National 2013 College Admissions Trends

Every year at about this time, I submit my Board of Trustees report on college admissions.

My report includes a summary of major trends in the college admission world for this year.

 

Major College Admission Trends

Highly Selective Admissions  “Arms Race”…Continues

The arms race in highly selective college admission continued this year.  Seven of the eight Ivies reported increases in applications and decreases in admissions.  At least twenty-two universities reported 30,000+ application totals.  Factors contributing to the arms race include growing first generation applicant pools;  growing international applicant pools;  the popularity/accessibility of the Common Application;  “attract to reject” marketing;  financial aid anxiety. 

Here are a selected handful of admission statistics reported by institutions:

                                                        Apps     Admit%

Stanford University                        38,828   5.69%

Harvard University                         31,785   5.79%

Yale University                               31,117   6.72%

Columbia University                      33,531   6.89%

Princeton University                      26,498    7.29%

University of Chicago                    30,369    8.81%

Dartmouth College                         22,416    10.05%

Duke University                             31,785    11.58%

Vanderbilt University                     31,056    11.97%

University of Pennsylvania            31,280    12.10%

Northwestern University                32,772    13.90%

Washington University                  30,117     15.01%

(St. Louis)           

USC                                               47,285     19.68%

·      The Times Choice blog provides more exhaustive statistics.  Click here to peruse statistics.

“Resource Aware” Schools vs. “Discount Aware” Parents 

There is a growing tension between colleges becoming more “resource aware” (aka “full pay hunting”) versus parents becoming more  “discount aware” (aka “coupon hunter”).

·      This WSJarticle illustrates how price and value are losing momentum among consumers. 

Popularity of Early Decision = Dissolving Advantage

More students are getting savvy about the “game within the college admission game” and applying into early decision pools;  however, schools aren't necessarily admitting more in early decision.  As a result, the strategic advantage of applying early is waning.  In 2007, for example, a student applying early decision had a 12-15% advantage;  last year it was 6%. 

·      Here is one related article.  And another related article. 

ACT Trumps SAT in Popularity

For the first time in US history, the ACT was more popular among high school test takers than the SAT.  Notably, this year, 90% of our seniors scored higher on the ACT than the SAT.  Colleges will take either the ACT or SAT for admission review (there are also 800+ colleges/universities that are test optional.  To peruse this list click here. Moreover, the ACT recently announced that they will be offering their test online (iPads) in the spring of 2015. 

·      Here is one related article.  And another. 

Casady's Class of 2013 College Acceptances and Matriculations

Today is College Day for our seniors!

It's a Casady School tradition for our seniors to wear their college t-shirt on this day as a way to publically announce to the community where they will be matriculating in the fall.

Our college counseling office couldn't be prouder of the Class of 2013 and the colleges they have chosen.

Statistics can never fully reveal the myriad of reasons for why a student chose the college they did.

Story is a much more effective medium.

And I wish I had the time and space to tell each student's story.

But I'll share some statistics nevertheless.

It's been well documented that this has been the most brutal year in highly selective admissions (click here to see 100+ admission statistics.)

Take, as one salient example, Vanderbilt University.

Vandy received 31, 056 applications.

Vandy only admitted 11.97%.

Vandy is a microcosm of what we saw across the entire college landscape.

We saw historic highs in applications - 99,000 at UC- Berkeley.

We saw historic lows in admissions - 6.72% at Yale, 5.79% at Harvard.

And yet, in the midst of such historic highs and lows, our seniors had historic success in terms of overall college acceptances.

188 applications (out of 265 total applications from our 60 seniors) were deemed worthy of admission at 71 different colleges and universities.

From Ivies.  To "Public Ivies".

From Big 12.  To Big 10.

From Pac-12.  To SEC.

From single sex schools.  To military academies.

From small, liberal arts colleges.  To mid-size private, research universities.

This small, senior class really embraced in a big way the spirit of adventure.

54% of our seniors will be matriculating out of state to 31 different colleges and universities.

The other 46% will stay in state to attend  5 different universities.

58% will attend public institutions.

42% will attend private institutions.

8% will matriculate to liberal arts colleges.

92% will matriculate to universities.

To date our seniors have been offered almost $4 million in scholarship monies.

Now to my favorite statistic.

12.

12 is the number of new stickers that we will be adding to our "Cyclone College Bound" map.

Each sticker represents colleges and universities that a Casady student has either not chosen in many years, or never chosen before.

12 is a number that says that our students are broadening the horizons of the possible in terms of great college fits for Casady students.

12 is a number that underscores the fact that more colleges are getting to know how exceptional students are that hale from Casady School.

