Weekly Update: June 6

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

ART SCHOOLS SUFFER FROM TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES AND LOW ENROLLMENT

Columbia College Chicago and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, two well-respected arts schools, have both come into economic difficulties recently. With just a week’s notice, the University of the Arts sent out a message stating that the school would be closing June 7th, catching students and faculty completely by surprise. The university, home to approximately 1,125 students, had just enrolled next year’s new class. Area universities such as Temple University, Drexel University, and Moore College of Art and Design have all reached out to try and assist current and incoming students with transfer opportunities. 

Columbia College Chicago, also with little notice, laid off 70 faculty members and eliminated 32 vacant staff positions due to financial worries and declining enrollment. The concerns of the college were not a secret, though; last month they announced that first-year enrollment was down 46% from last year and transfer deposits down 36%. “The advising office, library, admissions and enrollment, career center and the counseling services office were among the departments affected by layoffs,” said Lillian Gecker, co-membership chair of the Columbia staff union.

HARVARD WILL NO LONGER WEIGH IN ON GLOBAL AFFAIRS

A new policy is being put into place at Harvard, in which the university will no longer share an official opinion on issues that are “not relevant to the core function of the university”. While it will no longer share “statements of empathy” as it did for Ukraine and the attacks on October 7th by Hamas, it is also not becoming “neutral” on global issues, like the University of Chicago. Others, of course, believe that it’s impossible for a school such as Harvard to have true “institutional neutrality”. 

FAFSA ISSUES AND CHANGES IN JOB MARKET IMPACT COLLEGE  ENROLLMENT

Fewer job postings are listing formal educational requirements as employers have trouble filling positions. Listings with no degree requirements have gone up 4% over the last 4 years. A cascade of problems with the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, this year, have seen a drop in the number of completed financial aid forms by almost 16%. The worry is that these two issues will have a stalling or even backsliding effect on what had been an increase in college enrollment over the last few years. While the numbers are not back to pre-pandemic rates, they are up 2.5% this spring after decades of decline. Some of the overall decline is due to lower birth rates and fewer students who may be attending college, but the increased price of four-year institutions has meant that the majority of that 2.5% increase is happening in community colleges. People are less willing to take on what can turn into life-long crippling debt just to attend a 4-year university.

WOMEN MAKE “FIRSTS” IN LEADERSHIP ROLES AT TWO UNIVERSITIES

Both Yale University and Winston-Salem State University hired their first female leaders in either school’s history. Dr. Maurie D. McInnis, former head of Stony Brook University, will become the new president of Yale University starting in July. She will be the first permanent female president of the school since its inception in 1701. 

The University of North Carolina Board of Governors elected Bonita J. Brown, an attorney,  to be the new chancellor of Winston-Salem State University. The HBCU, founded in 1892, is ranked as the number one school in the state for economic and social mobility (by the New York Times and US News & World Report. It is also considered a healthcare education powerhouse in the region. Congratulations to both!

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY ADDS EARLY ACTION

For students starting in the Fall of 2025, American University will offer Early Action application plans alongside their Regular, Early Decision I and Early Decision II plans. Unlike ED, EA is not binding; however, it allows applicants to apply early and get decisions early. This, in turn, suggests that students are interested and that they have done their research. For American University, EA will be due November 1 and EA applicants will receive their decisions by January 31.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Sonya recently reflected that she is so glad she didn’t grow up with social media or a smartphone. The pressure to conform at lightning speed and at such a granular level that apps like Snapchat and “Insta” apply to young people seems like such a daunting and bloody gauntlet to traverse, she explained. And to do it at the age when a person is probably at their most vulnerable and unsure of who they are and what they believe makes it a scarier prospect still.

(P.S. How do you even know if you grew up with social media or a smartphone? It’s not a completely cut-and-dry answer. I attended high school from 1999-2003, so I would think I qualify as having grown up with social media in its earliest forms, like AOL profiles and MySpace. Facebook came out during my freshman year of college, 2003-2004, and my peers were all just starting to get smartphones right around the time of our college graduation. This is on my mind right now because I am in the middle of reading The Anxious Generation, which you will find on our summer reading list soon!)

