It never fails. As fall approaches each year, college bound seniors are being asked by their peers, “What schools are you applying early to?” or “What is your ED (early decision) school?” The questions are almost presumptive in tone, as if applying early is the best strategy in applying to college.  

     Students assume they will be applying early…somewhere. Forget about the fact that they may have not even started the essays, done any substantive research into the college or have learned if it is affordable or not.  

     I remind them each year that if they have identified a college that it absolutely their first choice and would die if not admitted, to discuss the merits with me.  There are many different types of admission policies. Here I will discuss how to approach making the Early Decision, decision. But it is also applicable for Early Action which is often a more competitive pool in which to compete.  

     However, since Early Decision is a binding commitment to attend if admitted, it is important to make sure that each student considers the most important question of all. That is…Is applying Early Decision the right choice for you? Here’s a self-quiz to help you decide if you’re ready to apply Early Decision.

Answer Yes, No or Not Sure to the following questions:

1. Are you applying Early Decision mainly because you have decided that one particular college is your clear first choice?

2. If the college you’re considering for Early Decision suddenly became less prestigious, or its ranking dropped 50 points, would you still want to apply to this college Early Decision?

3. Would you still want to apply Early Decision to this college if your chances of being admitted Early Decision were the same as if you applied Regular Decision?

4. Have you visited your prospective Early Decision college at least once, and did your visit include taking a formal admissions tour rather than just walking around on your own?

5. Have you visited several other colleges, including taking their formal admissions tour rather than just walking around on your own?

6. Have you had some form of personal contact with the admissions office at your prospective Early Decision College?

7. Have you had some form of personal contact with a current student at your prospective Early Decision College?

8. Have you done an overnight stay at your prospective Early Decision College?

9. Have you sat in on at least one class at the Early Decision College, or had some form of personal contact with at least one faculty member there?

10. Do you understand the academic distribution requirements for graduation at your prospective Early Decision College?

11. Do you understand any entry requirements for your prospective major at this college?

12. Do you understand the graduation requirements for your prospective major at the Early Decision College?

13. Can you describe this college’s academic mission and approach to education?

14. Do you know what the average class size of introductory courses is at this college?

15. Do you know what the average class size of courses in your prospective major is at this college, and how many majors typically graduate in that department each year?

16. Can you explain what some of the strengths and weaknesses of this college’s academic approach or curriculum requirements might be for you personally?

17. Can you explain what some of the strengths and weaknesses of the department in which you hope to major might be for you personally?

18. Do you strongly believe that this college will be an academic fit for you?

19. Have you read back issues of the Early Decision college’s student newspaper (often available online), and could you summarize some of the key “hot button” issues for students from your reading?

20. Do you feel that you will fit in socially at the Early Decision College?

21. Can you list both five potential strengths and five potential weaknesses of the Early Decision College?

22. Do you know what the average GPA, class rank, and test scores of students admitted students to your prospective Early Decision College were last year?

23. In comparing your grades through the end of junior year and your current test scores to those of last year’s admitted class, do you believe you are a solid candidate for admission, regardless of whether you apply Early Decision or not?

24. Do you know how the percentage of students admitted last year through Early Decision at this college compares with the percentage of students who were admitted in the regular decision round?

25. Do you feel confident that you will be able to effectively complete all of the elements of an admissions application (essays, recommendation letters, standardized testing, etc.) before the Early Decision deadline?

26. If asked, could you describe in detail why the Early Decision School is right for you and why it is your top choice over other colleges?

27. If asked, could you describe in detail why you are right for the Early Decision College?

28. Do you already have a list of other colleges that you plan to apply to and would be happy to attend if you are not admitted to your Early Decision choice?

29. Have you begun your applications to other colleges besides your Early Decision choice?

30. Do you know if your Early Decision College is need-blind in admissions and guarantees to meet the demonstrated financial need of all admitted students?

31. Have you and your parents done a money saving “Dry Run” with us, or someone else who is familiar with the various financial aid policies at your Early Decision College?

32. If you need financial aid, have you researched the financial aid policies and application procedures of your Early Decision College to get an idea of what the college might expect your family to pay?

33. If you need financial aid, have you researched what the average amount of student debt students at your Early Decision College typically graduate with, and would you and your parents be comfortable if you ended up with a similar amount of student loans?

34. If you need financial aid, are you and your parents fully comfortable with the idea of not being able to compare other financial aid offers if you’re admitted Early Decision?

35. Regardless of whether or not you need financial aid, have you researched merit scholarship opportunities at both your Early Decision and other colleges?

36. Regardless of whether you need financial aid or not, have you and your parents considered all financial implications of applying Early Decision — not just whether you can afford the school, but the opportunity cost of giving up the chance to compare financial aid and merit scholarship offers from other schools?

37. Have you reviewed the Early Decision contract with your parents and school counselor?

38. Do you and your parents understand that Early Decision is a binding commitment, meaning you are promising to attend if admitted, except in the case that the college is unable to meet your demonstrated need as determined by the college’s financial aid policies?

39. If you are accepted Early Decision, will you feel any jealousy or doubts when your friends are receiving multiple acceptances next spring?

40. If you are accepted Early Decision, will you have any regrets about your choice of college?

41. Are you 100% certain that you will attend this college if you are admitted through Early Decision?

How to score your results:

1 points for every “Yes” answer
0 points for every “No” or “Not sure” answer

Are you ready to apply Early Decision? If your score is…

Over 35 points: you appear to have done your research about both the Early Decision college and other college options, and have made a well-thought-out decision. You are ready to proceed with an Early Decision application.

Between 25 and 34 points: Early Decision may be right for you, but you need to do more research and thinking. Over the next few weeks, carefully weigh whether Early Decision is right for you and your family’s circumstances.

