The Answer Sheet - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else).

Posted at 10:44 AM ET, 05/03/2013

More than 200 colleges, universities still accepting students for fall

By Valerie Strauss

Here are some of the college and universities still taking students for fall.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:44 AM ET, 05/03/2013 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Tags: Across The Country, Admissions, College Admissions, In D.C., Maryland, Other States, Virginia

Posted at 04:02 AM ET, 04/05/2013

Can we stop talking about who got into which college?

By Valerie Strauss

Here's a rant about the college admissions process -- and the intense discussion about who got accepted where.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:02 AM ET, 04/05/2013 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Tags: College Admissions, Tina Fey's Movie Isn't Helping

Posted at 10:47 AM ET, 03/26/2013

College admissions madness may ease: study

By Valerie Strauss

The other March Madness is underway as high school seniors learn whether they have been rejected or accepted to their schools, as a report suggests the craziness may be easing in this decade.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:47 AM ET, 03/26/2013 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Tags: College Admissions, The Other March Madness

Posted at 11:33 AM ET, 03/01/2013

A 'most embarrassing moment' college admissions poem

By Valerie Strauss

By Valerie Strauss | 11:33 AM ET, 03/01/2013 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Tags: College Admissions, College Applications, College Essays, Not Your Usual Essay

Posted at 04:56 PM ET, 02/26/2013

SAT exam to be redesigned

By Valerie Strauss

The famed SAT college admissions exam will undergo a thorough redesign by the College Board, which is calling the effort an "ambitious effort" to "better meets" the needs of students and schools.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:56 PM ET, 02/26/2013 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Tags: Aim: 'Increase Value', College Admissions, SAT

Posted at 11:23 AM ET, 01/03/2013

New College Board chief cites 'problems' with SAT

By Valerie Strauss

Guess who thinks there's more than one problem with the SAT? David Coleman, the man who was recently selected to run the organization that owns the SAT, says he has issues withthe essay section. Here's a look at Coleman and what else he said.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:23 AM ET, 01/03/2013 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Tags: College Admissions, College Board, Expect Changes in Test, SAT, Sees 'Revision'

Posted at 11:08 PM ET, 11/28/2012

Colleges that don't require SAT or ACT: New survey

By Valerie Strauss

A new survey of accredited colleges and students shows that more than 800 admit all or many students without requiring SAT or ACT scores.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:08 PM ET, 11/28/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Tags: ACT, College Admissions, More than 800, SAT

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 01/20/2011

Harvard’s unofficial early admissions process

By Valerie Strauss

Harvard University doesn’t have an official early admissions process, but some students still learn before everybody else whether they are being looked on with favor by the admissions folks. Meanwhile, the current early admissions seasons is the toughest ever for some schools.

By Valerie Strauss | 08:00 AM ET, 01/20/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Tags: college admissions, college admissions process, dartmouth university, early action, early admissions, getting into ivy league, harvard admissions, harvard university, how to get into college, ivy league, ivy league admissions, university of michigan, yale university

Posted at 11:49 AM ET, 12/11/2010

Colleges start revealing early admissions decisions

By Valerie Strauss

High school students around the nation who applied to early-decision programs at colleges and universities are starting to learn their fate ahead of the usual Dec. 15 “reveal” date.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:49 AM ET, 12/11/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, early admissions, early decision

Posted at 11:10 AM ET, 11/30/2010

Early college admissions applicants: Have a Plan B

By Valerie Strauss

Early decision applicants are on edge waiting to hear if their first choice college accepted them, but they should be preparing in case the answer is "no."

By Valerie Strauss | 11:10 AM ET, 11/30/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, college applicants, college applications, early action, early action vs. early decision, early decision

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/19/2010

A plea to college interviewers

By Valerie Strauss

Two high school college admissions counselors write about problems with some college interviewers and the false hopes they can give to applicants.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 11/19/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, college applications, college interviews

Posted at 12:01 AM ET, 11/19/2010

Report: Rise in college applications hurts low-income students

By Valerie Strauss

A new report concludes that the dramatic increase in college applications over the past 15 years is creating a rise in selectivity that will reduce opportunities for more low-income, first-generation students in all levels of higher education, including community colleges.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:01 AM ET, 11/19/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: arms race, college admissions, college admissions competition, college applications, college arms race, national association for college admissions counseling

Posted at 10:34 AM ET, 11/14/2010

Be careful of 'snap apps' in college admissions

By Valerie Strauss

If your home life revolves around the college application process at the moment or will someday, you should know about “snap apps” to avoid being fooled.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:34 AM ET, 11/14/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, college applications, getting into college, snap apps, vip applications

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 11/04/2010

College admissions’ dirty little secrets

By Valerie Strauss

A college admissions advisor warns parents not to let their kids find the school first and then figure out how to pay for it because "students whose parents can 'write the check' stand a markedly better chance of getting admitted, all other factors being equal.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:30 AM ET, 11/04/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: admissions process, college admissions, college applications, college tuition, financial aid, guest bloggers, sticker price

Posted at 10:01 AM ET, 10/26/2010

Safety schools matter in college admissions

By Valerie Strauss

A college admissions consultant advises kids applying to college to think hard about safety schools. They may be the most important schools on any individual’s college list.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:01 AM ET, 10/26/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, college applications, getting into college, safeties, safety schools, what's a safety?

