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Vol. 18 No. 10
June 2004
Inside Admissions Offices
CB closes the school
year with a look inside colleges and universities that have been
slightly off our beaten path and at what people are saying about
admissions this spring.
Adelphi Closes Apps Early. According to Christine Murphy,
director of admissions, Adelphi U. in New York, students are
applying earlier and responding to recommended deadlines. As
a result, Adelphi closed off applications early, June 1, for
the first time in its history.
Part of its success, Murphy notes, is that Adelphi has tried
to "personalize" the admissions process. "It maintains
'an open door policy,'" she said. "Students can come
in for interviews or admissions officers are happy to sit with
students and interview them. This includes parents as well. We
know this is a confusing time for them."
About 4,600 students applied for freshmen positions. Adelphi
accepted 850. To date, 710 have committed. A "large"
number of Honors College students-89-decided to commit.
Adelphi works primarily with guidance counselors locally and
in New York City's five boroughs, Nassau County and the Tri-state
area of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. As a result of
working with a school guidance counselor in Bulgaria, the number
of students has increased from that country from one to ten Bulgarians.
Adelphi also has students from The Union of Myanmar in Asia.
New to Adelphi is an increase in joint-degree programs. Twenty
students are in a 3-plus-3 law program, spending three years
at Adelphi and three years at New York Law School. There is a
law school scholarship from Adelphi and the program eliminates
a year of tuition.
Also, Adelphi began giving recognition awards this year to
high school seniors involved in their community. These ranged
from $500 to $5,000 for community service, student government
and leadership in organizations such as the Key Club.
Allegheny C.'s Extraordinary Class. Allegheny C. in
Meadville, Pennsylvania, will welcome a larger class of first-year
students next fall than in any year in more than two decades.
At the time of publication, 676 students made tuition deposits
to Allegheny before the May 1 deadline, a 40 percent increase
over last year. "In all honesty," says Scott Friedhoff,
vice president for enrollment, "we were taken by surprise
by the numbers."
College officials said they knew they were in for a year like
no other when application numbers shattered the school's records.
Some wondered if the apparent ease of completing electronic applications
(electronic applications were up over 100 percent from the prior
year) would bring in applications from less-serious candidates
for admission. Apparently, just the opposite was true as deposits
from students who applied electronically shot up over 150 percent.
"In the weeks preceding the deposit deadline, it became
obvious that the interest students and their families were showing
during the college search was far more than just window-shopping-they
were really doing their homework," said Friedhoff.
In fact, in order to accommodate increased demand for information
about Allegheny, the College doubled the number of campus visit
programs.
According to Friedhoff. "Parents asked questions such
as whether their student could get personalized music training,
even if they wanted to be in a pre-med program, or whether Allegheny
had an equestrian club for their future politician."
Allegheny, the nation's 32nd oldest college, is a residential
college of liberal arts and sciences. It expects a new student
class of between 620 and 650.
Bucknell U. in Pa. Increases Its Visibility, Athletics
and...Numbers. "Bucknell had a very good admissions
year with a record number of applications, the most selective
application review process in the university's history and an
entering class that will exceed expectations in its academic
quality and diversity," said Kurt M. Thiede, vice president,
enrollment management and communications.
Over the last decade, Thiede said, Bucknell has worked hard
to increase the school's visibility within the community of college-bound
high school students. "Because of greater outreach and cultivation,
along with an enhanced program of managing our prospective students,
we've experienced major increases in campus visits-an extremely
important aspect of the college search process," he said.
Recently, thanks in large part to a donor alumnus, Bucknell
was able to reinstate its varsity wrestling program, beginning
in the Fall of 2005. Also, beginning in the Fall of 2005, the
novice women's crew program (currently in place) will receive
additional support. More funds will also be available to support
the women's athletic program in general and the recent installation
of an artificial turf field for field hockey and women's lacrosse.
The gift, though, came in early May and had no impact on the
shape of the Class of 2008, according to Thiede. And "given
the focused recruitment program for our student-athletes, we
do not anticipate wrestling and an enhanced women's crew program
to have a major impact on our overall applicant pool."
But, "the bottom line is that there are a lot of right
things taking place at Bucknell," added Thiede.
