. Therefore, do not rely on ratings that combine scores from different test sections but rather compare your test scores from each section to see how they compare to the test score middle range for each section at that college. To find a breakdown by each test section for most colleges go to the IPEDS/COOL database of the US Department of Education.

A second potential problem is the question of exactly which test scores is a college submitting for use in these databases. Some colleges will provide the middle range of test scores of students they have accepted rather than the middle range of students that choose to attend. By showing the middle range of accepted students the scores are artificially higher than the scores of those who chose to attend because high scoring students usually have a variety of college options and will not necessarily attend a college where their test scores are higher than the average student. Some colleges will also not report all of the test scores of admitted students and will exlcude students that might have lower scores like recruited athletes or legacy students. Again, this will artificially raise the test scores for these colleges.

Comparing your test scores to those of the admitted students at any particular college can be a valuable thing to evaluate. However, be an informed consumer and if it is not clear with the information you are reviewing, contact the college in question and ask them exactly how they determine that middle range. That will give you a better feel for whether you are a competitive candidate for that college or not.

The head lecturer in expository writing at Harvard University recently offered some suggestions on how to write the SAT essay portion. Although the suggestions were offered to students in Korea they apply just as well to American students who plan on taking the SAT. This short article should be read by all students before taking the SAT.

The latest US News college rankings are out and the best colleges for 2002 are... No, the 2002 isn't a typo. Princeton, Harvard and Yale are one, two and three respectfully in the National Universities category for 2002 as well as 2008. Amherst, Swarthmore and Williams are in those positions in the liberal arts colleges in 2002. Sure for 2008 it's a major upset with Williams at number one and then Amherst and Swarthmore. (For those of you new to this blog, that last sentence was sarcasm.)

My point, as I have often said, is that people get way to caught up in where each college ranks according to the US News criteria which by the way changes every year anyway. Students and their families need to be concerned about whether the colleges they are looking at attending meet their needs, not some artificial ranking scheme. Did Williams really improve in 2008 compared to 2002. No. Williams is by almost any measure a wonderful college but it is no better today than it was in 2002.

The most unfortunate thing coming out of the latest rankings is the punishment that US News is giving certain colleges that are not using standardized tests in the admissions process. Sarah Lawrence College and Gustavus Adolphus College are two such examples. These colleges have been put into the "unranked" category because of their refusal to play the game that US News wants to play. This reminds me of the petty punishment that US News first gave Reed College when they refused to provide information that US News wanted.

In the past I have said that if people want to use the information provided by US News on such topics as the graduate rate or admission rate of various colleges that the ratings were appropriate for that use. However, at this point, I would suggest that people ignore these ratings altogether and use alternative sources for such information. One such source for much of the same information is the IPEDS/COOL database of the US Department of Education. Here you can find the needed information without the silly games played by US News in their arbitrary ranking guides.

There is an article today following up on the New York Times discussion of the potential conflict of interest issues cropping up in the study abroad field. I commented on the Times article when it came out and for those students wanting more information on this topic, the article from Inside Higher Education provides just that.

Students often wonder if they need to participate in a summer program at a college to be competitive for admission at a highly selective colleges. The answer is no you do not need to participate in such a program but for some students it may have some benefit. A recent article in Inside Higher Ed discusses some of the issues related to the participation in college summer programs.

The bottom line to this discussion is that if you have a particular academic interest that can be enhanced by participation in a college summer program then by all means consider participating in such a program. But simply attending a program at a highly selective college will most likely have no effect on your chances of admission.

For many students the opportunity to study abroad during their college years is one of the critical issues in the search for the right college. Although many colleges use their own study abroad programs, there also are a number of private companies providing study abroad programs. Unfortunately, it seems that some of these companies are paying the colleges that use their services for each student that signs up. The New York Times is reporting that some of these paybacks include free and subsidized travel for officials as well as cash payments.

This raises another issue that students need to be aware of in searching for the right college. If you are considering doing a study abroad program in college, make sure that you inquire of the study abroad program of the college in question to see if they accept any perks from outside study abroad programs.

Taking a year off before starting college, known as a gap year, has been fairly popular in Europe but not as common in the United States. However, a recent article describes how it is becoming more common in the US to take that first year off before starting college.

I have always encouraged students who are not sure about whether to attend college or who need a little maturing to consider a gap year. Most colleges are more than willing to allow a student to defer admission for a year as long as you plan on doing something productive with the year. The key to a successful gap year is that "something productive". Not all students need to travel the world or engage in humanitarian efforts during their gap year. If that is what you wish to do then enjoy yourself. But for many students, they just need time to explore their interests in more depth or maybe just better determine who they are and what they want from a college education. That does not mean lying around the house watching TV all day. But it might mean working at a job or an internship that you might have some interest in to see if it would be a good fit for you after attending college. Your options for a gap year are limited only by your imagination and your need to do something productive.

Recently there was an article about a college admission consultant that is being sued after charging a client $200,000 and then not providing services. The allegations are that this consulting firm met with the young man from Kazakhstan who wished to attend an Ivy League college. After having $200,000 wired to an account in Hong Kong the group told the young man that he wasn't Ivy League material and did not provide any more services to him. He eventually was accepted at Columbia University.

As a lawyer I am always cautious about believing everything alleged in a complaint. There is often two sides to the story. The story, however, if true, is more than a little disturbing. Charging someone $200,000 for college admission counseling is offensive if it actually occurred. Even if services were provided there is absolutely no justification for that kind of charge.

I understand that there are consultants that charge large amounts and basically guarantee admission to an Ivy League college. However, since no one is guaranteed admission to any particular college, I find such guarantees less than honest. But if the consulting group in question really did not do anything to justify a fee of $200,000 other than meet with the young man this raises serious ethical questions about the firms actions.

Students and their families who are searching for a college admission consultant should understand that there are many very qualified firms available that can help them with the process of finding the right college. But if the terms sound too good, maybe they need to start asking some questions. Again, no one can guarantee admission to any college. Yes, there are some students that you can definitely say are likely to gain admission particularly those who are development cases where the family may donate millions of dollars to the school. But never, never, pay anyone $200,000 to do college admissions counseling.