Letters go in the mail today to the 176 students who applied under the Early Decision Round 1 program at Grinnell. After spending the last three weeks learning about the applicants through their applications and discussing their merits in review sessions, the Admission Committee made acceptance offers to 90 Early Decision 1 candidates. By comparison, Grinnell accepted 107 of the 175 applicants last year in the first round of Early Decision.
A word of advice if you are deferred to Regular review. Chances are it was because the Admission Committee wants to see full semester or even third quarter grades for your senior year. Try to maintain or even improve your performance, especially if you are being challenged in a course or two, to show the Admission Committee that you can succeed at a high level. Contrary to some advice I’ve heard given to deferred students, don’t storm your teachers or employer or 2nd grade baby sitter asking for additional letters of recommendation. The Admission Committee would be happy to look at additional information but it will only strengthen your application if it provides compelling new information that was not available to the Admission Committee in the Early Decision review.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Dim Sum, Webcasts and a Snow Storm
It is good to be home! After four months of on and off travel, I arrived back in Grinnell on Friday, finished with planes, trains and automobiles for the year.
Summer was still in the air when I left on my first trip in early August, a ten day odyssey in China with colleagues from eleven other liberal arts colleges. The five city tour was put together by an entrepreneurial group of recent Chinese graduates from several of our institutions (including Grinnell). This was my second trip to the middle kingdom and in spite of a drenching rain that greeted us in Beijing, a brush with a typhoon in Shanghai, and the ever present temptation to eat too much of the wonderfully prepared regional Chinese cuisine, we had a memorable experience promoting the distinctive qualities of liberal arts colleges to the world’s most populous nation. Leaving China, I made a brief stop in Japan with a colleague to visit students in Tokyo.
Arriving back in the United States, I headed out a few weeks later on a semi-annual trip with the Eight of the Best Colleges, with stops in Chicago, Cleveland, St. Louis, Kansas City and Denver. Including our activity this fall, the group has now addressed over 35,000 people in 32 states and 6 different countries. A day after stopping back in Grinnell I was off to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for a week of meetings and conversation at the National Association of College Admission Counselors’ annual fall conference. I lived in Baltimore for 13 years so the week was a homecoming of sorts.
I saw my first snow in the mountain passes around Aspen, Colorado in early October while taking part in a week-long series of college fairs held throughout the state. Back in Iowa for a few days I enjoyed the Indian summer that hung around the Midwest this fall and promised a cold winter.
The second half of October was spent in Europe, visiting schools in Italy, the United Kingdom and Switzerland and lodging for a night in the tower room of a Welch castle, home to The United World College of the Atlantic. Returning state-side, I headed east to Philadelphia in early November to visit local schools for a week. With early admission season in full swing, there was a lot of talk about students applying earlier this year, confirming what I’d heard on both sides of the Atlantic during my other trips.
Less than two weeks ago I joined seven other deans and directors in a novel webcast on college admission put together by the Wall Street Journal and UNIGO and hosted at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
I wrapped up my travel this fall with trips to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. to select Grinnell’s newest Posses. I almost didn’t make it to D.C. The large snowstorm that hit the Midwest last week forced a change in plans and I flew out early from Cedar Rapids in advance of the worst of the storm and before flights were entirely cancelled. Turns out that was a smart move.
And so another fall ends. It’s time to enjoy terra firma and get back to shoveling my driveway.
Summer was still in the air when I left on my first trip in early August, a ten day odyssey in China with colleagues from eleven other liberal arts colleges. The five city tour was put together by an entrepreneurial group of recent Chinese graduates from several of our institutions (including Grinnell). This was my second trip to the middle kingdom and in spite of a drenching rain that greeted us in Beijing, a brush with a typhoon in Shanghai, and the ever present temptation to eat too much of the wonderfully prepared regional Chinese cuisine, we had a memorable experience promoting the distinctive qualities of liberal arts colleges to the world’s most populous nation. Leaving China, I made a brief stop in Japan with a colleague to visit students in Tokyo.