In any case, we found an interesting article which looks at teens around the country whose parents resisted pressure from the outside and inside the house to give their teen a smartphone, despite some being shown up to four slide deck presentations about the merits of doing so! Some had “dumb” phones for communication, but others didn’t even have that. I know that now it’s almost unimaginable to be out in the world without a smartphone, but this article suggests that their experience shows them to be more independent, more able to problem-solve and more capable of handling being bored and entertaining themselves. One of the more slightly ironic differences is that those without a phone also were able to be more “sociable” and had better coping skills when dealing with the public. Just the opposite seems to be the case for kids addicted to social media!

And staying on the theme of being sociable, dating as a teenager is also quite different now, in the age of smartphones, than it was ‘back in the day”: for better and/or worse. In this article about his son’s first girlfriend, the author talks about the generational differences in how we consume social media versus today’s teens; the impact that has had on attention spans; and ultimately how this has changed how young people communicate, compared to us “olds”!

In the last few posts we have talked about teens and summer jobs (and sometimes their first job) along with helping them navigate this new, adult responsibility. Nothing screams adult responsibility louder than taxes! Sometimes the expected amount of that first glorious paycheck and the reality of learning what net pay is can be stunning. This MarketWatch article shares the importance of talking to your teen about taxes and how this knowledge can lead to better overall personal financial management in the future.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Since many of our juniors have finished drafting their Common App (R) personal essays and are now on to their supplemental work, we started putting together our Class of 2025 Supplemental Essay Database this past week!

A number of colleges have already finalized their essay prompts for the coming application cycle, including Georgetown and the University of Georgia. As a reminder, we are vigilant about checking for updated prompts on a nearly-daily basis throughout the summer so that our students can write their essays earlier than the official August 1 release date.

And of course, we are still deep in behind-the-scenes Common App (R) essay edits — just because the juniors are done with their work doesn’t mean we are all done with ours! I say this every year, but there is nothing more exciting to me than the moment when the essay really clicks into place.

Usually, the man responsible for that amazing-ness is none other than Alan, our essay coach who works solely behind the scenes helping those final edits be just a little bit more sparkly than they otherwise would be. We are super lucky to have him on our team!

He has this magical ability to shift a student’s own writing and voice around into different and unexpected ways — it really is an art! I could never do as good of a job as he does.

Have a great rest of your week, everyone!

WANT MORE ON HBCUs? CHECK OUT THESE POSTS!

‘Tis the season…for early application decisions!

Over the next few weeks, many schools will release their early application decisions - especially those with binding early decision plans (some non-binding early action decisions will not come in until January or even February). If you aren’t sure when to expect decisions from the schools on your list, check out this website for expected dates and times.

Make sure to consider where you want to be when you receive your decisions. We recommend you log into your portal or open your email or letter in the privacy of your room or home, not in your high school cafeteria ​​or while with a group of friends. You need to be able to have an honest, emotional response. We have seen a trend developing in which students record themselves opening their admission decisions and then post the video on TikTok. We definitely do NOT recommend this approach!

You should also take some time to decide how you want to share this information, whether positive or negative. Tell your parents. Tell your counselor at school. And of course, tell us! Beyond that, remember that YOU get to decide if and when you choose to share your news with anyone else.

Read on for some helpful tips, broken down by decision!

• If Accepted:

• First of all, congratulations!

• Be gracious. Congratulate yourself. It is ok to celebrate—but be appropriate. Remember there are many of your peers and friends who have not heard anything, are still applying to schools, or have been deferred, waitlisted or denied ​​(sometimes by the same school that just accepted you!).

• Be grateful. Thank your parents. Thank your recommenders. A hand-written thank you note goes a long way for an educator who cares about your success and puts the effort in to meet your school’s deadlines. 

• Be engaged. Your acceptance is not the signal to check out or give in to “senior slide.”

• Be proactive. If you have been accepted early decision, be sure to withdraw your applications from the remainder of your schools. You agreed to do this when you signed the early decision form.

• IF Deferred:

• Continue to work hard in your classes. Many schools will ask you to submit midyear grades in the portal, on the SRAR, or from your counselor.

• Check with us or your school counselor before sending additional submissions. More is not necessarily better. Follow the school’s directions for submitting materials.

• Compose your letters of continued interest (LOCI). Write brief (seriously: brief!) letters that state why you want to attend the schools and why you would be a great fit. Check out our prior blog post: Writing an Effective Letter of Continued Interest: Instructions and Samples, and again, only do this if the schools at which you were deferred will accept them (most will!).

