Princeton 2 Inside The Admission Office April 07
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Transcript of Princeton 2 Inside The Admission Office April 07
- 1.Inside the Admission Office: How Colleges Decide Who to Admit Don Betterton Betterton College Planning [email_address]
2. Types of Colleges (4200 total)
- In the U.S. there is a higher education opportunity for every level of
- student interest and ability.My categories:
- Register and attend(1900)
- Routine enrollment process
- Specialty schools(300)
- Admit on interest and talent
- Meet basic standards(1500)
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- Admit more than 75% of applicants
- Competitive(400)
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- Admit from 40% to 75% of applicants
- Selective(100)
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- Admit fewer than 40% of applicants
3. Competitive and Selective
- 5-year grad rate:
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- 50% or more for publics
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- 80% or more for privates
- 50% or more of freshmen have SAT over 1200,
- ACT over 24
- 3.5 average high school GPA
- 1/3 or more from top 10% of h.s. class
4. Competitive and Selective
- Although these colleges make up only about
- 25% of the 4-yr non-profit, much of the college-going
- preparation and pressure is focused here.
- They are the types of colleges where good admission planning is needed.
- They tend to be more expensive and information about how to pay, with or without aid, is important.
5. Admission Recruiting Methods Create Unrealistic Expectations
- It is hard to judge where a student stands because top colleges sendWe Want Youmessages even knowing full well they will only admit some of the students they encourage to apply.
- This is an unusual buyer (student) seller (college) relationship.
6. What Would Wal-Mart Do If it Behaved Like a Top College?
- Wal-Mart would mount an extensive advertising campaign that included:
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- Print ads (college catalog)
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- Internet ads (college Web site)
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- Send salesmen on the road (admission staff)
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- Invite potential buyers to tour the store (campus visits)
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- Have previous buyers seek out new customers (alumni recruiters)
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- Mount a large direct mail campaign (search lists)
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- Use techniques to get a better product review in Consumer Reports-style publications (U.S. News ratings)
7. What Next?
- Wal-Marts outreach methods succeed at generating a very high demand for its product.
- But,
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- It turns out that all along Wal-Mart only had enough product to sell to 1/3 of potential buyers.
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- Not only that, but Wal-Mart will decide who will be allowed to make a purchase. Roles are reversed.Wal-Mart becomes the buyer.The customer must now submit an application to sell himself.
8. And Next
- Excited by all the Wal-Mart advertising, the potential customer wants to judge how he compares to others who are also interested in being selected, and asks,
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- What criteria do you use to choose those who will be allowed to buy your product?
- At this point, Mr. Walton responds,
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- It depends.
9. Welcome to the Admission Process at the Top Colleges
- The current demand for a high quality college education results in the top schools becoming selective.They get toselectwho will be able to purchase their educational product.
- If the student is striving to go to one of these colleges, it is important to understand this relationship between supply and demand.
10. Supply and Demand
- Supplyis steady.
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- While there are many more students seeking to attend college, the number of openings has remained about the same.
- Demandis growing overall.
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- The number of high school grads has never been higher.
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- Now exceeds 3,000,000
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- The percent going to college is increasing.
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- From 45% to nearly 60% since 1980s
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- The increase in demand is greatest for students wanting to attend a good school.
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- Yet, of 2000 4-year colleges, only about 500 select fewer than 3 of 4 applicants.
11. Perhaps this is the problem:
- Its hard for kids to get into colleges because they only want to go to colleges that are hard to get into.
12. What to Do
- When you are among a great many who want to purchase the education of a top college, it pays to know its selection standards.
- This knowledge can help in 2 ways:
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- It can help you prepare, both inside and outside the classroom, to meet those standards
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- Courses, grades
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- Achievements, activities
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- It can help you make a realistic college list
13. Life Isnt Easy in Admissions
- While admission offices make it hard on themselves because of their drive to generate more applications, it does create a problem.
- There are more and more students to evaluate, but it is increasingly hard to choose among them.