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 10/14/2010

The PSAT/National Merit test: What you should know

By Valerie Strauss

What you should know about the PSAT if you have a high school student.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:30 AM ET, 10/14/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: National Merit, National Merit scholarships, PSAT, PSAT prep, Princeton Review, SAT prep, college admissions, college scholarships, scholarships, test prep

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 10/12/2010

Teaching college kids to 'pilot their own helicopter'

By Valerie Strauss

Oberlin College President Marvin Krislov writes that colleges make a mistake when they urge parents to drop their kids off at college and quickly drive away. The trick is to strike a balance between too much parental involvement and too little.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:00 AM ET, 10/12/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Life, College Life, College Life, College Life | Tags: adjusting to college, college admissions, helicopter parents, marvin krislov, oberlin, oberlin college, parents, university of michigan

Posted at 11:08 AM ET, 10/06/2010

Paper applications for tech schools: a harbinger?

By Valerie Strauss

A college counseling director finds an unusual applications twist: Technological universities using paper applications.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:08 AM ET, 10/06/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, college applications, college counselors

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 09/30/2010

Why kids shouldn't take SAT, ACT too early

By Valerie Strauss

Increasing numbers of high school students are taking the SAT or ACT college admissions test in the fall of their junior year. They shouldn't. A college admissions consultant explains why.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:00 AM ET, 09/30/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: Bruce Vinik, Bruce Vinik, Bruce Vinik | Tags: act, college admissions, sat

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 09/29/2010

The new risk of plagiarizing college essays

By Valerie Strauss

There is a technology called Turnitin for Admissions, introduced late last year by iParadigms LLC, that can detect plagiarism in college application essays from numerous sites on the Internet. It is a version of Turnitin, which is used in thousands of academic institutions around the world to detect plagiarism in academics.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:30 AM ET, 09/29/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: cheating on college essays, college admissions, college essay plagiarism, college essays, how to write an essay, writing college essays

Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 09/23/2010

Should colleges stop legacy preference in admissions?

By Valerie Strauss

A new book on legacy preference in college admissions says that almost three-quarters of elite national institutions grant legacy preferences in admissions and that the advantage children of alumni can receive is often significant -- even if schools say otherwise.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:30 AM ET, 09/23/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, ies, legacies, legacy preference, should legacy preference be dropped

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/17/2010

How the ACT caught up with the SAT

By Valerie Strauss

For more than 80 years, the SAT has been the nation’s dominant, standardized college admissions exam. This year – for the first time – as many students in the high school class of 2010 sat for the rival ACT as took the SAT. How did it happen?

By Valerie Strauss | 06:00 AM ET, 09/17/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags: act, college admissions, crossing the finish line, fairtest, sat, sat act, sat or act, sat vs. act, standardized tests, test-optional colleges, test-optional schools, writing section act, writing section sat

Posted at 10:53 AM ET, 08/01/2010

Common App for college admissions is live online today

By Valerie Strauss

The 2010-11 Common Application for colleges and universities is live online today, meaning that summer vacation is ending for thousands of rising high school seniors who are will now start seriously on their college admissions journey.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:53 AM ET, 08/01/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: applying to college, college admissions, common app, common application, getting into college

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 07/13/2010

Say 'no' to college admissions creep

By Valerie Strauss

A college admissions consultant argues that too many high school students are starting the college admissions process too early.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:30 AM ET, 07/13/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: bruce vinik, college admissions, college admissions creep, college admissions process, college applications, juniors and SAT, when to start the college application process, when to take the SAT

Posted at 11:45 AM ET, 06/24/2010

Advice from a student campus tour guide

By Valerie Strauss

A student college tour guide gives you all the advice you need for a successful visit.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:45 AM ET, 06/24/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: advice on visiting a campus, campus visits, college admissions, college campus visits, planning a college visit, scheduling college visits