Hope College in Holland, Michigan. "Hope C. applications
were up 4.3 percent over last year, and nearly 40 percent ahead
of two years ago. In particular, there were more applications
from outside Michigian," according to Gary Camp, director
of admissions, comprising nearly 35 percent of the applications.
Applications from males is up 14 percent over last year, and
49 percent over two years ago. The Mean GPA of admits: 3.78,
class rank, 81 percentile.
The University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. According
to David Lesesne, dean of admission, Sewanee applications are
up over 12 percent, 2,063 this year versus 1,827 last year.
"This will help us lower our acceptance rate, but that number
is still moving around some with the wait list and some international
apps we are considering," he says.
WPI. The incoming freshman class at Worcester Polytechnic
Institute (www.wpi.edu) in
Massachusetts includes 772 freshmen confirmations versus 633
last year on May 7. The total number of merit scholarship winners
is 212 versus 126 last year; 25 full-tuition Trustee Scholars
versus 18 last year; GPA and rank are the same as last year-3.6
GPA and 87 percentile. "We have 30 valedictorians versus
15 last year," said Kevin Wynn, "51 percent of the
class ranks in the top 10 percent versus 49 percent last year."
The median SATs increased by 15 points to 1295 (and that is on
top of a 17-point increase the year before).
Just the Facts. The U. of California system admitted
7 percent fewer students this year, citing financial reasons.
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People are Talking
About....
The Aid Dilemma? What do you do if you get into an
Ivy League college? With college costs skyrocketing, it's the
financial aid offer that often seals the deal. This year, according
to The Los Angeles Times, more students turned their backs
on the Ivy League to accept bigger aid packages from other quality
schools. While almost all of the Ivy's aid is "need-based,"
their competitors, such as Emory U. and Washington U. at St.
Louis, for example, are using merit aid packages to lure top-performing
students.
"Every school that can seems to be playing this game,"
Patrick Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy
and Higher Education in San Jose, California, told the L.A.
Times. "This is how you get your prestige up."
Between 1992 and 2000, U. S. colleges and universities increased
their commitments to merit scholarships by 152 percent, to $3
billion per year, according to Donald Heller, a Penn State researcher
cited in the article.
However, Richard Shaw, Yale's dean of undergraduate admissions,
argued that Yale rarely loses the students it really wants, although
he conceded the choice is a tough one for middle-class families
who don't qualify for "need-based" aid.
Final Appeal. What are students to do if a college
rejects their application? According to a May 13 Wall Street
Journal article, more students are appealing the decision.
And more colleges and universities are listening, or at least
have created formal boards of appeal. The practice which began
in the late 1990s is not widely advertised.
According to the Journal, public universities are more
likely to have appeals procedures. But Duke, Georgetown and Brown
also use this measure of last resort. Final semester of senior
year grades are often included in the evidence for review. Not
many students are successful, however. This year, the U. of California
Berkeley granted 55 appeals out of a total of 761 submitted.
U. North Carolina Chapel Hill granted only 3 of 75 appeals. According
to the Journal, the U. of Southern California granted
32 of 500. The U. of Wisconsin received 150 appeals this year,
twice as many as last year; Ohio State, 250 this year, against
175 last year; other schools received fewer appeals this year.
Wait Lists Higher. According to Katy Roy, executive
director, Kaplan's College Admissions Programs, a two-year-old
counseling program, wait lists are higher by 50 percent this
year. "Students we've worked with were put on more wait
lists than previous years," she said, citing the increasing
competitiveness with more students applying to college and more
students in the 18-year-old demographic cohort as possible reasons.
"The colleges aren't increasing their seat numbers,"
she said.
What Counselors are Saying.... "I don't know that
we are caught up in a frenzy as others appear to be," said
David Breeden, college counselor, Edina High School in Minnesota,
referring to the articles in the national media this spring.
"It has not touched Minnesota as much as it has the East.
The news reports are very misleading because they come out of
New York. Also, Minnesota has a strong private college base and
where students here go to college has not changed much over the
years. The flagship universities in Minnesota and Wisconsin have
gotten more competitive, but modestly so."
And Edina starts working with parents in the ninth grade.
"Part of the reason we do is to relieve the angst,"
said Breeden.
