"Admissions Revolution"

[xiggi]

<p>

While many agree that something needs to be done, advancing a reform mandate to a handful of presidents from these colleges in closed-door meetings ( as Thacker has done), though, is an exercise in futility at best.

</p>

<p>It is a lot more than an exercise in futility. Those conferences “behind closed-doors” are EXACTLY what is wrong with the Thacker’s ideas. One end of the table, a self-anointed guru who professes to know what is best for parents and students, and on the the other hand, a dozen of school reps sent to deliver the usual lip service … Yes, that is all we need to start enjoying clear walls of transparency. As much as we need this abject kowtowing to the gatekeepers!</p>

[asteriskea]

<p>Thanks Bluebayou for bringing this article to my attention. Van Bus Kirk’s important and well-aimed shots at Thacker and the EC’s “thinktank” methods are right on the money but, at the same time, it is important to note that he is not launching a diatribe against either Thacker or admissions reform. He clearly points out that the so-called “admissions frenzy” is a complex cultural phenomenon attributable to all parties involved in the process - parents, students, the media, and, of course, and not at all least, the colleges themselves. In fact, on this score Van Bus Kirk recognizes the need to speak out and push for reform on all of these levels:</p>

<p>

Reformers can make a difference, though, by directing their energies at families who are at risk of being caught in the frenzy. Families need to know, as Thacker points out, that academic excellence can be found in many places — that academic pedigree is neither an automatic means to an end nor an end in itself. Parents need to know that there is a point of diminished return as they prep their kids for college — that programming their children’s lives won’t guarantee admission success at the elite institutions. And students need to know that they can be themselves — that pre-calculus is ultimately more important than an “SAT Math” tutorial and that holding down a summer job can be just as meaningful as joining a work party in Central America.

</p>

<p>Watching recent events unfold, it is telling just how much (even “misguided”) reformers can make a difference - now just how much of a difference remains to be seen because the elements that make up the frenzy are complex and the American system of higher education thrives on both on the institutional “bottom line” and the lack of a standardized model of admissions - indeed, this latter point used to be hailed as a positive attribute enhancing the rich heterogeneity of paths to access that education. Now, educating families and students is an important part of any attempt to stop the “admissions frenzy”. Van Bus Kirk is quite eloquent on this point:</p>

<p>

Moreover, we need to stop talking at and about families of the college-bound as though they are objects to be influenced and start reaching out to them as educators — teaching them how to think about the process so they can be more purposeful in their planning and decision-making. Toward that end, college presidents and deans of admission should be challenged to bring the rhetoric of their enrollment campaigns into line with the reality of their strategic efforts. And the media must give equal time to constructive stories regarding college access that defuse rather that exacerbate the angst.

</p>

<p>Closed doors or open doors, Van Bus Kirk just doesn’t believe that reform from “the top down” is the way to go and this is largely true because (and I think most of us really do know this) “that in light of institutional priorities, the admission process is not a meritocracy.”</p>

<p>

That said there is probably little college presidents could accomplish even if they wanted to dive into the reform effort head first. The “frenzy” of which Thacker speaks is not caused by colleges. College presidents didn’t create this “mess” nor are they well positioned to clean it up. Rather, the frenzy that engulfs colleges and consumers alike is the product of a pervasive cultural phenomenon — a potent cocktail of social, emotional and behavioral ingredients that produces neurotic obsessions with having or being the “best.”</p>

<p>Indeed, ours has become a culture that values the best appliances, the best cars, the best vacations — and the best colleges, often at the expense of good values that would be more appropriate choices. And for each critical distinction we need to make, there is a consumer guide replete with research and rankings to make our jobs “easier.” In this instance, families are eager to buy what colleges are selling especially at colleges that hold the right amount of cachet. Much like a cultural virus, the frenzy associated with having or being the best has come to both transcend and permeate college campuses with tell-tale symptoms of paranoia and bold ambition.</p>