Posted at 11:44 AM ET, 06/24/2010

Choosing public higher ed for the right reasons

By Valerie Strauss

The president of the University of Buffalo writes about why families should choose public higher education.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:44 AM ET, 06/24/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: SUNY system, benefits of public education, best schools in SUNY system, choosing a college, college admissions, college applicaitons, getting into college, how to pick a college, university of buffalo

Posted at 11:40 AM ET, 06/24/2010

College Tour '10 resumes (with links)

By Valerie Strauss

For rising high school seniors, the frenzied college admissions season is about to begin -- if it hasn't already. And our College Tour '10 resumes. Here are links to student and parent impressions of schools visited this year. Send us your own.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:40 AM ET, 06/24/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Life, College Life | Tags: College Tour '10, admissions process, campus visits, college admissions, college admissions process, college essay topics, college essays, college visits, common app, common app essays, common applicaiton preview, common application, common application essays, deciding on colleges, how to write a college esssay, the best college essays, visiting campuses, visiting colleges

Posted at 10:00 AM ET, 06/15/2010

College Admissions: Business as Usual

By Valerie Strauss

A college counseling director writes that the seemingly mysterious process of college admissions is actually very familiar to anyone in the business world.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:00 AM ET, 06/15/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, college admissions process, college application process, getting into college

Posted at 11:15 AM ET, 06/12/2010

Stop timing the ACT and SAT

By Valerie Strauss

It's way past time for the College Board and the ACT Inc. to stop timing their exams. Kids should be able to take as much time -- or as little -- on the test as they want.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:15 AM ET, 06/12/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: SAT and ACT, SAT and ACT, SAT and ACT | Tags: act, college admissions tests, college board and extended time, extended time on act, extended time on sat, fairtest and sat, how long is the act?, how long is the sat?, how to get extended time, howard gardner and sat, sat, sat and act, time limits on act, time limits on sat, timing the sat, which test is longer

Posted at 10:00 AM ET, 06/09/2010

Do colleges superscore ACT and SAT equally?

By Valerie Strauss

With tens of thousands of rising high school seniors getting ready to take the ACT on Saturday, it’s a good time to review the issue of superscoring college admissions tests. How does it work?

By Valerie Strauss | 10:00 AM ET, 06/09/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: SAT and ACT, SAT and ACT | Tags: college admissions, college admissions tests, college application process, sat and act, superscoring, superscoring act, superscoring sat

Posted at 10:00 AM ET, 06/03/2010

Problem seen with admissions process to U.S. service academies -- Vinik

By Valerie Strauss

College admissions consultant Bruce Vinik explains why applicants to the U.S. service academies have a tougher admissions process than everybody else.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:00 AM ET, 06/03/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: Bruce Vinik, Bruce Vinik, Bruce Vinik | Tags: college admissions, nominations to service academies, u.s. air force academy, u.s. naval academy, u.s. service academies, west point

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 05/25/2010

Many colleges over-enrolled for fall

By Valerie Strauss

Many colleges and universities across the country suddenly have a good problem: They are over-enrolled for this fall and are scrambling to figure out how to accommodate the extra students in classes and dormitories.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 05/25/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, college enrollment, enrollment at schools, freshmen class, schools that are overenrolled

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 05/18/2010

Colleges should tell students odds of getting off wait lists

By Valerie Strauss

Colleges that insist on maintaining waitings lists that are longer than the phone book should tell students their odds of eventually being accepted.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:30 AM ET, 05/18/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, waiting lists

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 05/18/2010

Getting started on 2010-11 college applications

By Valerie Strauss

Any high school junior who wants to get a head start on college applications now can look at a preview of the entire 2010-11 Common Application.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:00 AM ET, 05/18/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, college applications, common application, common apps

Posted at 10:00 AM ET, 05/16/2010

Princeton Reviews takes down ad claims

By Valerie Strauss

The Princeton Review test prep company has voluntarily agreed to stop making certain advertising claims about how many points it can help students improve on various school admissions tests.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:00 AM ET, 05/16/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: Kaplan and ads, Princeton Review, Princeton Review and ads, claims by Princeton Review, claims by test prep companies, college admissions, getting better scores on tests, improving test scores, standardized tests, test claims, test prep companies

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 05/13/2010

Getting real about super-selective colleges

By Valerie Strauss

Bruce Vinik, a college admissions counselor, writes about why students who seem to be perfect in every way don't get into the school of their dreams.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 05/13/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: brown admissions, college admissions, columbia admissions, getting into harvard, getting into stanford, getting into the ivy league, harvard admissions, ivy league, selective colleges and applicants, who gets into harvard

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 05/10/2010

How to get the right college roommate

By Valerie Strauss

Graduating high school seniors heading for college will soon get a questionnaire from the school of their choice about housing and roommate preferences. Under no circumstances should they take this form lightly because their freshman year is at stake.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 05/10/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: campus housing, college admissions, college dormitories, college dorms, college housing, college roommates, dormitories, getting a college roommate, getting along with a roommate

