College admissions in the United States

College admissions in the United States refers to the process of applying for entrance to institutions of higher education for undergraduate study at one of the
nation's colleges or universities.[1][2] For those who intend to attend college immediately after high school, the college search usually begins in the eleventh grade
of high school[3] with most activity taking place during the twelfth grade, although students at top high schools often begin the process during their tenth grade or
earlier. In addition, there are considerable numbers of students who transfer from one college to another, as well as adults older than high school age who apply to
college.

Overview
Millions of high school students apply to college each year. There were approximately 4.23 million in the high
Contents
school graduating age group in 2018-19, with an estimated 3.68 million high school graduates (3.33 million in Overview
public schools and 0.35 million in private schools).[4] The number of high school graduates is projected to rise Participants
to 3.89 million in 2025-26 before falling back to 3.71 million in 2027-28. From within this cohort, the number
Students
of first-time freshmen in post-secondary fall enrollment was 2.90 million in 2019, divided between 4-year
colleges (1.29 million attending public institutions and 0.59 million attending private) and 2-year colleges Parents
(approx 0.95 million public; 0.05 million private).[5] The number of first-time freshmen is expected to continue High school counselors
increasing, reaching 2.96 million in 2028, maintaining the demand for a college education. Consultants
College admissions staff
High school students will typically begin the college admissions planning process in their junior year, with Information sources
applications due in October of their senior year (for Early Decision or Early Action) or in December of their
Test preparation firms
senior year (for Regular Decision) although the application timetable for each college may vary. For example,
many public universities such as the University of California system have a November deadline. Because the Planning
admission process places much weight on a student's high school transcript, admissions planning in the broader Timing
sense might take place much earlier in a student's high school career.
Selection of colleges
Students can apply to multiple schools and file separate applications to each school. Recent developments such Rankings
as electronic filing via the Common Application, now used by about 800 schools and handling 25 million Selectivity
applications, have facilitated an increase in the number of applications per student.[6][7] Around 80 percent of Return on investment
applications were submitted online in 2009.[8] About a quarter of applicants apply to seven or more schools, Fit versus prestige
paying an average of $40 per application.[9] Most undergraduate institutions admit students to the entire college Costs
as "undeclared" undergraduates and not to a particular department or major, unlike many European universities Selecting colleges by type
and American graduate schools, although some undergraduate programs such as architecture or engineering may
Visiting colleges
require a separate application at some universities. As a general rule, applying to two-year county and
community colleges is much easier than to a four-year school, often requiring only a high school transcript or Application considerations
minimum test score. Extracurricular activities
Number of applications
Recent trends in college admissions include increased numbers of applications, increased interest by students in
Online identity
foreign countries in applying to American universities,[10] more students applying by an early method,[8]
applications submitted by Internet-based methods including the Common Application and Coalition for College, Choosing how to apply
increased use of consultants, guidebooks, and rankings, and increased use by colleges of waitlists.[8] These Testing options
trends have made college admissions a very competitive process, and a stressful one for student, parents and Common vs. college's application
college counselors alike, while colleges are competing for higher rankings, lower admission rates and higher Interviews
yields to boost their prestige and desirability. Admission to U.S. colleges in the aggregate level has become Essays
more competitive but most colleges admit a majority of those who apply; the selectivity and extreme Teacher recommendations
competition has been very focused in a handful of the most selective colleges.[6] (Total freshmen enrollment at
Other considerations
the top 100 most selective schools where an admit rate is below 35% is below 200,000 out of 2.90 million total
freshmen in all post-secondary institutions). On the other hand, colleges have increased outreach to attract International applications
applicants who have been historically underrepresented in their applicant pool and admitted classes, such as How colleges evaluate applicants
applicants from lower income neighborhoods (which may not be well served by knowledgeable college Overview
counselors) and applicants who are first-generation college students. Academic evaluation
In 2018, there was a probe by the Department of Justice into whether colleges practicing Early Admissions Ability to pay
violated antitrust laws by sharing information about applicants.[11] The case SFFA v. Harvard proceeded to trial, Other considerations
alleging that Harvard's race-conscious admissions practices discriminate against Asians and putting affirmative Acceptances, rejections, and waitlists
action in the context of college admissions again into the judicial arena. In 2019, a widespread bribery and Notifications
cheating scheme in which affluent parents used devious methods to get their sons and daughters into Wait list considerations
competitive schools, involving cheating on standardized tests as well as bribes paid to college coaches and
admissions personnel, led to complaints that the college admission process is "rigged for the wealthy."[12] Transfer admissions
See also
Participants Notes
References

Students External links

Applying to colleges can be stressful. The outcome of the admission process may affect a student's life and
career trajectory considerably. Entrance into top colleges is increasingly competitive,[13][14][15] and many students feel immense pressure during their high school
years.[16]

Private and affluent public primary education, test-prep courses, 'enrichment' programmes, volunteer service
projects, international travel, music lessons, sports activities – all the high-cost building blocks of the perfect
college application – put crushing pressure on the upper middle class and their offspring.
 — Yale professor William Deresiewicz, quoted in the BBC about his article in The New Republic,
2014[16]

Parents

The college applications process can be stressful for parents of teenagers, according to journalist Andrew Ferguson, since it
exposes "our vanities, our social ambitions and class insecurities, and most profoundly our love and hopes for our
children."[17] High school art students in
Minnesota.

High school counselors

Some high schools have one or more teachers experienced in offering counseling to college-bound students in their junior
and senior years.[18] Parents often meet with the school counselor during the process together with the student.[19]
Advisors recommend that students get to know their school counselor.[20] The counselor usually works in conjunction with
the guidance department which assists students in planning their high school academic path.

School counselors are in contact with colleges year after year and can be helpful in suggesting suitable colleges for a
student. Mamlet and VanDeVelde suggest that it is improper for an admissions counselor to tamper with a student's
"authentic self."[21] According to their view, ideal counselors have experience with college admissions, meet regularly with
college admissions officers, and belong to professional organizations.[22] Counselors do not complete interviews, write
High school advisors can help
essays, or arrange college visits.[23] Most counselors have responsibility for helping many students and, as a result, it is parents understand aspects of the
difficult for them to provide individualized help to a particular student; one estimate was that the average ratio for all high college admissions process.
schools of students to counselors was 460 to 1.[9] Only about a quarter of public high schools have a counselor devoted to
college counseling issues full-time, while almost three-quarters of private schools have a dedicated college counselor. [9]

Private school counselors tend to have substantially more contact with university admissions staff than public school counselors.[24]

Consultants

Fee-based consultants, some available entirely online,[25] can be hired to help a student gain admission, although there are some free programs to help
underprivileged youth learn how to fill out applications, write essays, get ready for tests, and work on interviews.[26] Generally, when hiring a college admissions
consultant, parents and students try to understand the consultant's philosophy, learn what services are provided, and whether any help will be offered regarding
advice about financial aid or scholarships.[22] Consultants can help a student select schools to apply to, counsel them on test taking strategies, review scores, help
with essay preparation (but not writing), review applications, conduct mock interviews, provide logistical planning, and collaborate with others such as athletic
coaches.[27] Consultants try to keep a low profile; however, one admissions dean explained that she can "sniff out when there has been some adult involved in the
process," and admissions personnel may detect varying quality regarding writing samples when one part of an application is polished, while other parts are less
polished.[28][29] Assistance by consultants or other adults can go to extremes, particularly with hard-to-check variables such as the college essays; according to one
view, plagiarism on admissions essays has been a "serious problem," particularly on applications to private universities and colleges.[30] Another risk in hiring a
consultant is overpackaging: the applicant appears so smooth and perfect that admissions officers suspect the person is not real but a marketing creation.[31]

College admissions staff

A typical admission staff at a college includes a dean or vice president for admission or enrollment management, middle-
level managers or assistant directors, admission officers, and administrative support staff.[32] The chief enrollment
management officer is sometimes the highest-paid position in the department, earning $121,000 on average in 2010, while
admissions officers average only $35,000, according to one estimate.[32][33] Admissions officers tend to be in the 30-to-40
age demographic.[34] They are chosen for their experience in admissions, aptitude for statistics and data analysis,
experience in administration and marketing and public relations.[32] They serve dual roles as counselors and recruiters, and
do not see themselves as marketers or salespeople, according to one view.[33] They are evaluated on how well they
"represent their college, manage their office, recruit staff members, and work with other administrators."[33] Michele
Hernandez suggested there were basically two types of officers: a first group of personable, sharp, people-oriented go- Elite and other universities send
getter types who were often recent college grads; a second group was somewhat out-of-touch "lifers" who often did not admissions officers to high schools
graduate from a highly selective college.[35] Officers are generally paid an annual salary, although there have been reports and college fairs to encourage high
of some recruiters paid on the basis of how many students they bring to a college, such as recruiters working abroad to school students to apply. While the
recruit foreign students to U.S. universities.[33] chance of admission to highly
selective colleges is typically under
Many colleges and universities work hard to market themselves, trying to attract the best students and maintain a 10%, increased numbers of
reputation for academic quality. Colleges spent an average of $585 to recruit each applicant during the 2010 year.[9][32] applications helps maintain and
There are efforts to make increased use of social media sites such as Facebook to promote their colleges.[36] Marketing improve colleges' rankings.
brochures and other promotional mailings often arrive daily in the hope of persuading high school students to apply to a
college. According to Joanne Levy-Prewitt, colleges send "view books" not because they intend to admit them, but
"because they want multitudes of students to apply" to improve the college's selectivity and to make sure that they have as many well-qualified applicants as
possible from whom to choose the strongest class.[37] Colleges get access to names and addresses after students give permission to them after taking the PSAT or
SAT exams.[37]

Information sources

U.S. News & World Report compiles a directory of colleges and publishes rankings of them, although the rankings are controversial.[38] Other sources rank
colleges according to various measures, sell guidebooks, and use their rankings as an entry into consulting services. College Board launched a website called
BigFuture in 2012 with tools to assist in the admissions process.[39]

Test preparation firms

Some firms work with schools to provide test preparation advisors who teach students how to take the SAT and ACT entrance exams.