Diane E. Epstein, a private college counselor in Bethesda,
Maryland, told The Washington Post this spring that fewer
than 100 of the 2,400 four-year universities are "creating
the frenzy. The rest accept most of their applicants."
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NEWS FLASH
NEWS FLASH NEWS
MILLIONS OF STUDENT LOAN borrowers
stand to benefit from lower interest rates, US Secretary of Education
Rod Paige announced at the end of May. Federal student loan interest
rates have dropped for the fourth straight year to 3.37 percent.
This is the lowest point in nearly 35 years.
"Low-cost student loans have made college a reality for
millions of students and their families, and lower interest rates
mean more money in the pockets of the borrowers," Secretary
Paige said.
Compared to three years ago, when the interest rate was 5.99
percent, borrowers with $10,000 in student loan debt and a 10-year
standard repayment plan can save $1,523 in interest over the
life of the loan.
For borrowers with Stafford loans issued since July 1998,
the new interest rate is 3.37 percent, down from 3.42 percent
last year. For students who are still in school, within the six-month
grace period or with deferred payment, the interest rate is 2.77
percent. Parent PLUS loans are set at a new rate of 4.17 percent.
Interest rates on most student loans are calculated based
on a formula set by law. The formula differs depending on whether
the borrower is still in school, has a grace period, deferment
or repayment.
Annually, 13 million students apply for federal student aid.
This year, the Department of Education expects to issue $52 billion
in new loans to more than seven million students and families.
PROPOSED BUDGET FOR 2005
The US Department of Ed also noted that President Bush's
2005 proposed budget includes:
- $73.1 billion in available student aid, a 6 percent increase
over the 2004 level; the number of recipients of grant, loan
and work-study assistance would grow by 426,000 to 10 million
students and parents.
- $33 million for Enhanced Pell Grants for State Scholars,
which would increase Pell Grants by up to $1,000 for first-year,
full-time students who complete a specific rigorous program of
study in high school.
- $12.9 billion for the Pell Grant program-an increase of $856
million-to help more than 5.3 million low- and middle-income
students-an increase of 36 percent since 2000-pay for their education.
- $395 million for Historically Black Colleges and Hispanic-Serving
Institutions.
- An increase in loan limits for first-year students-from $2,625
to $3,000; current loan limits for first-year students have remained
essentially unchanged since the early 1970s. There would also
be increased availability of extended repayment options for all
students.
For more info on federal student aid, see www.studentaid.ed.gov
or call 1-800-433-3243.
SURVEY OF PARENTS ABOUT LOANS
Meanwhile, a national survey underwritten by national student
loan provider Student Loan Xpress, Inc., a subsidiary of Education
Lending Group, Inc., found that among families considering student
loans to finance their child's college education, the need for
a low-interest rate reigns supreme. Sixty-eight percent of parents
participating in the survey cited competitive/low interest rates
as the number one factor in selecting a student loan. Following
interest rates in importance to parents are terms of repayment
(43 percent) and partnering with a recognizable and trustworthy
institution (12 percent).
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P.S. Space Available
The NACAC "Space Availability Survey" results
are available at www.nacac.com.
Click "survey results" in the yellow box on the front
page to view a list of colleges that have space available for
qualified students for Fall 2004. Also, at press time, the New
England Board of Higher Education said 147 New England colleges
had space available. See www.nebhe.org.
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THE COUNSELOR'S CORNER
Guidance Best That Starts
in Junior High
A NEW REPORT OUT FROM COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
concludes that guidance counseling is most effective if it begins
in middle school and offers programs such as job shadowing or
internships. Counseling in low doses appears to have little impact
on students, researchers found. The study, "School-Based
Career Development" by Katherine Hughes and Melinda Mechur
Karp has been released by the Institute on Education and the
Economy at Teachers College at Columbia University.
The authors reviewed more than 50 studies on guidance and
career-development programs that specifically asked this question:
Is there evidence that career guidance programs influence students'
academic and vocational achievement?
"The report gives a good deal of evidence that career
development interventions are effective,'' Hughes, co-author
of the study, told CB. "However, the report's findings also
make the point that where interventions are low-dosage-not encompassing
a significant portion of a student's day, week or school year-we
can't expect much in the way of positive effects."