If you scored below 25 points: You are not ready to apply Early Decision, or may be applying Early Decision for the wrong reasons. You should do more research on both the Early Decision process and your college options, and only then consider whether a particular college is a good Early Decision choice.

Give us a call so that we may help you clarify your options and make the right decision for you and your family, particularly if there are siblings to consider.

Yours for future college success…and beyond,

Eric Goodhart

Quite often we can, but once the horse has jumped the fence and headed for the hills it is much harder to do. (One of our offices is on a equestrian farm.) You do not want to be a parent who realizes too late that the cost of four years of college is not possible without borrowing an amount that resembles the cost of a used Rolls Royce with body damage.  

No matter how often I talk about the importance of our money saving “heart attack prevention” exercise called the “Dry Run” (step # 3 in the college planning timeline) there are still families that do not take advantage of it. Of course, it is not the end of the world if the student attends a community college for a couple of years. In fact it could be a good strategy in some instances. But more satisfactory outcomes result with planning that includes an early look at the financial options all families have.   

Many families go through the college selection process content not to question the colleges’ “we have financial aid” pitch or “our average grant package is $23,000.” Wide eyed impressionable teenagers are told to “just put your application in and then apply for financial aid.” Once you are accepted “we will send you a financial aid package.” 

All that students hear (and some parents) is what they want to hear. Reality comes knocking at the door too late for many of them. Though the most frugal and financially savvy parents have saved enough to cover the first year or two, it often does not cover all four…or dare I say, five or six. To do that is very difficult without a steady source of extra income coming into the household. (By the way, we do have a solution for that too. Read the last paragraph here; then give us a call.)

In the meantime, if you have a student still in high school with college aspirations, NOW, not later, is the time to call to complete a “Dry Run”. It does not matter if the college list hasn’t been started yet either. We can suggest appropriate colleges.

This past weekend in June we saw many graduation celebrations in the towns surrounding our main office here in the heart of New England. It began about eighteen years ago for the high school seniors and who knows how many years for the college grads. (See Undergraduate Catagory below.) It seems like yesterday that I was in their shoes. Well, maybe the day before yesterday.         

The valedictorians and an assortment of college commencement speakers will have shared their words of hope and encouragement to millions of graduates by the end of June across the country. You may have heard one or two of them.

There is one speaker you will not hear at any of these celebratory events this week. But you can here. In fact, I believe anyone can benefit from his enriching words of wisdom. His name is Michael Himes. He was a Professor of Theology at Boston College.

His last lecture prior to retirement at BC was one of the most meaningful, inspirational and compassionate talks I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. I almost think that most traditional commencement speakers could be cancelled and a DVD of his last lecture simply be handed out to all the college graduates. Here is yours. Let me know what you think.    

As each spring comes and transitions into summer, I am energized with new life as I see our students conclude one phase of their education and start another. For many teenagers, it may not include college but nonetheless it is a journey toward personal growth and maturity. Hopefully, it will be more than biological maturity but emotional, spiritual and intellectual maturity as well. All of which can come about without the benefit of the college experience.

But if college is the next step, then take full advantage of it. We show students how to evaluate colleges in two important ways. First, how does the freshman class statistical profile fit their profile?  By the time the junior year is concluded, a good number of statistical measures can be seen to determine that.

Our students will do their due diligence using the AAA method. That includes seeking out the Common Data Set for each college on their list. 

Second, is the college qualified to provide the educational and social experience they are seeking? Do not measure a college by the number of professors with a PhD degree it may have. That does not mean they can teach. For example, look here at a Yale professor introducing his course in finance, Economics 252. I suggest this is one reason why our country is such poor shape financially.  Graduates are either clueless or have cleverly figured out how to “game” the system.

If you can, watch his perplexing presentation. What this professor says in the introduction to his course could be said in fifteen minutes. Someone somewhere decided that college, like high school, should be a four-year experience, as a result much of what takes up valuable class time is just inflated fluff. What is taught in four years can be covered more than adequately in three. What do you think?   

In any case, is the college faculty qualified to teach your child? And, what is it they need to learn? Those are the questions which we can help you answer. Call for a FREE “get acquainted” conversation. (978) 582-0273 or SKYPE @ (978) 582-3246

When I was looking at colleges “DI” stood for drill instructor, not demonstrated interest. The DI was someone many kids in my generation had very little interest in knowing. In the myriad of acronyms and abbreviations surrounding the college process today, “DI” refers to the level of interest the applicant demonstrated in a particular college. 

The question is how much importance does the college admissions committee (adcom) place on demonstrated interest. The answer is, not much…some…and very much. In other words, it depends on the college. Emory and American, for instance will admit it takes the applicant’s level of interest into consideration. Others, like Stanford and MIT, may say it does not matter how much interest you show, they look at all applicants equally. But I suspect they say that to ward off students who want to game the system, as you will learn here. 

Regardless of what a school may say, I recommend that all students make an effort to show demonstrated interest and learn as much about their prospective colleges as possible. It all starts with research using the AAA method. Once that is accomplished the student should have a good idea of the appropriateness of each college on his or her list.    Is it a good fit intellectually, compatible with ones values and, based on the common data set, is it a reach, a 50/50, a safety or in the “snowballs chance in ____” category? Not to mention are they affordable? If such due diligence still leaves the college on the list then further inquiries need to be made.

Such inquiries may be described as showing “demonstrated interest” and that is fine.  For instance, prospective students should know about the depth and nature of academic internship and career advising. Other good conversation starters are:  

1. Is the faculty 100% invested in the teaching of undergrads and if teaching assistants are used what are their responsibilities? (Universities primarily)
2. What has been the four-year graduation rate over the last four years, and does it vary with major? 
3. Are certain programs offered in the (your intended major) department going to be expanded or cut back?
4. I am a student at a high school that does not give grades. Are you familiar with the ________ Schools curriculum? How do you compare my application with someone from a more traditional high school?
5. What will be the merit scholarship criteria for the “_______ Scholarship next year?”   