14. Consider:
- There is academic Bunching
- Increased enrollment in hard courses
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- Honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate
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- College courses in high school, summer enrichment
- Distinctions are blurred
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- Grade inflation (3.4 average h.s. GPA)
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- Multiple valedictorians, other honors
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- SAT recentering, take the highest score, subject tests, ACT strategy
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- Test prep courses
15. And
- There is personal Polishing
- Students are more savvy about building a resume with activities and accomplishments, strategizing the essay, using summer for extra college prep
- High schools feel the pressure -- reluctant to lessen student chances inflation in teacher and counselor recs
16. To Complicate Matters Further ..
- College admission offices have a split personality
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- They are a meritocracy
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- Admit the best
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- They also practice institutional engineering
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- Admit to meet other objectives
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- The result is not one, but two admissions processes at top colleges
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- One for regular applicants
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- One for special applicants
- This is where confusion increases and predictability decreases.
17. What To Do
- The most common reason a good student does not get admitted to a top college is that he is in theRegularcategory and doesnt realize the admission standards for him are well above the published averages.
- In fact, there may not be that many average admits.
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- A public university 700 SAT out-of-state, 500 SAT in-state
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- In making college list, and estimating chances, important to know if you are aRegularorSpecial .
18. Special Categories
- The 4 most common Special categories are:
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- Listed athlete (+30%)
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- Underrepresented minority (where not restricted by legislation) (+28%)
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- Legacy (+20%)
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- Early applicant (+20%)
- One that is growing in popularity:
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- Disadvantaged, low income, first generation college
19. Other Special Categories
- These tend to vary a great deal by institution.
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- In-state, out-of-state
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- Expressed interest
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- Special institutional need female engineer, cello player, Latin scholar
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- Donors and other forms of service
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- Misc president andtrustee lists, faculty child, etc
20. Special Categories
- Examples:
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- Level 1
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- Recruited Division I Athletes
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- Level II
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- Affirmative action minorities (depending)
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- Non-scholarship athletes
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- State residents for publics
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- Level III
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- Legacies
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- Early Decision
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- Low income, disadvantaged background (may be level II)
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- Special institutional needs not formal classics, dancer, tuba
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- Donors, Presidents list (may be level II)
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- Faculty children
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- Level IV
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- Geography
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- Expressed interest
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- Other:sib enrolled, full pay
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21. Special Strategies
- Minority -- find out if they give a preference
- Legacy -- apply to college parents attended(Check grad school, grandparents, service)
- Athlete apply to colleges where you will be listed by coach
- Apply early E.D.,E.A.
- Disadvantaged ask admission rep
- Other --
22. College List Making Advice
- Regular compare yourself to the top 75% of the academic profile
- Special
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- Minority: 25 th- 50 thpercentile
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- Listed athlete: the coach will tell you what your chances are.Div I and II scholarship athletes have minimum standards.
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- Legacy and E.D.: 40 th- 50 thpercentile
23. An Admission Exercise
- Top colleges rate applicants on academic and personal scales.
- Because they have to sort through so many apps, they use a number system.
