Category Archives: Admissions

San Francisco Chronicle
Joanne Levy-Prewitt
Sunday, December 2, 2007

College Bound
A weekly guide to higher education

Question: My wife and I are guardians of our grandson, a sophomore in high school. He plays football and, despite several moves and family turmoil in the past few years, gets good grades. An acquaintance told us that to get into college, our grandson must do more, such as do civic volunteer work, be active in our church, or play multiple sports. She suggested he get a job after school, too.

Is this true? We are retired and are dedicated to giving him everything he needs. We realize that times have changed since our own children went to college.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/02/BAFUTJBAB.DTL

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, NACAC members voted to reverse a policy approved at last year’s meeting that would have prevented colleges from making admissions offers to students before Sept. 15 of their senior year in high school, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The new policy will allow colleges to notify students of acceptance upon receiving a transcript that “reflects completion of the final semester of junior year of high school or the equivalent.”

The previous policy, which had been scheduled to go into effect next year, was intended to stop the trend of students becoming involved in the admissions process too early in their high school years. That rule was criticized by officials at some community colleges and state universities, who said many of their applicants need to realize that college is a viable option for them. They said early acceptance offers help many first generation and low-income students realize that a college education is possible for them.

“The final decision that was made recognizes the validity of both perspectives,” said Mary Lee Hoganson, the association’s departing president.

The new policy will go into effect beginning with students who would matriculate in fall 2009. A NACAC board-appointed panel will study the actual impact such a change would have on colleges and will report its findings in Sept. 2009.

View the AACRAO Transcript.

Today’s Wall Street Journal outlines a new trend in corporate America – admissions help for employees’ families. The programs include: a help desk to answer questions from employees or their children on such things as the college essay to applying for financial aid, individual counseling sessions and an overview of college admissions tests such as the SAT and ACT.

Read the article

If we could harness anxiety as an alternate power source, the lights in the New York Times’ auditorium would have been ablaze last week, as hundreds of fretful parents of high schoolers convened for an expert panel on the proximate cause of their angst: the college admissions process. The Times had gathered together two reporters, an editor, and the young winner of the paper’s college essay contest, and had quickly sold out the hall to people who clearly hoped for some kind of insider information that would give their seniors an edge.

Read the Huffington Post article from 10/2/07 – “Parents and the College Admissions Craze.”

The University of Richmond was a possibility, but not at the top of Jake Mauriello’s list for colleges — until he and his parents visited the campus in August and saw what they could not find online or in brochures.

“The physical beauty of the layout was exactly what my son had in mind of what he wanted a college to look like,” said Jake’s mother, Betina. During that trip, they visited six schools in seven days and Jake, of River Edge, plans to send out applications in December.

Read more about the importance of the college visit.

What are the psychological implications of college admission for both parent and child? The college admission process is seen as a testing ground of fears about incomplete or inadequate child rearing, and its impact on parents of separation from their children. “College Admissions: Failed Rite of Passage” at ParentsAssociation.com