Do this more to learn more about the school’s attitude toward students than with the intent of “buttering up” the regional admissions counselor. Colleges can spot the disingenuous inquiry. Thoughtfully think about the questions before you call (or email) them. Of course, be sure you are not asking questions that are already answered in the “fast facts’ or FAQ sections on the college website.  

By the way, too many students are taking their safety schools for granted. Applicants should have some good reasons why they would be fine at their safety too. Carefully research and show interest in them as well. Such fall back colleges have been known to wait-list or reject students whom the adcom has determined would not attend if accepted. No college markets itself as the # 1 “favorite safety school”, so buyers beware. Even state colleges are hard pressed to accept the students they once could because of the over flow of applicants. States are cutting back faculty, programs and other costly expenditures once taken for granted. In many cases, a top student may be able to go to a private college at much less than a state supported public.    

If you are in the Class of 2011, now is the time to review your college list and make plans for the summer. Some of you will take Subject tests and the ACT this month, but at the end of June you will be starting the college application and essay writing process, give us a call or email today. We will soon be announcing our college essay-writing program for students throughout the country.

The Dynamics of Demonstrated Interest

By Eric Hoover

This year, American University received a record 17,000 admissions applications, a 13 percent increase over last year. With quantity came quality: by various statistical measures, the university will admit its most accomplished, most diverse class ever this fall. And American’s admit rate fell to 43 percent from 53 percent this year.

In the numbers-driven realm of admissions, all this is good news, a sign of rising fortunes. But it’s also a complicated development. For one thing, applications have swelled at so many selective colleges that the meaning of such an increase can be difficult for a given admissions office to interpret (increases this year could portend increases next year-or not). Moreover, as colleges become more selective, they often find themselves competing with institutions a rung or two higher on the ladders of selectivity and desirability, at least for the top students.

Although there is prestige in this kind of association, there is also uncertainty. How many applicants would turn down a super-selective, big-name college to attend a somewhat less-selective, less-famous one? How do you know whether a student considers your college a top choice or a “safety school”? How does an applicant’s sense of “fit” with a college relate not only to matriculation, but also retention?

In recent years, such questions have prompted American’s admissions team to look more closely at “demonstrated interest,” the popular term for the contact students make with a college during the application process, such as by visiting the campus, participating in an interview, or e-mailing an admissions representative. In theory, it’s a way to measure the likelihood that an applicant will matriculate-and succeed if they do.

The practice is not new, but its importance has grown at some selective colleges in this era of ballooning applications and economic uncertainty. From 2003 to 2006, the percentage of colleges rating demonstrated interest as a “considerably important” factor increased to 21 percent from 7 percent, according to an annual survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Since then, that number has held steady (another 27 percent of colleges now deem it “moderately important”).

That number may well grow as more colleges contend with complicated enrollment challenges in the coming years. “This is an educational enterprise, but it’s also a business enterprise – we have to bring in a certain number of students,” says Sharon M. Alston, American’s executive director for enrollment management. “It’s getting harder and harder for colleges to know who’s going to come.”

That is why American tells prospective students the following: If you really like us, let us know.

Recently, American has created more opportunities for students to do just that. The admissions office has broadened its recruitment strategies to include online chats for prospective applicants. Participation is noted in each student’s file.

This year, American added more regional information sessions in key markets. It reinstated its overnight visit program. It significantly increased the number of admissions interviews it conducted. It added an old-school touch – a print letter, instead of an e-mail, inviting families to particular events.

Meanwhile, American sent more e-mails to high-school students than ever before, starting with a message that directed them to a revamped admissions Web site. One follow-up message was self-consciously humorous: it acknowledged that students were probably tired of getting so many messages from colleges, and that studies had shown such barrages killed brain cells. Embedded in the e-mail was a link, of course. That message alone prompted over 1,000 students to engage the university.

Demonstrated interest often dovetails with another strategy for managing uncertainty: the waiting list. This year, American offered a spot on its waiting list to about 2,000 students, a seemingly large number considering that the university had accepted approximately 7,300 students for its freshman enrollment target of 1,450.

Applicants who received waiting-list invitations from American fit a range of descriptions. Some were less competitive than the applicants the university accepted, but others were top-notch students who did not seem like a good fit for the university. In some cases, the reason was a lack of demonstrated interest, Ms. Alston says.

As some admissions officers will tell you over coffee, the waiting list is a sure way to manipulate enrollment outcomes, as well as enrollment statistics. A selective college might make waiting-list offers to super-qualified applicants it deems unlikely to enroll, for whatever reason. This is one way to lower admit rates and preserve “yield,” the percentage of accepted students who enroll.

 Greg Grauman, American’s director of admissions, says that he is much more concerned about fit than statistics, however. For one thing, American has seen a high correlation between retention and demonstrated interest. He explains that the use of a waiting list, coupled with a consideration of demonstrated interest, helps him shape a class of students who are the most likely to thrive at AU.

And that means wait-listing some applicants who look superb on paper. “In years past, when we had fewer applicants, we may have been more likely to admit that student,” Mr. Grauman says. “Now we have more flexibility.”

And that’s one illustration of how admission outcomes have become more uncertain at selective colleges. “People are used to the Harvards, Yales, and Princetons of the world being unpredictable,” Ms. Alston says. “The kid with the 4.0 grade-point average and the 1600 SAT score wasn’t necessarily guaranteed a spot at Harvard, but you knew at least that he was definitely guaranteed admission at American.”

The erosion of those certainties can prove startling to high-school counselors. “Students who would have otherwise been accepted to all or most schools on their short list are being wait-listed more than I ever remember,” says Jay Bass, director of counseling services at Thomas S. Wootton High School, in Maryland.