In March 2019, William Rick Singer, founder of the fraudulent Edge College and Career Network, pleaded guilty to federal charges of bribing officials to admit
students who would not otherwise qualify for admission. Fifty others, including parents, notable actors, and entrepreneurs, were also charged.[40]

Planning

Timing

For those intending to enter college immediately after high school, the admissions process usually begins during a student's eleventh grade when a student meets
with a guidance counselor, selects some colleges, and perhaps visits a few campuses. The summer before twelfth grade is a time when many applicants finalize
application plans and perhaps begin writing essays. Further, they decide whether to apply by early or regular decision. International students may need to take tests
showing English-language proficiency such as the TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE Academic.[41] The twelfth grade is when applications are submitted. The CSS can be
submitted by October first of the student's twelfth grade, while the FAFSA becomes available on the web after January first.[42]

Selection of colleges

Rankings

There are many college and university rankings, including those by U.S. News & World Report,[43] Business Insider,[44]
Money,[45] Washington Monthly,[46] and Forbes.[47]

Rankings have been the subject of much criticism. Since much of the data is provided by colleges themselves, schools can
manipulate the rankings to enhance prestige, such as Claremont McKenna misreporting average SAT statistics,[48] and
Emory University misreporting student data for "more than a decade,"[49] as well as reports of false data from the United
States Naval Academy and Baylor University.[50] There is hypocrisy surrounding rankings: some colleges pretend to
loathe the guidebooks that rank them, yet if they get a good write-up, they "wave it around like a bride's garter belt."[17] The US News ranking has generated
much controversy; this map shows
The choices made by colleges to boost their rankings have been criticized as destructive.[51] Rankings may not take a locations of its assessment of the top
college's affordability into account,[52] factor in the average student indebtedness after college, or measure how well 40 universities in the US in 2007,
with many located in the Northeast.
colleges educate their students.[50] Rankings have been accused of tuning their algorithms to entrench the reputations of a
handful of schools while failing to measure how much students learn.[53] Some admission counselors maintain that
rankings are poor predictors of a college's overall quality.[54]

In 2007, members of the Annapolis Group discussed a letter to college presidents asking them not to participate in the U.S. News & World Report "reputation
survey."[55] A majority of the approximately 80 presidents at the meeting agreed not to participate,[56] although the statements were not binding.[57] Members
pledged to develop alternative web-based information formats[57] in conjunction with several collegiate associations.[58] U.S. News & World Report responded
that their peer assessment survey helps to measure a college's "intangibles" such as the ability of a college's reputation to help a graduate win a first job or entrance
into graduate school.[59]

Selectivity

Advisors and college counselors typically ask students to consider four types of colleges to create a balance between
maximizing the chance of admission and achieving admission to a student's most desired schools:

Reach schools provide a slim chance of acceptance, such as a 5% or slimmer chance.[60]

Possibles (or high matches) have greater chance of rejection than acceptance.[60]
Probables (or low matches) have greater chance of acceptance than rejection.[60]
Solid or safety schools seldom reject candidates with similar academic credentials.[60] A safety school can
also be one from a financial perspective - one that is affordable even without financial aid.[61]
A Naviance scattergram for a
An online service called Naviance can help a student gauge the likelihood of admission to a particular college, using a hypothetical student, John Doe,
student's grades and test scores in comparison to the admissions results from students from previous years applying to that applying to a particular hypothetical
university. Grades and test scores
particular college (see diagram).[62] Naviance uses a scattergram to graphically illustrate the chances for a student from a
can be compared with those of past
particular high school being admitted into a particular college or university.[3] applicants to that university from that
high school. The method helps
Admission selectivity at the most competitive schools has increased markedly since 2001 (see accompanying table).
students see whether a school is a
Analyzing Common Data Set and other college data from the 56 most selective schools with an admit rate below 25% for
reach, possible, probable or solid
the Class of 2023 (freshmen in the 2019–2020 year), a continuous increase in applications can be seen between 2001–02 school.
and 2019-20 of almost 200% over the 18 years, for an enrollment size of 100,000 which is only 25% larger.[63] The
number of offers of admission from these schools has been gradually declining since 2014-15, however, despite the
number of available places and of applications both trending higher. This decline has contributed to the lower admission rate, proving indeed that admission has
become much more difficult at the most competitive schools. In aggregate, the number of total Fall 2019 admits at the most selective private universities as a
group was the lowest it has been since 2001. This pattern is also repeated in the number of total Fall 2019 admits at the most selective liberal arts colleges as a
group. The higher number of total admits from the entire group of 56 selective institutions going from 2001-02 to 2019-20 exists only due to the higher number of
admits at the six public universities in the 56. When the increased use of Early Decision is factored in, the effect has been an even bigger squeeze in the number of
admits at the Regular Decision stage for many of the schools in this group.
 Applications, Admission and Enrollment at 56 schools with Admit Rate below 25% in 2019-20.[63]
Source: Common Data Sets / College announcements and publications
Total (56 institutions) 27 Private Universities 6 Public Universities 23 Liberal Arts Colle

UCLA, UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Pomona, Claremont McK, Sw

Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, Chicago, Duke,
Bowdoin, Amherst, Williams, Co
Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Rice,
Pitzer, Bates, Harvey Mudd, Co
USC, WUSTL, Tulane, Tufts, Georgetown, UNC-Chapel Hill, Michigan Ann
Middlebury, Wesleyan, Hamilto
Carnegie Mellon, Notre Dame, Emory, NYU, BU, Arbor, Virginia Carleton, Davidson, Wellesley, W
Northeastern
Grinnell, Vassar

Admit Admit Admit: Admit Admit: Admit Admit: A

Apps Admits Enroll Apps Admits Enroll Apps Admits Enroll Apps Admits Enroll
Year Rate Enroll Rate Enroll Rate Enroll R

2001-
645,111 198,815 79,872 30.8% 2.49 415,855 120,124 46,931 28.9% 2.56 138,627 49,041 22,110 35.4% 2.22 90,629 29,650 10,831 3
02

2002-
650,908 202,565 82,026 31.1% 2.47 418,230 123,779 48,626 29.6% 2.55 141,166 49,377 22,264 35.0% 2.22 91,512 29,409 11,136 3
03

2003-
681,989 206,423 82,544 30.3% 2.50 439,502 126,504 49,491 28.8% 2.56 146,165 50,209 22,262 34.4% 2.26 96,322 29,710 10,791 3
04

2004-
699,074 207,238 83,682 29.6% 2.48 453,319 126,441 49,615 27.9% 2.55 144,258 50,923 23,169 35.3% 2.20 101,497 29,874 10,898 2
05

2005-
737,493 213,865 83,591 29.0% 2.56 484,023 132,750 49,982 27.4% 2.66 147,507 51,430 22,639 34.9% 2.27 105,963 29,685 10,970 2
06

2006-
773,374 217,846 83,900 28.2% 2.60 516,292 135,568 49,507 26.3% 2.74 148,794 52,343 23,589 35.2% 2.22 108,288 29,935 10,804 2
07

2007-
820,664 220,242 85,739 26.8% 2.57 542,066 135,960 50,249 25.1% 2.71 163,374 54,788 24,637 33.5% 2.22 115,224 29,494 10,853 2
08

2008-
899,001 224,983 85,599 25.0% 2.63 599,122 140,482 50,101 23.4% 2.80 172,826 54,634 24,347 31.6% 2.24 127,053 29,867 11,151 2
09

2009-
942,859 237,154 87,199 25.2% 2.72 634,067 148,579 51,283 23.4% 2.90 186,771 58,364 24,830 31.2% 2.35 122,021 30,211 11,086 2
10

2010-
1,004,309 242,075 88,205 24.1% 2.74 685,343 151,508 51,655 22.1% 2.93 192,770 59,986 25,175 31.1% 2.38 126,196 30,581 11,375 2
11

2011-
1,073,088 242,265 88,619 22.6% 2.73 728,229 147,615 52,311 20.3% 2.82 210,869 64,962 25,092 30.8% 2.59 133,990 29,688 11,216 2
12

2012-
1,125,056 239,427 89,897 21.3% 2.66 766,192 143,510 52,085 18.7% 2.76 221,000 66,400 26,537 30.0% 2.50 137,864 29,517 11,275 2
13

2013-
1,195,869 237,747 89,585 19.9% 2.65 801,351 141,685 51,825 17.7% 2.73 253,272 67,242 26,461 26.5% 2.54 141,246 28,820 11,299 2
14

2014-
1,279,412 242,628 92,713 19.0% 2.62 837,455 142,789 53,096 17.1% 2.69 298,332 70,493 28,230 23.6% 2.50 143,625 29,346 11,387 2
15

2015-
1,325,730 240,687 92,548 18.2% 2.60 859,126 140,416 52,895 16.3% 2.65 312,640 70,418 28,160 22.5% 2.50 153,964 29,853 11,493 1
16

2016-
1,390,056 242,910 95,213 17.5% 2.55 899,097 139,467 53,542 15.5% 2.60 332,971 74,255 30,204 22.3% 2.46 157,988 29,188 11,467 1
17

2017-
1,451,021 238,317 96,667 16.4% 2.47 928,973 135,173 54,826 14.6% 2.47 355,081 73,976 30,301 20.8% 2.44 166,967 29,168 11,540 1
18

2018-
1,588,286 225,082 96,815 14.2% 2.32 1,019,631 123,734 54,771 12.1% 2.26 384,589 71,763 30,236 18.7% 2.37 184,066 29,585 11,808 1
19