Hughes said the most important evidence to emerge from the
study was the effectiveness of reaching kids early.
JUNIOR HIGH IMPACT
Two analyses, one that studied youngsters from 1950
to 1982, and another conducted more recently, both found that
guidance programs aimed at junior high students had the greatest
affect. The idea of getting guidance to students early is backed
up also by a 2001 study of comprehensive guidance programs in
Missouri middle schools. That report found that middle school
students who enjoyed fully implemented guidance programs "felt
safer in school, had better relationships with their teachers,
were more satisfied with the quality of their education, and
earned higher grades,'' the report states.
The Institute also cited a 1999 analysis that observed three
groups of eighth-graders. Each group was provided a different
level of guidance assistance as they planned their high school
course schedule. The group that received the most help-four days
of classroom intervention-were better able to understand the
importance of their choice courses.
"Focus on the middle school years," was Hughes advice
to CB readers. "Don't wait until high school to begin to
give students career and academic counseling. All students should
have structured, one-on-one time with a counselor, every year
starting in the 8th grade, or earlier, to plan their four years
of high school. The research shows that this will positively
affect their academic performance."
REAL-WORLD CAREER EXPERIENCE
EFFECTIVE
The Columbia U. analyses also found that guidance
counseling that can provide students with real-world career experiences
is effective. This can include career courses, internships, field
trips, job shadowing or role-playing.
"Experiential activities tend to be more hands-on in
giving students opportunities to see and do new things,"
Hughes said. "Contrast the experiences of a student spending
afternoons shadowing hospital employees in different departments
versus a student spending an hour completing an on-line career
inventory. Having students spend time in real workplaces, talking
and making connections with adults in a variety of positions,
can have real benefits in terms of students' motivation and personal
development."
CAREER COURSES HELP STUDENTS
MAKE DECISIONS
The institute's review found at least seven studies
over the last 20 years that found career courses to be effective.
Some of the most recent reports found career courses to increase
students' career planning and exploration along with their knowledge
of occupations, the study states. A 1993 study also found career
courses lead to less career-related indecision among youngsters.
However, career courses are the least available form of guidance,
the institute reported, citing a 2003 study that found only 27
percent of public high school students participate in them.
The entire report is available from the Institute on Education
and the Economy at http://www.tc.columbia.edu/iee.
Benefits of
Early Counseling
Middle school students with fully-implemented guidance
programs:
- felt safer in school
- had better relationships with their teachers
- believe education is relevant
- were more satisfied with the quality of their education
- had fewer problems relating to school environment
- and earned higher grades.
Source: School-Based Career Development, 2004
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COUNSELOR'S BOOKSHELF
Summer Reading.... "Application Madness"
in National Crosstalk's spring issue. Anne C. Roark, former
education reporter for The Los Angeles Times, chronicles
her first-born child's preparation to apply to college. The article
notes, "For many parents, the college admissions process
leads to panic...." Published by The National Center for
Public Policy and Higher Education; www.highereducation.org.
For those wondering why so many students have such a hard
time deciding which college to attend (or whether to attend at
all). "What Makes Teens Tick" in the May 10 Time
takes a look at what science says about adolescence and notes
"the last area of the brain to mature is the part capable
of deciding...."
For students taking college tours this summer, the May Better
Homes and Gardens features "Taking the College Tour."
It includes tips on how to turn a campus visit into a fun experience
for families.
Connections: The Journal of the New England Board of Higher
Education Spring 2004 takes a look at "Trends and Indicators
in Higher Education in 2004" with Harold Hodkinson on "Demographic
Peril;" $3.95 each; see www.nebhe.org.
America's Best Value Colleges, 2005, by Eric Owens
and the staff of The Princeton Review is just out and
profiles 77 colleges ranging from Albertson C. in Idaho to the
Webb Institute in New York; ISBN -37576373-2; $15.95.
The Good of This Place: Values and Challenges in College
Education, Richard H. Brodhead, out June 18 from Yale University
Press; ISBN 0-300-10600-9; $25.