Okay, with that said, it is time to roll out the Class of 2013 complete acceptance and matriculation list.

Acceptances are in blue.
Matriculation are in red.


University of Alabama (new sticker!)

American University
Arizona State University
University of Arkansas
Austin College
Barnard College (Columbia University)
Baylor University
Boston University
Bryn Mawr College
University of Central Oklahoma (3)
Centre College
University of Colorado - Boulder
Colorado School of Mines (new sticker!)
University of Denver
Duke University
Earlham College
Elon University
Emory University
Fort Lewis College
Furman University (new sticker!)
The George Washington University (new sticker!)
Georgetown University
Harding University
Hendrix College
High Point University (new sticker!)
Kansas State University
King's College
Lake Forest College
Langston University
Lindenwood University
Loyola Marymount University
Lyon College
University of Mississippi
Missouri Baptist University (new sticker!)
Missouri University of Science and Technology
University of Missouri-Columbia
New York University
Newman University
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Oklahoma Baptist University (new sticker!)
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma State University (3)
Oklahoma State University - Oklahoma City
University of Oklahoma (19)
Oxford College of Emory University
Pepperdine University
Randolph College
Randolph-Macon College (new sticker!)
Rhodes College
Saint Louis University
University of San Diego
University of Southern California (new sticker!)
Southern Methodist University (4)
Southwestern University
St. Edward's University (new sticker!)
TAMU
University of Texas - Austin (2)
Texas Christian University
Trinity University
University of Tulsa
United States Air Force Academy
United States Coast Guard Academy 
United States Military Academy at West Point (2)
United States Naval Academy
University of Virginia
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College
University of Wisconsin - Madison (new sticker!)
Vanderbilt University
Yale University (new sticker!)

On behalf of our entire office, we are SO PROUD of the Class of 2013!

And we wish each of you the best as you pursue your passions and interests in college.

Please come back and visit us and share your college experience.

We want to hear of all the ways the college you chose has been an excellent college fit!

Wait Listed? Simple Strategies Going Forward

Most of our seniors this year got a clean cut in regular admissions.

Our 61 seniors, for example, submitted 265 applications.

Only 11 apps were wait listed.

And only 1 senior is pursuing a spot via the wait list.

So for that 1 student, I've given them simple advice.

First, let the college know you want a spot. 

Second, send the college rep only new information - new awards, new recognitions, new grades, etc. 

Third, consider sending the college rep a short, new essay on why that college.

Fourth, try to seek out an alumni of that college who knows you and can advocate for you in a letter.

Most college reps won't admit this, but they are tired.  So keep everything tight, terse, and brief.

Fifth, plan on depositing May 1st to an admitted college.

Many colleges will not go to their wait list until after May 1st when they get a clearer picture of what spots are open.

That's it.

Wait list, unfortunately, require waiting.

And sometimes good things come to those who wait.

And other times - they don't.

That proverbial wisdom often proves true for finding a spouse.  Or getting a great deal on a car.

But not necessarily a spot at a desired college.

A recent article enumerated on anticipated wait list trends this year.

Here are a handful of more statistics from that article.

About 55% of colleges will create and use a wait list.

Most of those 55% will put roughly 9% of their application pool on the wait list.

Cornell is a great example of this trend.  Cornell had 40,006 applications.  They put 3,146 on the wait list.

Some schools will put more.  Take Emory.  They had 17,698 applications.  They put 4,113 on the wait list.

Some will put less.  Take Princeton.  They had 26, 498.  They put 1,395 on the wait list. 

The Times recently posted admission statistics for many highly selective schools.  They also provided wait list numbers.  Click here to review statistics.  

Overall, colleges are taking on average 31% from the wait list.

Notably, highly selective schools are taking almost 17% from their wait list.

Usually, I tell my kids that the more selective the school is, the less likely they will be admitted off the waist list.  In that case, I tell my kids to see a wait list as a consolation prize, and that they need to move forward, deposit May 1st at a school that has admitted them, buy the t-shirt, and celebrate the exciting opportunities that await them in the next chapter of their life story.

2...1...

2.

1.

now click.

36 of our seniors will hear back on 96 application decisions.

It's certain to be a mixed bag.

Or like my golf game - a combination of birdies, pars, and quadruple bogies.

My colleague at a prestigious independent school in the northeast recently texted me these macabresque four words:

"Regular admission is dead."

At highly selective schools, in particular, it seems that the sheer, absurd, colossal numbers are going to bury most applicants like an avalanche.

It seems that if a kid wants a school that admits 25% or less, their best shot, and in most cases, their only shot, in fact, is early admission.

Early.

