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Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:25:00 -0800

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Award Description: The Educationxpo Scholarship is provided by FastWeb and is open to all students who attend the November 12, 2009 Educationxpo virtual college and career fair. Educationxpo is the premier online source for obtaining comprehensive information about the college planning process. The August Educationxpo event will also feature hundreds of available job opportunities for part-time employment, summer internships and entry-level positions for recent college graduates. Educationxpo is a free event to attend and is open from 10:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. EDT. To be eligible for the Educationxpo Scholarship, you must attend the Educationxpo event on November 12, 2009, where you may enter the contest for the scholarship award. Additional award details may be found at the Prize Booth during the Educationxpo event on November 12, 2009. You may pre-register for the free Educationxpo event at www.Educationxpo.com .

Are test-preparation courses worth the cost?

By Mark Kantrowitz / Publisher of FinAid and FastWeb — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:34:00 -0700

Test preparation services like Kaplan and Princeton Review can achieve
significant improvements in test scores, partly by teaching
test-taking skills, partly by reviewing the material covered by the
tests and partly through practice drills. Improvements of about 50-100
points on the SAT are typical. According to College Board
data,
students who take the PSAT have SAT scores that are 25 to 78
points higher than students who don't. (The College Board data also
demonstrates that students from families with six-figure incomes
average 80 points more in the critical reading, mathematics and
writing sections than students from families earning $50,000 or
less.)

Standardized tests are as much a measure of test-taking ability as
they are tests of knowledge and skill. You can achieve a similar score
improvement benefit by taking practice tests under realistic timed
conditions at home. There are many books available with practice
tests, some even with decommissioned tests. Just becoming more
familiar with the test format can help avoid a panic reaction that
undermines performance.

There are also books that teach test-taking skills, such as approaches
to attacking a problem, pacing oneself, avoiding careless errors,
identifying wrong answers on multiple choice tests and not getting
bogged down on any one question. See Top Test-Taking Tips
for some of the most effective ways of improving your test scores.

Improving your test score can increase your chances of getting into
the college of your choice. If you start off with a good test score,
the added training might improve your test score enough to help you
qualify for scholarships based on academic merit
at some colleges. But parents should not pay for a course just in the
hopes of having it pay for itself through increases in merit-based
financial aid.

Parents can evaluate a testing service by asking their guidance
counselor and other parents about their experiences with the
services. The most well-known test preparation services — Kaplan,
Princeton Review, Peterson's, Barron's and Boston Test Prep — are
all good, with Kaplan and Princeton Review having the best
reputations. Some of these services publish books with practice tests
and test-taking advice; the books are much less expensive than the
full test-preparation service. There are also free services, like Number2.com,
march2success.com and free test-preparation tools at collegeboard.com,
that are worth using.

Top Standardized Test-Taking Tips

By Mark Kantrowitz / Publisher of FinAid and FastWeb — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:29:00 -0700

If you're taking a standardized test soon, whether it's the SAT, ACT, MCAT, GRE or one of the other tests, there are a few tips that can help you prepare. Find out how to make the most of your prep time by following our advice.

1. Practice, practice, practice. The more you practice, the more
familiar you will be with the test format, and the less likely you
are to panic when you take the test for real. Practice also gives
you an opportunity to get rid of all the bad habits that lead to
careless errors. The more you practice, the more likely you are to
recognize careless errors. Try to practice with sample tests under
realistic testing conditions.

2. Studying for the test over an extended period is much more
effective and lasting than cramming for the test at the last
minute.

One of the best ways to build your vocabulary and understanding of
current events is to ready a daily newspaper. It is best to start
doing this as a high school freshman. But even a few months of
close reading can help, probably more so than memorizing vocabulary
lists. It is important to understand the meaning of a word in a
real context. Word-a-day drills are only effective to the extent
that they provide memorable examples of the word's use in context.

3. Bring two sharpened, soft-lead number two pencils with you to the
test. Make sure they have good erasers. Bring a sharpener with you.

4. Eat a good breakfast the morning of the test. Avoid eating sugary
foods. High-protein foods like scrambled eggs are often best for
aiding concentration and minimizing fatigue.

5. Visit the bathroom 15-30 minutes before the test. Do not drink
water or other beverages for an hour before the test, as a full
bladder will affect your concentration.

6. Get a full night's sleep before the test. Do not pull an
all-nighter cramming before the test. A lack of sleep will affect
your performance.

7. Wear comfortable clothing.

8. Don't panic. If you start getting anxious, take slow deep
breaths. Don't worry about other people finishing early. Smart
people know to use all available time to double-check their work.

9. Pace yourself. Calculate the amount of time you have to answer each
question and avoid getting bogged down on any one question. A watch
with a countdown timer can be very helpful for budgeting your
time. You might also take a minute at the start of the test to scan
through the questions, so you can know what to expect.

10. Answer the easiest questions first. Most tests arrange the
questions in order of difficulty, but sometimes you'll find that
later questions are easier for you. If you're stuck on a question,
move on to the next question (but be sure you skip it on the
answer sheet). You can always return to the question
later. Sometimes returning to a question after answering other
questions can give you a fresh perspective.

11. If you have time left over at the end of the test, review your
answers. Don't second-guess an answer unless you are certain that
you misread or misinterpreted the question. Watch out for careless
errors. Also double-check that you wrote all of the answers in the
correct locations. (If you skipped a question, make sure you
didn't misalign the answer to the next question.)

For math questions, sometimes it can help to calculate the answer
in two different ways. Also use estimation techniques to ballpark
the answer as a sanity check. For example, instead of multiplying
412 by 24 to arrive at 9,888, multiply the most significant digits
(400 by 20) to arrive at 8,000. You know that the answer is a
little more than 8,000; this helps you recognize smaller answers
as errors.

12. Read the question in full before trying to answer it. At least
some of the answer choices will be designed to trap students who
don't read the question fully. Also identify the answer first
before looking at the answer choices, since some of the choices
will be designed to prime you into misinterpreting the
question. Don't jump to conclusions.

13. Eliminate any answers that you know are incorrect, especially on
questions where you are having trouble arriving at the
answer. Eliminating a few wrong answers can increase the chances
of a random guess being correct. The ACT does not have a penalty
for wrong answers, so there's no harm in guessing. The SAT
assesses a 1/4 point penalty for each wrong answer, so a purely
random guess will not improve your score on average. However, if
you can eliminate one or more of the answers, making an educated
guess among the remaining answers is worthwhile.

