If for example Tulane sends a email out to prospect student who has applied for this class of 2025 and asked them to do an interview but at the same time telling them it is optional, is this 1) standard for Tulane to do this with all who apply? and 2) Is it better to do the interview if it is listed as optional?
Fantastic! Three cheers for all the âglue kidsâ out there! I am glad to hear that AOâs look for those kids too.
@âJeff Selingoâ are colleges worried that another college is hot on their heels, potentially leapfrogging over their USNWR ranking?
Do many really care about rankings anyway?
Thank you for the book and for the excellent panel presentations youâve been doing. Iâm anxiously awaiting my paper copy because Iâm old school.
Two questions:
(1) If a student is applying to an impacted major, how likely is it that they will be seriously considered for admission second choice major? Does it depend on the type of school? Example: my OOS kid is highly unlikely to get into the University of Washington for CS, but likely for biology.
(2) Since covid keeps lingering, do you think moderately selective private schools might offer additional merit aid if they might have to go remote, like maybe for first year only?
Thanks again!
Google is your friend. They are listed many places.
It is not that useful a list anyway. âMeet full needâ does not mean the same thing at different colleges, since âneedâ is defined differently at each college.
Will my S21âs ACT Essay score mean anything to any school since the majority (or more!) say it makes no difference to them?
My S received an 11 out of 12 on itâŠand I like to think it means something to some AOâs.
He is a strong writer and enjoys it immensely and given the attention to supporting students to improve their writing since it is needed in so many fields, why has the essay been faded out from admissions?
I think itâs very useful. I donât think the list defines what a student will get in FA, but it tells us that relative to other colleges, these are the ones that in general are the most generous with aid. Within this list, an applicant might have to research how specific, relevant financial situations are treated, such as home equity, divorced parents, and self-employment/business ownership.
Sorry one more. Are readers / AOs looking at applicantsâ Instagram or Facebook profiles (just out of curiosity / support for ECs) or to they just have a clerk or someone check later to make sure thereâs nothing offensive?
How selective? For example, San Jose State University, with a yield of 17%, does not take level of interest into account; its selectivity varies by major from minimally selective to highly selective.
Would a better indication of using level of interest be the presence of (a) Early Decision, and/or (b) an essay about âwhy [this college]?â?
Iâm not Jeff, but I can tell you that if your son is a great writer, his essays should convey it and back up the score. The score on its own is pretty meaningless. It should be part of a bigger picture if he wants to paint himself as a writer. Also, he can submit a writing supplement.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1675058-meet-full-need-schools-can-vary-significantly-in-their-net-prices-p1.html shows how (as of 2014) âmeet full needâ collegesâ net price calculators showed wildly different prices for some hypothetical student/family financial situations.
And thatâs not even including such things as divorced parents, where the common case of an uncooperative non-custodial parent means that many of the colleges that claim to âmeet full needâ are actually âmeet no needâ for students in that situation.
Yes, perhaps so, but I think the idea is that it is relative to other colleges that do not claim to meet full need.
âThey donât pay attention to the âapply for financial aidâ question as much as you might think. But they do pay attention to high schools, zip codes, and parent occupations.â
If they disregard your need for aid, they can simply not have it downloaded into the reader copy. Any FA forms are diverted to the FA dept, as apps come in. Thus, no absolute visibility.
Zip codes can mean very little in guaging a familyâs ability to pay. Some areas are wealthier or poorer, but most have a mix., somewhere/somehow. Yes, parent occupation might be revealing, but itâs still a guess- bear in mind adcoms have litle time for speculation, they work fast.
Iâm still curious to what degree you were embedded. Itâs only through the day in/day out slog through apps/supps (many 16+ hour days, for weeks,) that one sees the monstrous nature of this task, how many appplicants are essentially indistinguishable, leaning back into doing the same hs things, a sameness that can only be viewed via bulk. Or making mistakes in how they self present.
Good luck with the book.
Regarding ECs:
How will colleges evaluate the student in the context of their school, i.e. whether they are a âleaderâ or âglueâ when many students are isolated at home doing classes online and all of the school ECs such as sports, mock trial, debate team, etc, are suspended because of COVID? Volunteer opportunities in the community are still largely shut down where we are too.
Regarding SAT/ACT: How will colleges respond to the fact that there are no testing sites available in CA (not sure about other states)
Regarding Grades: How will colleges respond to the fact that students have widely disparate learning conditions at home doing online classes and students have had the option of going pass-fail.
Iâm putting that together since I also have them in separate lists. More to come soon.
Tulane is all over the book for its practices of trying to increase yield, which this clearly is. They are very interested in demonstrated interest, so nothing is really optional for them.
@Jeff Selingo: Thank you ! Thank You ! Thank You !
FWIW This is a list that you might consider adding as a resource for the second edition.
P.S. Really impressed by the schools you studied (Emory University, Davidson College, & the University of Washington). Lots of variety.
P.P.S. For your next project, consider doing an insiderâs look at Honors Colleges / Programs throughout the country.
- It depends on the type of school.
- Yes, especially if they missed their enrollment this year.
Not at the schools I was at. They donât have time.
This is an admin note asking everyone to keep this to a Q&A format. While all input is highly appreciated, letâs give @âJeff Selingoâ the chance to share his answers. Please only post your questions for Jeff.