Mr. Bass advises his students to reach out to colleges they like, both to demonstrate their interest and to help them decide if the campus is right for them. “The syndrome of just applying to as many schools as possible without a focused approach,” he says, “is of little value to students or colleges.”

The trick is that interest can be feigned. Monica C. Inzer, vice president and dean of admission and financial aid at Hamilton College, in New York, says her staff has dealt with students who profess their love for the college, only to turn down an eventual offer. “Some students are really good at packaging themselves,” she says.

Nonetheless, Ms. Inzer believes Hamilton’s consideration of demonstrated interest is important, for the college and applicants alike. For one, she wants applicants to visit the campus to understand that the college is on a hill surrounded by cornfields. “I don’t just want them to enroll,” she says. “I want them to be happy and graduate.”

Ms. Inzer describes demonstrated interest as something that tends to tilt decisions for students on the margins. ”I care more about demonstrated disinterest than demonstrated interest,” she says.

Recently, Hamilton’s admissions staff took a closer look at how they deal with a crucial component of the demonstrated-interest equation: the interview. Hamilton’s Web site strongly encourages applicants to schedule an interview, stating that those who do not “will be at a competitive disadvantage in the admission process.”

Yet Ms. Inzer and her colleagues decided that the wording was too strong. After all, Hamilton admits plenty of qualified applicants who have not shown strong interest in the college, via an interview or anything else.

So Ms. Izner rewrote the passage to convey that the interview is not just an another admissions hurdle to clear, but a meaningful part of what could become a lifelong relationship with the college. “That relationship,” the new wording says, “begins with an interview.”

Despite the prevalence of demonstrated interest among selective colleges, some enrollment experts are skeptical of popular measures of an applicant’s likelihood of enrolling.

“A lot of institutions aren’t doing a sophisticated analysis,” says Richard A. Hesel, a principal for Art & Science Group, a firm that specializes in strategic marketing and planning for colleges.

Mr. Hesel has found that other factors – such as a student’s SAT score, family income, and intended major – are often more predictive of enrollment outcomes than whether or not that student has visited the campus or called to ask a question. In other words, demonstrated interest may just tell you something that you already know.

 Chronicle of Higher Education

Four short years ago the college bound Class of 2006 completed their high school experience. That was a record year for student applications and competition was keen at the more competitive colleges. The American Enterprise Institute that tracks six-year graduation rates tells us that only 38% of those that went on to college are taking part in commencement ceremonies after four years as an undergraduate.

And you thought that college was going to be a four-year experience. Yes, it can be that (or less) if you do your due diligence ahead of time.   

But here are some reasons why that percentage is so shockingly low. 

1. ALL four-year colleges are considered. Both public and private from the non-competitive to the most competitive. Often large state universities and less competitive private institutions have weaker or overwhelmed advising staffs.
2. Students may fall behind on credits earned in their major.
3. They change majors more than twice; credits are not transferable.  
4. Students drop out for academic or affordability reasons.
5. Some classes are over enrolled, limited or cutback and students are not able to take the prerequisite courses in their majors in a timely fashion.

When researching each college using the AAA method a student will be better prepared to avoid most of the above scenarios. This includes understanding the data the colleges are required to report on the Common Data Set. If you do not find the CDS on the college website, ask admissions for it.

In any case, as the title of this entry states, if the Class of 2010 thought it was competitive getting into college, they are in for a bigger challenge now. Job prospects for new college graduates are at historic lows, partly caused by financial misfeasance and malfeasance on a global scale. If a recent graduate has some internship or cooperative work experience to show on his or her resume, that will help. But with the economy what it is, the challenges still remain.

The average student loan debt for graduating seniors in 2008 was $23,186. This year, I dare say the average will be at least $26,000 because the government made additional Stafford loans available to students since 2008. But that does not take into account co-signer or Plus loans that parents may have been taken out during college.

If loans are a burden, parents and students should not hesitate to call us now. We have a sure-fire plan to show you how to become debt free sooner than you think. It makes no sense in starting off with a job that does not afford you the ability to pay basic necessities, provide the comforts and lifestyle you want to have and still meet monthly debt obligations.  

       In the meantime, graduates, get ready for the toughest job you will have.

Start by reading this timely New York Times article ~ How to market yourself.

Colleges Explore Shades of Gray in Making Entrance Tests Optional

Ursinus College considered fairness and ideals as well as marketing and logistics

 Sarah Bones for The Chronicle 

Last year Richard DiFeliciantonio (right), vice president for enrollment at Ursinus College, hired a new admissions director, Richard Floyd, whose questions about the role of test scores prompted Ursinus to reconsider its stance.

By Eric Hoover

When a college stops requiring standardized admissions tests, no rainbow magically appears. Its endowment doesn’t grow, and its costs don’t shrink. Presidents still worry, professors still complain, and students still drink too much on Saturday nights.

Nonetheless, tales of going “test optional” often have a romantic tinge. In them, admissions deans, worried about equity and anxious teenagers, finally decide to do the right thing by casting off those terrible tests. After that, everything on the campus gets better.

Like many stories, this one invites other interpretations. A popular reading is that competition alone compels colleges to drop their ACT and SAT requirements. In this rendering, colleges care more about their image than anything else.

Fifteen years ago, colleges could still expect to make waves when they adopted test-optional policies. Over the last decade, however, dozens of private liberal-arts colleges have nixed their testing requirements, and these days the announcements cause more of a shrug than a splash.

Nonetheless, the choice remains controversial, often cast as either a noble move or a deceptive one.

In fact, the decision typically melds various motives, arising from a place where marketing and mission overlap. Data often drive a change of heart, but numbers alone don’t always explain why—or when—a college alters its testing policy. Often the switch happens gradually, following prolonged discussions, a change in leadership, or some other institutional shift. Like most issues in admissions, the decision is often more complicated than it might seem.