Posted at 09:13 AM ET, 05/05/2010

Many colleges still accepting applications

By Valerie Strauss

Scores of colleges and universities in the greater Washington area and around the nation are still accepting applications from students for enrollment this fall even though the traditional admissions seasons is over.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:13 AM ET, 05/05/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: College of Notre Dame, Hood College, Mary Baldwin College, NACAC, Roanoke College, Trinity University, UMD Baltimore, University of Virginia, admissions survey, college admissions, college applications, colleges still accepting applications, colleges with openings

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 05/03/2010

What makes a top college? Nobel winners? PhDs? Rhodes scholars?

By Valerie Strauss

A college admissions counselor questions what makes a "top college."

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 05/03/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, top colleges

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 04/29/2010

College choice: Not a one-size-fits-family deal

By Valerie Strauss

Education counselor Eileen Wilkinson writes about why families should view a college choice as an individual consideration and not as a one-size-fits-the-family deal.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:00 AM ET, 04/29/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, prep matters, prepmatters, sibling rivalry, siblings and college

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 04/28/2010

New study: 1 in 3 college students transfer

By Valerie Strauss

A new report on students who transfer from one college to another says that about one-third of students who start at a two- or four-year institution after high school wind up transferring before they get a bachelor’s degree. And it details the factors schools consider important when evaluating transfer applicants.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 04/28/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, important factors in college transfers, national association for college counseling, report on transfer students, transfer student report, transfer students

Posted at 10:05 AM ET, 04/26/2010

The D.C. area: Obsessed with SAT scores

By Valerie Strauss

If you have any doubt just how obsessed folks in the greater Washington D.C. area are with getting their children into college, you need look no further than the Washington Post’s list of best-selling books.

By Valerie Strauss | 10:05 AM ET, 04/26/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: SAT, college admissions, college board, official sat study guide, sat test advice, tips on taking the sat

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 04/24/2010

Senior slump: A cautionary tale

By Valerie Strauss

College admissions consultant Bruce Vinik writes about how hard it is for many 12th graders to focus on their school work. As May approaches, even high achieving students give serious consideration to skipping their Advanced Placement exams and heading to the beach. But senior slump is serious business to colleges. Here's a cautionary tale.

By Valerie Strauss | 01:00 PM ET, 04/24/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, getting into college, grades and college, senior slump, senior year grades

Posted at 11:55 AM ET, 04/22/2010

Volcanic ash may disrupt college admissions process

By Valerie Strauss

Add one more thing that may be disrupted by the eruption of a volcano in Iceland and the ash cloud spreading above Europe: U.S. college admissions.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:55 AM ET, 04/22/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: Civics Education | Tags: association for college admissions counseling, college admissions process, effects of volcano eruption, may 1st acceptance date, nacac, volcano and college admissions

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 04/14/2010

Choosing a college isn't about cachet, rankings

By Valerie Strauss

A college admissions expert advices high school seniors deciding where to go to college to throw away the U.S. News and World Report rankings, and pick the school that fits them best.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:00 AM ET, 04/14/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: U.S. news college rankings, choosing the right college, college admissions, deciding on a college, making a final decision

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 04/06/2010

How to decide on a college

By Valerie Strauss

Bruce Vinik, a college admissions consultant, explains how best to figure out which college or university to attend--not, it turns out, like his high school friend Jim made his decision.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:00 AM ET, 04/06/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: Bruce Vinik, G Duke, attending Duke, choosing a school, college admissions, guest bloggers

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 04/03/2010

The illusion of ever-lower college acceptance rates

By Valerie Strauss

Elite colleges and universities won’t say they are bragging that they send rejection letters to almost all of the kids, but that’s what it seems like to me. But the real problem is that these super-low selectivity rates suggest something about college admissions that isn’t actually true.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:00 AM ET, 04/03/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 06:31 AM ET, 04/01/2010

The problems with double depositing: Part 2

By Valerie Strauss

Michael Sexton, vice president of enrollment management at Santa Clara College in California, explains why colleges and universities "strongly discourage" double depositing. For one thing, it "gums up the works on wait lists."

By Valerie Strauss | 06:31 AM ET, 04/01/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, double depositing

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 04/01/2010

Is it okay to double deposit at colleges? Part 1

By Valerie Strauss

April 1st is the traditional day that colleges and universities tell high school seniors if they have been accepted or not. Those kids lucky enough to have options sometimes can’t make up their minds by the May 1 decision deadline and put down deposits to hold a place at more than one school. Should they?