• If Waitlisted:

• Respond. Be sure to follow the school’s instructions to accept your place on the waitlist. 

• Redouble your efforts and study, study, study. These schools will see your 3rd and 4th quarter or winter and spring term grades, which, if strong, can help you.

• Refocus. Be sure to deposit at another school by May 1 to ensure you are going to college somewhere, even if you remain on other waitlists.

• If Denied:

• Process the news. It’s ok to allow yourself time to be disappointed (for a day or two). What you feel is real and needs to be expressed, but cannot take over your life. This sounds impossible, but don’t take it personally. Read our previous post:  5 Steps to Take After Being Deferred or Denied Early Admission.

• Maintain perspective. Remember you have a balanced list for a reason.

• Pull yourself together and submit your remaining applications. Do not allow a denial to paralyze you. You need to continue to work hard in your classes and make sure all of your remaining applications are submitted.

• Prioritize self-care. Got a shredder? Print out your letter and shred it! Have a fire pit? Invite friends over and make s’mores out of your denial letters! Be creative and find a way to move forward!

If you ARE A CURRENT CLIENT:

• If you need help adding new schools to your list or reviewing application materials over winter break, make an appointment with Colleen or Sally to review it and discuss whether or not you need to make any changes

• If you need more essay coaching meetings, book them as soon as possible (but don’t add new schools without running that by us first)!

If you need help now but didn’t work with us earlier in the process on an ongoing basis, it’s not too late.

• If you need help adding new schools to your list or reviewing application materials over winter break, you can book one of our Class of 2024 Strategy Sessions.

• If you already know where you want to apply and just need help finishing up all those essays, you can book pay-as-you-go essay coaching sessions here. 

NOTE: We may be able to add additional essay coaching availability depending on demand, so the earlier you let us know you need help, the better! Please send our admin team an email to discuss options if you can’t find a session that works for you using the links above.

REMEMBER: We are rooting for you just as much as you are (maybe even more!). Stay smart, stay positive, and enjoy the rest of senior year! 

Weekly Update: November 21

It’s Thanksgiving week - almost time for turkey, football, friends, and family! Yet for seniors, this time of year can be especially challenging. They are trying to keep their grades up while teachers try to squeeze in assessments between Thanksgiving and winter breaks, and they are also juggling hundreds of emails and requests to set up portals, add optional admissions videos, and apply to additional “special programs.” Not to mention the stress and anxiety that comes with waiting on decisions!

So every year as we head into this holiday, I am reminded of the need to help seniors prepare for the onslaught of unsolicited questions and advice that comes with well-meaning visiting relatives, annual family gatherings, and uncertain notification dates. You know how it goes: Auntie Anne asks if Susie has heard from X college or Uncle Oscar asks Jimmy why he doesn’t add Oscar’s alma mater to his list “just to see what happens.” The “helpful” inquiries just pile stress on the already stressed senior.

Our advice to parents: help your son or daughter prepare a couple of polite responses, acknowledge that the comments come from a place of love and affection, and still politely end the conversation.

For example: “Thank you for asking, Auntie Anne. I’m excited to hear back from schools, too, but right now I am focusing on my classes and finishing my regular decision applications.” Responses that redirect the conversation can help the senior focus on the near future and control what she can control.

Or: “Thank you for your thoughts, Uncle Oscar. I will certainly take a look at your alma mater’s website when I get back to my applications after the Thanksgiving break.” Jimmy doesn’t commit to anything more than a quick look at the school’s website, while making it clear that he is on vacation too.

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE LAST FEW WEEKS

PSAT SCORES (AND NATIONAL MERIT CUTOFF ESTIMATES) RELEASED

PSAT scores were released on November 6 or 16, depending on the date students took the test (if your student hasn’t received their score reports, have them go see their school counselor!). Check out Compass Prep’s analysis of this year's scores as well as their estimates for Commended Students and Semifinalists. It sounds like Commended Students can expect a 2 point cutoff increase, and while the Semifinalist increases vary by state, most will be in the 1-2 point range.