2019-
1,639,951 213,467 95,824 13.0% 2.23 1,060,372 115,069 53,718 10.9% 2.14 383,789 69,946 30,400 18.2% 2.30 195,790 28,452 11,706 1
20(est)

Return on investment

Former Secretary of Education William Bennett suggested college should be seen as a long-term purchase; he emphasized return on Return on investment
investment (ROI).[64] Schools have been compared financially by examining average costs, student debt, and lifelong earnings, to yield Top colleges 2013[64]
an effective average ROI.[64] Bennett claimed that only 150 out of the nation's 3500 colleges provided positive returns.[64][65] College ROI rank
Harvey Mudd 1
Most economists and researchers, however, argue that a college degree is worth the cost.[66]
A 2014 Federal Reserve report finds that
workers with a bachelor’s degree on average earn well over $1 million more than high school graduates during their working lives.[66] Caltech 2
MIT 3

Fit versus prestige Stanford 4

Princeton 5
Fit is a highly subjective measure, but a student will more likely thrive at a college where there is a mutual fit. Considerations include
campus size and setting, athletics, access to research and faculty, courses on offer, diversity and inclusion, and sense of community. Harvard 6

They can also include a student's long-term goals, values, and style of learning. One admissions dean likens "fit" to a friendship: Dartmouth 7
Duke 8
I draw the analogy of friends to explain why fit is so important in considering a college. You like your good friends for U. Penn 9
some reason. It may not be an objective reason. It's often subjective. There's some sense of compatibility, a kind of Notre Dame 10
intuition, a match, a common sense of values, what you like to do, how you think – those are the things that really bind
people together. It's similar with college. You don't want to spend four years with a college who isn't really your friend.

— Jennifer Rickard, admissions dean at Bryn Mawr[67]

Prestige is also subjective. Indicators of prestige include a college's rankings, age, academic quality, prominent alumni, endowment size, and admissions
selectivity.

Some commentators believe it is better to choose a school for its social, cultural, and academic qualities rather than prestige.[68][69] Others see college admissions
as essentially a choice between "price and prestige."[70] However, the most prestigious colleges can also often be the most affordable, as they tend to offer very
generous financial aid programs.[71]

Costs Colleges with 4 or more

professors chosen
for
teaching excellence[72]
Sticker versus net price
# of
Priciest colleges Most colleges and universities, particularly private ones, have an artificially high and unreliable[74] sticker University Great
2018–2019 affiliation Courses
price while charging most students, by awarding grant and scholarship money, a "discounted price" that teachers
tuition, room, board [75]
Source: Chronicle of Higher varies considerably. For example, in 2011–2012, the average sticker price for tuition, fees and living
Education[73] expenses at private colleges, was $38,590 while the average actual cost was $23,060; at public colleges, U. Texas-Austin 7

the average sticker price was $17,130 and the average actual cost was $11,380.[74] The average full-time U. Virginia 6
School Cost
undergraduate gets $6,500 in grant aid along with $1,000 in tax-based aid to offset tuition and fees.[76] U. Pennsylvania 6
Harvey Mudd $75,003
UCLA 5
U. Chicago $74,580
Sticker price is the full price colleges list in their brochures and on their websites. Net price is Emory 5
Columbia $74,001 the price students actually pay. Net price accounts for the fact that many students receive
grants or scholarships. So it can be considerably lower than sticker price. Georgetown 5
Barnard $72,257
UNC-Chapel Hill 4
Scripps $71,956
— Jacob Goldstein, NPR, 2012[77] Vanderbilt 4
Trinity College $71,660
USC $71,620 Discounting began in the 1970s and was dramatically expanded in the 1990s.[78] Sticker prices are set at U. Toronto 4
much higher than the real costs for most students, sometimes more than double, sometimes only one and a William & Mary 4
Oberlin $71,392
half times as high.[79][80][81][82] Estimates are that 88%[79][83] or 67%[76] get some form of discount. The SMU 4
SMU $71,338 average first-year student may be paying 48% less than the sticker price.[84] Generally, the sticker-to-net
[81]
Sarah Lawrence $71,270 price discrepancy is greater at private colleges than public universities.
Dartmouth $71,209
Colleges use high sticker prices to give themselves wide latitude in how to use funds to attract the best students,
as well as entice students with special skills or increase its overall racial or ethnic diversity.[78] The most College Access Index
sought-after students can be enticed by high discounts while marginal students can be charged full price.[86][87] Further, the high sticker Commitment to economic
price is a marketing tool to suggest the overall worth of a college education by encouraging people to think that "schools that cost more diversity of student body
must provide a better education."[79] While there was growing concern about escalating college prices, most Americans believed that their
--top 25 schools (2017)--
personal investment in higher education was sound.[88] But discounting adds complexity to decision-making, deterring some students from
applying in some instances based on a false sense of unaffordability.[81] Students from low-income backgrounds may be discouraged from source: The New York
Times[85]
applying or driven to attend less challenging colleges as a result of undermatching. Many schools now recruit students who pay full cost to
subsidize those who can afford to pay much less, resulting in the financial makeup of the student body at some colleges skewed towards College Index
mostly affluent students and low-income students but few students from middle-class backgrounds.[89] In 2015, however, there were UC-Irvine 1.90
several instances of private colleges reducing their tuition by more than 40%.[84]
UC-SantaBar 1.61
UC-Davis 1.60
Net price calculators
UC-SanDiego 1.58
In the fall of 2011, colleges were required by federal law to post a net price calculator on their websites to give prospective students and UCLA 1.52
families a rough estimate of likely college costs for their particular institution,[74][90] and to "demystify pricing."[14][74] A student or family
U.Florida 1.46
could go online, find the calculator at a college's website, and enter the required financial and academic information, and the calculator will
provide a personlaized estimate of the likely cost of attending that college. The first online calculators were started by Williams Amherst 1.44
College.[87] The online calculators look at financial need and academic merit to try to estimate the likely discounted price offered to a Pomona 1.43
particular student from a particular college,[74] using information including details from tax returns, household income, grade point
UC-Berkeley 1.38
averages and test scores.[87] Schools vary in terms of their pricing formulas; some consider home equity as a factor while others disregard
it.[91] Harvard 1.36
Vassar 1.36
There are numerous potential problems with the calculators. Some are difficult to find on a college's website;[74][87] others require specific
financial numbers, possibly leading to errors by parents or students; some are difficult to understand and use;[87] some may be manipulated Williams 1.35

by schools to increase applications or to make it seem as if a college is "more affordable" than it is.[87] Accuracy of calculator estimates Princeton 1.34
may vary considerably from college to college.[74][87] Ultimately aid decisions will not be made by calculators, but by humans in the Wellesley 1.32
admissions offices.[74]
Stanford 1.31
Another tool is the College Board's expected family contribution calculator that can give families an idea of how much college will cost, Knox 1.30
but not for any particular college.[93]
UNC-Chapel 1.30
Columbia 1.26
Types of financial aid
Barnard 1.25
Need-based aid is offered according to the financial need of a student. Generally colleges at the "top of the pecking order" Yale 1.22
dispense aid in terms of need using "fairly predictable formulas."[74] The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that elite
Westminster 1.21
colleges had made little progress in helping poor students get need-based aid, and that less than 15% of undergraduates
at the nation's 50 wealthiest colleges received Pell Grants in 2008–2009, which are offered on the basis of need to Wesleyan 1.21
promising yet less affluent students.[94] About 30 elite universities have "coffers deep enough to meet all student need" Davidson 1.20
and consequently only offer need-based aid.[78]
MIT 1.20
Merit-based aid is scholarships and grants awarded to top academic performers or others with special talents. Academic
scholarships tend to be few, are usually awarded by the admissions office and are "highly competitive."[61] Colleges Texas A&M 1.19
awarding merit-based aid may use merit scholarships, based on high scores or grades or other accomplishments, to lure
students away from a competing college, but many of the most competitive schools do not award merit scholarships.[51][95]
 Colleges may award aid using a mix of both.[74] Further, student loans can lessen the immediate difficulty of large tuition
Sticker versus net price bills but can saddle a student with debt after graduation; in contrast, grants and scholarships do not have to be paid back.[96]
Family income $48K-$75K
Total annual cost
Selected colleges 2012 According to US News in 2014, 62 out of 1,137 colleges, which responded to a survey, claimed to meet 100% of the
Source: CNN/Money[83][92] demonstrated financial need of students.[97] "Demonstrated financial need" is the gap between the "expected family
Click triangles to sort contribution" (based on tax information, family size and assets) and the cost of attendance (tuition and fees, dormitory, food
Net expenses, and so forth.)[97]
Sticker
School price
price
(avg)
Applying for financial aid Elite colleges with
Lafayette 53020 19800 highest % of lower
Cornell 55501 27400 There are many reports that many applicants fail to apply for financial aid when they are qualified income students

