An Increasing Trend of Admissions Delayed Until Winter

Parents Forum
1

<p>LA Times article on applicants offered admission delayed to the winter term:</p>

<p>[For</a> some college freshmen, the first day of school comes a bit late - Los Angeles Times](<a href=“http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-midyear21-2008aug21,0,1423345.story]For”>Freshmen who major in patience)</p>

<p>Excerpts:</p>

<p>"In most cases, students are offered midyear enrollment without having known it was a possibility.</p>

<p>The offers are usually kept apart from fall waiting lists, although some schools allow students to start in fall if vacancies occur.</p>

<p>Beyond initial surprise and for some, sadness, the big issues for midyear students are what to do with the extra time and whether the delay has any repercussions.</p>

<p>They and their parents want assurance that the admittance is not a backdoor entry that leads to second-class citizenship on campus, carrying a stigma that the students are in a group with weaker credentials."</p>

<p>"Some students resent the delay while others describe it as an unexpected blessing that allowed them to get a better sense of what they want to study and why. Many use the time to travel, volunteer, earn extra tuition money and take a break from the academic grind.</p>

<p>Los Angeles resident John Glouchevitch accepted an offer to enroll in February 2007 at Middlebury in Vermont, passing over chances to start at several other good schools the previous fall. He spent the extra months attending a wilderness leadership program in the Pacific Northwest.</p>

<p>A theater and English major, he took some ribbing for being what is known at Middlebury as “a Feb,” or February student. But he now tells “most people to take some time off after high school to make sure you have your priorities straight,” he said. His sister, Cecily, seeing him so happy, sought and received the chance to enroll in February 2009.</p>

<p>Middlebury’s midyear offers are often made to outgoing students who seem likely to fit in midstream, and many “Febs” wind up as student leaders, according to Kathy Lindsey, associate director of admissions. “It has become a great way to get kids willing and able to think outside the box, who are willing to be flexible,” she said."</p>

2

<p>A friend of my d’s was accepted at Cal for 2nd semester. She was initially disappointed, but it all worked out. There are a number of privately operated dorms in Berkeley, so she got a room in one of those and signed up for classes through UC Extension. She was indistinguishable from the other 5,000 or so freshmen, and once she matriculated at Cal in the winter she was able to transfer all her extension credits. I think the main reason that Cal offers 2nd semester admission is so that they don’t have to provide housing for those students.</p>

3

<p>At Middlebury you have the option of indicating a preference for starting in February on your application. When we visited, they told us they had a substantial number of “Febs” because campus housing was a critical limiting factor for student enrollment, but spaces always opened up mid-year due to mid-year graduations and more upperclassmen doing study abroad in the Spring semester. The LA Times article also hints at a darker reason: manipulation of median SAT scores by reporting only Fall semester admits, and deferring the bottom of the admit pool until February.</p>

4

<p>^ I had thought midyear attendance was a way to maximize attendance, teaching resources, and facilities. We all no that a certain number of fall students will drop out by the next term/semester; So if a school can fill even out over the academic year, costs for schools should also be predictable. </p>

<p>Our instate schools and cities are virtual ghost towns during the summer. If the schools can implement rolling admissions and year round classes, then every one can benefit.</p>