Arriving back in the United States, I headed out a few weeks later on a semi-annual trip with the Eight of the Best Colleges, with stops in Chicago, Cleveland, St. Louis, Kansas City and Denver. Including our activity this fall, the group has now addressed over 35,000 people in 32 states and 6 different countries. A day after stopping back in Grinnell I was off to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for a week of meetings and conversation at the National Association of College Admission Counselors’ annual fall conference. I lived in Baltimore for 13 years so the week was a homecoming of sorts.
I saw my first snow in the mountain passes around Aspen, Colorado in early October while taking part in a week-long series of college fairs held throughout the state. Back in Iowa for a few days I enjoyed the Indian summer that hung around the Midwest this fall and promised a cold winter.
The second half of October was spent in Europe, visiting schools in Italy, the United Kingdom and Switzerland and lodging for a night in the tower room of a Welch castle, home to The United World College of the Atlantic. Returning state-side, I headed east to Philadelphia in early November to visit local schools for a week. With early admission season in full swing, there was a lot of talk about students applying earlier this year, confirming what I’d heard on both sides of the Atlantic during my other trips.
Less than two weeks ago I joined seven other deans and directors in a novel webcast on college admission put together by the Wall Street Journal and UNIGO and hosted at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
I wrapped up my travel this fall with trips to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. to select Grinnell’s newest Posses. I almost didn’t make it to D.C. The large snowstorm that hit the Midwest last week forced a change in plans and I flew out early from Cedar Rapids in advance of the worst of the storm and before flights were entirely cancelled. Turns out that was a smart move.
And so another fall ends. It’s time to enjoy terra firma and get back to shoveling my driveway.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Common mistakes lead to common applicants
I finished up a week and a half in Colorado with a selective college presentation the other night at The Colorado Springs School. Families come to these presentations to learn; but so many of them are already familiar with the college admission process. So instead, I told them what NOT to do. These are mistakes we see every day that can easily be avoided with a little knowledge.
Top 10 Ways to Not Succeed in the College Admission Process
10. Let your parents play the role of prospective student, not you!
9. Only apply to reach schools.
8. Don't provide an explanation for the “bumps” in your high school record or other credentials.
7. Write what you think we want to hear on the essay instead of writing what you want to say.
6. Approach the “why this school question” exactly the same way for all schools you’re applying to.
5. Overwhelm us with a laundry list of activities you’ve participated in since pre-kindergarten, and start with the oldest first. Similarly, send in mountains of supplemental information.
4. Tell your interviewer you really want to go to another school.
3. Take fewer or less challenging courses senior year because you need a break.
2. Use one-liners to answer all questions on the application.
1. Use your application to tell us what makes you just like everyone else and omit what makes you special and distinctive.
Let me repeat. This is what NOT to do in the process and is all common sense. Approach the college application process as a journey of self-knowledge, not as a test to endure, and you’ll navigate the process just fine.
Top 10 Ways to Not Succeed in the College Admission Process
10. Let your parents play the role of prospective student, not you!
9. Only apply to reach schools.
8. Don't provide an explanation for the “bumps” in your high school record or other credentials.
7. Write what you think we want to hear on the essay instead of writing what you want to say.
6. Approach the “why this school question” exactly the same way for all schools you’re applying to.
5. Overwhelm us with a laundry list of activities you’ve participated in since pre-kindergarten, and start with the oldest first. Similarly, send in mountains of supplemental information.
4. Tell your interviewer you really want to go to another school.
3. Take fewer or less challenging courses senior year because you need a break.
2. Use one-liners to answer all questions on the application.
1. Use your application to tell us what makes you just like everyone else and omit what makes you special and distinctive.
Let me repeat. This is what NOT to do in the process and is all common sense. Approach the college application process as a journey of self-knowledge, not as a test to endure, and you’ll navigate the process just fine.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
FAFSA Light?