RISE IN NUMBERS OF EARLY APPLICATIONS

Now that the deadlines for most early applications have passed, the Common App has released preliminary data about early decision and early action numbers. According to them, early applications to member schools are up 41% over pre-pandemic numbers from 2019-2020. We will have to wait until the final application numbers are available before fully understanding the trends, but this increase may reflect a more permanent shift in students and colleges relying on early admission plans. We know from our work with students on the applications and essays that most students have quite a few early deadlines, some of which have moved to early October (and even early September for schools with rolling admissions or those that release admissions decisions in waves).

MICHIGAN SIGN-STEALING SCANDAL LEAVES HARBAUGH SUSPENDED

The Big Ten has made the decision to suspend coach Jim Harbaugh for three games as a result of the ongoing controversy relating to low-level employee Connor Stalions. Stalions is accused of attending opponents’ games in person, often disguised in the respective teams’ gear, to record their signs and signals as part of an extensive scheme to give Michigan an unfair advantage.

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE

Students applying to the University of Arizona will want to pay close attention to the recent reports of financial mismanagement - after financial predictions turned out to be wildly inaccurate, the school now admits to having only 97 days of cash on hand. President Robert Robbins has warned that “draconian cuts” may impact academic and athletic programs, salaries, and jobs.

PC: JMU Marketing and Branding Department

BEST ARTICLES OF THE LAST FEW WEEKS

Georgia Tech’s Rick Clark offers advice to juniors about test-optional admissions in his recent post: Middle 50%, Test Optional (… and Country Music?) He explains that middle 50% test score ranges are not as straightforward as they used to be (neither is test-optional admissions in general!), so students need to carefully analyze the information provided. After all, what does that range even represent? Accepted students or matriculated students? He recommends students ask questions when they look at colleges and universities' middle 50% of test scores to understand whose scores are included in that figure. As you develop your standardized testing plan, make sure you understand if the schools on your list require test scores, are test-optional, are test-blind, or if they are test-optional but prefer test scores. Some schools also have different policies based on majors, so be thorough. We help all of our current clients make these decisions, so if you’re a non-client who could use some assistance, feel free to book an introductory meeting.

Are you confused about the controversy between JMU and the NCAA? This feel-good piece is definitely worth a read (Unfortunately, the NCAA denied the latest waiver request this past week, and then things took another turn over the weekend when JMU lost to Appalachian State despite breaking attendance records for ESPN’s College GameDay). Whether they get to play in a bowl or not, the cynic in me is a little bit concerned about the inevitable admissions impact after so much athletic success. And we don’t have much wiggle room - last year, applications were up over 68% from just two years prior. 68%! That’s huge.

Speaking of football, this New York Times piece on young football players with C.T.E. was incredibly moving and tragic. It’s awful to think of these poor kids suffering this way, and the recommendation to delay tackle football until high school is compelling, given the latest research.

Lastly, don’t miss Vanity Fair’s excerpt from Among the Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story by Max Marshall. Named by Amazon as a “Best Book of the Year 2023,” it covers a disturbingly extensive, multimillion-dollar underground fraternity drug ring at the College of Charleston and has been the talk of the higher education world for the past few weeks. It reads a little bit like Bama Rush meets the Murdaugh’s, and I’ve already downloaded the book to read over the holidays.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We’ve been busy finishing up those last-minute additions with seniors (so. many. videos. this. year!) and of course, getting ready for Thanksgiving! At Sally’s house, that looks a little different from mine, so she’s sharing a few thoughts below on the challenges of having a student home from college!

College students arrive home, often for the first time since starting the semester, and have different expectations than parents do. My priorities are about family time, hearing about her life at college, making sure she spends time with her siblings, and having fun/making memories together. On the other hand, her priorities may be relaxing, catching up on sleep, seeing her friends, more sleep, eating her favorite meals, and more sleep. She has been completely independent since Labor Day, making all the decisions about her time, her car, and her responsibilities. Suddenly, she is home and doesn’t necessarily have the same freedoms. Even to go shopping, she will have to work with our schedules to borrow a car because her own will still be at school. 

Of course we have different expectations: I am excited to have my kid home, and she is excited to be at home with her family. But even those expectations can be a mismatch. When she left for college, her younger sister had finished middle school, but now she is one-third of the way through 9th grade and has begun to exert her independence and navigate a social life of her own. College students can find it jarring that their family hasn’t frozen in time while they were away. In the same way, parents forget that their “kid” has been making adult decisions for months. The kid expects to be on vacation during break, while we parents are expecting them to jump back into family life including chores like loading the dishwasher, picking up siblings at practice, and coming home at a “reasonable time.” (This last one is definitely fraught with differing expectations!)

