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About.com - College Admissions
About.com is a great resource for college admission articles. We have compiled a list of their most helpful 10 articles over the past three months.
| About.com - About College Admissions: U.S. |
| 6. NYU and Early Decision |
| If you have a clear first-choice college that is highly selective, you should certainly consider applying early decision or early action if these options are available. At the great majority of colleges, the acceptance rate is higher for students who apply early. There are several reasons for this. For one, students who are able to get their applications together in October are clearly ambitious, organized and good time managers, characteristics that are probably evident in other ways in the application. Also, colleges frequently use "student interest" as a factor when evaluating applications. A student who applies early is clearly interested.
However, early decision does have its drawbacks. The most obvious of these is that the deadline is, well, early. It's often difficult to have SAT or ACT scores in hand by the end of October or early November, and you may want to have some of your senior grades and extracurricular accomplishments as part of your application.
NYU implemented a new policy this year to make applying early a little easier. The prestigious Manhattan university now has two early decision deadlines: for Early Decision I, students must submit the application by November 1st; for Early Decision II, the application is due January 1st.
If you're familiar with NYU, you may be wondering how January 1st is considered "early." After all, the regular admission deadline is also January 1st. The answer has to do with the nature of early decision. If you are accepted under early decision, NYU's policy states that "you must withdraw all applications you may have submitted to other colleges, and ... pay a tuition deposit within three weeks of notification." For regular admissions, nothing is binding and you have until May 1st to make a decision about which college to attend.
In short, NYU's Early Decision II option is a way for students to tell the university that NYU is their first choice and they will definitely attend NYU if accepted. While the deadline is the same as regular admission, students who apply under Early Decision II can clearly demonstrate their interest in NYU. Early Decision II applicants have the added perk that they will receive a decision from NYU by mid-February, over a month early than applicants in the regular decision pool.
That said, do not apply early decision to any college unless you are absolutely sure that the school is your first choice. Early decision (unlike early action) is binding, and if you change your mind you will lose a deposit, violate your contract with the early decision school, and even run the risk of having applications at other schools voided. NYU and Early Decision originally appeared on About.com College Admissions: U.S. on Friday, August 20th, 2010 at 08:45:33. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| 7. 2011 U.S. News & World Report College Rankings Now Available |
The 2011 U.S. News & World Report college rankings came out this week. For the first time this year, high school counselors as well as high-ranking college administrators were polled to determine a school's prestige. The results of the new methodology, however, look remarkably similar to last year. Harvard edged out Princeton for the best national university, and Williams once again earned the title of best liberal arts college. Berkeley held its position as the best public university.
In the relatively new category of "best undergraduate teaching," Dartmouth gets the top spot for universities, and Carleton ranks highest among liberal arts colleges (last year it was Pomona). For "up-and-coming" schools, Hendrix repeated as the top liberal arts college, and UMBC topped the chart for universities. You can browse all the lists for free on the U.S. News website.
While many of us enjoy seeing who does well in college rankings, realize that these rankings shouldn't play a significant role as you look for the college that is the best match for you. U.S. News, Forbes, The Princeton Review and other organizations in the college ranking business can't tell you which schools will best match your personality, passions, and professional goals. 2011 U.S. News & World Report College Rankings Now Available originally appeared on About.com College Admissions: U.S. on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 00:53:06. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| 8. Harvard and Georgetown Lower SAT Subject Test Requirements |
Harvard University
David Paul Ohmer / Flickr
There's a lot of confusion out there about SAT Subject Tests (formally called the SAT II). How many should you take? What subjects? Do you need to take them at all?
Realize that only a few dozen selective colleges actually require SAT Subject Tests (see the list), and it used to be that only a couple of those schools required three subject tests. For the current application cycle, however, taking two subject tests is the norm. Harvard University lowered its requirement from three to two subject tests (see The Harvard Crimson article), and Georgetown University now "strongly recommends" three subject tests rather than requiring them (see the Georgetown testing guidelines). Still, if Georgetown is on your list, three subject tests would indeed be a good idea.
Note, however, that a lot of recent news articles stating that no schools require three SAT Subject Tests aren't quite accurate. Notre Dame, for example, requires three subject tests for home-schooled students (note that an AP exam can substitute; see the Notre Dame guidelines).
As you narrow down the list of colleges to which you plan to apply, be sure to check each school's website to get the precise details for SAT Subject Test requirements. The guidelines change from year to year, and they may be different for different programs and schools within a college. Harvard and Georgetown Lower SAT Subject Test Requirements originally appeared on About.com College Admissions: U.S. on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 10:10:38. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| 9. Forbes List of America's Best Colleges Now Available |
| For those of you who are interested in college rankings, be sure to visit the latest version of America's Best Colleges created by Forbes. The Forbes ranking, like any, is somewhat controversial. For one, Forbes uses the remarkably subjective and easily manipulated site ratemyprofessor.com to help gauge student satisfaction. They also use inclusion in Who's Who in America as a measure of post-graduate success. I'm not convinced Who's Who really deserves that much clout -- it's largely a vanity press set up to sell Who's Who books. Also, the Forbes list doesn't distinguish between types of schools, so small liberal arts colleges, military academies and large research universities are all in the same mix. This year, for example, Williams comes in #1. But can Williams really be compared to West Point (#4) or CalTech (#19)? Apples and oranges. You can check out the complete Forbes methodology here.
That said, Forbes more than U.S. News & World Report is looking at some real practical financial aspects of the colleges they evaluate: How much does it actually cost to attend, and how much are you likely to earn after graduation?
Use the comment link below to share your thoughts about the latest Forbes rankings. Forbes List of America's Best Colleges Now Available originally appeared on About.com College Admissions: U.S. on Thursday, August 12th, 2010 at 16:31:57. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| 10. Community Colleges Continue to Struggle in Economic Climate |
Kingsborough Community College
nautical2k / Flickr
Megan L. Thomas, a contributing writer for msnbc.com, recently wrote an article on the struggles facing community colleges in the current economic climate. The news isn't encouraging for students, especially in a cash-strapped state like California. Interest in community colleges has skyrocketed as students look for an affordable education and as adults return to the classroom in an effort to retrain for a new career. At the same time, however, many states are cutting education budgets. As a result, community colleges are needing to educate more students with fewer resources. Full and oversubscribed classes are becoming more and more common.
Community colleges have always had an important role in our higher education system because of their accessibility -- tuition is a fraction of that at four-year schools, and community colleges usually have open admissions. The ideal of accessibility, however, is under strain. Because of the economic situation, prices at public two- and four-year schools are increasing faster than at private colleges, and we're also seeing many community colleges enforcing stricter registration deadlines in an effort to limit the number of students who enroll. Unfortunately, an end to the financial woes of states like California and New York is not in sight.
Have you had any first-hand experience with the struggles of community colleges? If so, share your experiences below. Community Colleges Continue to Struggle in Economic Climate originally appeared on About.com College Admissions: U.S. on Thursday, August 12th, 2010 at 09:33:20. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
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