Stay Home & Get A Job

Some Admissions Officers Encourage More Free Time during the Summer

Written by: Heather Zimar
Published: 07/16/2008

Some admissions officers are encouraging students to take more time for personal growth in the summer, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The growing trend toward pre-college achievement, including college prep camps and enrichment programs, has surged in recent years, leaving college admissions officers and child psychologists to question whether the intensity is good for students, the Inquirer reported. In a recent paper, three Harvard officials are recommending that youth “bring summer back.”

“We have no evidence in Harvard admissions decisions over time that shows a consistent favorable judgment on packaged summer programs,” Marilyn McGrath, Harvard’s director of admissions, told the Inquirer. “You could just be a lifeguard, or spend a whole month reading Dostoyevsky, or visit your grandparents. All of those things are so rich in human terms.”

Eric J. Furda, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, said he encourages “horizon-broadening,” but students also need to learn to relax. “People shouldn’t feel that this is another box they need to check- ‘Summer experience, check, I did that, now how does it look on my application?’” Furda told the Inquirer. He said he looks for motivation, and what a student gets out of a program and how he or she articulates it.

There are many opportunities across the country for summer enrichment programs and college prep camps. Julian Krinsky camps, for example, include internships, a model United Nations program and a pre-college program at Princeton. Entry fees range from $1,000 a week to more than $12,000 for a residential student staying eight weeks, the Inquirer reported.

Eileen Bazelon, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, said students need to balance achievement and time to explore. “Is it just a means to an end as opposed to, God forbid, learning something? It needs to be done in the right context, like taking general college chemistry to see if you’re really interested in science, not just to pad your resume.”

Furda recommends summer enrichment activities such as getting a summer job, making a reading list, checking out local science exhibits, or learning about art.

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Philadelphia Inquirer
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/20080713_Not-fun_in_the_summertime_is_no_hit_with_college_officials.html

How To Get Into an Ivy League School

APPLIED SCIENCES

HOW TO GET INTO AN IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL

By JOIE JAGER-HYMAN

March 16, 2008 -- Waiting for a response to your college application can sometimes be more painful than getting rejected, especially for the current crop of high school seniors, who have been repeatedly warned that this will be the most selective round in college admissions history. With just a few weeks to go before the Ivy decisions come out, it's no wonder that many students are expecting the worst. Approximately 27,300 students applied to Harvard in January, a significant jump from last year's record of 22,955. Applications to Dartmouth are up 10 percent once again, and about 20,000 students are competing for around 1,230 seats in the Princeton class of 2012.

These astonishing statistics have ambitious students and anxious parents across the country looking for anything to help them in their quest for a coveted fat envelope from a top college. Inevitably, when it comes to Ivy League admissions, bad information about what works and what doesn't is being swallowed like snake oil and applied like bogus wrinkle cream. As a former Ivy League admissions officer, I'm taken aback by the abundance of conspiracy theories and urban legends permeating high school hallways and PTA meetings across the country. No, Brown doesn't hate your high school. Colleges don't hold grudges like that because they always want the best students and, if for nothing else, there's a high turnover in admissions offices. And, no, your Columbia application won't hit the trash bin if you decide to run track instead of writing for the school newspaper. Colleges want to see extracurricular commitments but they're not interested in running your life.

Getting into an Ivy isn't like Buddhism or Alcoholics Anonymous - there's no set plan of steps you can take to enlightenment. With so many amazing students knocking at the doors to these colleges, it's hard to get in. Period. However, knowing what doesn't work might save you time, money, and sleep. I'd like to present you with several important don'ts-things you should never do if you want to get into an Ivy League college.

Don't take easy classes because you think that the grades you get are the most important thing on your transcript. A straight-A student in non-honors classes is like a talented minor leaguer with oodles of potential that never materializes. Ivies want to see that you can perform under pressure. Admissions officers will scan your transcript looking for a long list of AP and honors courses. They also read your high school profile, which explains your school's curriculum, and ask your guidance counselor whether or not you are taking the most challenging courses available. If the answer is no, great grades won't save you, so take as many difficult courses as you think you can handle without letting your grades suffer.