A government plan to simplify the current financial aid application process was reported by the New York Times yesterday. The aim of this new plan is to reduce the number of questions on the Free Application for Financial Aid (FAFSA) form to make it easier for families to apply for financial aid.
While simplification is a laudable goal, the plan does nothing to address the affordability of higher education. Need calculations will remain the same, limiting the number of families who qualify for federal assistance and, by extension, institutional assistance as the FAFSA is the yardstick most institutions use to determine family need. As I posted earlier this month, Grinnell’s President Osgood recently wrote an op-ed for The Chronicle of Higher Education on the need to fix the FAFSA.
Making the financial aid process more user-friendly is a step in the right direction but without reworking the calculation of need we’re simply putting a new cover on an old story.
While simplification is a laudable goal, the plan does nothing to address the affordability of higher education. Need calculations will remain the same, limiting the number of families who qualify for federal assistance and, by extension, institutional assistance as the FAFSA is the yardstick most institutions use to determine family need. As I posted earlier this month, Grinnell’s President Osgood recently wrote an op-ed for The Chronicle of Higher Education on the need to fix the FAFSA.
Making the financial aid process more user-friendly is a step in the right direction but without reworking the calculation of need we’re simply putting a new cover on an old story.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The skinny on ‘13
You might be wondering why I’ve been strangely silent the last month in SethAllenSays-land about the incoming class. It’s not because the admission office and I were on vacation (though that’s a tempting thought!) but rather because we activated our waitlist during the month of May.
So what does the incoming class look like? You remember from earlier posts that our planned for first-year class number was 385. Currently, we’re at 383 students and if history repeats itself we’ll likely be at 375 members in the Class of ‘13 by the time September rolls around. Coupled with a strong pool of enrolling transfer students, we seem to be on track with our enrollment this year.
For those of you who want the numbers, here’s a partial profile of the first-year class as of June 12, 2009:
· 66% of new students reporting rank are in the top 10% of their high school class.
· The first-year class has the same male/female ratio as last year's class at 46%/54%.
· Domestic students of color make up 25% of the entering first-year class.
· International students make up 13% of the incoming first-year class.
· Incoming students are from 43 states and 29 countries.
On a related note, I was happy to see that The Chronicle of Higher Education picked up an op-ed by the president of Grinnell College, Russell K. Osgood, on the need to fix the FAFSA. Economic conditions this year may have exacerbated many families’ need but it’s clear that for higher education to remain viable for most families, the current system of determining need must change.
So what does the incoming class look like? You remember from earlier posts that our planned for first-year class number was 385. Currently, we’re at 383 students and if history repeats itself we’ll likely be at 375 members in the Class of ‘13 by the time September rolls around. Coupled with a strong pool of enrolling transfer students, we seem to be on track with our enrollment this year.
For those of you who want the numbers, here’s a partial profile of the first-year class as of June 12, 2009:
· 66% of new students reporting rank are in the top 10% of their high school class.
· The first-year class has the same male/female ratio as last year's class at 46%/54%.
· Domestic students of color make up 25% of the entering first-year class.
· International students make up 13% of the incoming first-year class.
· Incoming students are from 43 states and 29 countries.
On a related note, I was happy to see that The Chronicle of Higher Education picked up an op-ed by the president of Grinnell College, Russell K. Osgood, on the need to fix the FAFSA. Economic conditions this year may have exacerbated many families’ need but it’s clear that for higher education to remain viable for most families, the current system of determining need must change.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Oh the places you'll go
I read with keen interest the mid-May Senior Issue of Grinnell’s student newspaper, The Scarlett and Black, devoted to the launch of newly minted Grinnell graduates from the Class of 2009. A quick review of post-graduate plans reveals:
• a large slice of the class heading overseas for work, service, or both in countries such as Egypt, China, and Guatemala;
• another large percentage going on to graduate school in disciplines ranging from astronomy and engineering to history and international studies;
• an inclination to test driving their liberal arts degrees in such varied pursuits as joining the circus, farming, earning a commercial pilot certificate, and touring with the Dave Matthews Band.