New York University 57858 40300 for it, with an estimated 1.8 million students in 2006 qualifying for aid but failing to apply.[99] Source: The New York Times
Applying for financial aid is recommended by almost all college admissions advisers, even for 2017[98]
SUNY-Binghamton 20026 19400 [14]
middle- and upper-class families applying to private colleges. Each college has its own criteria College Students
U. Chicago 56716 28500 for determining financial need and loans.[69] One advisor counseled against letting the sticker price
UCLA 19%
Reed 54800 29400 of a college dissuade a student from applying, since many of the top colleges have strong
endowments allowing them to subsidize expenses, such that the colleges are less expensive than so- Emory 16%
Berkeley 29027 24300
called "second tier" or state colleges.[14] Barnard 15%
Swarthmore 54400 20000
College advisers suggest that parents keep financial records, including tax forms, business records, NYU 14%
Georgetown 55110 26400 [100]
to use when applying for financial aid, and complete the FAFSA online, using income and tax Vassar 14%
Harvard 52652 10600 estimates (usually based on previous years), early in January of their college-bound student's
Bryn Mawr 14%
twelfth grade.[90] Admissions officers can see the names of up to nine other colleges a student has
applied to. According to several reports, some colleges may deny admission or reduce aid based on MIT 14%
their interpretation of the order of colleges on the FAFSA;[101][102][103] accordingly, several U. Miami 14%
sources recommend that colleges be listed alphabetically on the FAFSA to obscure any Brandeis 13%
preferences.[104][105] The earliest that the FAFSA form can be filled out is January first of twelfth
[106] Wellesley 13%
grade; in contrast, the CSS Profile can be filled out earlier during the preceding fall. There are
reports that many parents make mistakes when filling out the FAFSA information, and mistakes
include failing to hit the "submit" button, visiting an incorrect FAFSA website,[107] leaving some fields blank instead of
properly entering a zero, spelling names or entering social security numbers or estimating tax data incorrectly.[90] Since
FAFSA formulas assume 20% of a student's assets can be used for college expenses as opposed to 6% of a parent's assets,
advisors recommend moving funds from student to parent accounts before filing the FAFSA, including moving funds to a
parent-controlled 529 plan tax-advantaged account.[108] Filing taxes early is recommended, but using estimates for FAFSA
The FAFSA website is from previous years is possible provided the numbers are updated later after taxes are filed.[108] There are no fees for
www.fafsa.ed.gov and is free. Other applying on the FAFSA site. According to one source, the best time to begin searching for scholarships is before the
websites look like the official FAFSA twelfth grade, to guarantee meeting deadlines.[90] Several reports confirm that it is important to file aid forms such as the
website, but are deliberately CSS Profile early in the school year.[106][108]
misleading.
In addition to cost factors, increasingly colleges are being compared on the basis of the average student debt of their
graduates, and US News has developed rankings based on average student indebtedness.[69] A report in the Utne Reader
chronicled substantial student indebtedness, and suggested that 37 million Americans in 2009 held student debt, and that nine in ten students used an average of
4.6 credit cards to pay for some educational expenses.[109] The report chronicled an increase in average indebtedness from an average of $2,000 in 1980–81 to
over $25,000 in 2009, as well as substantial decreases in Federal aid and Pell grants during that time period.[109]

US News and others suggest another factor overlooked in terms of financing college, which is the length of time it takes to earn a degree. Finishing a year early (in
three years) lops off a substantial portion of the overall bill,[69] while taking five years compounds the expense and delays entry into the workforce. Jacques
Steinberg suggested that many college-bound students calculate how much debt they were likely to incur each year, and he suggested that debt for all four years of
college should total less than the graduate's expected first year's salary after college, and preferably under $40,000.[110] A handful of schools have "free tuition"
policies for low income students, so that they graduate loan-free.[111]

Selecting colleges by type

Most educational institutions in the U.S. are nonprofit.[112] Colleges and universities in the U.S. vary in terms of goals:
some may emphasize a vocational, business, engineering or technical curriculum while others may emphasize a liberal arts
curriculum. Many combine some or all of the above. Another consideration is the male-female ratio; overall, 56% of
enrolled college students are women, but the male-female ratio varies by college, year, and program.[9] Admissions
guidance counselors can offer views about whether a public or private school is best, and give a sense of the tradeoffs.

Two-year colleges are often county- or community-oriented schools funded by state or local governments, and typically
offer the associate degree (AA). They are generally inexpensive,[69] particularly for in-state residents, and are focused on
teaching, and accept most applicants meeting minimum grade and SAT score levels. Students commute to school and
Different types of schools offer
rarely live in dorms on campus. These schools often have articulation arrangements with four-year state public schools to
different educations: including
permit students to transfer. Consultants suggest that community colleges are reasonably priced, and after two years with
engineering-oriented colleges such
solid grades and academic performance, many colleges are willing to accept transfers. as the Rochester Institute of
Technology, which emphasizes
Four-year colleges offer Bachelor of Arts (BA or AB) or Bachelor of Science (BS or SB) degrees. These are primarily
teaching, internships, and technical
undergraduate institutions, although some might have limited programs at the graduate level. Graduates of the tuition-free education.
United States service academies receive both a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission.

Universities have both undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate programs grant a variety of master's degrees as well
as the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Medical schools award either the MD or DO degrees while law schools award the JD degree. Both public and private
universities are usually research-oriented institutions.

Liberal arts colleges are four-year institutions that emphasize interactive instruction, although research is still a component of these institutions. They are usually
residential colleges with most students living on campus in dorms. They tend to have smaller enrollments, class sizes, and lower student-teacher ratios than
universities, and encourage teacher-student interaction with classes taught by full-time faculty members rather than graduate students known as teaching assistants.
There are further distinctions within the category of liberal arts colleges: some are coeducational, women's colleges, or
men's colleges. There are historically black colleges; in addition, while most schools are secular, some stress a particular
religious orientation. Most are private colleges but there are some public ones.

State colleges and universities are usually subsidized with state funds and tend to charge lower tuitions to residents of that
state. They tend to be large, sometimes with student bodies numbering in the tens of thousands, and offer a variety of
programs. They are generally less selective in terms of admissions than elite private schools and are usually less expensive,
sometimes half or a third as much as a private institution for in-state residents.[113] There are reports that due to recent
budget shortfalls, many state schools are trying to attract higher-paying out-of-state residents.[114] In the past few years,
competition for spots in public institutions has become more intense, with some state schools such as the State University Two-year county or community
of New York reporting record numbers of students accepting their offers of admission.[113] There are reports that tuition at colleges, such as Union County
state universities is rising faster than at private universities.[115] Flagship state universities are usually the most prominent College in New Jersey, are geared
public schools in a state, often being the oldest and most well-funded.[42] for students who live at home and
commute to school, and can be a
Engineering or technical schools specialize in technical and scientific subjects. Some programs can be more competitive highly affordable alternative to many
and applicants are often evaluated on the basis of grades in subjects such as mathematics (particularly calculus), physics, private colleges as well as public
chemistry, mathematics, and science courses.[115] universities.

Visiting colleges

The consensus view among guidance advisors is that it is a good idea to visit colleges,[116] preferably when college is in
session and not during a summer break,[117] with a chance to meet an actual student in the form of a tour guide,[118] and
taking notes for reference later when applying.[116][119] Sometimes a college will waive the application fee based on the
college visit.[120] A benefit is seeing a school as it really is—not just glossy pictures from a brochure or a promotional
video from a website.[121] Another suggested that students should ask themselves, when visiting a particular college: "can I
see myself here"?[122] Reporter Jenna Johnson in The Washington Post suggested that students contact a professor in an
area of interest at the college before visiting, and try to meet with them briefly or sit in on one of their classes.[119]
Reporter Brennan Barnard in The New York Times recommended that student visitors should ask good questions (by
avoiding factual questions better answered by the college's website), and ask for complimentary passes for dining or free Some colleges focus on one
food. Barnard recommends going beyond the usual tour to ask random strangers about life on campus and reading the particular area, such as the Juilliard
student newspaper.[116] He recommends arranging to speak with a professor in the department of interest as well as athletic School in New York City, which is
coaches and music directors, possibly by emailing them in advance of the visit, to try to meet them even briefly.[116] A highly selective, and specializes in
follow-up "thank you" note to the host is a good idea.[116] preparing students for careers in
dance, music, theater, and the arts.
Counselor Michael Szarek commented on the importance of campus visits in dispelling false impressions:

Half of all college classes are not outdoors. Half of all college classes are not gathered around an electron
microscope. Sometimes the leaves are brown, or even fall to the ground. So, use the viewbook to get a sense
of the institution and what the college thinks are its strengths. But always rely on the campus visit.

— Michael Szarek, 2011[123]

However, one account suggested colleges structured the campus visit with the same boring format, which rarely includes a
faculty member: Specialty colleges such as the United
States service academies have
particular admissions requirements;
First there is an "informational session," conducted by an admissions officer. This is followed by an hour-long
applicants must be nominated by
campus tour, which is led by a student with a talent for walking backwards .... On the campus tour, we are their congressperson.
always shown a dorm room and a dining hall. We are always taken to a library and told how many volumes it
contains. We are informed how many students study abroad (a lot), how many student clubs there are (ditto),
and how small the classes are (very small.)

— Carl Elliott in The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2012[118]

Application considerations

Extracurricular activities
Physically being on a college
There are conflicting views about student participation in extracurricular activities. A popular position is that colleges are
campus, talking with students,
looking for "well-rounded bodies of individual specialists," suggesting that it is better for a student to be deeply involved reading in the library, and dining at
in one or two activities rather than nine or ten superficially,[14][68][124] that students should not "overdo it,"[125] and that an on-campus cafeteria can help a
parents should not become overconcerned about their child's extracurricular activities. [99] Applicants who achieve a prospective student determine if the
leadership position in an extracurricular activity are regarded more highly than applicants who merely participate in many school feels right. Photo: inside
activities.[14] Advisors recommend that a student should choose extracurricular activities they genuinely care about and Wilson Commons at the University of
pursue them with "gusto" and "joyful commitment." [126] Too many extracurricular activities may look suspect to Rochester.
admissions officers, particularly if it seems unreasonable that any person could be as active and succeed scholastically at
the same time.[125] Jobs, including part-time service jobs, are generally viewed favorably by admissions committees since
they suggest that a student has learned to handle time management, accept responsibility, and developed people skills.[127] A less dominant position is that it is
helpful to be involved in a "variety of activities," including jobs, internships, and community service.[128] Some universities, such as the University of California,
have formal programs for spot-checking applications for accuracy, such as sending a follow-up letter to the student asking for proof about an extracurricular
activity.[129] Advisors recommend that extracurricular activities should never interfere with a student's overall academic performance.[130] A student with many
extracurricular activities in twelfth grade, but few in preceding years is suspect; this suggests an applicant is being coached, and may reflect negatively on an
application (see the section on consultants).[131] Advisors warn against "overscheduling" students with too many activities or courses.[132]
Number of applications