14. Consider all the answer choices before writing down your final
answer. If one of the answers is an all-of-the-above choice, make
sure there isn't more than one correct answer. If you've
identified at least two correct answers, choose the
all-of-the-above response.

Answers that are positive are more likely to be correct than
answers that are negative.

Answers that are more informative are more likely to be correct.

MCAT Test Information and Registration Dates 2010

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:32:00 -0700

The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a standardized, multiple-choice examination designed to assess the examinee's problem solving, critical thinking, writing skills, and knowledge of science concepts and principles prerequisite to the study of medicine. Scores are reported in Verbal Reasoning, Physical Sciences, Writing Sample, and Biological Sciences. Medical colleges consider MCAT exam scores as part of their admission process.

Almost all U.S. medical schools require applicants to submit MCAT exam scores. Many schools do not accept MCAT exam scores that are more than three years old.

The MCAT exam is administered multiple times from late January through early September, and offered at hundreds of test sites in the United States, Canada, and around the world.

Registration is closed for 2009. Registration for January through May 2010 test dates will open in November.

Regular registration for the MCAT costs $225, with an additional $55 for late registration costs. The AAMC Fee Assistance Program (FAP) aids individuals with extreme financial limitations who otherwise could not take the exam. The program reduces the regular testing fee for eligible individuals from $225 to $85. For more information, visit http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/reserving/fees.htm.

2010 Registration Dates

Test Date- Friday, January 29

Registration Opens - November 2, 2009
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - January 15, 2010
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- January 22, 2010
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- March 2, 2010

Test Date- Saturday, January 30

Registration Opens - November 2, 2009
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - January 16
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- January 23
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- March 2, 2010

Test Date- Saturday, March 27

Registration Opens - November 2, 2009
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - March 13
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- March 20
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- April 27

Test Date- Saturday, April 10

Registration Opens - November 2, 2009
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - March 27
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- April 3
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- May 11

Test Date- Saturday, April 17

Registration Opens - November 2, 2009
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - April 3
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- April 10
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- May 18

Test Date- Friday, April 23

Registration Opens - November 2, 2009
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - April 9
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- April 16
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- May 25

Test Date- Saturday, May 1

Registration Opens - November 2, 2009
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - April 17
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- April 24
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- June 1

Test Date- Friday, May 21

Registration Opens - November 2, 2009
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - May 7
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- May 14
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- June 22

Test Date- Saturday, May 22

Registration Opens - November 2, 2009
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - May 8
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- May 15
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- June 22

Test Date- Thursday, May 27

Registration Opens - November 2, 2009
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - May 13
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- May 20
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- June 29

Test Date- Thursday, June 17

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - June 3
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- June 10
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- July 20

Test Date- Thursday, July 8

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - June 24
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- July 1
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- August 10

Test Date- Friday, July 16

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - July 2
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- July 9
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- August 17

Test Date- Thursday, July 29

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - July 15
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- July 22
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- August 31

Test Date- Friday, July 30

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - July 16
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- July 23
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- August 31

Test Date- Wednesday, August 4

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - July 21
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- July 28
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- September 7

Test Date- Thursday, August 5

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - July 22
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- July 29
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- September 7

Test Date- Thursday, August 12

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - July 29
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- August 5
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- September 14

Test Date- Friday, August 13

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - July 30
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- August 6
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- September 14

Test Date- Thursday, August 19

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - August 5
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- August 12
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- September 21

Test Date- Friday, August 20

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - August 6
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- August 13
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- September 21

Test Date- Tuesday, August. 24

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - August 10
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- August 17
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- September 28

Test Date- Thursday, September 2

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - August 19
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- August 26
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- October 5

Test Date- Friday, September 3

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - August 20
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- August 27
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- October 5

Test Date- Thursday, September 9

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - August 26
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- September 2
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- October 12

Test Date- Saturday, September 11

Registration Opens - Spring 2010, date TBA
Regular Registration Closes* 11:59 p.m. ET - August 28
Late Registration Closes** 11:59 p.m. ET- September 4
Tentative Score Release Date After 5 p.m. ET- October 12

*Regular Registration Closes: Last date for initial registration without late fee and last date for changes to initial registration (including cancellations)

**Late Registration Closes: Last date for initial registration (late fee assessed)

All dates are 2010, except those clearly labeled 2009.

Information compiled from http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/reserving/fees.htm. For more information, see http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/reserving/fees.htm.

LSAT Info, Test and Registration Dates

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:58:00 -0700

The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is a half-day, standardized test administered four times each year at designated testing centers throughout the world. All American Bar Association-approved law schools, most Canadian law schools, and many other law schools require applicants to take the LSAT as part of their admission process.

Many law schools require that the LSAT be taken by December for admission the following fall. However, taking the test earlier—in June or September—is often advised.

The test consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions. Four of the five sections contribute to the test taker’s score. The unscored section, commonly referred to as the variable section, typically is used to pretest new test questions or to preequate new test forms. The placement of this section will vary. A 35-minute writing sample is administered at the end of the test. LSAC does not score the writing sample, but copies of the writing sample are sent to all law schools to which you apply.

The LSAT is designed to measure skills that are considered essential for success in law school: the reading and comprehension of complex texts with accuracy and insight; the organization and management of information and the ability to draw reasonable inferences from it; the ability to think critically; and the analysis and evaluation of the reasoning and arguments of others.

The three multiple-choice question types in the LSAT are:

Reading Comprehension Questions-- These questions measure your ability to read, with understanding and insight, examples of lengthy and complex materials similar to those commonly encountered in law school work. The reading comprehension section contains four sets of reading questions, each consisting of a selection of reading material, followed by five to eight questions that test reading and reasoning abilities.
Analytical Reasoning Questions--These questions are designed to measure your ability to understand a structure of relationships and to draw logical conclusions about that structure. You are asked to make deductions from a set of statements, rules, or conditions that describe relationships among entities such as persons, places, things, or events. They simulate the kinds of detailed analyses of relationships that a law student must perform in solving legal problems.
Logical Reasoning Questions-- These questions are designed to evaluate your ability to understand, analyze, criticize, and complete a variety of arguments. Each logical reasoning question requires you to read and comprehend a short passage, then answer a question about it. The questions test a variety of abilities involved in reasoning logically and thinking critically.

