College Admissions Counseling Blog

For those of you who are fascinated by college rankings there is an interesting new article put out by the Institute for Higher Education Policy. The article, entitled College and University Ranking Systems, Global Perspectives and American Challenges, first examines the historical background of the US News ratings and then looks at university rankings from countries around the world. Finally, there is a review of the impact these rating systems have had on student's choices of colleges particularly in the United States.

The article puts a more global view on ratings and their impact on students around the world than is normally seen in articles discussing college rankings. While there is not much disclosed that hasn't already been known, the synthesis of all of this information into one source provides a good overview of the college ranking systems.

Now is a great time for those students interested in pursuing a science field in college. A number of major research universities have announced new science building initiatives in the past year or two to be able to accommodate their future needs in the areas of science and engineering. A recent New York Times article discussed many of these projects including Yale's recent announcement that they have acquired existing science and laboratory buildings very near their main campus.

Several of the colleges gearing up their existing science facilities, such as Yale, have in the past not been known for their strong science programs. With the investment that the colleges are putting into science facilities those students entering the science fields will be able to benefit from these improved resources. This is an example of a benefit that a student can receive when colleges compete with each other in various ways.

Students often debate the question of whether the prestige of a college makes a difference in getting a job after college. In a new study out by Accountemps only 13 percent of the chief financial officers polled felt that the prestige of the undergraduate was very important. However, another 38% felt that prestige was somewhat important. Basically 1/2 of the people polled felt that there was some importance to the prestige of the college you attended. Obviously that also means that 1/2 of the people polled felt that the prestige of the college was not at all important.

While some people, like some students, feel that prestige is important, I continue to suggest to students that it is much better to have a good fit in the college you attend than to go to a college simply because it is prestigious. If you want to consider the prestige of the college as one of the factors to consider that if fine; just don't make it the only criteria.

Inside Higher Ed had an interesting article today regarding the approach that Tufts University is taking in their admissions process. Basically Tufts is still using grades and test scores as a filter to determine automatic admits and automatic application rejections. However, for the vast middle group of applicants, Tufts is asking students to respond to additional essay questions specifically designed to identify applicants with abilities that Tufts would find attractive in a student. The essay questions are meant to identify students who are creative, possess practical skills or who have wisdom about how to promote the common good.

It will be interesting to see how this approach to admissions works but the early indications from Tufts is that they are still getting high quality students who have that something extra that colleges are looking for in students. Moreover, this approach has increased the number of under represented students on campus. According to the article, at least one other college, the University of Washington is examining Tufts approach to see if it can be used at other colleges. We'll see if this is a new trend in how to evaluate students.

Good recommendations are important for students applying to college, particularly those who seek admission to the most selective colleges. There are many ways to make sure you get good recommendations. Some of these include the following.

1) Ask the recommender if they can give you a good recommendation
2) Ask teachers who know you well inside and outside the classroom if possible.
3) Ask in advance for the recommendation so that the person has adequate time to prepare the recommendation.
4) Check with students in the grade above you for their opinion on who writes strong recommendations.
5) Provide each recommender a bio sheet about you and your accomplishments including any pertinent information about your performance in that teachers classroom.

However, there are certain ways NOT to get a recommendation. One of these is discussed in a recent blog at The Right Thing. In essence a parent of a student sent a teacher who had been asked to do a recommendation some suggested language to use in the recommendation.

Most colleges want a true evaluation of you from the people who are writing your recommendations. Yes, they understand that generally these will be good recommendations but they are not looking for your parents appraisal of you. Besides insulting the person you asked to write the recommendation, writing your own recommendation is unethical and should never be done.

Finding the right college isn't about cheating to do so. You want to find the right college for you based on who you really are.

The Annapolis Group, a group of many of the selective liberal arts colleges, has put out a group statement on college rankings. Basically this group of colleges have agreed to develop a format to present data to students and parents that will provide much of the same information as available in the US News rankings, without actually ranking the colleges. Moreover, the majority of the presidents of the colleges at the meeting agreed to not participate in the peer rating requested by US News for their college ranking edition. This is significant because the peer rating accounts for 25% of the US News ranking formula and is the most important piece of the formula. Losing this information, particularly for some of the most selective liberal arts colleges will put the validity of the rankings further into question.

As regular readers of this blog know, I am not a fan of individualized rating systems like US News. While the information available is helpful, people get too wrapped up in differentiating between the No. 2 college and the No. 5 college. This is ridiculous. Look at the factors that are important to you in choosing a college and then find colleges that meet that criteria. If you want to rank your colleges based on the information you find important, go ahead and do so.

There is a new way to apply to some colleges called the Universal College Application. The people behind the Universal College Application are the people that created the Common Application. While this may not sound significant, particularly since only 13 colleges are currently using this type of application, its importance can be better shown by looking at some of the colleges accepting this type of application: Harvard, Duke, Johns Hopkins and Washington University in St. Louis.
The Universal College Application is seeking a bigger market than the Common Application which limits its members to those who use essays and recommendations in the admission process. Because many public colleges don't consider such factors, they have not become members of the Common Application group. The Universal College Application does not have such requirements and hopes to provide students applying to public colleges many of the same benefits as students applying to the Common App colleges. Keep an eye on the Universal College Application as it may just become the best way for future students to apply to a wider array of colleges.