<p>Enter a third player into the frenzy — the news media. Feeding on consumer and corporate anxieties, reporters fuel the frenzy by portraying a college-going process that is peculiar to a relative handful of families and skews our view of the bigger picture. With stories that feature outrageously expensive boot camps for college and the attempts of families to otherwise beat or buy the system, they further the notion that such behaviors are acceptable if not expected. The more provocative and controversial is the story, the greater the affect on impressionable parents anxious for clues that will help their kids get into “top” schools.</p>

<p>Moreover, the propensity for focusing on top-tier colleges suggests that academic quality is reserved for a select few institutions (another of the fallacies that feeds the frenzy). Regrettably, a lot of the good and encouraging news of events taking place elsewhere in education fails to make the headlines.

</p>

[edad]

<p>Beyond the ideas of a self-interested reformer, I am not sure I understand the types of reforms that make sense. </p>

<p>There seems to be a general consensus that there should be a more realistic attitude towards rankings and the elite colleges. That is not going to happen. The elite schools can choose the best students. Every parent of a teenager knows the importance of peer pressure and wants to see their kids in an enironment with the best students. The elite schools attract strong faculty. Then there is all of that endowment money. Some of it actually is used to improve education and some of it funds FA and often makes the elite school cost of attendance cheaper than the lesser alternatives.</p>

<p>We would all like transparency in the admissions process. That is not going to happen either. We already know that disregarding issues of tuition revenue, colleges want to select the best students, those with a strong track record, who will work hard and will succeed while in college and will use their education to succeed in life. We know they look at SATs, gpa, class rank and the difficulty of courses taken. We also know that they want something more. They look for maturity, passionate interests, determination. They also look for diversity and unique individuals. No way are the adcoms interested in publishing their admission criteria. There are already enough students and parents trying to game the system. I would also be willing to bet that there is actually very little in the way of a system. My guess is admissions are more likely to be highly subjective.</p>

<p>We would like to see transparency in how colleges make financial decisions. That is not going to happen either. Colleges want to recruit and attract applicants and not discourage them with concerns about FA.</p>

<p>Rather than worry about the admissions “frenzy” maybe we should be more concerned about how we raise our kids and what are kids do with their time in school and outside of school. I would rather know what we can do to foster their self-reliance, self-confidence, and zest for learning and life.</p>

[bluebayou]

<p>aris:</p>

<p>since I have been part of the “diatribe” against Thacker, I’ll try to recant. My prior comments were not meant to be personal against him or the EC, but were more amazement that anyone as smart as he is can be so naive to think that he could influence a change process, when Van Bus Kirk clearly opines it is not in the adcoms vested interested to do so. As mini points out, Adcoms are well paid professionals who do a great job for thier institutions.</p>

<p>OTOH, Thacker can take some credit in H & P changing their ED policies. Now, let’s see how fast either of them drop the SAT-ACT requirement. </p>

<p>btw: notice where Van Bus Kirk now works – he failed to call the test prep companies to task. :rolleyes:</p>

[marite]

<p>The take-home message I got from the article is that it’s really up to parents to stop the feeding frenzy. I agree.</p>

[asteriskea]

<p>I started a thread on the NACAC’s move to reform early admission practices, but here are some further comments worth noting from the Chicago Tribune - obviously this is still a debate (and who knows, maybe subject to further reform down the road) since it does seem that not everyone is on board with this decision:</p>

<p>

The 9,000 members of the association, mostly high school guidance counselors and college admissions officials, agree to abide by the group’s policies. If they don’t, penalties include being barred from college recruiting fairs and the organization. Most colleges comply because of peer pressure.</p>

<p>Opponents of early-admission practices such as the one at Eureka say they have some of the same flaws as those being scrapped by Harvard, Princeton and the University of Virginia: They contribute to the pressure students feel about the college application process.