There are differing views on how many schools a student should apply to. Several reports suggest that applying to too
many schools caused unnecessary stress and expense[69] and hampers a student from targeting applications to a few select
schools.[68] However, other advisors suggest that applying to more schools increases overall chances for acceptance.
Mamlet and VanDeVelde suggest applying to eight to ten schools is best, and that applying to too many schools is
counterproductive.[99] There are reports that the average number of schools that students are applying to has been
increasing, perhaps because of greater use of the Common Application. In 2008, applications to Harvard University had Students learning massage therapy
increased to a record number at 27,278, a 19% increase from the year before.[133] Since 2008, applications to Harvard have at the New York College of Health
continued to increase, reaching 43,330 in 2019.[134] One effect of the increase in application numbers is decreased yield Professions in New York State.
percentages. Average yield has dropped from 46% to 38%, according to one account.[135]

Online identity

Some reports revealed that some college admissions departments have scrutinized applicants' personalities online, such as Facebook or MySpace profiles. As a
result, admissions officers urge students to remove "sarcastic jokes, bad pictures, or political cartoons," and also to become wary about their friends' social media
posts.[136] One concurring report suggested that some offices have employees tasked with "checking out applicants' Facebook pages";[14] however, a contrasting
report from another college recruiter states that their policy is not to examine Facebook profiles, and that "Facebook is reserved for students on a recreational
basis."[125] The same caution applies to email addresses. One advisor cautions against using provocative email addresses such as "Spicychick@gmail.com,"
instead encouraging applicants to use their real name since it can ease colleges' searches for applicants' records.[125] A report in Inside Higher Ed in 2018
suggested that admissions officers believe that an applicant's social media profile is "fair game" to examine for admissions purposes, although the proportion of
officers who actually examine social media profiles is small and declining, according to one survey.[137]

Choosing how to apply

Applying in the fall

Many schools offer Early Decision (ED) or Early Action (EA) plans, or both, usually with a deadline in mid-October to early November of the student's senior
year to lighten the load on students and admissions officers. Early applicants are urged to submit applications in September and October, and not wait until
November, so staff more time to consider the application.[140]

In the decade leading up to 2019, there has been a notable increase in the use of early admission plans by applicants. Some colleges fill up more than half of their
freshman class through the ED applicant pool.[135][141][142] For example, Tufts University admitted 957 ED applicants in 2018-19 when it enrolled 1,484 students
according to its Common Data Set for that year.[143] Students may also find it attractive in applying ED to schools which have a high admit rate for their ED plans:
for example, American University admitted over 80% from its ED pool in 2018-19 for the Class of 2022.[144] The majority of schools offering ED have a higher
admit rate for the ED pool compared to the Regular Decision (RD) pool. As the college admission process has become more competitive, students have used early
application plans where the perceived advantages outweigh the disadvantages relative to the RD application. Because a favorable admit decision in ED is binding
unless exceptional circumstances apply, ED helps to increase the admission yield rate for the college.

A direct consequence of the increased use of early application plans is a lower admission rate for RD applicants.[141]

The main advantage of early application is to give the successful applicant certainty early on in the college admission process with the decision usually released in
December of senior year, eliminating the need to apply to multiple schools during the RD round. Early application may not be the best strategy for students who
need the extra few months in their senior year to evidence more achievements (more demanding classes, better grades, higher standardized test scores, more
extracurriculars) to make a stronger application by delaying, or who need more time to visit the colleges. It therefore favors the very well-prepared and polished
students.[145] The biggest financial disadvantage in ED is the lack of opportunity to compare competing aid packages from different schools, but to an extent this
can be mitigated if parents and students ask the college for a fairly firm estimate of expected costs before applying by an early method.[69] As a result, ED plans,
which are binding, favor students from wealthier families.[53][146][147] Candidate pools were "much more homogeneous" with most applicants being affluent white
students.[148]

Early Decision

An Early Decision application involves a binding commitment to attend a school if the applicant is accepted, unless exceptional circumstances apply (such as
inadequate financial aid). The application is generally due in October or November, but some schools offer a second round commonly known as Early Decision II.
The rate of acceptance for the early decision pool is generally higher compared to the regular decision pool, although this may be a reflection of better qualified
applicants in the early decision pool.

Early action

Generally early action is similar to early decision except the decision is not binding.[149][150] The time frame is similar: apply by early November to get a decision
by mid-December,[149] although specific deadlines vary by school.

The Early Action plan is offered by fewer schools compared to Early Decision, but a number of schools offer both Early Decision and Early Action.

Regular admission

Regular admission is a good choice for students who are unsure where they would like to go.[150] One advantage is that it can help students who have improved
their grades substantially in the fall of their senior year, since decisions are not made until March of that year.[150] Students may provide updates such as grades or
significant achievements. In addition, it offers students more time to make their decision about a college under somewhat less pressure than an early method.
Regular admission can be expected to result in higher offers of financial aid, particularly if students are admitted to several institutions that present different aid
offers. Accordingly, one offer can be used as leverage to try to get a better offer at another institution,[145] particularly if there are competing multiple
acceptances.[95] Several reports suggested that a "growing number of colleges" including Harvard, Cornell, and Carnegie-Mellon have stated publicly that they
will consider matching offers from competing colleges.[95][145] Kim Clark explained:
 If you want to go to Cornell ... and you don't think your family can afford the full
sticker prices ... you are likely to get bigger scholarships if you also apply—and get in
—to wealthy and more competitive schools. ... Cornell will now adopt Harvard's
definition of "need," which, in many cases, will mean bigger scholarships.
Admit rates at selective schools (with admit rates < 25% for Class
of 2023), based on 2018-19 Common Data Set and college
publications:
Overall, Early and Regular admit rates for Class of 2022[138]

— report in US News, 2010[95] School

Appli Over
Early
Deci-
Early
Act
Regu
cants all lar
sion ion
However, a dissenting view in The New York Times suggested that only one to two percent of
Stanford 47452 4.4% - ~8% ~3.4%
colleges adjust aid packages based on offers from competing colleges, and that most colleges do not
get into bidding wars over specific students.[61] Harvard 42749 4.7% - 14.5% 2.9%
Princeton 35370 5.5% - 14.8% 3.8%

Rolling admissions Columbia 40203 5.6% ~17% - ~4.3%

Yale 35308 6.3% - 14.7% 4.7%
Some colleges offer this type of admission, typically used by schools with large numbers of
applicants, which means that colleges are continually receiving applications and making decisions, Caltech 8208 6.6% - n.a. n.a.
typically within four to six weeks after application.[150] It allows prospective students to apply at MIT 21706 6.7% - 6.9% 6.6%
any time between the fall and spring and to receive their result a few weeks later. One benefit is that
U. Chicago 32283 7.3% n.a. n.a. n.a.
if a student is accepted early in the school year, there is less anxiety about acceptance for the rest of
the year.[150] Rolling admission schools are also beneficial to students who are rejected from all the Pomona 10245 7.6% 16.6% - 6.4%
schools they applied regularly to, yet still wish to enroll without taking a gap year. Guidance Brown 35437 7.7% 21.1% - 6.2%
counselors suggest that rolling admissions should not be used late in twelfth grade since financial aid
Pennsylvania 44491 8.4% 18.5% - 6.5%
money may have already been distributed, and few slots may be left for September.[150] One advisor
suggests that if a college offers rolling admissions and is on a student's list, then it should be applied Northwestern 40425 8.5% 26.5% - 6.4%
to as soon as rolling admissions becomes available for that year.[150] Another report suggested that Dartmouth 22033 8.7% 25.3% - 6.8%
rolling admissions was more characteristic of noncompetitive colleges.[147]
Duke 35767 8.9% 21.6% - 7.3%
Claremont McK 6272 9.3% 25.0% - 6.6%
Testing options Swarthmore 10749 9.5% 26.3% - 8.0%
Vanderbilt 34286 9.6% 20.6% - 8.1%
Test preparation courses Bowdoin 9081 10.3% 22.9% - 8.5%

There are conflicting reports about the usefulness of test preparation courses. Mamlet and Cornell 51324 10.6% 24.5% - 8.7%
VanDeVelde suggest that "most students don't need a coach or a class" and that the single largest Johns Hopkins 29776 11.0% 29.9% - 9.6%
factor was "familiarity with the test."[99] Another report agreed that SAT/ACT prep courses were a
Rice 20923 11.1% 22.1% - 10.2%
waste of money and that taking a few practice exams, and understanding how each test works, was
all that was needed.[124] According to NBC News, the multibillion-dollar private test prep industry, Amherst 9726 12.8% 38.3% - 11.5%
including coaching and tutoring as well as software and clinics, is a source of "inequality and USC 64352 13.0% - - 13.0%
injustice" in higher education since it enables the offspring of well-to-do families to improve their
Williams 9560 13.0% 34.5% - 11.1%
test scores by means of learning "tips and tricks." Test prep can cost $1,000 per course and tutors can
cost $15,000 per year, according to one estimate.[151] Colby 12314 13.0% n.a. - n.a.
Pitzer 4358 13.3% 29.6% - 11.4%
Standardized admissions tests Barnard 7897 13.9% 29.9% - 11.6%