What have I learned from our son’s four years and our daughter’s previous two years returning for break? There is no one right way to navigate the shift, not even with the same kid in subsequent years. My advice is to acknowledge the differences beforehand (as in, during the car ride home from the airport) and to be patient with each other. As much as I want to spend time with her, I also have to remember to respect our daughter’s independence. Similarly, she has to remember to balance her need to take a real break before returning to school for final exams and to respect that she is part of a family with work, schedules, and time commitments. 

And when she thinks I am demanding too much or I think she is coming home too late, I hope we remember to give each other a little leeway as we sail these uncharted waters together.

Enjoy the Thanksgiving break!

Weekly Update: March 20

We hope everyone had a happy St. Patrick’s Day and a great week!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

MARCH MADNESS UPSETS

March Madness saw a big upset for UVA on Thursday, when Furman scored a 3-point shot in the last 2 seconds of the game to win! And speaking of Virginia, we saw a repeat of their 2018 historic loss to 16-seed UMBC when 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson beat 1-seed Purdue. On Saturday, the upsets continued with Princeton’s victory over Missouri, marking only the fourth time in history that a team seeded 15th reached the Sweet Sixteen. Despite the upset, Mizzou’s head coach is still one to watch - check out this article, which explores Coach Dennis Gates’s unique and sincere approach to coaching college basketball. 

WELLESLEY STUDENTS VOTE TO MAKE TRANSGENDER MEN AND NONBINARY STUDENTS ELIGIBLE FOR ADMISSION

Students at Wellesley, one of the most highly regarded women’s colleges in the country, voted last Tuesday to make transgender men and nonbinary students eligible for admission. While this is an indication of the direction the student body is leaning, the vote is non-binding, and Wellesley admissions has announced that they will stick with their original policy of not offering admission to trans men. The gender policy at Wellesley states that the school is open to all students who live and identify as women, including transgender women and nonbinary people who were assigned female at birth. Most women’s colleges, including Spelman, Bryn Mawr, and Barnard, are aligned with Wellesley’s policies; some, like Mount Holyoke, already admit students regardless of gender, including trans men and nonbinary students. 

HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE WELCOMES NEW COLLEGE TRANSFERS

New College of Florida, a small progressive college in the Sunshine State, recently experienced a big shake-up with a new board of trustees appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL). Now, Hampshire College, a similar school in Massachusetts that, like New College, welcomes progressive students and does not assign grades, has opened its doors to any New College student in good standing and offered to match the in-state tuition that many of these students have in Florida. 

So far, one New College student has transferred and four others have applied. Hampshire, which nearly closed in 2019 and in the last several years experienced an enrollment drop from 1,500 students to less than 500, is using this opportunity to increase the size of its student body while serving Florida students who wish to transfer. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

We’ve gotten a lot of questions recently from students and parents about the huge numbers of applications to top schools, and it is still going strong post-pandemic! Application numbers at top colleges have increased 32% since 2020. This means that overworked admissions officers are attempting to read nearly one-third more applications in the same amount of time, so colleges are encouraging students to apply early action in order to spread the application review over a longer period. Of course, this often means more deferrals, which is frustrating! For more information about this aspect of the college admissions landscape, as well as a peek behind the curtain at what actually happens in an admissions office after a student is deferred, we recommend this op-ed from Jeff Selingo.  

Shannon attended a session last week on the Princeton Review’s 2023 College Hopes & Worries Survey. The most surprising thing we saw in the survey was that the students’ top concern when it comes to college admissions was SAT and ACT testing - yes, even more than financial considerations, completing applications, or getting in! This is interesting because it shows that while many colleges continue to offer test-optional admissions, students realize that a strong test score can still be a major asset during the application process. 

We’ve always said that college rankings should not be the #1 consideration for undergraduate applicants, but we still understand that they can often be important to students and families. With potential shake-ups in the rankings, including Columbia’s recent withdrawal after a professor discovered inaccuracies in its data, attitudes may be shifting. For a deep-dive into all things college rankings, we recommend this Time article. 