</p>

<p>It is not at all unexpected that the media will mention Thacker and the EC in all of this because he (among others) has been quite outspoken on this subject:</p>

<p>

`Self-serving’ schools</p>

<p>Lloyd Thacker, a former college admissions officer, said colleges that admit students as early as the summer are not looking out for students’ best interest.</p>

<p>“This particular practice is institutionally self-serving. It says earlier is better. It does not serve in any way, shape or form the public interest of nurturing kids’ imagination, curiosity, a good relationship with education,” said Thacker, executive director of the non-profit group Education Conservancy.</p>

<p>At Glenbrook North High School, college counselor David Boyle said students are submitting their applications earlier than ever. In 2004, 95 students had sent in at least one college application by the end of September. That number jumped to 138 last year. There are about 540 seniors this year.</p>

<p>“What used to be on time in September, October and November, we see these students under the perception that they have to get it in now and yesterday,” said Boyle, president-elect of the Illinois Association for College Admissions Counseling. “I definitely see students feeling the pressure to get applications in early and fast.”

</p>

<p>No matter what we all think of Thacker, I think we have to agree that right now he must be feeling pretty chipper about all of this. Since the Van Buskirk article piqued my curiosity, I took a look at the EC site - the “generous” Mellon funds have come in and Thacker now has a “staff”. He even hired a secretary to update all the goings on at the EC and edad might like to know that she is a SUNY Bing alum.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0610080404oct08,1,2131576.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true[/url]”>http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0610080404oct08,1,2131576.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[Eagle79]

<p>Of those 540 applicants Glenbrook North High School saw this year I bet a significant amount of them are to rolling admissions state schools such as UIllinois and Michigan. Go through the threads on CC and you will see that is the advice given by many parents and other students. Get one acceptance using rolling admissions to take the pressure off the student. They know that they will be going somewhere. If it is your state flagship university it can often be for free if your stats are good enough.</p>

<p>I think the explosion is applications is really because the process is so uncertain, not just from the acceptance perspective. I see a lot of advice, and it is appropriate given the expense associated with college, to apply to a a few safety schools and to a few financial safety schools. What used to be 4-6 apps is now 9-12+. </p>

<p>Those additional applications add to the uncertainty on the other side of the equation also. The schools have a difficult time projecting yield and are subject to overenrollment.</p>

[mommusic]

<p>An earlier poster said a student got a 1600 by taking the test 11 times and eventually got two 800s…Didn’t this kid have anything better to do on a Saturday morning? My kids had trouble finding a free day to take the test twice. Plus the SAT IIs and maybe the ACT.</p>

[epiphany]

<p>“My kids had trouble finding a free day to take the test twice. Plus the SAT IIs and maybe the ACT.”</p>

<p>Amen, mommusic. And you “forgot” the time involved to register & minimally prep or refresh for those tests, even at home. It barely happened for D#1, an organized sort. I dread the experience for D#2, the scattered sort. Between our H.S.'s college-level courseload, + commuting, + regional & national level e.c.'s, + school activities, D#2 would prefer to hang out occasionally with old friends from now-different schools on the rare true breaks she does have. (Post-midterms, post-finals, etc.)</p>

<p>Edad wrote:
“I would also be willing to bet that there is actually very little in the way of a system.”
Precisely. What I saw in my recent interview experience (see my post on the recent Opinions on The Chosen thread) is that the students drive the standard when it comes not to the initial series of considerations, but the final ones. Among the secondary & tertiary pools, the students who have the maximum achievement in a whole variety of areas will be the ones who in a sense determine their own admission. It’s simply a matter of what is available to that college among the competition who shows up.</p>

<p>As I’ve said elsewhere, any parent or student who regularly engages in a competitive activity understands this implicitly. It matters not how good you are within your local arena, how many times you’ve “won” previously. When a new mix of competition occurs, you have no control over what your competitors have done, first of all, and no control over how the “judges” will compare you, second of all.</p>

[xiggi]

<p>

No matter what we all think of Thacker, I think we have to agree that right now he must be feeling pretty chipper about all of this.