Ursinus College is a case in point. For months administrators and faculty members at the small liberal-arts college, in Collegeville, Pa., have weighed the possibility of dropping its testing requirements for all applicants. Recently the college gave The Chronicle an inside look at how officials reached a decision, and the questions they wrestled with.

This week Ursinus plans to announce that as of this fall it will no long require any of its applicants to submit standardized-test scores. Why? The question has more than one answer, according to Richard G. DiFeliciantonio, the college’s vice president for enrollment. “It’s kind of gray,” he says.

‘The Test as a Message’

Mr. DiFeliciantonio is not dogmatic about tests. Like many enrollment officials, he has sat across the table from high-school students who had earned A’s and B’s, but who fretted about their test scores. “We’re not Harvard,” he says. “We have plenty of kids with a 1100 on the SAT, and it goes to the heart of what their identity is.” This worries him.

Nonetheless, Mr. DiFeliciantonio has long believed that on the delicate scales of admissions work, the benefit of using the ACT and SAT slightly outweighed the cost. If tests told you a little bit more about how a student would probably perform, why not require them?

For years Mr. DiFeliciantonio also saw another benefit: Testing requirements, not to mention average test scores, send a message to the public. Since he came to Ursinus, in 1989, his job has been to help transform what was once a regional pre-professional institution into a selective liberal-arts college. “He thought having the test remain a requirement was a signifier of academic seriousness,” says John Strassburger, the college’s president. “He was happy seeing the test as a message and not just an instrument.”

Mr. Strassburger has long held a different view. In 2001 he wrote an opinion column called “Toss This Outmoded Ritual,” which was published in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Describing the SAT as a relic, he wrote that there was “no better time than now to focus on weaning ourselves from an anachronistic system that was designed years ago to discover the untutored genius on the plains.”

In 2000, Ursinus had stepped back from that system by adopting a partial test-optional policy. Applicants who ranked in the top 10 percent of their class, or who had at least a 3.5 grade-point average, could choose whether or not to submit their test scores. That let the college send two messages at once: Tests were still important, but not too important, at least not for everyone.

During the last decade, the college’s enrollment picture changed. In 2005, Ursinus received 1,700 applications; for the freshman class of 2010 it received nearly 6,000 (for about 475 spots). The increase stems from a more aggressive recruitment campaign, such as broadening the search for prospects in affluent markets and adopting free, fast-track applications. In short, Ursinus has fast become more competitive.

Peer pressure leads many colleges to rethink their testing requirements, and Ursinus is no exception. Last year Mr. DiFeliciantonio hired a new admissions director, Richard Floyd, who had worked at test-optional institutions and long doubted the necessity of test scores. His questions prompted the college to re-examine its requirements.

Mr. DiFeliciantonio looked more closely at the fact that the college’s main competitors—Dickinson, Gettysburg, Franklin & Marshall, and Muhlenberg Colleges—had waived their testing requirements for all applicants.

He also considered that there was no national standard for reporting mean ACT and SAT score ranges to national surveys and databases. Muhlenberg, for instance, acquires scores for all of its admitted students and includes them in its reported averages, but many other colleges do not. Some of Ursinus’s competitors with test-optional policies were reporting scores from as little as 60 percent of their students. For the last five years, Ursinus has reported scores for 85 percent of its students—all but those who did not want their scores evaluated.

Call it the Law of Artificial Score Inflation. By dropping its testing requirements, a college can reasonably expect that most applicants with higher scores will submit them, but those with lower scores will not. When that college computes its average of enrolled students, it can report, with a somewhat straight face, that its scores have risen. And so the college might appear more selective on paper than it truly is.

One day last fall, Mr. DiFeliciantonio and Mr. Strassburger discussed that phenomenon as the president clicked through College Navigator, the U.S. Department of Education’s free informational Web site. Associating with other selective liberal-arts institutions is a crucial part of Ursinus’s marketing strategy, but its average test scores were lower than those of its main competitors. The lack of a full test-optional policy explained at least some of that.

“I felt like we’ve been getting the worst end of that deal—that we were being undersold in the marketplace,” Mr. DiFeliciantonio says. “To say that’s the only reason we looked into this is just not the case. On the other hand, we didn’t want to be left out.”

So last fall, Ursinus did what the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s testing commission has encouraged colleges to do—it gathered its own data. In December admissions officials shared the results of a recent study with the Faculty Enrollment Committee. The study analyzed the impact of various admissions factors for 391 members of 2008′s incoming class. It found that high-school grade-point averages correlated with freshman-year grades; SAT scores added an additional predictive value to that equation, but not a lot. “That was the clincher for us,” says Mr. DiFeliciantonio.

In late January, the admissions office invited faculty members to discuss the testing requirement at a public forum. About 30 people came. Their many questions revealed the uncertainty that accompanies most campus discussions of changing testing policies.

Walter D. Greason, an assistant professor of history, raised a key question: Might a test-optional plan signal a lowering of standards, and thus deter well-prepared, affluent students?

At the same time, Mr. Greason has also wondered about how the college’s ability to report higher test scores might affect other applicants. A fifth of students at Ursinus receive federal Pell Grants, and about a third are first-generation college students. “If our lower-income group contracts, and our upper-income group expands,” he asks, “how do we reconcile that with our tradition?”

Life After Test-Optional

Going test-optional is not piece of cake. So Angel B. Pérez tells his colleagues when he presents at professional conferences. “It takes a long time to get your procedures together,” says Mr. Pérez, director of admission at Pitzer College, in California, which stopped requiring admissions exams in 2004.

Although news accounts often refer to a monolithic “test-optional movement,” such policies are as different as colleges themselves. Pitzer, for instance, does not require test scores from applicants with a 3.5 grade-point average or above. Those with lower grades may submit a graded math exam and a graded English paper in lieu of ACT or SAT scores.

