Campus Food Becomes Increasingly Important to Students

Outside dining with Nobel Laureates is a great option at CalTech

I always recommend that when students are on a campus visit, they should try and spend some time in the dining hall listening and talking to current students, checking out the bulletin boards and learning what they can about life on campus. What I inevitably hear are comments about the food. Today's students are used to a variety of food choices and place a great deal of importance on time spent together eating. This fun article in today's New York Times highlights the growing importance of the food experience as a major factor in selecting a college.

Colleges Still Accepting Applications

If you are still thinking about other options for your college career, there are still many colleges and universities accepting applications for the Fall of 2008. For students who are interested in using the Common Application, they have posted a listing of their member schools which still are accepting applications. Simply click on the form, "Requirements Grid" and the members colleges' deadlines will be displayed. In addition, you can access a listing of all colleges through this link including deadlines, as well as this resource for colleges and universities with rolling admissions.

Making the Final Decision

With the May 1st deposit deadline approaching, many students feel a new kind of pressure. In April, colleges are hosting open houses and weekends for admitted students to entice them to enroll, welcoming them to campus with open arms and lots of fanfare. The good news is that the tables are now turned and the visit has a new feel as accepted students approach campus knowing they have been admitted and that it is now up to them. After a long fall and winter, students are finally in the driver's seat.

I suggest you read this valuable article to evaluate your choices. In addition, you can use this worksheet to compare your financial awards and costs. I also suggest you consider those things that were important to you when you put your list together and go to each of the schools websites to compare these factors. For example, were you looking for a school that offered a lot of activities on campus, and clubs to join. Go to each website and find a club that looks interesting and learn more about it: does it have lots of members, meetings and activities? How about the upcoming schedule for the weekend on campus: are there interesting events? What do the housing options look like, and what required courses will you be taking as a freshman. It is better to find all of this out now, rather than when you are enrolled. While you may have investigated this early on, your preferences may have changed. Comparing these items in a clear list with your final choices can help you determine which is the best option for you.

Another helpful tool can be social networking groups like Facebook. Students can use this to share comments within a specific college group, or to discuss and/or read about other colleges between which students are deciding. Your college choices may be very similar to other students, so sharing this insight can provide a new perspective and help you learn more about those who could be fellow classmates.

More on waitlists.......

The news continues to roll in on waitlists, which appear to be growing in popularity. As I mentioned yesterday, the increase at the more selective schools is being attributed to the uncertainty that has been created with fewer binding early decision schools. The Wall Street Journal today has addressed waitlists as well as the ever-popular topic of increased selectivity of colleges.

An important point to remember amid all the talk of those same super-selective 50 colleges and universities is that most colleges accept the majority of their applicants. According to a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, 80 percent of students were admitted to their top-choice college in 2007, and 82 percent of colleges accepted more than half of their applicants. It is unfortunate that the hype continues to reign for the three percent of colleges that take fewer than 25 percent.

The Waitlist, Now What?

I once heard it said by an admissions dean that the wait list is being used as a "reserve army" and this year seems to be no exception. With the increase in multiple applications, and the shifting that is likely to occur when the May 1st deposit deadline rolls around, colleges and universities are hedging their bets by adding large groups of students to their waitlists. In the often-cited world of super-selective colleges, this trend continues as many of the schools which were previously binding Early Decision have now shifted to Early Action, increasing the level of uncertainly as to who will enroll, and forcing many schools to grow their waitlists. Read more in today's New York Times.

Most schools will indicate in their waitlist offer letter to students how many have been added to the waitlist and how many have been accepted in the past. While these numbers change every year, it can be a start in determining what the likelihood may be of getting off the list and enrolling. If you decide you want to throw your hat into this rather daunting ring, here are some things to consider.

1. Return the reply card indicating your desire to remain on the waitlist
2. Students (not parents) need to keep in touch with the school, and remember persistence, not pestering, can make a difference.
3. Send in writing any updated and MEANINGFUL information to the school, too many additional letters of recommendations and calls from parents can have the negative results. Updates on grades, activities and perhaps a recommendation that provides new information can be helpful.
4. If the school is absolutely your top choice, let them know that if admitted, you will attend. This honest level of commitment can make a big difference at this point.
5. Students coming off the waitlist are often those who can pay the full price. If you think you will need financial aid, then it is more problematic at many schools when it comes to the waitlist as most of the financial aid budget has been committed. Colleges generally first accept students who do not need aid, but if the class size is not met, then more aid may become available.
6. Remember that it is out of your hands and that if the college needs more men/women/musicians/artists/athletes/scientists, etc. they can select as needed. Waitlists are rarely ordered, but rather a pool that can be drawn from as needed, and movement can be slow and often is rare.
7. It is best to focus most on the colleges to which you have been accepted and the one you plan to attend, and if something happens and you hear an acceptance from the waitlist school, then that is just a pleasant surprise.

University of Washington application update

This update came in today from The University of Washington Seattle. All fall 2008 freshmen application decisions have been finalized with few exceptions. Starting today, April 1 and through Thursday, the admissions office will send out all remaining admission, waitlist invitations, and denial of admission notification letters. These actions will affect about 3,500 applicants. The remaining 16,500 freshmen applicants have already heard from UW.

Changes Announced for the 2008-2009 Common Application

The Common Application, one application for over 300 colleges, will be available on July 1, 2008 for students who want to get a head-start on the application process. Some changes have recently been announced including a small handful of questions that may be answered differently for different colleges within the Common Application itself, without the need to create an alternate version (and without worry that a college will see anything other than the one answer intended for it alone). Those questions are:
- academic interest
- career interest
- decision plan (RD/ED/EA/REA/Rolling)
- entry term (Fall/Spring)
- financial aid intent

The Common Application will enable colleges to "suppress" certain answers submitted by applicants. For example, a test-optional college may notify us that they intend to suppress all self-reported standardized test scores. We will then prevent the transmission of that data to that college, and students will be prominently notified that College X cannot see their self-reported scores. Those questions are:
- discipline questions
- self-reported standardized test scores
- Social Security Number