Don't listen to the rhetoric about how SAT scores don't matter. While it's true that SAT (or ACT) scores have absolutely nothing to do with success later on in life, they do count in college admissions. Admissions officers may tell you that they don't matter, but it's hard to justify taking a terrific student with low scores over a terrific student with high scores. With so many outstanding applicants, the SAT makes a convenient tie breaker.

Don't pass up your chance to apply Early Decision, if possible. Sally Rubenstone, Senior Counselor at collegeconfidential.com reminds her students that "even though Ivy admission odds are daunting for all applicants, applying Early Decision does provide a statistical boost." Several Ivy League colleges offer students this option whereby they may submit one application to their first choice school by early November (as opposed to the January 1st deadline for Regular Decision) and agree to enroll if admitted. Studies have confirmed that colleges prefer to admit students who will definitely matriculate.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that a killer essay will make up for lackluster academics. No one - I mean no one - gets into an Ivy League school because of their college essay. Kids that don't have the academic credentials to back up their awe-inspiring prose will get comments like "strong essay but weak scores" or "seems like a great guy but the goods are not there" written on their files next to the infamous R for rejection.

And, speaking of essays, don't rely on gimmicks. You know that story about the kid who got into Harvard because he had the guts to send in a blank piece of paper instead of answering a "what's the biggest risk you've ever taken?" essay question? Never happened. It's okay to have a sense of humor or take a unique approach to your college essay, but now is not the time to play games. Follow directions and be sincere in your writing. If you don't take yourself seriously how can you expect colleges to take you seriously?

Don't blow off your teachers and/or guidance counselor. Most Ivies ask for two teacher and one counselor recommendation, and contrary to popular opinion, not all recommendations look the same. Aside from asking for a letter, colleges provide teachers and counselors with a lengthy checklist of credentials and require every evaluator to rank the student they he or she is recommending according to categories like "academic promise" and "leadership abilities." So be nice to these people. What they say about you matters at least as much as what you say about yourself.

Don't stress about college so much. The truth is that whether or not you get into an Ivy League college is really not up to you. Plenty of great kids don't make it and go on to accomplish amazing things. Life is short. Save yourself an ulcer. Besides, there's always graduate school.

Joie Jager-Hyman is a former admissions officer at Dartmouth College and the author of "Fat Envelope Frenzy" (Harper). Fat Envelope Frenzy: One Year, Five Promising Students, and the Pursuit of the Ivy League Prize

NEW YORK POST is a registered trademark of NYP Holdings, Inc. NYPOST.COM, NYPOSTONLINE.COM, and NEWYORKPOST.COM are trademarks of NYP Holdings, Inc.

Copyright 2008 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved

Most Popular National Universities by Yield

From US News & World Report

Most Popular Colleges: National Universities

So which colleges do students really want to go to? One way to find out is to look at a school’s yield, the percentage of applicants accepted by a university who end up enrolling at that institution in the fall. The figures in this table are from the fall 2006 entering class and show the admit yield and overall acceptance rate. If a school has a high yield (a large proportion of those admitted enroll), it means that the school is most likely very popular with a top reputation and that the students are highly motivated to go there. A very low yield means that the school could be a “safety” or second choice for many of those who apply. Colleges use yield as a key factor in determining how many students they need to admit each year.

