In - Your Guide to College Admissions from The Princeton Review

Five Trends in College Admissions

Peter at the College Planning Blog recently sat in on a meeting of college admissions pros. He reports on five themes that repeatedly arose . . .

• Applicants to highly selective colleges need a “hook.”
• It’s important for applicants to demonstrate their interest in a college before they apply.
• At some colleges, a “gap year” might soon require a binding agreement.
• Colleges are viewing applicants as potential investments.
• Athletic departments are recruiting without the knowledge of admissions offices.

Click here to read more about each one.

How Facebook Has Changed the College Experience

A recent post from onlinecollegecourses.com describes the ways in which Facebook has changed the entire college experience, from admissions to academics to student life. Its major effects include the following:

• Admissions officers are getting to know applicants more personally.
• Facebook is often a part of courses.
• Students can arrive on campus already knowing scores of people.
• Students can stay in touch easily.

Click here to check out the full post.

(Thanks to MyCollegeCalendar for the great find.)

Questions You Shouldn’t Ask College Reps

The college representatives you meet during campus visits and college fairs will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have about their school.

While these reps can be a great resource in your college search, you should keep in mind that they’re also gathering some information—about you. They’ll file your conversation with the admissions office and note whether it was generally negative or positive. This will be part of your application if you decide to apply.

So, before you ask a question of a college rep, take a moment to consider how it will reflect on you as a potential applicant.

Some questions are unnecessary. (If you can find the answer on the college’s website, it falls under this category.) Such questions can make you seem like a less-than-serious candidate.

Others questions are inappropriate. (If you’d be embarrassed to ask it in front of your parents, it might be better to save it for a student at the school rather than an official rep.) Such questions can create doubts about your maturity level.

Writing on The Choice, the president of Lipscomb University recently advised potential applicants to think before asking the following questions of college reps:

• Do you have my major?
• Where am I going to live?
• Who is on the faculty?
• Is this a party school?

Click here to read more about each one on The Choice.

Yield: The Number Behind Waitlist Admissions

In the world of admissions, a college’s “yield” is the percentage of its admitted applicants who ultimately choose to enroll.

If, for example, a college admits 2,000 applicants and 1,000 enroll, it has a yield of 50 percent.

The yield is important to applicants because it determines whether—and how deep—a given school will dig into its waitlist.

The New York Times blog The Choice recently posted this year’s expected yields and waitlist admits at some of the most selective colleges in the U.S. Click here to check them out.

How to Find a Topic for Your Admissions Essay

Every year, without fail, the Common Application allows brave students to choose their own topic for its essay.

While this option gives students an opportunity to be unique, it also produces pressure to find the “right” topic.

It’s been said before that any topic can work (it’s what you do with it that counts). However, some topics are better than others. The best ones will allow you to reveal your distinct character and personality.

The summer before your senior year is a great time to think about potential topics for your essay. A recent post on The Choice provides some great advice on how to find topics that work for you. Click here to check it out.

A Tale of Two Waitlists

Decision day for college applicants has come and gone, and colleges now have a better sense of which applicants will—and won’t—arrive on campus this fall.

So, are waitlisted students now getting a second look?

At some schools, yes; at others, no.

A recent post on the Campus Overload blog investigates the status of the waitlist at several colleges. While some schools have begun to admit a few waitlisted students, others have not admitted any and have no plans to do so. Click here to check out the post.

If you’ve chosen to remain on a particular school’s waitlist, it’s not a bad idea to contact them at this juncture. Ask whether they are beginning to admit waitlisted students and, if so, how many.

Choosing Senior-Year Classes

If you’re a college-bound student, it can be tempting to think that your transcript is more or less complete by the end of your junior year.

It is true: you might not earn any new grades before you apply to college as a senior. However, a recent post from Montgomery Educational Consulting reminds that colleges will carefully look at the classes you choose for your final year of high school. Your senior-year schedule should be just as challenging—if not more challenging—than the one you had as a junior.

For more info on choosing senior-year classes, check out the full post from Montgomery Educational Consulting.

A Hunger Strike to Protest Rising Tuition

A dozen students in the California State University system are fasting to protest CSU’s increasing tuition and shrinking course offerings. The students have pledged to abstain from solid food for at least a week. Click here to read more on the New York Times.

When Freshmen and Sophomores Should Take the SAT

If you’re not yet a junior in high school, you might feel as if the big standardized tests—the ones that will factor into your college admissions decisions—are still a long way off.

To a certain extent, this is true: you won’t need to take the ACT or SAT until the spring of your junior year. However, if you plan to apply to colleges that require SAT Subject Tests—and many elite colleges do—you should take these tests immediately after you finish the related classes in high school. And many of these classes are given during freshman and sophomore years.

If you want to take an SAT Subject Test this June 2 (i.e., the last test date before summer arrives and you forget a large percentage of what you’ve learned this year), you should register to do so by May 8.

Click here to learn more on the Montgomery Educational Consulting blog.

Colleges that Still Have Seats—and Aid—for the Fall

Sometimes the unthinkable happens and a college applicant is left without a single viable option for the coming fall.

There are many possible reasons for such a scenario. Perhaps the student got into a great school but didn’t receive enough financial aid; or she realized that she doesn’t really like any of the schools that accepted her; or she aimed too high and didn’t get in anywhere.

Whatever the reason, those who find themselves such a position still have plenty of options. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s Space Availability Survey, 362 colleges still have seats as well as financial aid available for the fall. Click here to check out the full list.

Tip: if you’re interested in submitting another round of apps, do so ASAP—these remaining spots tend to fill up quickly.