Mr. Pérez believes the option is good for students, but it presents his staff with various challenges. For one, the policy requires them to collect all those high-school exams and papers, coordinate with professors who volunteer to evaluate the work, and then factor those evaluations into their admissions decisions.

Moreover, many admissions databases weren’t built with test-optional policies in mind. So when a college downloads a student’s information via the Common Application, for instance, it might receive test scores that the he or she doesn’t want that college to evaluate. This means admissions officers must double-check to make sure that they are complying with each applicant’s wishes.

Finally, to remove a test score from an evaluation of an application is to remove a common reason to admit or deny a student. “Philosophically, we love that,” says Mr. Pérez. “But it actually makes selecting a class far more difficult.”

When Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Massachusetts, changed its testing requirements in 2007, officials there created the “Flex Path” option. Applicants could opt not to submit their scores, so long as they sent something that reflected their “organization, motivation, creativity, and problem-solving ability.”

The response has overwhelmed Kristin Tichenor, Worcester’s vice president for enrollment management. Over the last three years, she has seen an annual flood of submissions, including portfolios, photo journals, paintings, robot designs, schematics for catapults, recordings of musical performances, and 40-page research papers on anatomy. Applicants must also explain in writing what that work says about them. Admissions officials rate those submissions on a scale of one to five.

This year, 238 of the institute’s 6,653 applicants asked the college to suppress their scores, yet many students submitted a Flex Path project and their scores. “It was quite the revelation,” says Ms. Tichenor, whose staff now gathers for regular brown-bag lunches to evaluate all those projects. Although time-consuming, the process seems valuable. Like Pitzer, Worcester has seen its applicant pool grow larger and more diverse since going test-optional.

Ms. Tichenor suspects that the policy has convinced more students, particularly those in underrepresented minority groups, that the college is not only accessible, but also interested in who they are.

“One could argue that we took a huge risk in doing something out of the norm,” Ms. Tichenor says. “When you subject yourself to the scrutiny of your peers, there’s a risk that others will say, ‘Oh, they’re just doing this out of desperation or anxiety.’ If anything, it’s a harder decision to do something different.”

‘For Appearance’s Sake’

Once, a college could expect only positive press after announcing a new test-optional policy. Today presidents might find themselves fending off criticism that they’re lemmings bounding along the publicity trail.

In 2006, Colin S. Diver, president of Reed College, wrote a column in The New York Times in which he assailed the “disheartening trend” of going test-optional, describing it as the new gimmick in the “admissions arms race.” Mr. Diver asserted that the main reason colleges dropped test requirements was to improve their standing in U.S. News & World Report‘s college rankings. It was illogical, he argued, to count some applicants’ scores but ignore those of others.

Skepticism about test-optional polices has begun to echo more frequently in questions from students and parents alike, according to several admissions officials. “People need to be prepared to explain the complexity behind the decision, that you’re not just getting on the bandwagon because it’s popular,” says Mr. Pérez, at Pitzer. “Students ask me, ‘Why does this policy fit Pitzer?’ I have to be ready to respond.”

Mr. Diver’s critique overstated the effect that an increase in test scores would have on a college’s ranking, according to U.S. News. Furthermore, some colleges have fudged their reporting of scores since before the “test optional” was a catchphrase; such gamesmanship is not the exclusive province of colleges with no testing requirements.

Yet Mr. Diver did strike at the heart of the debate: Who’s in charge of the admissions process? To adopt a test-optional policy is to grant that applicants should rightfully determine what is—and is not—a good measure of their academic abilities.

G. Gary Ripple says there’s nothing wrong with that. Mr. Ripple was director of admissions at Lafayette College, in Pennsylvania, which dropped its testing requirement in 1994. Four years later, the faculty voted to reinstate it. The change had not brought the expected surge in high-achieving students with modest test scores.

One reason, Mr. Ripple says, was that the college never figured out how to present the policy to applicants. To lead with it or merely mention it in passing? “I don’t think we ever gave it a fair chance,” he says.

Still, Mr. Ripple rejects the criticism that going test-optional is all about image. After all, it’s a criticism that one can turn on its head: If touting the benefits of test-optional policies is a marketing gimmick, isn’t touting the benefits of test requirements a marketing gimmick, too? “Any college that’s looking at this decision now has to realize that they’re already doing something for appearance’s sake,” he says. “And that’s requiring the SAT.”

While the debate over admissions tests involves big, philosophical questions about fairness and aptitude, obstacles to going test-optional often involve practical concerns, like the number of chairs in an office. A move to more-holistic evaluations of applicants might require additional staff members, more space, and new marketing materials. In other words, things that cost money.

Over the years, Robert A. Schaeffer, public-education director at FairTest, a nonprofit group, has consulted with hundreds of admissions officials about their testing requirements. Recently he has worked with a few colleges where, he says, officials are already convinced of the benefit of going test-optional. “The challenge is getting it to be a priority,” he says. “The thing we’ve heard during the economic downturn is that the decision makers on admissions policy have bigger things to worry about, like yield and deposits.”

At Ursinus, officials are still sorting through the logistics. What kind of writing requirement will they add to next year’s application? Should applicants who do not submit test scores be eligible for the college’s top merit scholarships, given in the past to those with top-notch grades and scores? How should the college word its new policy so as not to encourage or discourage applicants to send their scores?

Such are the questions of any college caught in the curious undertow of the test-optional trend, one that makes policy changes almost inevitable for some institutions. Twenty-six years after Bates College became one of the first to drop its testing requirements, the move is now not so much bold as sensible. “There’s not a lot of room for bending over backwards and congratulating ourselves for being idealists in this,” says Mr. Strassburger, of Ursinus. “But we think what’ve done is consonant with our ideals.”