LSAT Test and Registration Dates for the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean for the 2009-2010 Academic Year

Test Date: Saturday, December 5, 2009 or Monday, December 7, 2009*

Registration Online, by Mail, by Telephone: November 3, 2009 (receipt deadline)
Late Registration by Mail: November 4-10, 2009 (receipt deadline)
Late Registration Online and by Telephone: November 4-13, 2009 (receipt deadline)

Test Dates: Saturday, February 6, 2010 and Monday, February 8, 2010*

Registration Online, by Mail, by Telephone: January 5, 2010 (receipt deadline)
Late Registration by Mail: January 6–12, 2010 (receipt deadline)
Late Registration Online and by Telephone: January 6–15, 2010 (receipt deadline)

*Monday tests are for Saturday Sabbath observers only.

And future test dates for 2010-2011:

Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010 (Asia/Australia/New Zealand)
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 (Saturday Sabbath Observers)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010 (Saturday Sabbath Observers)
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011 (Saturday Sabbath Observers)

Basic Fees:

LSAT Registration: $132
Late Registration: $66
Law School Reports: $12
One time fee for optional paper copies of LSAT Ticket, LSAT Score, Activity Updates, and Master Law School Report for online account holders: $25
Nonpublished Test Centers, Domestic: $245
Nonpublished Test Centers, International: $326

To Register:

By Phone: Call weekdays at 215.968.1001 between 8:30 am and 7:00 pm ET, September-February, and between 8:30 am and 4:45 pm ET, March-August.

By Mail: Contact LSAC for a mail packet or e-mail their candidate service representatives at LSACINFO@LSAC.org.

Information compiled from www.lsac.org. For more information or for international test sites and information, please click here.

Registering for the GRE 2009-2010

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:32:00 -0700

Graduate Record Examination or GRE is a standardized test that is an admission requirement for many graduate schools. Amongst individual schools, the importance of a GRE score can range from being an important admissions factor to being a mere formality.

The exam consists of four sections. The first section is a writing section, while the other three are multiple-choice. One of the multiple choice exams will test verbal skills, another will test quantitative skills and a third is an experimental section, not included in the reported score. Test takers do not know which of the three multiple-choice sections is the experimental section and the test takes about 4 hours to complete.

Study up! The GRE is different from some other standardized tests in that you can only take it once per calendar month and no more than five times within any 12 month period-- even if you've canceled your scores on your last taken test. So, it's best to come prepared for the GRE.

There are two ways you can take the GRE: the Computer-Based Test or the Paper-Based Test.

More on Computer-Based Tests

The General Test is given year-round at computer-based test centers in the United States, Canada and many other countries.
Appointments are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.
You may take the General Test (computer-based and/or paper-based) only once per calendar month, and no more than five times within any 12-month period. This applies even if you canceled your scores on a test taken previously.

To register to test in the United States, American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Canada, register online or call 1-443-751-4820 or 1-800-GRE-CALL (1-800-473-2255) register to test at an international location, register online or contact the appropriate. The Cost is $150 for computer based test. You can take the test at any time, provider the test center near you has availability. Regional Registration Center. REGISTER EARLY TO GET YOUR PREFERRED TEST DATE.

More on the Paper Based Tests

Paper-based General Test administrations are offered in areas where computer-based testing is not available.
Not all test centers are open on all test dates. View the test center list here.

Paper Based Test Dates are 10/24/09 and 02/06/10

Registration Dates for the October paper test is as follows:

United States and Puerto Rico:

Supplementary Test Center and Monday Administration- 09/04/09
Regular Registration - 09/18/09
Late Registration- 09/25/09

Other Locations, Including U.S. Territories:

Supplementary Test Center and Monday Administration- 08/28/09
Regular Registration - 09/11/09
Late Registration- 09/18/09

APPROXIMATE SCORE REPORT MAILING DATE is 12/04/09

Registration Dates for the February paper test is as follows:

United States and Puerto Rico:

Supplementary Test Center and Monday Administration- 12/18/09
Regular Registration - 01/04/10
Late Registration- 01/08/10

Other Locations, Including U.S. Territories:

Supplementary Test Center and Monday Administration- 12/11/09
Regular Registration - 12/28/09
Late Registration- 01/04/10

APPROXIMATE SCORE REPORT MAILING DATE is 03/19/10

Notes:

Some dates do not apply for testing in China (including Hong Kong), Korea or Taiwan.
No supplementary test centers will be established for the February test date.
Monday test dates will be October 26, 2009, and February 8, 2010.
Late registration is available for online registration only for a fee of $25. Late registration closes one week after the regular registration deadline.

Individuals taking the Analytical Writing section between July 1, 2009, and September 19, 2009, will be registered for the paper-based administration on October 24, 2009. Those taking the Analytical Writing section between September 20, 2009, and May 8, 2010, will be registered for the paper-based administration on June 12, 2010.

Information compiled from http://www.ets.org/gre and Wikipedia. For more information and specific details go to http://www.ets.org/gre.

College Choices in a Down Economy

Mark Kantrowitz / Publisher of FinAid and FastWeb — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:19:00 -0700

FastWeb partnered with Maguire Associates, a firm that specializes in
market research, analysis and predictive modeling for colleges and
universities, to evaluate the impact of the economy on college choices
by high school seniors and their parents. Initial surveys were sent in
February and March 2009 to identify the initial selection of
colleges. Follow-up surveys were sent in May 2009 to determine the
impact on actual college choices.

Practical Insights

Understanding the trends in college choices might help future
applicants crystallize their decision-making. Some of the more
noteworthy findings include:

1. Financial considerations are often the deciding factor when
students have difficulty choosing a college.

2. Students who did not enroll at their first-choice college were more
likely to base their decision on affordability, while students who
enrolled at their first-choice college were more likely to focus on
academic quality and setting.

3. Families are increasingly focusing on out-of-pocket cost (the
cost of attendance after subtracting just grants, not loans) when
evaluating colleges.

4. Families that are more concerned about the economy are more likely
to let their concerns influence their choice of college. They want
good quality schools but at bargain prices, such as in-state public
4-year colleges, elite colleges with "no loans" policies and
generous financial aid offers, and community colleges as a lower
cost detour on the way to a Bachelor's degree.