U.S. News Rank	School	Acceptance Rate	Yield
79	Brigham Young University—Provo (UT)	70%	79%
2	Harvard University (MA)	9%	79%
1	Princeton University (NJ)	10%	69%
4	Stanford University (CA)	11%	67%
7	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	13%	66%
91	University of Nebraska—Lincoln*	73%	66%
5	University of Pennsylvania	18%	66%
52	Yeshiva University (NY)	79%	66%
49	University of Florida*	48%	63%
62	Texas A&M University—College Station*	77%	59%
14	Brown University (RI)	14%	58%
9	Columbia University (NY)	12%	58%
19	University of Notre Dame (IN)	27%	58%
28	University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill*	34%	57%
44	University of Texas—Austin*	49%	56%
59	University of Georgia*	58%	55%
85	University of Kansas*	77%	53%
57	Ohio State University—Columbus*	68%	51%
23	University of Virginia*	37%	51%
91	University of Alabama*	70%	50%
11	Dartmouth College (NH)	16%	50%
38	University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign*	65%	50%
85	North Carolina State University—Raleigh*	61%	48%
42	University of Washington*	68%	48%
12	Cornell University (NY)	25%	47%
23	Georgetown University (DC)	22%	47%
91	University of Missouri—Columbia*	78%	47%
96	University of Tennessee*	74%	47%
85	Iowa State University*	90%	46%
35	Georgia Institute of Technology*	69%	44%
71	Michigan State University*	73%	44%
25	University of Michigan—Ann Arbor*	47%	44%
96	University of Arizona*	86%	42%
21	University of California—Berkeley*	24%	42%
38	University of Wisconsin—Madison*	58%	42%
8	Duke University (NC)	23%	41%
67	Clemson University* (SC)	55%	40%
48	Pennsylvania State University—University Park*	58%	40%
75	Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ)	54%	40%
25	University of California—Los Angeles*	26%	40%
71	Virginia Tech*	68%	40%
33	College of William and Mary* (VA)	32%	39%
85	SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry*	58%	39%
19	Vanderbilt University (TN)	34%	39%
75	Indiana University—Bloomington*	80%	38%
14	Northwestern University (IL)	30%	38%
54	University of Maryland—College Park*	44%	38%
71	University of Minnesota—Twin Cities*	57%	38%
5	California Institute of Technology	17%	37%
96	Howard University (DC)	48%	37%
34	New York University	36%	37%
96	Auburn University* (AL)	72%	36%
79	University of Colorado—Boulder*	88%	36%
64	University of Iowa*	83%	36%
30	Wake Forest University (NC)	43%	36%
64	Purdue University—West Lafayette* (IN)	85%	35%
54	George Washington University (DC)	38%	34%
54	Pepperdine University (CA)	28%	34%
17	Rice University (TX)	24%	34%
9	University of Chicago	38%	34%
85	University of Denver	73%	34%
59	University of Pittsburgh*	56%	34%
59	Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey—New Brunswick* (NJ)	58%	33%
67	Southern Methodist University (TX)	54%	33%
14	Johns Hopkins University (MD)	27%	32%
64	University of Connecticut*	51%	32%
27	University of Southern California	25%	32%
91	University of Tulsa (OK)	76%	32%
12	Washington University in St. Louis	21%	32%
75	Baylor University (TX)	43%	31%
28	Tufts University (MA)	27%	31%
71	University of Delaware*	47%	31%
35	Boston College	29%	30%
75	Colorado School of Mines*	84%	30%
17	Emory University (GA)	32%	30%
67	Miami University—Oxford* (OH)	78%	30%
50	Syracuse University (NY)	51%	30%
31	Lehigh University (PA)	39%	29%
31	Brandeis University (MA)	36%	28%
44	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)	67%	28%
96	SUNY—Stony Brook*	47%	27%
52	University of Miami (FL)	40%	27%
96	University of Massachusetts—Amherst*	71%	26%
96	University of the Pacific (CA)	69%	26%
82	SUNY—Binghamton*	43%	25%
42	University of California—Davis*	68%	25%
96	Northeastern University (MA)	45%	24%
62	Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA)	67%	24%
22	Carnegie Mellon University (PA)	34%	23%
82	Marquette University (WI)	70%	23%
57	Boston University	58%	22%
96	University of California—Riverside*	83%	22%
38	University of California—San Diego*	49%	22%
35	University of Rochester (NY)	45%	22%
44	University of California—Irvine*	60%	21%
41	Case Western Reserve University (OH)	67%	20%
91	Clark University (MA)	60%	20%
67	Fordham University (NY)	47%	20%
82	St. Louis University	67%	19%
44	University of California—Santa Barbara*	53%	19%
96	University of Vermont*	65%	19%
96	Illinois Institute of Technology	54%	18%
85	American University (DC)	53%	17%
79	University of California—Santa Cruz*	80%	17%
50	Tulane University (LA)	38%	11%

Note: These are the Top 100 ranked schools in this category, sorted in descending order by their yield. * denotes a public school.


U.S. News Ultimate College Guide 2008 (Us News Ultimate College Guide)