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 04/01/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college acceptances, college admissions, double depositing

Posted at 11:20 PM ET, 03/29/2010

College Tour '10 begins

By Valerie Strauss

Today we will start posting your write-ups about college visits you are making this spring. Read on to see what parents and students are saying about their visits to different campuses.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:20 PM ET, 03/29/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Tour '10 | Tags: college admissions, college tour '10, college visits

Posted at 09:32 AM ET, 03/29/2010

Broaddus--The limits of proxies in college apps

By Valerie Strauss

By Henry Broaddus. While GPA is a useful shorthand for grade point average, 4.0 is merely a proxy for successful learning (and in an era of weighted grading scales, it’s usually far lower than the proxy for the most successful learning)... All too often proxies are used in order to avoid the challenge of assessing complex, often multivariate characteristics. Put a different way, the answer to the question, "Is Johnny a critical reader?" cannot be expressed as his SAT Critical Reading subscore alone.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:32 AM ET, 03/29/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, college applications

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 03/29/2010

More colleges join $50K-plus a year club

By Valerie Strauss

More colleges are planning to charge more than $50,000 a year for tuition, room and board, and mandatory fees next year.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 03/29/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, college costs

Posted at 06:25 AM ET, 03/26/2010

Why students get rejected from college

By Valerie Strauss

By Jerome A. Lucido. Step into my office for a brief counseling session on dealing with college rejection. Frankly, it’s like the tried and true break-up line: “It’s not you; it’s me.” Only this time, the line is true. The truth is that there is always a reason that colleges accept a student, but very often there is not a reason that they don’t. It’s truly nothing a student did--or even didn’t do.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:25 AM ET, 03/26/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 12:13 PM ET, 03/25/2010

When kids cheat on SAT, ACT

By Valerie Strauss

What happens to kids who cheat on the SAT and the ACT? Even when they are caught, not as much as you might think.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:13 PM ET, 03/25/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: SAT and ACT, cheating on SAT, college admissions, college admissions tests

Posted at 09:44 AM ET, 03/22/2010

What’s an admissions ‘likely’ letter?

By Valerie Strauss

Colleges sometimes send out 'likely' letters to strong applicants suggesting that they will be admitted but not offering acceptance.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:44 AM ET, 03/22/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 03/18/2010

College visits: The ‘East Coast’ thing

By Valerie Strauss

A loyal reader writes to ask if I am some sort of an East Coast snob, and further wonders why so many Maryland kids stay on the East Coast for college.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 03/18/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, college visits

Posted at 04:06 PM ET, 03/16/2010

College Tour ’10: Tell us about your college visits

By Valerie Strauss

It's that time of year when high school juniors hit the road with their families to visit colleges and universities. We want you to tell us about your experiences, and we'll post them for readers to learn about places they don't have time to visit.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:06 PM ET, 03/16/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Tour '10, College Tour '10 | Tags: college admissions, college tour

Posted at 03:46 PM ET, 03/12/2010

Harvard study: Are weighted AP grades fair?

By Valerie Strauss

By Debra Viadero. A new study by a Harvard University researcher looks at the practice of giving weighted grades to high-level high school courses, and he issues a warning about the effects on college admissions.

By Valerie Strauss | 03:46 PM ET, 03/12/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: Grades, Grades, Grades | Tags: AP, college admissions, weighted grades

Posted at 09:13 PM ET, 03/10/2010

Virtual college fair lets students ‘visit’ schools

By Valerie Strauss

The country's largest virtual college fair is coming up, allowing students to 'visit' college campuses across the country and talk with school officials and current students as well as financial aid experts.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:13 PM ET, 03/10/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 12:02 PM ET, 03/08/2010

Choosing ACT, SAT scores to send to colleges: A good idea?

By Valerie Strauss

High school students taking the SAT and ACT more than once can choose which scores (by test date--not by individual section) to send to many colleges and universities. The question is whether it is a good idea to cherry pick the scores. It may seem like it on the surface, but there are good reasons to reconsider.

By Valerie Strauss | 12:02 PM ET, 03/08/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: ACT, SAT, college admissions

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 03/07/2010

College admissions strategies: Don't listen to friends, and more

By Valerie Strauss

By Angel B. Perez. Here's some advice from a college admissions dean for high school students getting ready to start the college admissions progress: Don't listen to your friends, and four more key strategies.