- Assume you are an admission officer and you are rating your student.
- This system is 1 (low) to 8 (high) on both academic and personal.
24. ACADEMIC RATING TABLE None None None School County State Region Intern/ National Acad Awards Courses ACT SAT Rank GPA Average 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 C- C C+ B/B- B+ A- A A+ 2.0-2.3 2.4-2.8 2.5-3.0 3.1-3.4 3.5-3.6 3.7-3.8 3.9 4.0 up Top 1/2 33% 25% 20% 10-15% 6-9% 3-5% 1-2% 400-470 480-540 550-590 600-640 650-670 680-700 710-740 750-800 16-19 20-22 23-25 26-28 29-30 31-32 33-34 35-36 Routine Some Pre-Coll All Pre-College Honors 1,2 AP Honors 3 AP 4 AP IB or All AP 25. Personal Ratings
- The personal rating assigned to an applicant is based on a combination of attributes in different areas.They typically include:
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- Achievement
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- Talent
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- Leadership/positions of responsibility
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- How you are revealed in the application
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- Service to others
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- Overcoming obstacles
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- Personal attributes
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- Personal attributes primarily come from school and teacher reports and required interviews.The categories are:
- Respect accorded by faculty, class participation, academic achievement, intellectual promise, writing quality, creativity, work habits, maturity, motivation, leadership, integrity, reaction to setbacks, concern for others, self-confidence, initiative, and independence
26. PERSONAL RATINGS Achievement/Talent/Leadership:None Personal Characteristics:Some questionsEssay:negative impression Service/Obstacles:none/ none 1 Achievement/Talent/Leadership:Nothing stands out Personal Characteristics:Below averageEssay:doesntadd anything Service/Obstacles:none/ none 2 Achievement/Talent/Leadership:Average class/minor talent/ minor roles at best Personal Characteristics:AverageEssay:fair Service/Obstacles:Only whats required/ none 3 Achievement/Talent/Leadership:Minor school, good class/ typical talent/ occasional leaderPersonal Characteristics:GoodEssay: typical Service/Obstacles:Typical contribution/ none 4 Achievement/Talent/Leadership:Major school/ above average talent/ solid leader Personal Characteristics:Very goodEssay: adds to application Service/Obstacles: Well meaning contribution/ none 5 Achievement/Talent/Leadership: County, league-wide/ strong talent/ admirable leadership qualities Personal Characteristics:Excellent. Top 10%Essay: impresses reader Service/Obstacles: Well beyond typical service/ some obstacles 6 Achievement/Talent/Leadership: Regional, state/ unusual talent/ very strong leader Personal Characteristics:Outstanding, top 5%Essay:passed around admission office Service/Obstacles: Significant role in important service/ quite difficult road 7 Achievement/Talent/Leadership: International, national/ rare talent/ extraordinary leader Personal Characteristics: One of few in career.Essay:will appear in How to Write Essays book Service/Obstacles: Extraordinary contribution, major effect/ overcame severe obstacles 8 27.
- 8
PERSONAL/ACADEMIC COMBINED Personal 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Acad 28. Minimally competitive 6 St Josephs, Vermont, UNH, UMass, Catholic, Susquehanna, Clarkson, NJ Tech, Hofstra, Purdue, Colorado 7 SUNY Buffalo, Minnesota, Rowan, Clark, Ithaca, Quinnipiac, Drew, St Lawrence, VMI, BYU, St Lawrence, Wooster8 UConn, Rutgers, Ohio State, Penn State, Delaware, Syracuse, Loyola, Northeastern, Fordham, Providence, Fairfield, Skidmore, Babson 9 SUNY Binghamton, Wisconsin, Illinois, F&M, TCNJ, RPI, American, Villanova, BU, Smith, Holy Cross, Stevens, Lafayette, Gettysburg, Union 10 Michigan, UNC, Maryland, Wake Forest, BC, NYU, GW, Colgate, Oberlin, Colby, Hamilton, Bates, Bucknell, Trinity, Richmond, Conn College 11 UVA, William & Mary, Cal, UCLA, USC, Cornell, JHU, NW, Vandy, ND, Gtwn, Claremont-McKenna, Middlebury, Carleton, Wesleyan, Haverford, Chicago, Emory, Carnegie-Mellon, Bowdoin, Vassar, Davidson, W&L 12 Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, Penn, Duke, Wash U, Rice, Amherst, Williams13 HYP, Stanford, MIT, Cal Tech 14 29. Specials
- The rating system is a constant. The definition of an Academic 6 or a Personal 5 does not change.
- What does change is who, at a given rating, gets admitted, and who doesnt.
- Strong specials, i.e. minorities and athletes might move up 2 levels, legacy and E.D. 1 level.(For example, a listed 10 athlete has a chance at a 12 college.)
30. How To Improve Your Chances
- Make a realistic list, 3-5-2. Be enthusiastic about match schools.
- Take good courses
- Plan test taking strategy, including ACT
- Add colleges where you might be a Special
- Look at personal side.Avoid resume fillers, try to distinguish yourself.The 2 strong profile is appealing.
- Pay attention to teacher recs, essay, evaluative interview
- Below top level expressed interest can be important
- Essay answer the question, make it about you, show attractive quality, endearing flaw better than bragging, something you care about
31. Conclusion
- Plan ahead to present the best version of who you are, not a makeover. Look for polish, not plastic surgery.
- Dont try to become a different person for the sake of college admission.
- Have a number of strike zone colleges that you will be pleased to attend.
- Finding a college that fulfills your academic potential and is a good fit personally is more important then attending the better school.