Or nothing.

Recently, there was an article in Time entitled "College Admissions:  The Myth of High Selectivity."

The argument is that it is actually easier to get into a highly selective school.

Maybe not THE highly selective school of choice.

But A highly selective school of choice.

The argument revolves around the central idea that more unqualified students are applying just because they can thanks to the easy accessibility via the Common Application.

We call these applicants "profile negative" students.

GPA and test scores are below the 50% median.

I'm sure that cohort of applicants is growing.

But most deans of admission tell college counselors like myself just the opposite.

They are fomenting our anxiety with the growing cohort of qualified students.  

They are "profile positive."

Take this interview with Maria Laskaris, Dean of Admission at Dartmouth College.

At one point, Mrs. Laskaris said this about the overall quality of the admission pool:

"Probably 85 to 90 percent of the pool, if given the opportunity, would thrive, would excel, so we’re making very nuanced and difficult decisions, and it gets harder and harder, as you winnow the pool down, to figure out whom we’re going to admit."

85 to 90%.

So of the 8 out of 10 that are admissible, Dartmouth then will admit 1 out of those 8.

That's the same set of numbers I heard from Bill Fitzsimmons at Harvard.

Same number I just got on the phone from our rep at Vandy who told me that they got over 31,000 applications in this year's admission cycle.

Just today, in fact, The Times ran an article on tips for being accepted.

The thrust of the article is when you get your acceptance letter - be happy, relieved, jubilant...but don't go "Rod Tidwell" overboard and get flagged 15 yards by your peers.

My guess is that the Rod Tidwell touchdown dances will be far-and-in-between the crawl-into-the-fetal-position-and-spoon-down-ben-and-jerry's-ice-cream.
 

In other words, more of these cringing responses. 

Than the above.

So my final thought as the curtain lifts in the next 24 hours.

If you are one of the few who get in at highly selective schools  - count yourself lucky, because the truth is, that decision doesn't reflect as much your admissibility as it does the absurdity of the process.

And if you are one of the many who do not get in - know that the decision doesn't reflect as much your inadmissibility as it does the absurdity of the process.




 

Discovering Your Story, Part I

This month's theme for the College Seminar is story.

I invited a guest speaker to engage our 11th graders on the compelling power of story.

Our guest speaker has hired and fired many salesman in the corporate world of healthcare management.

He opened with our students by saying, "I've never hired a person with the best resume.  I've always hired the person with a good resume and an even better story."

Does a really good story make that much of a difference?

In a job interview?

On a college application?

In life - in general?

I would argue, Yes!

What is a story?

A story is what you do.

Think about what you do?

• School
• GPA
• SAT/ACT Scores
• Clubs
• Activities
• Service Hours
• Athletics (JV/V...start/don't start)
• Work
• Vocational Aspirations

We are in touch with these because this is where we spend all of our time.

This stuff makes up 90% of our conversations - doesn't it?

But your story is more than what you do.

Your story is also who you are.

Now think about who you are?

You are shaped by your experiences, family, life events, etc.

You are unique - like your thumbprint.

And this sets you apart.

Informs your character and passions.

Makes you "come alive" to those around you.

Comes from "the heart" more than "the head."


Your story then is what you do + who you are.

My Top 10 Rejection Moments

This is always an unnerving stretch of the application cycle.

Three weeks and counting before all regular admission decisions are delivered.

I find myself staring at our Naviance pie chart almost every hour.

50% of our admission decisions are in the books.

50% aren't.

That's a lot of unknown results.

That's a lot of finger nail biting.

Inevitably there will be a mixed bag of decisions.

Some of our kids will get good news.

Others disappointing news.

And still others the news that it's not over.

Wait listed. 

But for me, I find it easier to weep with those who weep, instead of rejoice with those who rejoice.

Perhaps it is because we tend to feel the sting of rejection longer than we do the euphoric prick of acceptance.

Just yesterday I got an email from NACAC that my proposal for a workshop at the upcoming national conference got rejected.

The email, of course, was gracious, but in the end, the committee concluded that my topic was "too basic for inclusion at the national conference level."  

So there was that.

I was one of the 150 or so that got their proposal waste bucketed.  

It stung for a bit, but then the mosquito bite disappeared.

But it got me feeling in a fresh and new way what some of my students and parents will feel in the next few weeks.

And it got me thinking-feeling back to other times that I have experienced rejection.

It's not that hard to pinpoint moments of rejection because it always comes with a visceral wallop - doesn't it?

If we're honest, our lives are fraught with rejection. 

Most of which we repress.

Or medicate.

Or project onto our kids.

