Feature Content Archive - June to December 2005

(Additional 2005 articles are presently posted to our current Feature Content page)

December 2005:

Early Admission and Financial Aid - Most college applicants know that early admissions programs can give them an edge in applying to competitive colleges — but fewer understand that early admissions can put them at a disadvantage in negotiating financial aid. This is especially true in the case of schools where early admission decisions are binding. "Schools will tell you they treat everyone the same," college admissions consultant Deb Schmidt, of Admissions Consultants, recently told CNN Money, "but I suspect that on occasion there are some regular decision applicants who might get a 'sweeter package.'" For more information about early admissions and financial aid, and how to handle financial aid offers that come with early admissions decisions, see "Early Decision Action Plan," by Grace Wong, on the CNN Money website.

Harvard Accepted About 1 in 5 EA Applicants to the Class of 2010, according to a December 15 report in the Harvard Crimson. Although that acceptance rate is similar to last year's, the actual number of EA admissions is lower than in 2004 because this year's applicant pool was smaller. Harvard received a total of approximately 3,872 EA applications this fall, out of which it accepted about 800 students. 149 EA applicants were rejected, 2,828 were deferred, 79 submitted incomplete packets, and 12 withdrew.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton, and Columbia have also released their 2005 EA figures. MIT accepted about 377 students through early admissions this year, or about 12 per cent of the approximately 3,098 students who applied. Princeton accepted 599 EA applicants from a pool of 2,236 (27 per cent). Columbia admitted 582 EA applicants from a pool of approximately 2,240 (26 per cent).

November 2005:

2005 Early Admissions Numbers -  The Harvard student newspaper, the Crimson, reported on November 17 that Harvard had received approximately 3,900 EA applications this fall, down modestly from last year's total of 4,214 EA applications. The following day, the Yale Daily News reported that Yale had received 4,065 EA applications. That number represents a 3.4 per cent increase over last year's volume -- and marks the first time that Yale's early admissions program drew more applicants than Harvard's did.

In recent years, Harvard has accepted about 20 per cent of students who apply through its EA program, compared to approximately 10 per cent of regular admissions applicants. Last year, Yale accepted 17.9 per cent of early applicants, compared to 7.5 per cent of regular decision applicants.

University of Pennsylvania officials said that early applications to the University's four undergraduate colleges  increased "dramatically" this fall, with a total pool of 4,148 applications (compared to 3,420 in fall 2004). As in past years, officials expect to select about 47 per cent of the next class of freshmen from this EA pool.

Columbia University is reported to have received 2,275 EA applications to Columbia College and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering. Princeton University received 2,230 EA applications this fall, 9 per cent more than last year.

Schools will start sending out EA notifications in mid-December.

Knox College Joins Medical School Early Selection Program - Knox College (Galesburg, Illinois) is the eighth college to participate in the Early Selection Program of George Washington University's School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The ESP encourages outstanding undergraduates with medical school ambitions to expand their studies into non-science fields during their junior and senior years. Students apply for admission to the ESP at the end of their sophomore years; if accepted, they are guaranteed provisional acceptance to GWU's medical school upon completion of their undergraduate degrees. Other institutions participating in the program are GWU itself, Hampden-Sydney College, Claremont McKenna College, Scripps College, Colgate University, Franklin and Marshall College, George Mason University, and the University of Maryland at College Park. For more information about the program, contact participating colleges and universities.

October 2005:

Indiana Experiments with Electronic Transcript Transmission - The Indiana state Department of Education is test-driving a new system that will allow high schools to forward student transcripts electronically to colleges and universities that accept on-line applications. Indiana officials hope to have every high school in the state equipped with the e-Transcript system by the end of 2006. If Indiana's experiment goes well, there's little doubt that other states will follow suit.

Congress Looks at College Transfer Credit Practices - US colleges and universities may find it harder to deny transfer credit for courses taken at for-profit schools, if legislation now under consideration in the US Congress is passed. The legislation would require colleges and universities to publicly state their policies on awarding transfer credit, and to refrain from automatically denying credit for work done at nationally accredited schools. The change is supported by for-profit colleges, many of which are nationally but not regionally accredited -- and opposed by more traditional colleges and universities, which tend to question both the educational standards of for-profit schools and the legitimacy of certain national accrediting bodies. Whether this legislation is passed or not, it's evident that accreditation is becoming a more complex issue. Prospective students are well advised to make sure that they know what accreditation means, and to check the accreditation status of any institution they apply to.

September 2005:

Universities Open Their Doors to Students Displaced by Hurricane Katrina - Scores of US colleges and universities are offering admission to students who had been enrolled at Tulane, Loyola, and other New Orleans schools. Pennsylvania and New Jersey colleges and universities that are making special efforts to accommodate such students include Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Penn State, Rutgers, and Temple. Canada's McGill University will accept students who were attending Tulane. Washington, DC area universities accepting displaced students include Georgetown, George Washington, and George Mason University. Eligible students are advised to contact admissions offices as soon as possible.

August 2005:

Many Freshmen Seem Unprepared for College Success - ACT, Inc. reports that, based on the results of its most recent tests, many college-bound high school seniors lack the academic skills they will need to succeed as freshmen. About 50 per cent of the students who took the ACT this past year showed inadequate reading comprehension skills, and over 30 per cent had some difficulty with writing skills. Only 25% had science scores that indicated they would be likely to pass a freshman biology course. Just over 40 per cent appeared likely to pass a freshman algebra course.

What should you do if you're one of the unprepared? First, make sure your situation is not so dire that it threatens your ability to get into the colleges you hope to attend. But keep in mind that the point of acquiring these skills goes beyond getting good standardized test scores. These skills represent a foundation that will help you excel  throughout college and serve you well in your career. Make sure you acquire the level of proficiency you need to work in your chosen field. If you need to, go back and re-learn the basics - that's what review courses are for.

July 2005:

University of California Pulls Out of National Merit Scholarship Program - Starting in fall 2006, the University of California will no longer award merit scholarships to incoming freshmen on the basis of PSAT scores. UC's Academic Council had looked at past results and determined that PSAT-based competitions put minority and low-income students at an unfair disadvantage. UC will continue to fund merit-based scholarships, but will award them using other criteria than PSAT scores. National Merit Scholarships funded by other sources can still be used to pay for UC education.

The 2005-2006 Common Application is now available. Visit www.commonapp.org to download a paper copy of the application, or to apply on-line. 277 colleges and universities accept the common application, including Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke, Middlebury, and Reed. (Note, however, that many schools also require supplemental application forms or essays in addition to the common application. Make sure you follow the instructions for the school you are applying to.)

Our view on the Common Application is that it's certainly a convenience for anyone who's interested in applying to two or more of the schools that use it. That doesn't, however, mean it's always a good idea to use it. For more information, see our college common applications page.

June 2005:

New Dean of Admissions at Stanford - Richard H. Shaw, who has been dean of undergraduate admissions and financial aid at Yale since 1993, is moving to Stanford. He will take over as Stanford’s dean of admission and financial aid from September 1.

Another college drops SAT/ACT requirements – Knox College (Galesburg, Illinois) will make SAT and ACT scores an optional part of the application package, starting with fall 2006 admissions. Visit the Web site of Fairtest, a nonprofit that lobbies for fairer standardized testing, for a complete list of schools where SAT and ACT scores are optional.

Middlebury College and the Monterey Institute of International Studies have tentatively agreed to a partnership under which Middlebury would take over management of the Institute. The arrangement would allow Middlebury to expand its Asian language and cultural programs.

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