Concerns about the Economy

Parents were more concerned about the economy than students, with 84%
of parents somewhat or extremely concerned about the economy, compared
with 69% of students. About two-thirds of families said that concerns
about the economy somewhat or greatly affected the selection of
colleges to which applications were sent (64.1% of parents and 60.8%
of students). Families that were more concerned about finances tended
to increase the number of applications, and to send applications
primarily to colleges that said that they met full demonstrated
financial need.

High school seniors from low income families were more likely to be
worried about how to pay for school than seniors from upper income
families. 65% of low income students reported that their concerns
about the economy somewhat or greatly influenced their choice of
application schools, compared with 52% of upper income students. These
students were more likely to be influenced by a more generous
financial aid package. The greater their concern about the economy,
the more likely the concerns were to influence their choice of a
college. About three-fifths of families (58% of students and 59% of
parents) reported that their financial situation had worsened by May.

[page]

Influences on 'Switchers'

Students who initially preferred a private college were twice as likely
to switch to a public college in their final choice as students who
initially preferred a public college and switched to a private college
(27% vs 14%). Money had a primary impact on the switchers in both
directions. Cost and affordability were deciding factors with
two-thirds focusing on the out-of-pocket cost. (Out-of-pocket cost
dramatically increased in rank from March to May while other criteria
decreased in rank.) Students who switched from private to public were
much more likely to enroll in-state (75% vs 46%). Of the students who
switched from public to private, 48% said that student aid was the
main reason for the switch, and 36% identified total costs
as the primary reason. First generation college students are more
likely to attend a public college overall, but they are also more
likely to switch to a private college.

Among students who did not enroll at their first-choice college, the
top reasons for choosing their enrollment college were total cost
(45.6%), financial aid (41.9%) and close to home (32.0%). Among
students who enrolled at their first-choice college, the top reasons
for the choice were quality of major (48.3%), campus setting (40.7%)
and academic reputation (40.3%). Of those who did not enroll at their
first choice, 30% said they didn't enroll because they couldn't afford
it and 12% because they got a better financial aid offer elsewhere.

Some of the more striking results from the survey related to
comparisons of what families said they would do with what they
actually did. For example, when asked about their willingness to
consider options for saving money, after they had chosen a college in
May high school seniors were much more likely to consider living at
home and commuting, starting off at a community college and
transferring to a 4-year school, and attending an in-state public
college for the lower tuition. In both cases a significant portion of
high school seniors were willing to work part-time in college.

Different Perceptions of Appeals for More Aid

Curiously, students and parents had different perceptions with regard
to appeals for more aid. While roughly the same percentages said that
they had appealed for more aid (22% of students and 21% of parents),
parents were much more likely to report that the college had increased
the aid offer (50% of parents vs 35% of students). Parents also seemed
to have higher expectations than students, with more reporting that
the financial aid offer was lower than expected (33.4% of students vs
44.7% of parents) and fewer reporting that the financial aid offer was
higher than expected (22.0% of students vs 14.2% of parents).

The survey results were based on responses from 22,734 high school
seniors and 4,806 of their parents, and are statistically significant
with an accuracy of +/- 1% at the 99% confidence level.

Everything You Need to Know About Taking the GMAT

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:57:00 -0700

Gearing up to take the GMAT? A few things you should know...

The GMAT exam is a standardized assessment, delivered in English, that helps business schools assess the qualifications of applicants for advanced study in business and management. Over 1900 graduate business schools around the world use GMAT scores as a part of their admissions process. Most GMAT test takers start preparing about 3 to 6 months before the actual test date.

The GMAT exam measures basic verbal, mathematical, and analytical writing skills that you have developed in your education and work and your test is valid for five years. The tests costs $250, regardless of whether you take it in the U.S. or not.

To take the computer-based GMAT you must schedule an appointment by using any of the following four methods:

1. Make an appointment online, via the GMAC website (http://www.mba.com/mba/TaketheGMAT).

2. Call the test center of your choice directly. A current test-center list is available at the GMAC website (http://www.mba.com).

3. Call a central registration number: 1-800-717-GMAT.

You might be able to take the GMAT within a few days after scheduling an appointment. However, keep in mind that popular test centers during fall semester may experience backlogs up to several weeks.

Note: If you are a citizen of Cuba, North Korea, or Sudan, you must prove primary residency outside of your country of citizenship.

GMAT Test Centers

The computer-based GMAT is administered year-round at more than 500 locations, most of which are in North America. Testing centers are located at Prometric Testing Centers, Sylvan Learning Centers, certain colleges and universities, and ETS (Educational Testing Service) field offices. The official GMAT Bulletin contains a complete list of GMAT computer-based test centers; an updated list is available at the GMAC website (www.gmac.com).

GMAT Test Dates

The GMAT is given year round during working days. You can take the test at any time.

Information compiled from http://www.gmatcat.com/Registration.html and
http://www.mba.com/mba/thegmat.

ACT: A Complete List of Deadlines for 2009-2010

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:09:00 -0700

Planning on taking the ACT this year? Here's a quick list of the test dates, registration dates and late registration deadlines for U.S. test takers for the 2009-10 academic year.

What is the ACT? The ACT is a curriculum-focused standardized college entrance exam that tests high school students on English, mathematics, reading and science with 215 multiple-choice questions in 3 1/2 hours. It can often be taken in place of the SAT and is accepted by most four year colleges in the United States. There is also an optional writing portion. The test fee will run you about $31 ($46 with writing test).

Test Date: September 12, 2009

Registration Deadline; August 7, 2009

Late Registration Period: August 8 – 21, 2009

Test Date: October 24, 2009

Registration Deadline: September 18, 2009

Late Registration Period: September 19 – October 2, 2009

Test Date: December 12, 2009

Registration Deadline: November 6, 2009

Late Registration Period: November 7 – 20, 2009

Test Date: February 6, 2010**

Registration Deadline: January 5, 2010

Late Registration Period: January 6 – 15, 2010

Test Date: April 10, 2010

Registration Deadline: March 5, 2010

Late Registration Period: March 6 – 19, 2010

Test Date: June 12, 2010

Registration Deadline: May 7, 2010

Late Registration Period: May 8 – 21, 2010

** No test centers are scheduled in New York for the February test date.

Information compiled from ACTStudent.org and about.com. To register for an ACT exam, click here.

Don't Miss the Deadline: SAT Test Dates & Deadlines 2009-2010

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:37:00 -0700

Planning on taking the SATs this year? Here's a quick list of the test dates, registration dates and late registration deadlines for U.S. test takers for the 2009-10 academic year.