Author Thomas Friedman addressed the Class of 2009 during this year’s commencement, calling them the “re-generation” and asking them to use their imagination to renew America. I’d say they are off to a good start by the variety of paths they are taking.
I can’t help but think that just four and a half years ago these graduates going out into the word were navigating the undergraduate admission frenzy of standardized testing, GPAs, extracurricular accomplishments, letters of recommendation and commendation, and essays. Now look at them. If you’re a student, you may find it hard during the college search process to shift your eyes to a point more distant than “will I be admitted” but I assure you it is worth doing. The prize isn’t getting into college; it’s what you choose to do with your educational opportunities once you are there and how those choices prepare you to lead your life to the fullest.
• a large slice of the class heading overseas for work, service, or both in countries such as Egypt, China, and Guatemala;
• another large percentage going on to graduate school in disciplines ranging from astronomy and engineering to history and international studies;
• an inclination to test driving their liberal arts degrees in such varied pursuits as joining the circus, farming, earning a commercial pilot certificate, and touring with the Dave Matthews Band.
Author Thomas Friedman addressed the Class of 2009 during this year’s commencement, calling them the “re-generation” and asking them to use their imagination to renew America. I’d say they are off to a good start by the variety of paths they are taking.
I can’t help but think that just four and a half years ago these graduates going out into the word were navigating the undergraduate admission frenzy of standardized testing, GPAs, extracurricular accomplishments, letters of recommendation and commendation, and essays. Now look at them. If you’re a student, you may find it hard during the college search process to shift your eyes to a point more distant than “will I be admitted” but I assure you it is worth doing. The prize isn’t getting into college; it’s what you choose to do with your educational opportunities once you are there and how those choices prepare you to lead your life to the fullest.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Social Circles
I read yesterday’s Inside Higher Education article, To Friend or to Reject, by editor Scott Jaschik, about the growing use of social media in the admission process. While I agree with the notion that this is public domain information available for consumption and, perhaps, action from friends, relatives, even employers, there are other good reasons for institutions of higher education to be skeptical about dipping their toes into this media space.
Among institutions that use a holistic process for application review, one of the strongest messages in the last decade has been that students should just be themselves in their application. This means allowing the admission committee to glimpse behind the façade of the application to see the actual and interesting qualities of the student, as discussed in the Wall Street Journal article, How Not to Get Into College: Submit a Robotic Application. If a college is serious about this notion of being yourself, it appears incongruent to penalize students for doing just that in an online space.
Admission offices often employ newly minted graduates in their offices as admission counselors who themselves engaged in Facebook and other social media outlets during their college years. Institutions that engage in looking up prospective students on the internet need to consider that their admission counselors could, in turn, could be subject to the same kind of scrutiny from disappointed students or their parents. In other words, “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t cast stones.”
The focus of the debate over the role of social media in the admission process has tended to skew towards discoverable and potentially negative information about a student. What about information that could positively impact an admission or scholarship decision? Do institutions only look for one type of information? Will institution create policies of balancing both seemingly positive and negative information they uncover on social media sites?
I believe social media is part of the new frontier for college admission and has a role to play in a 21st century reworking of a decades old admission system. It is also a complex issue that deserves our thoughtful and careful consideration.
Among institutions that use a holistic process for application review, one of the strongest messages in the last decade has been that students should just be themselves in their application. This means allowing the admission committee to glimpse behind the façade of the application to see the actual and interesting qualities of the student, as discussed in the Wall Street Journal article, How Not to Get Into College: Submit a Robotic Application. If a college is serious about this notion of being yourself, it appears incongruent to penalize students for doing just that in an online space.
Admission offices often employ newly minted graduates in their offices as admission counselors who themselves engaged in Facebook and other social media outlets during their college years. Institutions that engage in looking up prospective students on the internet need to consider that their admission counselors could, in turn, could be subject to the same kind of scrutiny from disappointed students or their parents. In other words, “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t cast stones.”