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CAMPUS LIFE
Crime Up on College Campuses. That's according
to Institutional Research & Evaluation, Inc., an independent
educational research and consulting organization in Rome, Georgia,
that compared on-campus crimes reported to the U.S. Dept. of
Education at public and private, nonprofit, four-year institutions
and compared them to the crimes reported in 2001. There were
a total to 34,573 serious crimes on the nation's college campuses
in 2002 as compared to 34,034 serious crimes reported in 2001.
A total of 23,136 burglaries reported on campuses in 2002
makes burglary by far the most commonly reported crime with 4,511
motor vehicle thefts ranking second. Aggravated assaults totaled
2,220 with forcible sex offenses just slightly lower at 2,200,
robberies at 1,503 and 948 arsons. A total of 21 murders/non-negligent
manslaughters, 32 nonforcible sex offenses and two negligent
manslaughters were reported nationwide.
Said Lewis T. Lindsey, Jr., president of the consulting firm,
"Parents sending a child off to college this fall can and
should get the most recent reports required under the Clery Act.
Colleges and universities are required to provide a copy of the
three most recent years of crimes on their campus free of charge
to anyone who requests it. All you have to do is ask."
To minimize loss of valuables, the Institutional Research
& Evaluation, Inc.in Georgia recommends that students leave
expensive jewelry at home and etch their name and social security
number prominently on all electronics.
Gambling Problems. A recent
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) survey of 21,000
college athletes found nearly 5 percent of football players and
4 percent of basketball players surveyed confessed that they
had either taken money for playing badly, knew a teammate who
took money or had been threatened or harmed as a result of their
sports betting, or had shared inside sports information with
gamblers.
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NEWS YOU CAN USE
Financial Aid Up. Everyone knows tuitions continue
to soar. But according to an April 7 Wall Street Journal
report, financial aid is increasing even faster. For 2003-2004,
tuition at four-year public schools jumped over 14 percent; and
increased by 6 percent at private colleges. But for 2002-2003,
financial aid soared 15 percent to a record $105 billion.
New Programs. Northwestern
U. has a new five-year double-degree program in music and journalism
that leads to a bachelor's degree in music and a master's degree
in journalism. Students must be accepted by the Medill School
of Journalism as freshmen and the School of Music....
Texas Christian University College of Science and Engineering
will offer a new bachelor's of science degree in ranch management
beginning Fall 2004....
Washington C. has begun a new major for elementary education
in human development.... The Colorado Institute of Technology
has launched a Homeland Security Institute....
A new integrated science studies major at Ramapo C. of New
Jersey is now preparing science students for careers in public
administrations, environmental regulation and administration,
science journalism, science and technology assessment and administration
in business, business administration in science-based services,
and for law, graduate and professional studies.
Comings and Goings. Touro,
a New York based college, has opened a branch in Berlin Germany.
Half the students are Jewish, a quarter of the students are foreigners.
Students pay about $3,750 a semester for degrees in business
administration. Touro opened in 1971 with 35 students. Today,
it has 18,000 students in the U.S. and abroad....
After budget deficits for nine of the last 12 years, Syracuse
University is closing its nursing school at the end of the 2005-06
academic year, saving the university $800,000 to $1.5 million
a year.... The Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University
of Illinois at Chicago has suspended its undergraduate degree
program indefinitely....
Troy State University in Alabama is changing its name to Troy
University. Founded in 1887, it now has 58 sites in 17 states
and 11 foreign countries. By August 2005, Troy University students
will be able to transfer courses and credits among Troy campuses
worldwide for undergraduate and graduate programs. Troy offers
associate, bachelor's, master's and education specialist degrees
to traditional age students, military personnel and established
working professionals. For more info see: www.troyst.edu.
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COLLEGE BOUND's Publisher/Editor: R. Craig
Sautter, DePaul University; Chief Operating Officer: Sally
Reed; Contributors: Marc Davis; Chris Tisch;
Circulation: Irma Gonzalez-Hider; Illustration: Louis
Coronel; Board of Advisors: Rosita Fernandez-Rojo,
Choate-Rosemary Hall; Claire D. Friedlander, Bedford (N.Y.)
Central School District; Howard Greene, author, The
Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning Series; Frank
C. Leana, Ph.D., educational counselor; Virginia Vogel,
Educational Guidance Services; M. Fredric Volkmann, Washington
University in St. Louis, Mary Ann Willis, Bayside Academy
(Daphne, Ala.).
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