</p>

<p>Of course, what is important to him came in: money! He must also be pretty chipper about getting asked to comment on a position that was nothing but an afterthought at the EC. Buried in a sea of ranting about commercialism and rankings, you’d need a powerful microscope to find EC’s and Thacker’s “advocating” of the need to improve early admission policies before Harvard brought it to the forefront.</p>

<p>As I said before, I hope he uses his new-found riches to find the time to express HIS ideas more clearly, PRESENT a black-on-white platform on HIS website for everyone to read, and drop the mad-dog tire biting. Right now, the EC site is still a sea of nothingness.</p>

[asteriskea]

<p>

As I’ve said elsewhere, any parent or student who regularly engages in a competitive activity understands this implicitly. It matters not how good you are within your local arena, how many times you’ve “won” previously. When a new mix of competition occurs, you have no control over what your competitors have done, first of all, and no control over how the “judges” will compare you, second of all.

</p>

<p>Epiphany, I found myself saying “Amen” to both your and musicmom’s posts - great points and right on the mark.</p>

<p>Xiggi- let’s see what the guy does with his fancy new duds - but I certainly do agree that the EC site could use a make-over.</p>

[xiggi]

<p>Yes, Asteriskea, let’s see what happens in the next weeks and months. </p>

<p>If positive changes do occur, I’d become a happy supporter in a heartbeat, and as vociferous and vocal as I am in my disapproval.</p>

[bluebayou]

<p>Asteriskea:</p>

<p>“This particular practice is institutionally self-serving. It says earlier is better. It does not serve in any way, shape or form the public interest of nurturing kids’ imagination, curiosity, a good relationship with education,” said Thacker, executive director of the non-profit group Education Conservancy."</p>

<p>While I definitely understand and agree with his first sentence, I’m sure too dense to understand the latter sentence. The girl discussed in the C-Tribune just wanted to be accepted to her first choice college and form her own ‘good relationship with education’. How can Thacker claim that attending her first choice college is detrimental to ‘nurturing’ her ‘imagination.’ </p>

<p>It seems to me that Lloyd is being contradictory – on one hand, he (rightfully) decries the commercialization of college admissions, but on the other he would deny this girl early acceptance and force her to submit multiple applications; thus, ensuring an increase in the commercialization of admissions. Why? </p>

<p>Where is the evidence to support his hypotheses? Where is the evidence to show that early accepted seniors go into brain-dead pod people? </p>

<p>btw: HS counselors are not disinterested parties…since many of them don’t start work until after Labor Day, they have a personal, vested interest to move app deadlines back, and not earlier.</p>

[asteriskea]

<p>Blue Bayou, from your remarks I see that you agree with my previous post that the issue of early decision is a contentious one and still open to debate. </p>

<p>On the subject of early, early admissions, look back to post #111 and you will see that the Inside Higher Ed piece quoted addressed the problems inherent in potential abuse of ED. That a significant number of NACAC members (professional counselors and educators, who do, indeed, do a great job for their respective institutions) aimed to stop a budding trend in which a proliferation of colleges could compete to push back deadline dates to “super early dates” is a significant step toward cooperation and reform. As far as I can figure this all out, many high schools convene in late August these days, and there do exist quite a few guidance counselors who diligently prepare juniors with fact sheets, time lines, and myriad instructions of “what to do over the summer” to be in a position to make strong ED/EA and RD application choices. Others do not and seniors wade through all the paper work etc. largely left to their own devices. At this point, I do not honestly believe that their is any party involved in college admissions that does not have some kind of vested interest - and that includes parents and students. </p>