So I've decided I'd "open a vein" and share some of my highest low points.

Call this my Top 10 Rejection Moments.

A cathartic exercise.

I've left out elementary and middle school.

I can't seem to remember that far back.

I have a few memories of awkward, insecure moments, like the time I couldn't lift the bench bar in the weight room, and my fellow 7th grade football teammates laughed at my scrawny frame.

Or the time I got my gym shorts and underwear pulled down by Zac Graves during a game of dodge ball.

Talk about humiliating.

Especially when you were a late bloomer puberty wise.   

So I'll just pick it up around 16 years old.

These are in no particular order.

Just as they surfaced from the subconscious nether regions.

1. I was rejected by Lisa Freeland when I went in for a post prom date kiss my junior year.  
2. I was slighted by my classmates as an incumbent class officer.  Kurt Anglebeck was elected Senior Class President and got to give the graduation speech.
3. I was later rejected as a Senior Captain on the "Royal Court" for Homecoming.
4. I was rejected by the Air Force Academy - offered a spot at the prep school instead
5. I received almost 47 rejections from the colleges I had hoped would recruit me for basketball.
6. I was rejected countless times as a freshman basketball player, driving into the paint, only to see my tear drop floater get swatted away by University of Illinois transfer, Marc Davidson, a 6'7" power forward with a haircut and physique like Drago's in Rocky IV.
7. I spent an entire summer getting rejected on the phone as a "nurse recruiter specialist" (pretty much got fired after going 0-500).
8. I had my co-manuscript of the memoir my wife and I wrote rejected by many publishers.
9. I was rejected twice as a finalist for recent job openings. 
10. I was initially rejected by the State Boards for my teaching license because I failed one of the English grammar exams.  ("I'm a story and ideas guy!)    

Looking back now, I realize that No, the sky wasn't really falling.  It just felt apocalyptic at the time.

And I also realize now that I had a lot of people around me - family, friends, coaches, teachers, colleagues - that helped absorb the sting, lick my wounds and move forward.

Life, indeed, is a communal effort.  The "I" needs the "we" to overcome those stretches on the journey that are fraught with disappointment.

And I also see now the silver lining in almost every one of those rejections.

Except maybe Lisa Freeland leaving me hanging on prom night.:)

Good, wonderful, didn't-see-coming things were just around the corner of the No's.

Yes's, in other words.

Big, surprising, beautiful, hopeful Yes's!

And it's those sunny Yes's on the other side of the dark, cloudy No's that give me comfort.

And a peace of mind as I move into this stormy spring season with my students.

All eventually will work out.

There will be a silver lining.

Just wait and see. 

200th Blog Post - Show Me the Money!

It's my 200th blog post!

To celebrate this bi-centennial post - I will blog about money in relationship to college scholarships.

My favorite topic.

Every year I just have to show this clip from Jerry Maguire.

Why?

Because every year I feel more-and-more like my job is that of a sports agent.

Not only am I to get kids into college (which again, I don't do - kids get themselves into college).

But I'm also to broker the best financial aid package.

The logic:  Show the colleges the A's on the transcript and the colleges will show my kid the $$$$! 

Of course, when it comes to the most highly selective schools, that money is reserved not for the meritocratic all-stars, because we should all know by now, everyone who is admitted at the top of the selectivity pyramid walks on water.

Money is given based on need only.

W'2's.

Not CUM GPA's.

Last week Forbes did an article on this growing trend among American families with college-bound seniors.

It's a sobering article.

Meant to be a "wake up call" to children and parents of entitlement.

High GPA's and test scores doesn't necessarily equate to scholarship dollars. 

It's becoming an art form really.

Of wishful thinking.

Like an imaginary game of Monopoly. 

Every A should equate to collecting $100 of scholarship money.

Reality is just now coming to roost.

For parents.  You means we actually have to pay for college?

For colleges.  You mean you (parent) actually thought you weren't going to have to pay for college?

For students.  You mean that A in AP Study Skills doesn't get me a full ride? 

In the end, I counsel my students and parents to choose a college that fits into their affordability parameters.

For some that will equate to a full pay, private college.

For others that will equate to a half pay, "lower-on-the-selectivity-food-chain" private college.

And for others that will equate to paying for a state public.

Of course the biggest fear factor going forward for many students and parents is the L word.

Loans.

There are so many horror stories of kids who graduate with six figure loan debt.

In a recent The Atlantic article entitled, "The Myth of the Student-Loan Crisis," the writers seek to illustrate with excellent graphics and empirical evidence that the horror stories are in the minority, and the employment rate and the income earning potential for those who graduate with a college degree should give you some warm fuzzies.