UCLA[139] 113779 14.1% - - 14.1%

In 2003, according to one estimate, 1.4 million students took the SAT and 1.4 million also took the
ACT test,[115] paying about $50 per test.[42] Generally counselors suggest that students should plan Harvey Mudd 4101 14.5% 18.9% - 13.9%
on taking the SAT or ACT test twice, so that a low score can possibly be improved.[153] One advisor Georgetown 22872 14.5% - 12.0% 16.0%
suggested that students with weak SAT or ACT scores could consider applying to colleges where
Tufts 21501 14.6% 42.3% - 11.4%
these measures were optional.[154] One suggested retaking the tests if there are "subpar test scores"
in September and October (if applying early admission) or November and December (if applying Colorado Coll 8552 15.0% 27.4% 19% 5%
regular admission.)[128] Generally over half of eleventh graders retaking the SAT or ACT tests WUSTL 31320 15.0% 42.0% - 13.4%
during the twelfth grade saw improvements in their scores.[42] Colleges vary in terms of how much
UC Berkeley[139] 89627 15.1% - - 15.1%
emphasis they place on these scores.[155]
Middlebury 9227 16.7% 46.8% - 13.6%
A consensus view is that most colleges accept either the SAT or ACT, and have formulas for
Carnegie M 24351 17.1% 21.1% - 16.8%
converting scores into admissions criteria, and can convert SAT scores into ACT scores and vice
versa relatively easily.[156] The ACT is reportedly more popular in the midwest and south while the Tulane 38816 17.3% 32.2% n.a. n.a.
SAT is more popular on the east and west coasts.[157] Wesleyan 12706 17.5% 37.6% - 15.6%
Notre Dame 20371 17.7% - 24.8% 14.3%
Regarding whether to choose the SAT or ACT, the consensus view is that both tests are roughly
equivalent and tend to bring similar results, and that each test is equally accepted by colleges. Bates 7685 17.8% 45.1% - 14.9%
Reporter Jacques Steinberg in The New York Times suggested that admissions deans repeatedly Emory 27559 18.5% 26.0% - 17.7%
inform him that colleges view the ACT and SAT tests equally and do not have a preference.[161] At
the same time, small differences between the tests may translate into a slight benefit for the test- Haverford 4672 18.8% 44.1% - 16.1%
taker. One report suggested that the SAT favors "white male students" from upper income Northeastern 62272 19.3% 41.0% n.a. 18.9%
backgrounds.[162] Another report suggests that the ACT has more questions geared to higher levels Davidson 5724 19.5% 46.1% - 15.6%
of high school mathematics, suggesting that students who do well in math may perform better, but
that the SAT is a better choice for students with an excellent vocabulary.[69][157] According to one Wellesley 6631 19.5% 30.9% - 18.0%
view, the SAT is more focused on testing reasoning ability while the ACT is more of a content-based Carleton 7092 19.8% 26.5% - 18.9%
test of achievement.[157] In addition, according to this view, some SAT questions can be trickier and NYU 71834 20.0% 34.7% - 17.5%
harder to decipher while some ACT questions may be longer;[157] question difficulty progresses
Wash & Lee 5855 21.2% 50.5% - 18.1%
within each SAT section while difficult questions are randomly interspersed in the ACT;[157] the
SAT has a separate vocabulary section while the ACT has a separate science reasoning section.[157] Hamilton 6240 21.3% 42.0% - 19.2%
In 2016 the SAT was updated to remove the penalty for random guessing; the College Board advises UNC[139] 43473 21.9% - 30.4% 9.4%
that test-takers will benefit by guessing.[159]
Boston U 64481 22.1% 28.3% - 21.6%

Georgia Tech[139] 35611 22.6% - 25.8% 19.2%

SAT Subject Tests U. Michigan[139] 64917 22.8% - n.a. n.a.

Grinnell 7349 24.4% 57.8% - 22.7%

Many colleges require, recommend, or consider SAT Subject Tests in the admissions process. One
described them as "true equalizers" in admissions, suggesting how strong a high school is, and Vassar 8312 24.6% 43.7% - 22.9%
elaborated that some admissions officers consider them to be a better indicator of academic ability Colgate 9716 24.9% 40.7% - 23.2%
than high school grades.[163] Another suggested that selective colleges emphasize SAT Subject
Tests, while public colleges place less emphasis on them.[164] U. Virginia[139] 37182 26.4% - 27.8% 24.6%

ACT test SAT test

Advanced placement tests
Content-based test[157] Tests reasoning
There was a report that scores on Advanced ability[157]
Placement exams could be helpful in the evaluations Emphasizes higher math[69][157] Emphasizes
process.[165] One report suggested there was a limit vocabulary[69][157]
on the number of AP tests that should be taken, such Longer questions[157] Trickier questions[157]
that taking 12 AP tests was not as helpful as taking
five and doing well on those five.[124] More popular in south & More popular in east &
midwest[157] west[157]
Science reasoning section[157] Vocabulary section[157] A sample so-called "grid-in" question
Common vs. college's application from a standardized test.[152]
No penalty for wrong answers[158] No penalty for wrong
answers[159][160]
The advantage of the Common Application is that it
is the same for numerous colleges, and can save time Greater choice in selecting which Fewer options
and trouble for a student. It is accepted at 488 scores to send to colleges[156]
colleges out of several thousand, but only a third of Difficult questions randomly Difficulty progresses
the 488 use it exclusively, meaning that two-thirds interspersed[157] within each section[157]
allow an applicant to submit either the Common
Application or the school's specific application
form.[166][167] According to Hernandez, many admissions officers complain that the Common Application stifles creativity
and encourages "dull responses," and she recommends that students use the college's particular application when there is a
choice.[166]

Interviews

There are differing recommendations about the importance of interviews, with the consensus view that interviews were
overall less important than college admissions essays, but should be done if they were offered.[115] One advisor suggested
that visits by college admissions personnel to the high schools were a waste of time for colleges, since there was not
enough time to get to know specific applicants.[168] In addition, she felt that personal interviews were generally overrated, The Common Application.
though she noted that many Ivies have alumni interviews, which can help in borderline situations.[169] One counselor
suggested that if an interview was offered by a college admissions program, then it was not really optional but
it should be seen as a requirement, that is, not going to such an interview could be detrimental to a student's
chances for admission.[14] Another suggested that a student should try to get an interview, even if it was not
required, since it might help "exhibit character strengths" that might not show up via grades on high school
transcripts.[154] Several reports noted that most Ivy League schools have abandoned the interview
requirement, but that if there is an opportunity for an interview, even with an alumnus of the college, then it is
a good idea to do it since not doing it signals a lack of interest in the school.[14][169] Knowing a college can be
helpful during an interview, so that an applicant can say something specific about the school, or a professor
who teaches there, or a subject or internship opportunities, since it shows sincere interest.[125][169] Interviews
(if offered) may be more of a factor at small liberal arts colleges:

Our advice is that if offered an interview, a student should take it ... And they should dress as if
Internet videoconferencing using Skype with face-
they are going to dinner with their grandparents. The biggest faux pax comes in inappropriate on-face technology allows a coach to prepare an
dress for both sexes. Spaghetti straps, buttons that pop open. For boys a rumpled T-shirt ... If you applicant for a college interview despite the
look in the mirror and you think you look good, change your clothes. This is not a date. geographic distance.

— Mamlet and VanDeVelde[99]

One suggested that a goal of interview preparation should be to present oneself as "comfortable with spontaneous
conversation" and be able to talk about interests without sounding like the answers were prepared in advance, and
suggested it was important to show intellectual passion and a love of learning with a deep excitement, and show "social
maturity" with sensitivity, empathy for others unlike oneself, and concern for issues larger than personal career
ambitions.[170] An applicant should have an attitude that was not be what can the college offer but what can the student
offer the college, and he or she should avoid asking questions about facts better answered elsewhere, and show an
openness to new ideas, an ability to work cooperatively with others, ambition, and caring about others.[171] Interviewees
should be ready for sometimes provocative questions to test social sensitivity; if an interviewer asks a "baiting or leading
question," an applicant should respond by laughing while politely disagreeing with the perspective, and to keep trying to Admissions office of the University of
enjoy the conversation with the interviewer.[172] Another advisor suggested that students must be prepared to answer the South Carolina in Columbia, South
question What is your biggest failure in an interview.[173] Applicants should avoid sounding snide, annoyed, Carolina.
contemptuous, and avoid describing oneself as humiliated, bored, depressed, angry, shy, inhibited, anxious, frightened, and
frustrated,[174] and should be upbeat but avoid going for the hard sell.[174] Another report suggested that shy or timid
applicants were at a disadvantage.[175] Another advisor suggested that a student try to find a common bond with the interviewer, and send a brief follow-up letter
afterwards.[26]

Essays
There are differing opinions about the importance of the college essay. The consensus view is that the essay is less important than grades and test scores, but that
an essay can make a difference in some instances,[14] often at highly selective colleges where they can "make or break your application."[140] There was one report
that essays were becoming more important as a way to judge a student's potential[140] and that essays have supplanted personal interviews as a primary way to
evaluate a student's character.