Are you a senior heading to school in the fall and wondering about creating your own major? Check out this student’s story - she may just convince you on the benefits of choosing your own path through college! And speaking of choosing your own path - have you heard about Fairleigh Dickinson’s Jordan Sarnoff, the youngest D1 men’s basketball sports information director in history? We loved this profile on him - what a great example of how taking initiative and pursuing your own interests can pay off in a huge way.

OFFICE HAPPENINGs

I like data, so I always think the connection between college admissions and March Madness is fascinating in terms of predicting application trends in seasons to come. There was actually a fascinating study about this a few years back which found that private schools saw the biggest increase in applications after a Cinderella run, although the impact was just temporary.

Anecdotally, I think that certain private schools in the highly-selective (but not ultra-selective) category see more of a long-term impact, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a Cinderella run as defined by the researchers. Villanova’s sustained increase in selectivity after the 2016 and 2018 wins is a great example of this. It’s next to impossible to get into Villanova now, if you don’t ED.

On the home front, my son was so excited for the Miami/Indiana game all weekend and I felt sorry for him when he crashed shortly after it began!

What a game, though! After half time I started to get really nervous that he was going to wake up to a loss this morning but thankfully Miami came back strong. Sorry to our Indiana friends out there :) I am hoping for a good game against Houston on Friday but am managing my expectations!

Weekly Update: February 21

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

VIRGINIA TECH RELEASES EARLY ACTION DECISIONS

The last of the major Virginia early action releases occurred with Virginia Tech on Friday evening. VT reported more than 47,000 applications for 7,085 seats in the freshman class, and so many qualified students were unfortunately waitlisted. We definitely encourage all students to read VT's Waitlist FAQ . Note that VT's released numbers represent totals, not just their EA pool. 

Note If you are interested in learning more about other VA schools and their early action data, keep reading! There’s more on this topic and my thoughts later in this post.

STUDENTS PROTEST AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY 

There’s a call for big changes at Georgetown University. In response to incidents over the past several months, students formed the group Georgetown University Protects Racists (GURP) and have been protesting the ways in which the university handles hate crimes and bias incidents. Georgetown officials are now working with student leaders to address these issues, and an external review of the university’s systems is being conducted. 

TRAGIC SHOOTING AT MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY LEAVES THREE STUDENTS DEAD

Last week a gunman opened fire at Michigan State University, killing three students and injuring five others. The attacker- Anthony Dwayne McRae- fled the scene and was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He reportedly did not have any ties to MSU, and his motive is unknown at this time. As of Sunday night, university police reported that three of the injured students remain in critical condition. Meanwhile, the MSU community resumed classes on Monday. Faculty and administrators are working to support students through the rest of the semester with lighter course loads and credit/no credit options for academic classes.

WELLESLEY COLLEGE APOLOGIZES FOR MISHANDLING SEXUAL ABUSE CASE

Last week, Wellesley College president Paula Johnson issued an apology for the school’s mishandling of a sexual abuse case. The written statement was released the same day The Boston Globe published an expose on Wellesley’s former running coach, John Babington. Babington was accused of sexual abuse by a student in the late 1990s but continued working at Wellesley until 2013. In her letter, President Johnson thanked the alumna for sharing her story with The Boston Globe and reaffirmed the school’s commitment to preventing sexual harassment. She insisted,  “There is no question that Wellesley would handle such conduct very differently today.”

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES EXCITING NEW MAJOR

There will be a new major to choose from at Clemson University in the fall of 2023! Clemson announced its plans to offer an undergraduate automotive engineering program next year- the first of its kind in the United States. The university is already regarded as a leader in this field of study, having launched a graduate program in automotive engineering in 2006. Now undergraduates will have the opportunity to prepare for dynamic careers in automotive manufacturing thanks to Clemson’s interdisciplinary and experiential curriculum, as well as its “unique geographic advantage.”

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Does college need to be four years? That’s the question Professor Steven Mintz (University of Texas at Austin) recently tackled in his opinion piece for Inside Higher Ed. With the rising cost of college tuition, many students are dodging the traditional four-year model. Rather than paying for required electives and stressing out over overloaded semester course schedules, students are turning to online course alternatives and dual enrollment programs. The result is cheaper, more efficient credit earnings, but at what cost? Many wonder if these pathways diminish the value of a college education. The question is one that continues to incite big debates, and Mintz is happy to share where he stands. Ultimately, Mintz believes that students are bogged down in courses that don’t mean anything to them and are subject to far too many lectures and discussion-based classes. He hopes that in the future schools will turn to more meaningful, project-based learning opportunities for undergraduates, as well as increased options for “career-aligned degree pathways.” 