Soon Mr. Floyd, the admissions director, must also decide how the college will report its ACT and SAT averages in the future. Will it include only the scores of students who wanted theirs considered, which would surely raise its average, or all the scores it has on hand?

Mr. Floyd would prefer the latter. But either way, he knows that a test-optional policy is not magic. “We wanted to remove a barrier that other schools don’t have,” he says. “But it’s not going to dramatically change the campus overnight.”

Chronicle of Higher Education

     At this time of year many high school seniors have heard from the colleges to which they applied. The most competitive colleges and universities are almost finished reviewing applications from all of the country and the world. For many of them, April 1 is the date they will send out letters to anxiously awaiting seniors.

     There will be just one month from then until “National Deposit Day”. May 1 is the day by which all college bound seniors must decide where to enroll in the fall of 2010. Making the final decision may not be easy unless you have done certain things in the year or two prior to spring of this year. In any case, most students are usually presented with at least two positive alternatives from which to choose. 

      So how does one go about making an effective decision ~ a decision that allows the entire family to win? The following steps are what we advise our students. Think about these even if you will not be facing such a decision for a few years.

The overall goal, I believe, is to integrate the admissions decision with financial considerations. That is particularly important when there is more than one college bound child in the household.

First … Make an objective evaluation of each financial aid award. Determine how much aid the college is awarding in the form of grants, scholarships and loans. Most colleges do not include adequate amounts in the cost of attendance (COA) to include personal expenses. These are books, supplies, personal sundries and transportation. If you have done a “Dry Run” with us prior to your student’s application you will see that we often add $4,500 to the direct expenses. The direct expenses are the fixed billable costs, tuition, fees and room and board. You should too. 

      Keep in mind that college work-study is not a direct credit toward billable costs. Do not include that in your calculations. If there is a loan offer in the award (other than a Stafford or Perkins), do not include that either. Subtract all the other awards from your COA and you will close to knowing what the “real out of pocket cost” is for that college. Do this for each college and make an objective comparison.

      Do not expect colleges to “negotiate” with you. That word does not exist in the financial aid lexicon. However, if you have special circumstances that were not fully explained to the financial office in the form of a letter after you filed your FAFSA and Profile, you may appeal or request a review now.  If you are a client of ours we probably have already discussed the merits of an appeal. 

      You can call and ask the college what their specific guidelines and procedures are in handling such appeals. In any case, prepare to write a letter explaining the change in circumstances.

Second … If the awards are similar for several colleges, you may have a difficult decision to make.  Several colleges want you. Which one do you want?

     At this point go back to your notes and review the positive and negative aspects of each college. You may not have to review your notes from your college visit but try to be as objective as possible in assessing the relative pros and cons of each college. Where did you feel the most comfortable? Who made you feel the most at ease? Who took the time to personally communicate with you? What was your “gut feeling” as to the academic departments you are interested in? Have you learned more about the faculty in your possible major and the depth of academic and career advising? Do you know the four-year graduation rates of the college and if they are less than 80%, have you learned why? Hopefully, you had a chance to sit in on a class. How engaged were the students?  All of this information provides relevant clues to the climate on the campus usually set by the administration.

     A helpful website to gain some additional insight by reading unedited first hand student reviews about some of your colleges is found here.

Third… Have a family meeting to finalize the decision. This decision will have a major effect on how the family proceeds with many other decisions. The schedule of every family member will be affected in some way, so why not try to iron out every concern before making the final decision. You might find that having a discussion of this nature actually helps make the decision easier!

Fourth … Complete all the paperwork and mail your deposit no later than May 1, 2010. In most cases, both the admissions office and financial aid office require you to send something back notifying them of your decision. Later in May, the financial aid office will send a promissory note form to the student for completion. Some schools will want the student to find a local bank to arrange a lender. Part of the recently passed health care plan by the Obama administration includes a change in how federal loans are administered. The college will tell you if they are direct lenders. 

Fifth ... As a courtesy, the student should inform the other colleges as to his or her decision. This will allow them to consider a student on their wait list.

Finally … Hopefully your final choice fits you, NOT necessarily because it has a “brand name” or Ivy on the walls. Although those characteristics may very well “fit”, you should also like its ethos, its social culture, atmosphere, advisory and internship programs and academics. Oh yes, it is also affordable!

What about the 2064 “unknown” colleges. Which of these colleges are worth exploring?  When all is said and done, does it matter that much where one goes to college?  If you are not looking for a specific program only offered at a particular college, it matters less than you think. What really matters is what you do when you get there.

Some students realize that it might not be a bad idea to look at two-year colleges as well. And some of them are looking at two year colleges outside of the region in which they live. If there is a community college that is beyond commuting distance but has a specific program you are interested in taking, you can rent an apartment near the campus. Many colleges such as Greenfield Community College in Massachusetts or the Ivy Tech Community College system in Indiana, can recommend student housing for such students.

Occasionally I like to step back and look at the colleges whose offerings make them stand out. It does not mean they are right for you. But one or more of them could be.

Let me take you on a brief tour of just five of them now.

They are not in any particular order, but # 1 on the list is a two-year college. In fact, this two-year college is tougher to gain admission than is Harvard. Though they are shocked at first, I get a kick out of telling some extremely bright students that they will not have a prayer in being accepted to this college.  Here is why.   

1.)  Deep Springs College accepts only thirteen men into its two-year program each year. It is a rigorous admissions process including several interviews and multiple essays. (The average applicant’s SAT score is 2200.) It is a working cattle and alfalfa ranch but one with a rigorous liberal arts curriculum in the High Desert region of Southern California.