The Common Application requires that personal statements be 250 to 650 words in length.[176] Although applicants may strive to reach the word limit, college
admissions officers emphasize that the most important part is honing and rewriting:

Writing is easy; rewriting is hard. And essays deserve to be rewritten several times. Lots of kids think the objective is to write about something that
will impress the admission office. In part that is true, but what impresses an admission officer is an essay that conveys something positive about the
applicant; that allows the committee to get to know the kid just a bit from those few pieces of paper. The essay is an opportunity to provide a different
perspective about the applicant, a reason to accept a kid. It is an opportunity not to be wasted.[14]

Advisors suggest that the essay should be concise, honest (with no embellishments), coherent, not boring,[24] accurate, and visually evocative. The essay should
reveal a likeable[24] and intelligent individual. It should approach humor and controversial topics with caution and balance.[177] Other tips include avoiding jargon
or abbreviations, overly emotional appeals, profanity or texttalk (example: Schools H8 2 C texttalk), or artiness (e.g. poetry in an application)[24] or cockiness.[125]

Former guidance counselor for students at Andover and college admissions authority Donald Dunbar suggested that essays must emphasize personal character and
demonstrate intellectual curiosity, maturity, social conscience, concern for the community, tolerance, and inclusiveness.[178] He advises to not merely "be
yourself," but show your "best self."[179] Dunbar furthermore claims that demonstrating class participation suggests a "willingness to go beyond selfishness" and
shows enthusiasm for learning.[180] Alan Gelb suggests that the only "no-no" is "shameless self-promotion."[181] Topics to avoid include babysitting experiences,
pets, encounters with illegal drugs or alcohol or criminal activity,[182] excuses to explain a low grade,[182] stories about a former home or big brother or sister,[183]
a simple listing of achievements,[182] expressing thanks for being chosen as a leader, talking about a "wilderness leadership course,"[184] general complaining or
whining,[182] racism or sexism or disrespect for groups of people,[182] bad taste or profanity or vulgarity or bathroom humor,[182] early love or sex
experiences,[182] criticism or disrespect for parents,[182] telling only jokes,[182] excessive bragging or too many instances of the "I" pronoun,[182][185] personal
health information about yourself or a friend or a family member,[182] and copy-and-pasting a term paper in the essay form[182] such as about global warming or
the European debt crisis. Applicants should refrain from express opinions too strongly as if no counterviews were possible.[182] The topic should be something the
applicant cares about,[186] and should show leadership in the sense of "asserting yourself to help others have more success." According to Dunbar, leadership is
not necessarily about being in charge such as being the team captain or school president.[187] Applicants should present a broad perspective and avoid simplistic
words such as never, always, only, or nobody, which suggest narrow thinking.[188] Dunbar advised against the standard "tell 'em what you've told 'em" essay
formula but doing something different, interesting, and exciting.[189]

Former admissions director Michele Hernandez agreed, and suggested that the best essay topics were a slice-of-life story with poignant details, in which the writer
shows and does not tell.[190] She suggested that a student show their essay to a literate friend and ask if would they admit this person to the college.[190] She
recommended that applicants not try to come across as a "preppy well-off kid" but downplay parental status.[191] Advisors Mamlet and VanDeVelde suggest that
students proactively try to explain an unusual grade, such as a low grade in a core course.[192] There are online databases available to help students write cogent
essays.[193]

Teacher recommendations

Many colleges ask for teacher recommendations, typically from eleventh or twelfth grade teachers of core courses who know the student well. A counselor
recommendation is often requested as well. One report suggested that having more than four recommendations was a mistake, as a "thick file" indicated a "thick
student" to admissions personnel.[24] Teacher recommendations are becoming less important as a rating measure, according to one report.[140] In addition, a few
colleges are asking for recommendation letters from parents to describe their child:

You might think they do nothing but brag ... But parents really nail their kids. They really get to the essence of what their daughter is about in a way
we can't get anywhere else.

— Deb Shaver, director of admissions at Smith College[194]

Other considerations

Advisors counsel that applicants should meet deadlines,[150][195][69] spend time researching colleges,[150] be open-
minded,[121] have fun,[121] communicate what "resonates" to the applicant about a particular school,[136] not fall in love
with one or two colleges,[68] follow directions precisely[69] and make sure to click the "submit" button.[125] Rudeness
towards staff members, feigning enthusiasm, and being pretentious are other turnoffs reported by admissions officers.[69]
There is strong consensus among counselors and advisors that starting the college search early is vital. One recommends
starting early in the twelfth grade;[121] another suggests that even this is too late, and that the process should begin during
the eleventh grade and summer before twelfth grade.[136] And sources suggest that students who begin the process earlier
tend to earn more acceptance letters.[150] Another advantage of beginning early is so that applications can be proofread for
mistakes.[136] Advisors suggest that emails should be sent to specific persons in the admissions office, not to a generalized Dickinson College in Carlisle,
inbox.[125] Advisors suggest that applicants sending in paper applications should take care that handwriting is legible, Pennsylvania.
particularly email addresses. [125] Advisors counsel that mistakes or changes should be explained somewhere in the
application; for example, an adviser at Grinnell College suggested that a record need not be perfect but there must be an
"explanation for any significant blip."[125][68] Advisors suggest that applicants should "own up to any bad behavior" such as suspensions since schools are
"dutybound to report them," and suggest that a person should "accept responsibility and show contrition for "lessons learned," according to one view.[125][196]
Disciplinary actions are usually reported to the colleges by the high school as a matter of course. Advisors suggest that the application should help a student
position themselves to create a unique picture.[68] It helps, according to one advisor, if a person knows himself or herself, because that enables an applicant to
communicate effectively with a prospective school.[136] A report in The New York Times in 2016 suggested that some universities were considering changing their
admissions guidelines to be more inclusive of less affluent applicants, to put less emphasis on standardized test and AP scores, and to put more emphasis on
determining "which students' community-service projects are heartfelt and which are merely window dressing"; the report suggested that college admissions
policies were often "cited as a culprit in sleep deprivation, anxiety and depression among students."[197][198]
International applications

International students form a large and growing percentage of applicants to American universities.[199] According to Andover counseling director Sean Logan,
applications to American universities from foreign students have increased dramatically in the past decade.[200] International applications are typically similar to
domestic ones but with additional complications. Most international applicants do not receive a GPA score or transcript from their school.[201] Most will not
normally take SAT or ACT exams, so these must be arranged. Most American universities are happy to accept international qualifications such as the International
Baccalaureate and A Levels,[202] although it is often up to the applicant to elaborate on the meaning of these qualifications.[203] Non-native English speakers may
be asked to provide English language qualifications such as TOEFL or IELTS scores. If a university requires or offers an interview, these can normally be
conducted over the phone or with alumni residing in the applicant's country.[204][205] International applicants often must cope with higher tuition fees and less
available financial aid, although this varies significantly by college. Further, international applicants must also apply for a student visa, which can be a complex
and time-consuming process.[206]

How colleges evaluate applicants

Factors having considerable importance
Overview
Factor % Agree
College admissions officers are generally looking to build a well-rounded class and look for students who will Grades in college prep courses 83%
complement each other. Consequently, many schools are looking for students who are passionate and excel at particular
Strength of curriculum 66%
things, and candidates who fulfill certain institutional needs rather than a "well-rounded kid."[208]
Admission test scores 59%
Grades in all courses 46%
Colleges are looking for ... the well-rounded class. Colleges put together their entering class as a mosaic: a
few great scholars for each academic department; a handful of athletes; some musicians, dancers, and Essay or writing sample 27%
theater stars; a few for racial and economic diversity; some potential club leaders, etc. Colleges want a kid Student's demonstrated interest 23%
who is devoted to – and excels at – something. The word they most often use is passion.
Class rank 22%

— Steve Cohen in The Washington Post, 2011[14] Counselor recommendation 19%

Teacher recommendation 19%

Colleges want students who have demonstrated through their actions an ability to see and connect with a Subject test scores 10%
world that is larger than they are. Interview 9%
Extracurricular activities 7%
— Robin Mamlet and Christine Vandevelde, 2011[209]
Portfolio 6%
Institutional needs include athletics and music as well as geographical, cultural, racial, and socioeconomic diversity SAT II scores 5%
(Pell Grant recipients, first-generation students).
State graduation exam 4%
Some schools, particularly public universities, will use admissions criteria which are almost entirely formulaic in certain Source: 2010 survey by NACAC[207]
aspects of admission. For example, they may be required by statute to admit a minimum number of in-state students, or
to guarantee admission to students graduating the top 6% of their high school class, or to guarantee admission to
valedictorians. Many admits, however, are made on the basis of subjective judgments regarding the student's "fit" for the institution.[210]

Admissions offices must read through thousands of applications, each of which include transcripts, letters of recommendation, and the application itself.[211] In
2009, the average admissions officer was responsible for analyzing 514 applications, and officers have experienced an upward trend in the number of applications
they must read over time.[140] A typical college application receives only about 25 minutes of reading time, including three to five minutes for the personal essay
if it is read.[212]

Larger admissions offices will have specialists assigned to cover different regions, and individual officers may act liaison for a regional set of high schools
developing a deep understanding of their curriculum and rigor. The reading and preliminary admit / deny decision may be divided up into committees of readers,
and borderline candidates are then discussed more collectively. Some admissions offices use a scoring system in an effort to normalize the many applicants.
Criteria include standardized test scores (generally ACT and/or SAT), college prep courses, grades (as shown in the high school transcript), strength of curriculum,
class rank, degree of extracurricular involvement, and leadership potential.[140] A combination of these can be used to derive an academic index.[213] For example,
at Dartmouth College, data goes into a master card for each application, which leads to a ready sheet, where readers summarize applications; then, an initial
screening is done: top applications go directly to the director of admissions for approval while lackluster ones go to another director.[214] Dartmouth uses "A" for
accept, "R" for reject, "P" for possible, with "P+" and "P-" being variants.[214] A committee might spend a week with the "P" ones, of which they only accept
about a sixth.[214]

Many colleges also rely on personal essay(s) written by the applicant and letters of recommendation written by the applicant's teachers and guidance counselor.
One principal benefit of the essay lies in its ability to further differentiate students who have perfect or near-perfect grades and test scores. Institutions place
different weight on these criteria: for example, "test optional" schools do not require or even accept the SATs for admission.[215] Some factors are beyond a
student's control, such as a college's need in a given year for diversity, legacy applicants, or athletic recruiting.[68]

Some colleges hire statistical experts known as "enrollment consultants" to help them predict enrollment by developing computer models to select applicants in
such a way as to maximize yield and acceptance rates.[135] Some of these models take into account factors such as an applicant's "zip code, religion, first-choice
major and extracurricular interests, as well as academic performance." Some colleges extract information from the federal FAFSA financial aid form, including
names of other schools the applicant is applying to.[135]