<p>In regard to ED/EA, there does not seem to be any consensus, even among the ranks of EC supporters, as to which route is best - even among those who are quite outspoken about admission reform and, may I add, more eloquent than Mr. Thacker. I now see that that there is a thread on Bruce Poch and Pomona:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=243864&highlight=Pomona[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=243864&highlight=Pomona&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Your comments on the issue of multiple apps., commercialism, and admission angst bring to mind a conversation I had the other day with a friend of mine (btw, she is not a devotee of CC, so the conversation was all the more interesting and wierd). She blithely told me that her D, a senior, is currently preparing 3 EA and 1 non-binding ED applications and, apart from that, she listed at least 6 other schools that they hadn’t quite decided about yet for RD. I politely inquired which school her D preferred and was told that “she changes her mind all the time, one day it is school “X” and the next day “Y”. I get the same thing from her when I ask her to decide what she wants for dinner -one minute it is chicken and the next fish”. I wish I were making this up. I don’t know how typical this is but that is quite a number of multiple apps. right there and we were talking about ED/EA!</p>

<p>I found the following piece of advice on Notre Dame U.'s web site: </p>

<p>

Early Action can be a confusing process because every college and university uses it in a different way. Perhaps the easiest means of understanding how Notre Dame uses the Early Action process is to describe what it is not. It is not the avenue students should take merely because Notre Dame is their first choice. Nor is it easier to gain admission through the Early Action process.</p>

<p>In deciding whether or not to apply Early, a student should ask themselves a simple question: can I submit my best application in October of my senior year? If he or she believes that they can put their best foot forward at that time, then Early Action is probably the correct route for them. However, if a student believes that an extra semester could be beneficial to their application for whatever reason (to raise their grades a little, to take an extra SAT or ACT, to add on to their resume, etc.), then that student should consider applying during Regular Action.

</p>

<p><a href=“https://admissions.nd.edu/und/faq.cfm#13[/url]”>https://admissions.nd.edu/und/faq.cfm#13&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[Eagle79]

<p>asterikea,</p>

<p>The response from your friend is actually quite typical of students. It is one of the reasons I do not like the concept of ED where the concept of EA and to a limited degree SCEA is okay with me.</p>

<p>Overall, I like EA because a student can apply early and get an answer early. If it is positive it reduces the stress on the students between January 1 and April 1. At least they know they are going somewhere next year.</p>

<p>The ND admissions advice is good advice. It is why I think junior year is the most stressful because in order to apply early action you need to have your testing in order by the end of June your junior year.</p>

[asteriskea]

<p>Eagle, thanks for your response - I was wondering just how common it is for students to submit so many early apps. The more I mull the notion of early admission reform over, however, the more I am impressed by the cross-purposes and vested interests at play. I do agree that the advice given on the Notre Dame site is good advice (which is why I posted it) and certainly second your observation that junior year is the most important and stressful vis-a-vis the college admission process but I think this is the case early admissions notwithstanding. (In my case, my junior is finally “kicking in” and -for the time being, anyway - taking both the stress and the challenge in stride, so I can’t say that I think this is altogether a negative - like it or not, it is built into the system. It is also an integral part of the “growing up” process necessary to prepare for the college experience.) I was struck by Notre Dame’s message that EA should not be the chosen path “merely” because ND was a “first choice” - well, in the case of my friend’s D, it certainly appears that ND (and she is applying EA to ND which is why I looked up the site) is not her first choice - in fact she is undecided as, I would expect, are a majority of seniors who are currently preparing apps and juniors thinking about preparing apps. Doesn’t this highlights just how “EA” is a vastly different animal from binding ED and, of course, even from SCEA? I, parent, find myself continually confused with all the ins and outs, dos and don’ts, and rights and wrongs connected with early admissions - and I am all the more confused and confounded when these programs are used to “lock in” a seat “merely” because the competition is feared to be rife and “admissions is all a crapshoot anyway”. As, another poster mentions on the MIT anti-stress thread, the admissions frenzy, especially in the NY, NJ, and CT. area is definitely waxing and filitering “down” to include an impressively wide number of excellent IHEs. When it comes to the question of admissions reform and ED, I think it is necessary to rethink the fundamentals - is it a means for applicants to demonstrate mature interest in a college because it is a true first choice, or is a means to push back the deadline date in order to allay stress for that particular student? </p>

<p>For these reasons, I can see the merit of Bruce Poch and Pomona’s stance on the issue of single choice, binding ED:</p>

<p>

Early Decision Plans
Students for whom Pomona is their clear first choice are strongly encouraged to apply under an Early Decision option, as it provides the clearest means of indicating to the Admissions Committee that Pomona is the first-choice college. This may allow students to resolve their college choice earlier in the senior year and avoid the necessity of filing multiple applications. Early Decision is a binding commitment and students may submit only one early decision application. Because students admitted under Early Decision are expected to withdraw all other college applications and to initiate no new ones, this option should be considered with care.