By Valerie Strauss | 07:00 AM ET, 03/07/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 03/05/2010

Campus visiting season begins at spring break

By Valerie Strauss

By Bruce Vinik. Spring break is the unofficial kick-off to the college visiting season, a season that begins with the first exhibition baseball games and ends with the NFL playoffs. The early visits of March and April are particularly important for eleventh graders because it is the first time that many of them will set foot on campuses as prospective students. Here's what to do when you are visiting a campus.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 03/05/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, college tours, spring break

Posted at 01:14 PM ET, 03/03/2010

Gap year planning time; Sidwell hosting gap year fair Saturday

By Valerie Strauss

Now is a good time for college seniors who have applied to college to think about planning a gap year before actually starting classes. College admissions directors, believe it or not, encourage kids to take a year off.

By Valerie Strauss | 01:14 PM ET, 03/03/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, gap year

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 02/16/2010

Senioritis: Minor affliction or serious disease?

By Valerie Strauss

By Jerome A. Lucido. This is it--your last year of high school. You’re on top of the heap and you’ve earned it. Your applications for admission are in. You may have already earned admission to one or more colleges through an early admission program. You will never pass this way again. Suddenly, it seems less serious....Your study time decreases. You drop a class or fall back from your AP courses. You party randomly, maybe even during the school day. It’s a disease without treatment. Nearly every senior gets a small case. Some get it bad. But there are serious side effects.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 02/16/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 02:28 PM ET, 02/08/2010

Any merit to National Merit program?

By Valerie Strauss

I have long wondered why the National Merit scholarship program had so much cache, given the criteria necessary for winning. The program is a competition in which kids become eligible if they do well on the PSAT, or Preliminary SAT test that they generally take in 11th grade. Any regular reader to this blog will know that I do not look kindly on anything in education that relies on a single standardized test score. Here is a critique of the program that I recently read and wanted to share. It was written by Jonathan Reider, director of college counseling at San Francisco University High School. This is how he starts: "National Merit status is a good example of the Platonic distinction between attractive illusion and truth."

By Valerie Strauss | 02:28 PM ET, 02/08/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: National Merit Program, college admissions

Posted at 03:40 PM ET, 02/05/2010

Saturday’s ACT exam rescheduled in storm areas

By Valerie Strauss

Scores of testing centers where thousands of students were planning to take the ACT college admissions exam tomorrow have closed because of the massive storm marching up the East Coast. The website has a long list of sites that have been closed and will post the new date when it becomes available.

By Valerie Strauss | 03:40 PM ET, 02/05/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: ACT test, college admissions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 02/04/2010

Finding and using a private higher ed consultant

By Valerie Strauss

After talking to some private educational consultants--some who charge tens of thousands of dollars and some who cost a fraction of that--I began wondering how many students actually use their services. The answer surprised me. A recent study shows that among high-achieving high school seniors, 26 percent hire an independent educational consultant.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 02/04/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 02/03/2010

College acceptances, test scores: a plea for privacy

By Valerie Strauss

David Altshuler, a private schools consultant, urges high schools to keep private college acceptances. Why: "My child is going to a local community college because his single parent father lost his job. Does he want 'Maria Enriquez--Local Community College' up there on the bulletin board next to 'Abigail Adams--Princeton'? Probably not." The disparity in family income is clear enough in the student parking lot. There is no need to beat them over the head with this information in another form.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 02/03/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 02/02/2010

Parents' role in college admissions

By Valerie Strauss

I know parents who don’t get involved in their child’s college application process. And I know parents whose child doesn’t get very much involved in his/her own college application process. Somewhere in the middle is the right space in which to inhabit. Marcia Libes Simon, a private college admissions counselor to talk about the right kind of parent involvement in college admissions, offers advice on how--and how not--to help your child fill out their applications and tour college campuses.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 02/02/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 02:30 PM ET, 02/01/2010

College quotas for high schools?

By Valerie Strauss

So your child comes home in great despair with news that two or possibly three kids from his/her high school have already been admitted to Yale, or Chicago, or Stanford, or Virginia, or Northwestern, or Williams, or the college of your kid’s dreams. And now he/she is worried that he/she can’t be admitted because the quota is filled for that high school. That would make sense if there was a quota, but after asking dozens of college and university admissions officers, I’m convinced there is no formal quota. But there IS a different process at work.

By Valerie Strauss | 02:30 PM ET, 02/01/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 11:18 AM ET, 01/29/2010

College acceptance on display?

By Valerie Strauss

Now is the time that many high schools start making public--through posters, announcements, emails, websites, etc.--where high school seniors have been accepted to college. I wish they wouldn't. Here's why.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:18 AM ET, 01/29/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 06:31 AM ET, 01/29/2010

AP Courses: How many do colleges want?

By Valerie Strauss

I’ve just started researching college admissions in depth and already I'm about to answer a question with the same response that annoys me so much from college admissions directors. (Let me apologize now.) A reader posed this question: How many Advanced Placement courses should a student take in high school to go to college? The answer: “It depends.” On what?