It was founded by an early California pioneer, LL Nunn in 1917 on his idea that the three pillars… academics, labor, and self-governance help young men prepare themselves for lives of service to humanity. The school’s 26 students, along with its staff and faculty, form a close community. The college operates on the belief that manual labor and political deliberation are integral parts of a comprehensive liberal arts education.

Plus, it is FREE. Each student attends for two years and receives a full scholarship valued at over $50,000 per year. Afterwards, most earn their undergraduate and graduate degrees at the world’s most prestigious four-year institutions. It is practically a “slam dunk” admission transition. Getting a first class education, and saving up to $110,000 in the process is not a bad way to invest two years. 

Now you know why I can say to some students that they will “not have a prayer” to being admitted. Ladies…that would be you. One intellectually curious young woman I shared this fact with, was undeterred. Because her goal is to become a college English professor, she saw that as way to be part of the Deep Springs community. (Professors from schools like Stanford, Harvard and Yale go there to teach periodically for a semester or two.)

But if you are a male and intrigued by the concept, why not take a college road trip like none other right now.   

2.) Another college that is respected for its’ philosophy of combining work with learning is The College of the Ozarks. COFO is committed to a five-fold mission of encouraging academic, Christian, cultural, vocational, and patriotic growth in its students.

All full-time students work rather than pay for their tuition. The college discourages debt and, like Hillsdale College, does not participate in any government loan programs. On the other hand COFO does participate in federal grant programs so the FAFSA will need to be filed, to determine eligibility. (Hillsdale does not use the FAFSA.)

Academic offerings are surprisingly broad as you can see here. This combined with the strong work program makes it a valuable experience and excellent preparation for a fulfilling life.

By the way, College of the Ozarks has been named a “Stone-Cold Sober School” by the Princeton Review for ten consecutive years.  Alcohol and drugs are strictly prohibited on and off campus. Therefore, a student who applies to the school with the nickname “Hard Work U.” and looks forward to spring breaks in Cancun, is unlikely to be a good fit for this college.

3.) In beautiful Southern California, high above the Pacific Ocean sits a relatively new college with a unique mission. Soka University  was founded on the Buddhist principles of peace, human rights and the sanctity of life, SUA is open to students of all nationalities and beliefs and is committed to diversity in its academic community.

Soka founders and faculty believe that student-centered education is the best way to promote peace and human rights by fostering a global humanistic perspective on the world in which we live. The university prepares students for graduate studies and the world of work in an increasingly diverse and global society.

In an age when the world is facing the prospect of perpetual war, this is a mission that mandates going beyond words, putting beliefs into action. Soka is a very small university with a big vision. If its core mission could be replicated in some manner by other colleges, that would be ideal. In any case, I believe Soka University is heading in the right direction.

Take a 360-degree tour of this incredible campus with buildings inspired by northern Mediterranean style architecture.  You will not believe what you see.  

4.) There are two St Johns Collegecampuses one in Sante Fe, New Mexico and the other in Annapolis, Maryland. There is little difference between the two, other than the natural beauty of the Santa Fe campus and the rich historic setting of Annapolis.  

St Johns is a college that bases its curriculum on the great books. The all-required course of study is based on the reading, study, and discussion of the most important books of the Western tradition. There are no majors and no departments; all students follow the same program.

Students study from the classics of literature, philosophy, theology, psychology, political science, economics, history, mathematics, laboratory sciences, and music. No textbooks are used. The books are read in roughly chronological order, beginning with ancient Greece and continuing to modern times.

All classes are discussion-based. There are no class lectures; instead, the students meet together with faculty members, called tutors, to discuss the books.

If you are interested in becoming a doctor, there is no lack of solid science learning at St Johns either. You will be well prepared for medical school, and their approach is explained here.  

So, you might be thinking “That‘s nice, but what can I do with a degree based on the study of the ancient writings and philosophical musings of dead white males?” The answer is…anything you want to do!

Here is how valuable you will be to a future employer (even if you are self-employed) once you learn how to think critically, discuss ideas rationally and write interestingly.  

5.) I wish there were more Universities like Bastyr University. I have had a life long interest in nutrition and wellness. My dad was a physician who was trained in the Allopathic tradition but who spent his professional career focused on nutrition and disease prevention. That made sense early on to me.

If you are teenager who wishes to become a medical doctor or enter the health sciences because you have a strong desire to help people, I encourage you look at this university. In fact, many bright men and women have gone on to become Naturopathic or Homeopathic physicians after they earned Doctor of Medicine degrees. But that does not have to be the route one takes. Spend time in high school studying the merits of each. 

There are pluses and minuses with each approach. For instance, if you were hit by a truck, a hospital emergency room would be the best place to be, not having a Reiki treatment. But if you want to understand the true connection between “mind and body” as it relates to optimal health and prevention of disease, the first step may be a 90-minute appointment with a physician who has been trained in that approach.  

Regretfully, Johns Hopkins and Harvard medical school et al do not train physicians in that manner.  

Bastyr is recognized as a pioneer in natural medicine. It is the largest university for natural health arts and sciences in the U.S., combining a multidisciplinary curriculum with leading-edge research and clinical training.

Graduate programs include naturopathic medicine, acupuncture and Oriental medicine, nutrition, and nutrition and clinical health psychology.  

Look here to see what they are doing for the greater Seattle community. This is the kind of clinical training students at Bastyr take advantage of in their undergraduate and graduate years.  http://www.bastyrcenter.org/

With the cost of health care rising along with metabolic diseases of all sorts, does it not make sense to focus on genuine prevention of disease as opposed to treatment of disease? That is Bastyr’s mission.

In the future I will highlight five more sets of less known schools that have admirable missions.  I hope that you see in this sampling of five unique colleges opportunities to explore that go beyond the traditional path of a typical high school student.

Let us be your guides. Call for a free get acquainted consultation today. Or, if you are a student we are already working with, and have not had a review of your college strategy recently, email or call.