If you are testing in the United States, U.S. territories, or U.S. commonwealths, and you miss the registration deadline, you still have time to submit a registration, but you must pay a late fee.

The current SAT Reasoning Test takes three hours and forty-five minutes and costs $45 ($71 International). The late registration fee is $23 and standby fee is $38. For more information on fees, click here.

Test Date: October 10, 2009

Test: SAT & Subject Tests
Regular Registration Deadline:
September 9, 2009
Late Registration Submission Deadline (By Phone or Online):
September 25, 2009

Test Date: November 7, 2009

Test: SAT & Subject Tests
Regular Registration Deadline: October 1, 2009
Late Registration Submission Deadline (By Phone or Online): October 15, 2009

Test Date: December 5, 2009

Test: SAT & Subject Tests
Regular Registration Deadline: October 31, 2009
Late Registration Submission Deadline (By Phone or Online): November 13, 2009

Test Date: January 23, 2010

Test: SAT & Subject Tests
Regular Registration Deadline: December 15, 2009
Late Registration Submission Deadline (By Phone or Online): December 30, 2009

Test Date: March 13, 2010

Test: SAT only
Regular Registration Deadline: February 4, 2010
Late Registration Submission Deadline (By Phone or Online): February 18, 2010

Test Date: May 1, 2010

Test: SAT & Subject Tests
Regular Registration Deadline: March 25, 2010
Late Registration Submission Deadline (By Phone or Online): April 8, 2010

Test Date: June 5, 2010

Test: SAT & Subject Tests
Regular Registration Deadline: April 29, 2010
Late Registration Submission Deadline (By Phone or Online): May 13, 2010

Information compiled from The College Board. For more information, and international registration dates and deadlines, test locations and more, see The College Board website. Or, Register Now.

Technology: What's the NEXT BIG THING?

By Andrew Flagel, Dean of George Mason University — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:21:00 -0700

I’m on my way to the Association for College Admissions Counseling national conference where a massive amount of time will be spent (one might say wasted) on technology issues. There are a slew of sessions on the use of technology, and, of course, a whole bunch of companies that claim to offer THE NEXT BIG THING.

Of course it’s assumed that we already have the basic technology – a decent (frustrating and cumbersome) online application system and some kind of (not very attractive or impressive) web site. The big topic this year is Twitter. Yes, I know that the data says that high school students really don’t use Twitter…but we don’t let the facts get in the way of THE NEXT BIG THING.

About four years ago THE NEXT BIG THING was supposed to be blogging, and a lot of offices jumped on that bandwagon, with readers by the…dozens. As a result I suspect there are some deans out there writing far more eloquently than I, yet sadly, few will ever read their musings. Well, maybe I’m not all that sad about it, but that’s not my point. As I recall, YouTube was the hot topic three years ago. Many colleges started YouTube channels only to find that students really aren’t all that interested in college channels on YouTube.

Then last year the hot topic was Facebook. I can only imagine how many of you, when surfing for information on a school, stop and think, “I was totally disinterested in this school, but now that they created a Facebook app to tell me what food they are serving in the cafeteria, I am SOLD!”

The sad truth is that admissions offices tend to be way behind our prospective students when it comes to THE NEXT BIG THING. It’s incredibly frustrating to know that in other buildings on our campus they are probably building THE NEXT BIG THING which, if I’m not mistaken, will run largely on cheese. Or geo-solar, nuclear energy. Or a hamster treadmill… I should probably pay more attention to the briefings, but that’s not important right now.

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What is important is that universities are often the centers of technology development. Mason had the first doctoral programs in the world in information technology and in computational science, and we’ve been among the world leaders in those fields. I’m practically on top of THE NEXT BIG THING.

So why are admissions offices so far behind? First, many of my fellow deans are, if you’ll excuse the expression, OLD. Second, for years we’ve hired admissions officers that can do a great job at a college fair. If they happened to know technology, that was a coincidence. As a result, most colleges and university admissions officers wouldn’t know THE NEXT BIG THING if it “friended” us.

Here’s a good example, and a shameless plug to boot: Students always complain that admissions is all about numbers, that we don’t get to “know them.” One of my staff members suggested we let our applicants submit videos as part of their application. In YouTube. And let anyone see them and rank them.

Let’s be clear. That FREAKS ME OUT. No chance ten years ago anyone would have considered in any way sharing information that applicants submit with other applicants. So I said, “No.” Then they ran a test with our Student Ambassador applicants, and I had to admit that, just maybe, I was wrong. Just. This. Once.

So now we’re the first university to incorporate YouTube into our application process. And just maybe we found THE NEXT BIG THING. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go tweet about it. Be seeing you.

Parents' Perspective to: Too Much Going on and Not Enough Fun

By the About U Team — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:13:00 -0700

We realize it is tough being a teenager today. Far tougher than when we were that age. We didn’t have the same pressures, decisions or competition. So what are we, as parents to do? We can’t live their lives or make their decisions. It is their time now and we have to step back and allow them to experience and work through their issues while still supporting them as individuals.

They have to walk this walk in their own way and on their own.

Now that doesn’t mean we don’t advise, coach, cheerlead and just be there for them. In the end, however, the decisions must be theirs.

So what can we do? First, is to not be critical. They are going through some tough times and will make mistakes. So we can support them and hope that they learn from mistakes (them,) as we have over the years.

Second, acknowledge that they – and probably you – are in stress. They are under a lot of pressure, internal and external, as deadlines loom.

Our pressure is from the outside looking on and wanting to make it easier for them (and finding that cooperation and procrastination are our sources of stress and pressure). These times make it a family matter as the stress permeates the entire household to different degrees.

And know that stress manifests itself in many forms. For some teens it can be frenetic, undirected activity; for others it can be the “deer caught in the headlights” syndrome. Yet trying to push them into different behavior patterns may only exacerbate the situation.

Third, “the apple may not fall far from the tree” but teenagers aren’t apples. Just because we may be committed and happy in our current professions, doesn’t mean our children will automatically have a similar calling. They may, in fact, have occupational interests totally dissimilar from ours. Honor those differences.

Fourth, keep communicating … constantly. They are working through decisions and stress, so are we. If either of us stops the dialog, the process is broken.