By Valerie Strauss | 06:31 AM ET, 01/29/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: advanced placement, ap program, college admissions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 01/29/2010

AP: College admissions directors weigh in

By Valerie Strauss

Here are some of the responses I received from college admissions officers to a query about how many AP courses they wanted to see on an applicant’s transcript. See the post above this for a discussion of this issue..From University of Southern California's Jerome A. Lucido, vice provost for enrollment policy and management: Students are always advised to take the strongest curriculum that they can reasonably handle while pursuing opportunities for academic and extracurricular opportunities for which they have a passion. We do not advise students to design their lives around what they believe that we or any other admission office may want. This, after all, is the personal journey of each student.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 01/29/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: ap program, college admissions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 01/28/2010

7 College admissions myths

By Valerie Strauss

Here are seven issues about college admissions that Lee Coffin, dean of undergraduate admissions and enrollment at Tufts University, calls "myths." He discusses issues such as whether "optional" really means "required," whether colleges check Facebook pages, whether colleges say they will only use the highest admissions test scores but really will look at the worst ones, whether coaches can actually grant school admittance to a desired athlete... and more.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 01/28/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 01/27/2010

Warning to high school seniors

By Valerie Strauss

It is the last semester of your senior year, your college applications are in, and you may be tempted to relax. That’s fine, just don’t relax too much: Colleges DO revoke acceptances. According to the 2009 State of College Admissions report issued a few months ago by the non-profit National Association for College Admission Counseling, more than one-fifth of colleges reported having revoked an admission offer in 2008.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:30 AM ET, 01/27/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 01/27/2010

The college chase: Making a plan

By Valerie Strauss

Even parents who have carefully plotted every step of their child’s education can get flummoxed over the colleges admissions process. It seems overwhelming--because it is. You (and I)--and, mostly, our kids, have a lot of work ahead. The vast majority of families will not have the luxury of having someone else plan out the application process and will have to it themselves. Yes, high schools have college admissions counselors, but recent budget cuts have reduced staff, giving the remaining counselors many more students for whom they are responsible.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 01/27/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 04:30 AM ET, 01/26/2010

College gender gap stabilizing?

By Valerie Strauss

A new analysis shows that the gender gap in college appears to be stabilizing for every group except Hispanics after years of rising concern that the male undergraduate minority was dwindling. The non-profit American Council on Education crunched data and found evidence to suggest that the gender gap has remained stable since about 2000, when men represented 43 percent of enrollment and earned 43 percent of the awarded bachelor’s degrees. It is only among Hispanics that the percentage of females continues to grow.

By Valerie Strauss | 04:30 AM ET, 01/26/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, gender gap

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 01/22/2010

'Chasing' college acceptance

By Valerie Strauss

Many of you who have a child nearing college age (and even some of you with much younger kids) may already be anxious about the admissions process and may be wondering whether your child, who hasn’t cured cancer or started a successful business already, will get into a good school. According to a new report, it is no harder for the average and high-performing student to get into college today than it was a deade ago. Here are some of the other findings.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 01/22/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 01/19/2010

Broaddus: Reading college applications

By Valerie Strauss

By Henry Broaddus. Babies, wine and retirement are among the few things left that require waiting more than three months for a result after finishing all of the preparations. For high school seniors and the parents of high school seniors, there’s another: college admissions decisions. To anyone conditioned to expect immediate responses of the sort received when placing an order on Amazon or updating a Facebook status, the delay between pressing the submit button on the Common Application’s website and learning the final outcome may seem interminable. Unfortunately, technology hasn’t yet provided a shortcut that sufficiently accounts for the merits coded in recommendations, the strength of voice evident in writing samples, or the positive grade trends that belie overall averages.

By Valerie Strauss | 11:30 AM ET, 01/19/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 01/06/2010

The link between sports titles and college applications

By Valerie Strauss

Tomorrow night the national collegiate football championship will be decided in a Bowl Championship Series contest at Pasadena's Rose Bowl Stadium. The Longhorns of the University of Texas and Alabama's Crimson Tide will be battling for the title. What will a victory do for the winning school? Among other things, it will mean that more students will send in applications--almost 10 percent more than the previous year. It doesn’t sound like rocket science, but two brothers researched the link and found a substantial connection between college applications and success of that college’s major sports teams.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 01/06/2010 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Tags: college admissions, sports

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 12/02/2009

The grades it takes to get into college, and why an ‘A’ isn’t always an ‘A’