</p>

<p>Quite obviously, “admissions policies have consequences for students, for society, and for the functionality of the college or university that enacts them.”</p>

<p>

It’s not that the issues are simple. Even the case of early admissions, on which Harvard has now reversed itself, is not entirely straightforward. Pros and cons vary from institution to institution. Although the negative effects of early admissions are increasingly clear, there are positive arguments, some better than others, in favor of such programs, on which some colleges have come to depend.

<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2006/10/12/delbanco[/url]”>http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2006/10/12/delbanco&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[asteriskea]

<p>Article in the Cornell Daily Sun about dreaded senoritis and new steps to attempt to curb it, if not “cure” it.</p>

<p>

Despite the strict admissions policies at Cornell, high school seniors may never seriously consider the possibility that their admission might be revoked for poor academic performance. Lee, who was admitted through Cornell’s early-decision program, recalls that the threat of losing his place on campus never crossed his mind in those last few months of high school.</p>

<p>“I had heard that Cornell rarely rescinds letters of acceptance,” Lee said. “That, and the fact that my teachers didn’t really expect us to work that hard, made it easy to slack off.”</p>

<p>As Lee explained, the expectations of high school faculty have evolved along with the trend of “senioritis”: many high school educators have simply accepted the fact that their seniors will take second semester off. But, according to Ballinger, some high school faculty members are demanding a change.

</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.cornellsun.com/node/18892[/url]”>http://www.cornellsun.com/node/18892&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[asteriskea]

<p>Another good media article with the same message not to slack off and another word to the wise - don’t try to dupe ad coms. I didn’t know that “Underwater Basket Weaving” was still being offered …</p>

<p>

High-school seniors applying to college this fall had better follow through on academic promises and avoid “senioritis,” because more schools – including Cal Poly – are revoking admission for students who slack off.</p>

<p>Colleges and universities from coast to coast are cutting students whose senior grades drop dramatically or who do not complete the rigorous course of study they promised in their application.</p>

<p>California universities have rescinded hundreds of offers for this fall…</p>

<p>Although the University of California, California State University and Stanford University have been revoking admissions for decades, they are becoming even more aggressive about demanding that students be ready for college work when they arrive…</p>

<p>UC-Berkeley canceled 37 offers of admission. UCLA canceled 73 freshmen admission offers.</p>

<p>Shawn Abbott, director of admissions at Stanford University, said four students had their admission deferred until next fall so they can complete required courses or otherwise show they are prepared for college.</p>

<p>“In response to pressure from high-school guidance counselors, we have been more aggressive in ensuring the academic performance was the same level as when they were admitted,” Abbott said. “Historically, once the letter of admission was produced, that was the end of the process. I think we caught a lot of individuals off guard and surprised a lot of people.”

</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/15732167.htm[/url]”>http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/15732167.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[asteriskea]

<p>The debate and discussion over early decision continue - this USA today article opens with Fitzsimmons’ concerns as he prepares “to conduct Harvard’s last review of early-admission applicants (the deadline is Nov. 1), he worries that the admissions “rat race” is destroying “the quality of the social fabric” in high schools. “It creates a pressure cooker,” he says. And it’s one reason Harvard is ending its early deadline.” </p>

<p>Interesting that the University of Illinois flagship public Urbana-Champagne is giving up rolling admissions in favor of an early decision program.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.oar.uiuc.edu/future/freshmen/dates.html[/url]”>http://www.oar.uiuc.edu/future/freshmen/dates.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