The focus of the debate over the role of social media in the admission process has tended to skew towards discoverable and potentially negative information about a student. What about information that could positively impact an admission or scholarship decision? Do institutions only look for one type of information? Will institution create policies of balancing both seemingly positive and negative information they uncover on social media sites?
I believe social media is part of the new frontier for college admission and has a role to play in a 21st century reworking of a decades old admission system. It is also a complex issue that deserves our thoughtful and careful consideration.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Countdown
It’s a time of the year when uncertainty about the class keeps admission deans up at night. Why do admitted students wait until the last minute to let us know their decision? Hold on, are students waiting until the last minute? Will the class come in over target? Under? Will my favorite students of the year say yes or defect to Other U? Is it too early to go to the wait list? Or too late?
At this point in April, Grinnell is now through three campus open houses, countless phone calls, letters and email to admitted students, and by last count has spawned three Facebook groups for the Class of 2013.
Friends, colleagues, complete strangers and even family have told me loudly this month that they’d never want my job. I can see their point, especially during this last week of April, as every shred of statistical skill, prognosticating ability, and human intuition is called upon to assess (guess?) the likely behavior of 17 year olds and their families.
So far 200 new Grinnellians have decided to call Grinnell home for the next four years. Actually, I just got the good news on email that a paralympian hopeful has decided on Grinnell. That makes 201 interesting and talented individuals in the Class of 2013, which is about half of who we’re looking for this year (first year class target = 385) but also where we expected to be at this time of the month. The next few days will see a great sorting out of interest and fit with (perhaps) a few coin tosses thrown in for the truly undecided. Of course for many families, affordability remains a major concern. If your family’s financial circumstances have changed dramatically in the last year, do yourself a favor and talk to the financial aid office. For more on this topic, see the April 24th Time.com article, In Trying Times, Colleges Willing to Boost Financial-Aid.
Grinnell has a reputation for attracting adventurous pioneers- those with an exploratory urge, an interest in world and societal issues, and with the temperament to thrive in a challenging academic environment. I expect no less this year.
May 1st may loom but it is still 5 days off; 120 more hours to contemplate and snatch a few winks here and there.
At this point in April, Grinnell is now through three campus open houses, countless phone calls, letters and email to admitted students, and by last count has spawned three Facebook groups for the Class of 2013.
Friends, colleagues, complete strangers and even family have told me loudly this month that they’d never want my job. I can see their point, especially during this last week of April, as every shred of statistical skill, prognosticating ability, and human intuition is called upon to assess (guess?) the likely behavior of 17 year olds and their families.
So far 200 new Grinnellians have decided to call Grinnell home for the next four years. Actually, I just got the good news on email that a paralympian hopeful has decided on Grinnell. That makes 201 interesting and talented individuals in the Class of 2013, which is about half of who we’re looking for this year (first year class target = 385) but also where we expected to be at this time of the month. The next few days will see a great sorting out of interest and fit with (perhaps) a few coin tosses thrown in for the truly undecided. Of course for many families, affordability remains a major concern. If your family’s financial circumstances have changed dramatically in the last year, do yourself a favor and talk to the financial aid office. For more on this topic, see the April 24th Time.com article, In Trying Times, Colleges Willing to Boost Financial-Aid.
Grinnell has a reputation for attracting adventurous pioneers- those with an exploratory urge, an interest in world and societal issues, and with the temperament to thrive in a challenging academic environment. I expect no less this year.
May 1st may loom but it is still 5 days off; 120 more hours to contemplate and snatch a few winks here and there.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Boarding pass, please
Nearly two weeks ago I was in Washington, D.C. and heading to Dulles Airport to catch a flight back to Des Moines (the closest large airport to Grinnell). I arrived in plenty of time, made it through security, found the gate from which my flight would board, and sat down to relax. Easy.
An hour later and tantalizingly close to boarding my flight, I received an urgent email from the airline saying my flight would be delayed for two hours. As I waited in line to talk to an agent the digital board behind the counter changed. Now here was really good news - the flight had just been cancelled. Turns out it was mechanical issues.
