BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAY TOPICS RELEASED

Several schools have begun to release supplemental essays for the 2023-2024 application cycle, including the University of Georgia, the University of Vermont, and the University of Miami. We’ll be keeping track of these prompts for our clients, but even non-clients can follow our Supplemental Essays Database to have access to the prompts. Remember: the more work you complete over the summer, the easier fall will be!

COLUMBIA DROPS OUT OF U.S. NEWS RANKINGS

Last week, Columbia became the first major university to stop sharing data on its undergraduate program with U.S. News & World Report. Several high-ranking law schools (including Columbia, Harvard, and Yale) have already stopped using the ranking system, but undergraduate schools have not followed suit - until now. The move comes after Columbia dropped from #2 to #18 in the rankings, due to providing inaccurate data, and is only the latest in a series of criticism of the U.S. News rankings and whether they actually benefit potential college students and families.  

KENTUCKY STRUGGLES TO HOUSE RECORD NUMBER OF INCOMING FRESHMEN

Many schools have record-breaking incoming classes this cycle, and the University of Kentucky is no exception. Without enough housing for students, Kentucky is encouraging students to “TRI-IT” - in other words, to create forced triples with three students in rooms initially meant to house two. Students can live in the triple rooms for a discounted rate. 

Even if you aren’t headed to Kentucky next year, this is something to look out for - other universities, like Villanova, also have forced triples, and with record numbers of incoming first year students at many schools, the practice may become more common. 

TRIBAL UNIVERSITY IS FIRST TO OFFER PHD

Navajo Technical University plans to offer a Ph.D. program in Navajo culture and language sustainability this fall, making it the first tribal university to offer a program at this level. The goal of the program is to help preserve the Navajo language, and the university hopes that it will be the first of many such programs at tribal colleges and universities across the country.  

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

As we all wait anxiously for the Supreme Court affirmative action decision, there are plenty of articles about the impact it may have on the admissions process. We were particularly interested in this piece from The Atlantic, which discusses the problem with colleges expecting students to “put their trauma on display” in their college essays. We hear about this expectation from students all the time. Many of them feel that if something “bad” hasn’t happened to them, they won’t be able to write a good college essay - or that if something bad has happened to them, they need to share it with college admissions officers to write a strong essay. The fear is that if affirmative action goes away, students will have even more pressure to discuss their traumatic experiences in their essays, so that colleges can use their personal background in the consideration of their application. We will have to see whether this is true after the Supreme Court releases its decision!

Graduating seniors were in ninth grade when the pandemic began, and this has affected their future plans. This article states that COVID-19 affected the decision on college choice or college major for over 40% of the Class of 2023. Post-COVID graduates are more likely to go directly to work rather than attend college, compared to students in the Class of 2019. Social and academic challenges as a result of the pandemic have definitely contributed to students’ attitudes toward school in general and college in particular, and we’ll have to wait and see whether this trend continues - or whether the number of students interested in college bounces back in the next few years.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

The end of the school year is around the corner for many students, and with it, essay work is ramping up for our juniors! They are going to put in a lot of hard work over the next few months, but it will be so worth it when they are done with our Finish by September Timeline! They will spend senior year focused on their classes and other commitments, not applications. Our past clients report that this is one of their favorite parts of working with our team!

We’ve also brought on a new essay coach for our busy essay season - a big welcome to Rose! She is pursuing graduate work at UMD, after working as a school college counselor with the College Advising Corps in conjunction with Davidson College. It’s rare to find an essay coach with college counseling experience, so we’re thrilled to have her on board. We will introduce her on the blog in more detail in the coming weeks!

Last but not least, McClain - who I believe at this point has been with DC College Counseling longer than any other essay coach - is back again for another great summer with us. So many kids over the years have absolutely loved working with McClain and we’re very lucky to have the benefit of all of her experience!

Current clients can book meetings with Rose and McClain here!

Have a great week!