Colleges don’t relish the idea of federal oversight. But the commission in a way reinforces other recent efforts to steer the conversation away from what is the “best college” toward what college is best for a particular student.</p>

<p>For Ken Fox, a counselor at Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis, that has been a struggle. “What I care about is helping students understand that the list of good schools out there is really big,” he says. “That’s an education process, helping families understand that a school they may not have heard of may be exactly the right place.”</p>

<p>Now, more key players are joining the conversation. One of the most prominent is the Education Conservancy, a fledgling non-profit in Portland, Ore., that convened a closed-door meeting last summer aimed at reforming admissions.</p>

<p>It’s too soon to say what the group will come up with, although its vision differs from the one Spellings outlined. She wants a database that tracks performance; conservancy founder Lloyd Thacker says the “benefits and predictors of a good education are … virtually impossible to measure.”</p>

<p>What’s notable is that his meeting included presidents of 11 colleges (Swarthmore, Williams and Amherst, to name three) that all benefit from the prestige factor.</p>

<p>That’s important because presidents have the most influence with their trustees, alumni and other constituents who have an interest in rankings. And collective goodwill is critical, Thacker says, because colleges generally have been reluctant to make big changes unless others do, too, for fear it would hurt their ability to compete.</p>

<p>“Higher education has not been good at looking at (admissions) as a systemic issue,” says Christopher Allen, admissions dean at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., whose president participated in the summer session. “Part of this has to be educating the right people.”</p>

<p>Thacker’s premise has doubters. “The new truth about the college admission process is that decisions to admit students … are business decisions that reflect institutional values,” Peter Van Buskirk, former dean of admission at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., writes in an essay for online magazine insidehighered.com. He blames society’s “neurotic obsessions with having or being the ‘best’ … the best appliances, the best cars, the best vacations — and the best colleges, often at the expense of good values that would be more appropriate choices.”</p>

<p>A boost from doctors</p>

<p>Van Buskirk’s comments are echoed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Noting an increased campus demand for mental health services, it declared in a report this month that adolescents “may have learned that the endpoint goal — the best school or the best job — must be reached at all costs.”</p>

<p>Now, more college admissions officials also appear to recognize their role in causing stress. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, for example, is mailing admission notices on only two dates this year rather than notifying each student as soon as a decision is made. That “caused a lot of anxiety in other students,” says assistant admissions director Gregg Perry. “They would (try) to figure out why (they had not) heard yet. They would discuss the issue with their counselors, call admissions, talk to their friends. … Just when the anxiety would die down, another friend would get a notice and start the angst all over again.”</p>

<p>Colleges don’t always change their ways by choice. The National Association for College Admission Counseling, a non-profit membership group, this month put the kibosh on “deadline creep,” as some call it, because it was concerned that some colleges were pressuring students to apply even before their senior year, and in some cases waiving application fees or promising priority housing.</p>

<p>High school counselors have long been concerned that binding early deadlines were rushing teens. Though early deadlines can simplify the process for students who are certain where they want to go, many students aren’t sure but think they should apply anyway.</p>

<p>“Middle adolescence is characterized by exploring, changing and rethinking likes, dislikes, interests, values — their identity — and then imagining in what milieu this morphing identity will best belong,” says Patty Kovacs, a college counselor at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. “For an early-decision applicant, it means locking into that future identity.”

</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-10-24-tuition-dcover_x.htm[/url]”>http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-10-24-tuition-dcover_x.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[asteriskea]

<p>I am sure that most of share Education Secretary Margaret Spellings’s sentiments when she says she wants the college search and application process to be “less confusing and frustrating”. With the University of Illinois dropping rolling admissions in favor of an early plan and citing the same arguments of stress, anxiety and reform to justify and back up this shift in admissions policy, I am not sure just how this serves what should be one of the major objectives of admissions reform. One thing is for sure, as things stand at present, the admissions game doesn’t seem to me to be either less confusing or less frustrating.</p>