Why should you care? Well, if you were admitted to Grinnell this year, congratulations, you have the opportunity to be part of an exceptionally talented class. If you weren't, there might be a parallel to my flight escapade. You did everything right - you researched Grinnell, you turned in your application on time, you had great people write letters of recommendation on your behalf, you wrote an essay that you want to frame. So what happened?
I'm pasting in below part of a letter I sent out to high schools two weeks ago so you know what your counselor knows. It explains our "mechanical failure" and our challenges this year.
“As decision letters begin arriving in the mailboxes of high school seniors I thought you would appreciate an update . . . and insight into what shaped our selection process this year. This information may be helpful as you counsel your students and their families.
Grinnell received just over 3800 applications for one of 385 spaces in this fall’s entering first-year class, our second largest applicant group ever behind last year’s pool of 3888 candidates.
Early Decision applications rose by 50% this year, challenging our ability to admit all students we deemed a good fit for Grinnell, and ultimately resulting in a handful more enrollees through Early Decision.
Last year Grinnell enrolled one of the largest classes in its history due to a significantly larger percentage of students responding positively to our offer of admission.
Last year’s large class and four prior years of over enrollment have pushed Grinnell’s on-campus enrollment above our optimal campus plan which is based on our number of faculty, facilities, and residence halls.
To guard against over enrollment, this year’s entering class target of 385 is slightly smaller than normal. This made our acceptance decisions this year particularly difficult as we were only able to admit 27% of this year’s applicants compared to 36% last year. We waitlisted a number of qualified and talented students who would likely have been admitted in prior years.
I hope this information is useful to you in understanding our decisions this year. While on balance this is good news for Grinnell, I know this makes it that much more challenging advising your students about Grinnell.”
An hour later and tantalizingly close to boarding my flight, I received an urgent email from the airline saying my flight would be delayed for two hours. As I waited in line to talk to an agent the digital board behind the counter changed. Now here was really good news - the flight had just been cancelled. Turns out it was mechanical issues.
Why should you care? Well, if you were admitted to Grinnell this year, congratulations, you have the opportunity to be part of an exceptionally talented class. If you weren't, there might be a parallel to my flight escapade. You did everything right - you researched Grinnell, you turned in your application on time, you had great people write letters of recommendation on your behalf, you wrote an essay that you want to frame. So what happened?
I'm pasting in below part of a letter I sent out to high schools two weeks ago so you know what your counselor knows. It explains our "mechanical failure" and our challenges this year.
“As decision letters begin arriving in the mailboxes of high school seniors I thought you would appreciate an update . . . and insight into what shaped our selection process this year. This information may be helpful as you counsel your students and their families.
Grinnell received just over 3800 applications for one of 385 spaces in this fall’s entering first-year class, our second largest applicant group ever behind last year’s pool of 3888 candidates.
Early Decision applications rose by 50% this year, challenging our ability to admit all students we deemed a good fit for Grinnell, and ultimately resulting in a handful more enrollees through Early Decision.
Last year Grinnell enrolled one of the largest classes in its history due to a significantly larger percentage of students responding positively to our offer of admission.
Last year’s large class and four prior years of over enrollment have pushed Grinnell’s on-campus enrollment above our optimal campus plan which is based on our number of faculty, facilities, and residence halls.
To guard against over enrollment, this year’s entering class target of 385 is slightly smaller than normal. This made our acceptance decisions this year particularly difficult as we were only able to admit 27% of this year’s applicants compared to 36% last year. We waitlisted a number of qualified and talented students who would likely have been admitted in prior years.
I hope this information is useful to you in understanding our decisions this year. While on balance this is good news for Grinnell, I know this makes it that much more challenging advising your students about Grinnell.”
To finish my story, I ultimately got home that night and everything turned out all right. I won't pretend college admission is anything like an airline flight but regardless of whether you were accepted, waitlisted, or denied admission, I believe you too will get to where you want to go.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