Fifth and most critical, send your student to www.about-u.com, have them register, take the About U Questionnaire for the price of a major textbook. Your students will find positive answers that relate directly to their unique situation. Guidance and answers that will serve them not only in the pursuit of a degree, but a reference of themselves they can use the rest of their lives.

Check us out; we can benefit the entire family.

Read Matt's perspective here.

Click here to get your AboutU Report through FastWeb

Undecided is Not a Major

By the About USM Team — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:05:00 -0700

Ready to head off to college? Ready to be independent? Looking for some fun: football games, meeting new friends, parties, maybe pledging, certainly dating? It’s going to be exciting, challenging and mind expanding.

Oh, and by the way, have you decided in what you are going to major? Any idea what courses you want to take; where they will lead; what you will do after you graduate; and most importantly how you will market yourself to the waiting world?

Ok, you could just put down “undecided” and make up your mind later. Something will come along that grabs your attention, right?

Unlikely! The preponderance of the data shows that entering freshmen college students who are majoring in “undecided” are the ones most likely to drop out. At one college the rate is north of seventy percent.

Why? Simply put, if you have no purpose, no passion you’ll have no drive, no reason to get you into the books at night and up and out of the bed in the morning. You’ll meander; and chances are you’ll eventually meander right off the campus.
It happens … too often as the boring statistics show…..

And if this should happen to you, when you do leave, chances are you‘ll have a companion: student debt. If you take out any loans to go to school, that burden will follow you, everywhere. You can’t just brush those debts off because you are no longer a student. Now, you are no longer a student AND with debt.

Take advantage of the About-U Report and get some sense of direction! It is an online assessment that will result in a twenty-two-page report and an MP3 explanation. It cost about as much as a major text book. Now, compare the cost of taking the report and getting accurate and necessary guidance to getting the wrong degree or worse, failing out of school or just leaving due to confusion. It’s your choice.

Add some certainty to your future. Go to www.about-u.com and see how to move from undecided to clear.

Click here to get your AboutU Report through FastWeb!

A Junior's Perspective of Too Much Going on and Not Enough Fun

By Matt Bauman, Junior in High School, and The About U Team — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:58:00 -0700

Ok, so I am a junior now. My day starts at 6:30, school starts at 7:30 and ends at 3:00pm. Soccer practice or games start immediately after on Tuesdays and Fridays, then dinner and homework and emails, texting, plus a job on the weekends. It seems like the pressure never stops, particularly at school.

Competition is a forever part of high school: trying to figure out which college will be best for me and what I need to do in order to be accepted at at least one school; and competing for grades with other kids who are dealing with the same issues. How am I supposed to enjoy my high school years when I’m either studying or worrying about what I should be doing?

And if that isn’t hard enough, maintaining any semblance of a social life can be a nightmare. I can’t figure out what even is pleasurable and at most times even thinking about it becomes more of a chore. When different friends move into different cliques, seemingly changing overnight into a different people, I feel confused and left out.

All the time my parents tell me “slow down, just enjoy being a kid while you can. Once you become an adult you have a life of work.” Being a kid and slowing down don’t go in the same sentence. If I slow down I don’t get the good grades or participate in enough volunteer activities that are now required for admissions into any good school. And while some of these things do bring enjoyment, insurmountable pressure and anxiety lurk in the background.

At times I feel that no one understands me, no one has been where I am or felt like I do right now. And now I am faced with myself and have to figure out who I am, what I want and where I go from here.

Ok, so I buckled down and took The About U Assessment and got my Report. After listening to the feedback, I realized how this really described who I was and even more importantly how to deal with all my worries. It told me that I over think things, keeping them in my head and worrying about them. Then it actually gave me strategies for coping with this and other stressful situations. I was beginning to think that there wasn’t anything out there to help me talk to parents about my worries, or to help me decide a major or even look at what aspects of a college would be important for me to be feel happy and successful.

I am more confident now in my choice of major, pre law and of the kind of college that would be best for me, close but not too close, small and focused on individual students with a solid liberal arts program. True the competition still is there and concerns about how to have more fun and the truth is now I don’t have to take myself quite so seriously and actually enjoy my time with friends more.

Click here to get your AboutU Report through FastWeb!

Exposing the Hypocrisy of the College Rankings System

By Andrew Flagel, George Mason University — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:16:00 -0700

In the world of admissions officers, August is an incredibly stressful time. The source of this anxiety isn’t the students moving in, the recruitment travel restarting, or the summer ending--it’s THE RANKINGS.

Most of my colleagues describe their feelings towards THE RANKINGS as ambivalent. "Ambivalent" means they hate them, they really hate them. Unless their college or university is blessed by THE RANKINGS--then they still hate them, even as they brag about them.

Shameless (clearly hypocritical!) plug: Mason again ranked in the top “Schools to Watch” in U.S. News and World Report. Last year we were number one in this category, also called, “Up and Coming National Universities." This year we are number two. My boss remarked that this makes us the, “Up and Second-Coming” institution, but as a public institution we have to steer clear of such religious overtones.

This passionate distaste for THE RANKINGS, in between bragging opportunities, always seems bizarre to me since students, parents and most of society find them at least moderately useful, as judged by massive internet traffic and magazine sales. On the other hand, I think it’s really important to put THE RANKINGS into some reasonable context.

With all due respect to Bob Morse, my longtime acquaintance that runs the U.S. News rankings, the rankings are, for the most part, hooey. That’s a technical term meaning, “a lot of statistical data that doesn’t actually mean a thing if you’re trying to determine the quality of a school.”

U.S. News, of course, starts with a massive survey of experts on college and university quality with no vested in interested in manipulating the survey results, and by that, of course, I mean exactly the opposite. In reality, university presidents, provosts, and admissions deans (that’s who fills out the survey) don’t have all that much time to brush up on everything going on at the several hundred other colleges and universities in the survey, and, as has been reported in recent articles, they have pretty strong motivations to adjust their responses to favor their own institutions. Fortunately, I genuinely feel that Mason is the best university – ever – so I have no ethical risk in how I respond…which should give you some idea of how these things work.

Find out what other FastWeb users are saying about THE RANKINGS.

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These surveys are the most influential part of the U.S. News ranking, but those surveys are balanced by statistical data that is completely accurate, impossible to manipulate, and corresponds exactly to the quality of each institution...and again by that I mean the exact opposite. THE RANKINGS, for instance, love the SAT and ACT. Even while thousands of students across the country try to convince admission officers that you are more than a test score, THE RANKINGS assume that an incoming class is just that – an average test score. The only thing more important than the incoming class is how much money each school spends and earns.