Race, politics, religion–these topics may be controversial, even off-limits in some places, but not at the University of Austin (and no, that’s not a typo - University of Austin, not UT Austin!). The university’s Forbidden Courses summer program creates a space for civil engagement on topics that are often “forbidden” as topics of discussion. Students have the chance to “inquire openly into vexing questions with honesty and without fear of shame.” In other words, students are free! Whether they want to ask questions, offer a dissenting opinion, or challenge a belief, they can do that. If you’d like to hear students share their experiences in the forbidden courses or see the lineup of Summer 2023 offerings, click here.

Watching the Howard University swim team is a marvel for many, and it’s not because they’ve got the school dance team cheering them on at the sidelines. In a sport where only 2% of college athletes are Black, Howard University swim coach, Nic Askew, has made historic strides. Since taking over the program eight years ago, he’s revamped a once hopeless team. Over sixty school swim records have been broken, and last year, Howard earned a second-place finish at the Northeast Conference championship. Although Howard’s team is admittedly not a national powerhouse, they are “on the front line of change” in a sport that has historically denied access to the Black community.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

As I mentioned earlier in the post, we’ve been spending a lot of time tracking early decision and early action data for this year’s admission cycle as well as doing our best to make meaning of what we see.

If you were surprised to find yourself on the VT waitlist, you’re in good company with a lot of others! Let’s take a step back in time to understand more about what’s been happening over in Blacksburg. During the 2016-2017 admissions cycle, VT accepted way too many students and over-enrolled their freshman class. As a result, they decided to be very conservative with acceptances in 2017-2018, but took it too far and ended up way below their enrollment goals. Ultimately they had to take about 2,000 students from the waitlist to fill the class. But then they went too far in the opposite direction again the following year! (Are you noticing a trend..?). Yes, in 2018-2019, they accepted far too many students again, and the situation attracted national attention because of the housing crisis in Blacksburg that resulted.

A few years ago at Virginia Tech!

Since that point, they have consistently under-enrolled - better than over-enrolling, I guess! During the following years, they took 3,961 (2019-2020), 3,286 (2020-2021) and 2,458 (2021-2022) students from the waitlist, respectively. These numbers represent HUGE percentages of the freshman class as a whole - taking 3,961 students off the waitlist for a freshman class of 7,000 is extremely significant.

This year, I’m wondering whether the possibility of a pending recession will impact the new pattern of under-enrollment leading to large waitlist acceptances. It could: historically, we see more students choosing public universities during periods of economic uncertainty. If more VT accepted students choose to enroll instead of pursuing private options, this could result in less spots for waitlisted students. There’s also the chance that VT accounted for this possibility when it came to building out this year’s model. Time will tell!

As for UVA, they released their EA decisions about a week before VT, and their numbers are up as well. As is typical for their office, UVA broke everything down to make the differences between EA and ED clear. It’s also really nice that they provide an in-state vs. out-of-state breakdown, but at the same time, keep in mind that data representing the entire state of Virginia may not represent the breakdown for Fairfax and Arlington counties. Anecdotally, I found UVA to be a little more predictable in their decision-making than they were over the last two years, which was a welcome surprise! VT was just completely unpredictable.

Last but not least, JMU's decisions came out about a month ago, and their increases were perhaps the most significant of all. Their 2022 EA numbers (for the HS Class of 2023 - it can get tricky because JMU releases in December while the other two release in the new year) were up 30% from the previous year and up 83% from two years ago. INSANE! Despite those enormous increases, I did find JMU to be pretty predictable for our applicants.

Bottom line? Even though we had pretty good luck with predictability this year, none of these schools are safeties anymore. Make sure to plan accordingly - if you want a Virginia public safety, you need to explore other options. We have so many great schools, so try to keep an open mind and check some of the others out.

Weekly Update: January 30

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

MORE MEDICAL SCHOOLS PULL OUT OF NATIONAL RANKINGS 

Last week Harvard Medical School made headlines when it withdrew from the U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings. Now four other medical schools have followed suit. Columbia, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, and Mount Sinai have all announced that they are withdrawing from the rankings due to concerns over inaccurate representations of data.