By Valerie Strauss

Let’s suppose your child is in high school and you want to know whether you should worry because: --You advised your kid that taking the most challenging courses was more important than getting straight “A”s; --Your child has a 3.1 grade point average while his/her best friend has an “A plus” average after taking much easier courses; --You want your child to go to the University of Michigan but learn from a Post education writer that more than 94 percent of the accepted freshmen in fall 2008 had GPAs of over 3.25. Yes. Go ahead and worry.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 12/02/2009 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, grades

Posted at 09:39 AM ET, 11/18/2009

Gender and College Admissions: William and Mary Dean Talks Back

By Valerie Strauss

Yesterday I discussed why boys have an easier time than girls getting accepted to college at some schools. Part of that post included admissions statistics for the College of William and Mary in Virginia, where boys have an easier time getting in because more girls apply. Following, William and Mary Admission Dean Henry Broaddus talks back, explaining why the school does what it does. Read it and tell us what you think.

By Valerie Strauss | 09:39 AM ET, 11/18/2009 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: College of William and Mary, college admissions, gender

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 11/18/2009

A critical look at the SAT and ACT

By Valerie Strauss

Of all the trials facing high school students, the one that may be the most daunting is taking the SAT and/or the ACT college admissions tests. The results can determine where they attend college, making these exams, and the organizations that own them, very powerful. In an effort to better understand these tests, I had an e-mail conversation with Bob Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, known as FairTest. The tension between the nonprofit College Board, which owns the SAT, and FairTest is palpable: I asked the College Board to debate Schaeffer, but it refused, saying he was not a valid critic.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 11/18/2009 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: Standardized Tests, Standardized Tests | Tags: FairTest, college admissions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 11/17/2009

Do college admissions officers discriminate against girls?

By Valerie Strauss

Is it easier for boys to get accepted into college than it is for girls? You may be surprised to learn that the answer is yes, at least at some colleges. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has just begun investigating admissions practices to see if schools are favoring boys. It is starting by looking at admissions records from a dozen unnamed universities, mostly in the Washington, D.C. area, according to a recent report from Inside Higher Ed.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 11/17/2009 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, gender gap

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 11/04/2009

Are college admissions officers being ridiculous?

By Valerie Strauss

A reader reacts strongly to the notion that college admissions officers are looking for kids with a demonstrated passion for something rather than well-rounded kids. Isn't high school a time to explore?

By Valerie Strauss | 02:00 PM ET, 11/04/2009 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions

Posted at 07:15 AM ET, 11/03/2009

Question 3: Do colleges want well-rounded students or those with a passion?

By Valerie Strauss

College admissions director explain their view about whether their seek students who are well-rounded in a variety of areas or who can show a demonstrable passion in a particular area.

By Valerie Strauss | 07:15 AM ET, 11/03/2009 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: College admissions

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 11/03/2009

Question 2: What should students NEVER write in their essay?

By Valerie Strauss

Admissions directors at colleges across the country tell what they don't want to see in a student's application essay.

By Valerie Strauss | 07:00 AM ET, 11/03/2009 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: College admissions, filling out the application

Posted at 06:45 AM ET, 11/03/2009

Question 1: How to write the college application essay?

By Valerie Strauss

College admissions directors respond to this: A new college admissions book, “You’re Accepted” by Katie Malachuk, advises applicants NOT to show their family or friends their college essays, and to be brutally honest about their experiences, more honest than they might be with their friends. Is that a good strategy?

By Valerie Strauss | 06:45 AM ET, 11/03/2009 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: college admissions, writing the essay

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 11/03/2009

What do college admissions officers really want?

By Valerie Strauss

As you sit there filling out your child’s college applications and writing their essays--um, I mean, as you sit there HELPING your child fill out and write their way into college--you probably would love to know what admissions directors are really seeking. I asked admissions offices from coast to coast and received dozens of answers.

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 11/03/2009 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions | Tags: College admissions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 10/26/2009

30 books to read BEFORE the college interview

By Valerie Strauss

Take a look at this unusual list of 30 books recommended to students in Britain who have applied to Oxford and/or Cambridge universities and are preparing for their admissions interviews. How many have you read? How many do you think American college-bound students should read?

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 10/26/2009 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: College Admissions, College Admissions | Tags: Books, College Admissions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 09/09/2009

SPOTLIGHT: The Man Who Takes SAT Tests for a Living

By Valerie Strauss

“On the SAT, if you’re brilliant and slow - you’ll get a very average score.”--test expert Edward Carroll Edward Carroll takes tests for a living. To be precise, he takes the SAT, the dreaded college admissions test owned by the...

By Valerie Strauss | 06:30 AM ET, 09/09/2009 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: SAT and ACT, SAT and ACT, SAT and ACT | Tags: ACT, SAT, college admissions, test preparation

The Answer Sheet: College Admissions