I can hear those logic gears turning in your head and wondering, “What the heck does how much money a school earns and spends have to do with whether it’s the right school for me?” Good question. With money as a huge factor, it guarantees that the rankings won’t change all that much from year to year, which is great if you’re selling magazines to people who expect to see the same names at the top of the list each year.

Recognizing these tiny, wee flaws in their methodology, U.S. News also offers a bunch of other rankings, including a survey of guidance counselors and some specialty rankings (Did I mention, Mason again ranked in the top Schools To Watch?) based on the same entirely fair and unbiased survey of presidents, provosts and deans they use for the overall ranking. Princeton Review and Forbes (which ranked Mason the top public university in the D.C. area!) use student surveys. Of course, students have no bias and are a great source of statistically sound data, and by that I continue to mean the exact opposite.

Very slowly there are some better tools being developed. The National Survey of Student Engagement does some great work trying to look at outcomes, what actually happens to students while enrolled at colleges and universities, and U.S. News has been publishing some of their results as well. There are also some interesting specialty rankings being developed for green schools, religious institutions, and gay-friendly campuses, just to name a few, that are likely to be a lot more help as you try to navigate your college search.

The bottom line is that the rankings can be an interesting shortcut to developing your interest list, but don’t get sucked into thinking there’s a lot of substance behind them. My suggestion: build your own ranking based on the things you think are most important. Send me your suggestions for what should go on that list and I’ll post them in a future column. Who knows – maybe we can control THE RANKINGS of the future! Be seeing you.

College Transfer Students: Watch Out for Admissions Gimmicks

By Andrew Flagel, George Mason University — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:08:00 -0700

Time, once again, to rant about how colleges and universities busy themselves trying to manipulate you.
Transfer students are a hot commodity in admissions. Since Mason is one of the most popular transfer destinations in the U.S., I may be even more disturbed by misinformation about transferring schools than I am about the usual admissions confusion. A recent article intended for college admissions officers reminded me of this pet peeve.

Jason Bakker is a most excellent college marketing guru. In a recent article on Ypulse.com, however, he offers help with responding to the “increase” in potential transfer students, asserting that what transfer students want most is help achieving their “life goals,” and therefore, colleges should market themselves to that concept.

Instead of trying to prove that point, Jason offers some examples of tuition discounts. He seems to feel the main reason students transfer is to get a cheaper education. This could lead colleges to believe that the best way to convince you to transfer schools is to offer you a better financial deal. No offense to Jason, but that seems like a big steaming pile of nonsense.

Community college or other transfer students are no more prone to respond to value or discount pitches than any other group of prospective students. In fact, claiming to be “cheaper” can just as easily translate to impressions of lower quality rather than higher value. This may seem insane, but there is far more evidence that raising cost increases perceived value and little evidence that lowering tuition provides comparable benefit. That’s how colleges and universities get into that whole dirty science of how little they can discount your tuition and still get you to enroll – otherwise they’d all just lower their price, and transfer students would be flocking to the least expensive schools.

As for Jason’s initial assertion that what transfer students want most is help with life goals (he means making more money), colleges have been trying lay stake to that claim for years. Of course, the data says that your income level after college has nothing to do with what college you attend, but don’t let that stop you savvy (evil) marketers!

What clearly works with transfers (and every other market segment) are assertions of quality. Strangely, we tie quality to exclusivity –schools that are hard to get into are more likely to be labeled as high quality. That impression (linked to hints of future income) is one successful way to reach out to recruit transfer students, and the cost issue can have an inverse relationship to that effort. In simple terms, colleges and universities have found that being more expensive makes it easier to claim higher quality. It even raises school standing in the rankings.

There is a better, even less evil, way to recruit transfer students. Far more than freshmen, transfer students are concerned with convenience and expedience. Access to online courses, evening and weekend classes, acceptance of credit, and general accommodation and assimilation of transfer students are HUGE issues, often far outweighing (although also influencing through time to degree) cost of attendance. Be seeing you.

Tour University of Colorado at Colorado Springs on FastWeb

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:17:00 -0700

Have you ever wanted to explore a campus from your living room couch? Now you can! FastWeb and YOUniversity TV are teaming up to make the college search process easier for students and parents. We know you have a busy, demanding schedule and sometimes, college visits simply aren’t feasible, especially if the college is far away.

First, check out the school’s profile below. At the bottom of the page, click on the name of the school to see the campus for yourself!

Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Enrollment: 6,300

Tuition: $6,800 In-State Tuition & $16,500 Out-of-State Tuition

Room & Board: $8,400

Region/Type: Suburban/Public

Financial Aid: According to The Princeton Review, 59% of financial need is met

Campus Life: According to The Princeton Review, there are 55 registered student organizations on campus

Sports: Division 2--Team: Mountain Lions

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Check out The University of Colorado at Colorado Spring's college campus today!

The Admissions Process: Illusion is Everything

By Andrew Flagel, George Mason University — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:47:00 -0700

A couple of weeks ago, the ongoing drama at the University of Illinois (motto, “Will trade admissions for appointment to U.S. Senate.”) led me to post a note debunking one of the three great myths of college admissions. In case you’ve forgotten, the three great myths of college admissions are:

1) The college admissions process is fair.
2) The college admissions process is complicated.
3) The college admissions process is easy to predict.

I’ve already covered that the process is unfair, and I’ll cover more of that in the future since the general unfairness of the process is one of my favorite subjects. Today, however, a bit about how very simple admissions can be.

If you were able to get the resumes of the staff members in most admissions offices that review applications, you would find a HUGE number of them that are recent college graduates. I don’t mean, mind you, that they just finished their Nobel Prize-worthy dissertations for their Ph.D.’s and are taking time off from rocket science and quantum physics to read your application. Actually, most admissions file reviewers are the same admissions “officers” you see at college fairs and high school visits. By and large, those individuals recently (as in the past two years) finished their bachelor’s degrees, and this gig in admissions is their first full time job.

Before I get heaps of complaints from colleagues (or whining from my staff) I need clarify that I am NOT saying that admissions people aren’t every bit as smart and hard working as others. Many are quite (ahem) brilliant. There is, however, no standardized test to become an admissions officer, and there are no sources (of which I am aware) for checking what scores those staff members received back when THEY were applying to college, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that there are some smart people working in this field. However, and I say this implying no ill will toward any of my colleagues at any institution anywhere, there are a fair share of knuckleheads who occupy desks in admissions offices across the country.

