Carnegie Mellon University Undergraduate Admissions recently released news that they are making some significant changes to their application process. One big change is eliminating the “demonstrated interest” aspect, which previously was used to judge how much a student seemed genuinely interested in the university through participating in CMU events on campus or in their hometowns, completing an alumni interview, and … Read More
Beware of Honors that Cost $$$ to Get
An article in The Olympian recently looked at targeted mail that invites high school students to honors programs or conferences. While many of these programs may create legitimate interesting and valuable experiences, parents and families should absolutely be critical of overpriced packages. There may be other local opportunities for students to shine that require a lot less, or no, financial … Read More
Hampshire College says “no more” to SAT/ACT tests
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/21/hampshire-reports-successful-admissions-year-going-test-blind Hampshire College is not the first school to step away from using standardized tests as part of a holistic college application process. One potential downside is becoming ineligible to participate in many of the “official college rankings” lists. But these lists tend to represent a number of factors, including alumni donations, that don’t necessarily provide insight into the academic … Read More
Video applications instead of grades
http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/for-applicants-who-send-videos-goucher-college-will-be-grades-optional/38933 There are a small number of schools looking to enter the territory beyond transcripts, grades, and essays. Is this a reflection of an increasingly multi-media centered culture, or a way to allow students (and only students) to speak for themselves? I was certainly curious reading through this article, and wondered about what narratives or cliches video-watching admissions counselors might … Read More