COLLEGE BOARD RESPONDS TO CONCERNS OVER AP AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES COURSE

On Tuesday, The College Board announced that it will reveal the new framework for its AP African American Studies course on the first day of Black History Month- February 1. Many are concerned that the framework will be influenced by political agendas, given that Florida governor Ron DeSantis recently rejected the course for its “lack [of] educational value.” The College Board issued a letter to its members on Thursday, reaffirming that the curriculum has only been shaped by educational experts and was completed prior to DeSantis’ public rejection. 

CHARGES AGAINST FORMER LOUDOUN COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT ARE UPHELD

During a court hearing on Thursday, a judge ruled that misdemeanor charges against Scott Ziegler- former superintendent of Loudoun County schools- will be upheld. Ziegler is being charged with making false statements about two high-profile sexual assault cases in the county, as well as unfairly firing a teacher.

MARYLAND COLLEGE SAVINGS ACCOUNTS ARE REVISED- AND PARENTS AREN’T HAPPY

After freezing college savings accounts due to interest calculation errors, Maryland 529 has revised its account balances for hundreds of families. However, many are upset by the new numbers. Families are claiming they are owed a 6% interest rate on all contributions, but this rate is only being applied to money invested from November 2021 onward. The result is a staggering discrepancy between what families thought they had available for college funds versus the newly adjusted totals. We will continue to track this story, as Maryland 529 plans to hold a meeting today.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

A woman with a mission to help college students turns out to be a $175 million dollar fraud. No, this is not the premise for a new blockbuster movie. It’s reality! Charlie Javice, a woman once recognized as one of the most creative people in business, built a career in social enterprise, promising to help millions of families navigate the college financial process. However, when JPMorgan paid $175 million to acquire her financial planning company, they discovered they had been conned. This is a pretty incredible story and one that I haven't seen floating around my normal education spaces. Instead, we discussed it in my Goldman Sachs session last week. Our advisor reinforced what the article stated- that it's a good example of a situation where the lenders didn't have enough institutional knowledge - specifically, they didn't understand the financial aid process and how it works. They should have called us :)

In 2021, an infamous Supreme Court decision changed the world of college athletics. No longer would players be restricted from earning money. Instead, they were free to profit off of their NIL- name, image, likeness. Since then college athletes have earned significant figures through donations, endorsement deals, and even business ventures. And while many support the rights of these athletes to profit off their talents and skills, others are concerned about the potential long-term impact. Advertisers and donors are now investing in individual players rather than school programs, which affects budgets and the overall strength of athletic departments. Too, not all college athletes have the name recognition to make NIL profitable. This is a new “unregulated economic frontier” fraught with both excitement and worry over the future of college athletics.

When it comes to college admissions, we often defer to the experts for their thoughts on rankings, costs, and quality. But what about students? What matters most to college applicants as they make important decisions about the future? The New York Times assembled a focus group of eleven high school seniors to find out these answers. And some of their responses may surprise you! It appears that many students are trying to balance practical considerations, such as tuition and career preparation, with a desire for mental well being and happiness. The group also weighed in on college rankings, regrets over the admissions process, and advice for high school juniors.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

WHERE OH WHERE are the 2023-2024 Common App essay prompts? OMG - I look for them every morning and they still haven’t been released yet. Driving me crazy! We are very excited to jump right into essays with our juniors so they will be finished with their main essay around the timeframe of spring break. At that point, they will move on to preparing supplemental essay content and teacher/counselor recommendation input. We like to stay on track so we can have all of our students finished with their college apps by September as planned!

In other news, so many schools released their EA decisions over the past week! If you didn’t receive the decision you were hoping for, don’t panic! Instead, book a session with us to plan a letter of continued interest, otherwise known as a LOCI. Current clients, schedule your meetings here. If you are not a current client but would like to book a one-time meeting, please click here.

We also want to remind our current students to please always update your status chart each time you receive a decision. It’s also important to update with the decision itself rather than just checking off that a decision came in - otherwise we won’t know what it was! Please watch my quick instructional video if you have any questions about whether you’re doing this correctly.

Finally, be sure to check out our internship database. We’ve listed some great opportunities for Summer 2023, but they might disappear if you don’t apply now! Many programs have February deadlines.