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In other words, one does not need brilliance to perform the task of reviewing applications and selecting students for admissions. It also doesn’t take all that much training. I’ve experimented with this by taking a sample of applications, taking out all the names and personal information, and showing them to groups of teachers, guidance counselors, students, and parents, giving only about fifteen minutes of instruction each time. Amazingly, they will all pretty much make the same decisions. In fact, they will even make the same decisions my “experienced” and “highly trained” admissions staff made.

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Why is it so easy? In another post I explained that the vast majority of decisions are decided on academic record more than anything else. Even at the most competitive institutions, there is enough difference in scores, grades, essays, and the rest to be able to sort students fairly well. Most admissions officers that I’ve met in my career tell me that reading applications is the least interesting part of their job, and usually by the second year in admissions I have staff members begging me for more of almost any other assignment.

Considering how very simple process this process can be and how decisions are very consistent no matter who is doing the reviewing, you may think that the outcomes are VERY predictable. WRONG. You’ve fallen prey to the third myth, but that’s a tale for another day. Be seeing you."

The Role of the Guidance Counselor Recommendation

By Andrew Flagel, George Mason University — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:08:00 -0700

I know I promised to get back to the GREAT MYTHS OF COLLEGE ADMISSIONS, but you all send such INTERESTING questions that I get distracted. This can also happen with shiny objects, or really interesting events, such as….

Shameless Plug: Just two weeks ago Mason hosted the first annual Washington Journalism and Media Conference. Enrolled students got to hear from Chuck Todd, NBC Chief White House Correspondent; Brian Lamb, CEO and Founder of CSPAN; and Helen Thomas, one of the nation’s best known journalists. They were also invited to participate in a private press conference led by Deputy White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. The students were as amazing as the program. Check out details at http://www.dcpresspass.com. If you are a rising senior, a strong student, and have terrific experience in and passion for journalism and media, you can apply to join us next year!

Enough of that, back to the advice.

Pretty much every college and university with a competitive admission process wants some kind of official input from the high school, and this usually takes the form of a counselor recommendation. Unlike other recommendations, the high school, not the student, decides who completes these recommendations. These letters take an ENORMOUS amount of counselors’ time, leading them to wonder what role those documents play in admissions decisions.

As I repeat often in these columns, in reality the vast majority of the weight in the admissions process is on your academic record. So I rant on and on (and on and on) about how applicants assign far too much weight to scores, essays, extra-curriculars, and recommendations.

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Now I turn around and say that recommendations play a vital and active role in most admissions processes, and that this is particularly true of guidance counselor recommendations. What’s up with that? The confusing reality is that both views are accurate. Your academic records do, more than any other factors, dominate admissions decisions. Nevertheless, the other factors do have a role, and admissions officers read recommendations (and essays) to find information that may influence their decision. That isn’t to say that even the best recommendation will get an academically unqualified student admitted, or that a weak recommendation will cause a committee to deny a truly outstanding candidate. Applicants in between the cream of the crop and utterly unqualified will find that recommendations have more influence (although still less than academic record). Got it?
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Now that I’ve confused the issue of how important these recommendations are, I might was well also muddy the water on recommendation content. Recommendations often attempt to cover nearly everything you’ve done during high school. I’ve previously advised you to avoid recommendations that are lengthy and generally uninformative in favor of ones that focus on what the recommender knows best. That’s a good general rule since admissions officers have limited time to spend on each application, and you want them to get to the information that best supports a positive decision.

Counselor recommendations, however, can be the exception to that rule. Many institutions will use a counselor’s recommendation to compare claims you made on your application, and often counselors will list some interesting accomplishments you forgot to include. More importantly, it is the personal knowledge about the student that is most likely, in my experience, to have an impact on the decision, particularly where the counselor is aware of any unusual circumstances/hurdles that might otherwise be overlooked (or even doubted) in the application review process.

I’m not surprised that many counselors, parents, and students find this quite confusing, and of course these answers will vary to some degree depending on the individual evaluator, school, etc. In general, you exert control over your recommendations by selecting who will write them. The author of the guidance counselor recommendation, however, is rarely your decision. For those of you entering your senior year, you may want to consider devoting some energy to getting to know your guidance counselor. For those of you whose dispositions may leave something to desire and/or whose interactions with your guidance counselor to date may have been less than satisfactory, you may want to ponder how you can enhance your standing in this regard. I recommend chocolate. Be seeing you.

Tour Duke University on FastWeb

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:56:00 -0700

First, check out the school’s profile below. At the bottom of the page, click on the name of the school to see the campus for yourself!

Location: Durham, North Carolina

Enrollment: 6,300

Tuition: $37,000 In- and Out-of-State Tuition

Room & Board: $11,000

Region/Type: Suburban/Private Secular

Financial Aid: According to The Princeton Review, 00% of average need is met

Campus Life: According to The Princeton Review, there are 200 registered student organizations on campus

Sports: Division 1--Team: Blue Devils

What Students Say: According to The Princeton Review, Duke students say:

Duke University "is the complete package: great academics, fun students, exciting athletics, and school spirit," all enjoyed in "an almost Mediterranean climate." Undergraduates choose Duke because they "are passionate about a wide range of things, including academics, sports, community service, research, and fun," and because the school seems equally committed to accommodating all of those pursuits; as one student puts it, "Duke is for the Ivy League candidate who is a little bit more laid back about school and overachieving (but just a bit) and a lot more into the party scene." Academics "are very difficult in the quantitative majors (engineering, math, statistics, economics, pre-med)" and "much easier in the non-quantitative majors, but [it] still take a lot of work not to fall behind." In all areas, "the laid-back atmosphere makes competition practically nonexistent. It's the norm to have large study groups, and the review sessions, peer tutoring system, writing center, and academic support center are always helpful when students are struggling with anything from math homework to creating a resume." Professors' "number one priority is teaching undergraduates," a situation made more remarkable by the fact that many are engaged in "ground-breaking" research. Because "the school has a lot of confidence in its students," it offers them "many research opportunities," one of many manifestations of Duke's "commitment to the undergraduate experience. Duke doesn't ignore its undergrads in favor of its graduate programs."

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