Academic evaluation

High school grades, rigor of curriculum, and college prep courses

High school grades are probably the single most important factor in winning admission.[68] Maintaining high grades is particularly important for the fall semester
of twelfth grade, as well as winter grades if applying by regular admission,[128][140] Academic performance in core courses is especially important.[216] An ideal
academic record is one of increasingly better grades in courses of progressive difficulty.[217] Ninth grade grades generally do not count much,[124] but trends are
important—an upward trend in grades was a positive factor, a decline a negative one.[218] Public universities are more likely to evaluate applicants based on
grades and test scores alone, while private universities tend to be more "holistic" and consider other measures.[219]

Colleges also evaluate applicants by examining how a student has successfully exploited what a high school has had to offer.[220][221] The strongest candidates
will have been challenged by the most demanding courses his school has to offer . Where AP courses are offered, having a high grade point average based on good
grades in AP-level or honors courses will be looked upon favorably,[124] but dropping a hard course will be seen negatively.[222]

The college admissions office usually will know schools well enough to understand that not all schools offer AP-level courses so candidates from those schools
are not put at a disadvantage. On the other hand, the admissions office will have a high school profile and takes into account such data as curriculum offerings,
demographics, and grade distributions at the high school.[68]

ACT and SAT scores

These are read in conjunction with the high school academic record, but their importance varies from school to school.[2][99] Some schools are test-optional where
applicants do not need to submit scores. Schools typically release information on the range of scores from their candidate pool as well as accepted student pool to
make applicants aware of their student profile. Some schools will consider superscore results or superscoring when an applicant has taken the SAT multiple times
by combining the highest score from different test subsections,[223][224] although superscoring is rarely done for the ACT [225] because of difficulty processing
five separate rounded numbers.[226]

Personal evaluation

Athletic ability

A survey of admissions officers revealed that 28% agreed that their school had accepted athletes despite having lower grades and test scores
than others.[30] A survey by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that schools with strong athletics departments tended to have athletes
with lower SAT scores than non-athletic students.[15] Athletes get better treatment even at elite colleges, according to one academic
study.[15] A report suggested that some applications by athletes go first to a special committee for review by coaches, who may then, in turn,
advocate for particular players.[24] Recruited athletes who play in-demand or "revenue" sports (i.e. generate ticket sales) such as
football[227] or basketball can have a "significantly greater advantage in admissions" than others.[228][229] Some Ivy League coaches,
seeking to improve the average academic performance of their teams, would admit mediocre athletes with top academic skills as a means to
balance out the stellar athletes with below-average academic ability. To fix this "average score" arrangement in which there had been a
temptation to admit an extremely poor student with great athletic ability, many schools went to a banding arrangement. For example,
coaches would consider all wrestling applicants within a specified range or band of academic performance, and coaches could admit more
wrestler-applicants who showed greater scholastic promise.[230] Howard and Matthew Greene report that coaches do not make admissions
decisions, but they can advocate for a particular applicant.[115] And they report that committed athletes should explain in their applications
how much time they have used towards perfecting their athletic ability:
Athletes in
popular sports
such as football We often talk with highly involved athletes who have little time for other activities outside of their sports. In many cases their
are recruited by grades suffer. Most student-athletes are not "recruited" to colleges, but colleges will respect their commitment and drive.
colleges hoping to
improve their — Howard and Matthew Greene, 2003[115]
athletic programs.

Particular skills

Some colleges are more likely to admit students with in-demand skills, such as writing, debating, theater management, music, and leadership.[229]

Personal initiative

Admissions personnel look favorably on applications where it is clear that the student appears to be firmly in control over the application process; the appearance
of pushy parents or coaching can have a dampening effect. One admissions dean explained:[28]

Students who really manage the show on their own, fill out the application on their own, make their own appointments for
interviews, correspond with you on their own email account – these students get extra points because they're managing their lives.

— Jennifer Delahunty, Admissions Dean at Kenyon[28]

Demonstrated interest

This can be an important factor in some situations, sometimes a "driving factor,"[200] since a college may be more likely to say yes to a student likely to
matriculate. Accordingly, it has been advised to become knowledgeable about schools being applied to, and "tailor each application accordingly."[128] College
visits (including overnight ones),[231] interviews, attending College Fair days,[231] comments in the essay, contacting college faculty members, answering and
opening emails,[231][232] place position of the college on the FAFSA form or its FAFSA position,[101][102][103][233] and other indications of interest can be a factor
for many colleges concerned about their yield—the percent of students who accept an offer of enrollment.[24][135] According to Andover's college counseling
director Sean Logan, it is important to have numerous contact points with colleges to show demonstrated interest: visiting, phone contact, emailing, visits to
websites (including number of clicks as well as length of time on the website), whether a college visit included a tour and interview, and whether a college-
recommended off-campus personal interview was done.[200] Schools such as Connecticut College and Emory University have been credited as "popularizing the
yield game" by refusing well-qualified students who failed to show much real interest in attending, as a way to boost their yield scores.[135] One top high school
student was waitlisted at a "likely" college[234] for showing lack of interest:

We assumed they weren't coming, because we didn't have much contact from them. We know they're probably using us as a back-up and they haven't
done much to show any sincere interest, so we decided to waitlist them.
 — Andover college counseling director Sean Logan, remembering a comment from a college admissions director.[200]

Active participation

One report suggested that colleges seek students who will be actively involved on campus and not spend every day
studying alone.[235] As a result, they look recommendations from teachers that suggest active participation.[236]

Weeding out difficult people

Admissions officers often try to screen out difficult people.[237] According to Dunbar, many colleges are "afraid of
aggression." He recommends avoiding "harsh humor" and signs of severe emotion, anger, or aggression.[237] Admissions
evaluators look for signals that might indicate a difficult person, such as disrespectful criticisms of others and evidence of Students with special skills such as
substance abuse.[237] wrestling may be given preferential
treatment.

Analysis of essays

Michele Hernandez suggested that almost all admissions essays were weak, cliche-ridden, and "not worth
reading."[190][238] The staff gets thousands of essays and has to wade through most of them.[239] When she worked as an
admissions director at Dartmouth, she noticed that most essays were only read for three minutes.[190] Some too-common
essay types were the "outward bound" essay about how a person discovered their inner grit while hiking tough mountains
or the "community service" essay about how a student discovered, while working among disadvantaged peoples, that "all
persons were the same."[190] Admissions officers seek to learn how a person thinks, what kind of person they are, and their
level of intellectual promise.[190]

Ability to pay

In addition to admitting a certain number of students, the admissions process is designed to bring in a certain amount of
revenue.[240] This is produced by considering not just students' academic characteristics, but also their financial needs and
their predicted responsiveness to financial incentives.[240]

While there is general agreement that chances for admission are higher for students who are prepared to pay the full price,
there are indications that this has been even more prevalent, given economic uncertainty and rising college costs,[241]
particularly at schools without large endowments.[240] Dartmouth College admissions,
according to Michele Hernandez,
Half of admissions officers at both public universities and a third of officers at four-year colleges were actively seeking spends a week examining the
possibles or Ps, and after much
students who did not need financial aid, according to one survey of 462 admissions directors and managers in 2011.[242]
deliberation, accepts perhaps a sixth
Admissions officers from public universities sometimes actively seek out-of-state and international students, since they
of them.
paid higher rates for tuition.[30][242] By contrast, a number of very elite schools practice need-blind admission, meaning
that a student's ability to pay is not a factor in their admissions process. All of the Ivy League schools are need-blind for
domestic students, with Harvard, Yale, and Princeton being need-blind for international students as well.

At some colleges, accepted full-pay students had somewhat lower high school grades and sometimes lower test scores than other accepted students on
average.[30][240][242]

Reports vary about whether the financial neediness of applicants impacts admissions chances; one suggested that applicants with strong academic credentials or
talents are more likely to get financial aid, but that depending on the college, "borderline admits" needing money were most vulnerable.[243] George Washington
University was involved in a scandal in which it was more likely to waitlist financially needy applicants despite claiming to use need-blind admission.[244] At
some schools, the amount of aid can depend on how a specific applicant compares with other applicants:

What this means is that your financial aid package from a reach college may not be as attractive as the package from one of your target, or well
matched, colleges. If you are looking for generous scholarship aid, you need to look at colleges and universities where your academic profile is strong
compared to that of the average admitted student.

— Hannah Serota, college counselor[243]

Geographic diversity

One view was that state schools strive to admit students from "all parts of a state,"[15] which suggests that applicants who live farther away from a given school
had a better chance of admission. But a contrary view was that geographic location of the applicant matters perhaps only slightly, if at all; Hernandez looked at
acceptance ratios to Dartmouth for different geographic locations, and found that geographic distance was not a factor influencing admittances.[245]

Race and ethnicity

A survey of admissions personnel suggested that two-fifths had admitted minority applicants despite their having lower grades and test scores than other
applicants.[30] Rulings by the Supreme Court have upheld the use of race as one factor in college admissions as long as it is not an overriding
factor.[15][246][247][248] Some Asian-Americans hesitate to reveal information about their ethnic background, fearing that admissions offices discriminate against
them because of their ethnicity and consider them incorrectly to be "boring academic robots," according to several reports.[24][249] A 2009 study suggested that an
Asian applicant requires an SAT score 140 points above that of a comparable white student on the 2400 scale, and considerably higher than that of a non-Asian
minority, to have a similar chance of admission at elite colleges.[250][251][252] According to Hernandez, Asian applicants have to be much better students than the
typical white applicant to be admitted.[253] She wrote that it benefits an applicant to be African American, Latino, or Native American, since colleges can advertise
their diversity as a result.[254] The admissions practices of Harvard and Princeton have been investigated for possible discrimination against Asian-American
applicants by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.[250]
On July 3, 2018, the Education and Justice Departments under President Trump rescinded federal affirmative action
guidance which had encouraged colleges to consider race in admissions.[255][256][257] The two policies rescinded were
written in 2011 and 2016.[258]

Legacy applicants

There are differing views about how important it is to have a family member or relative who also attended a college. It is
clear that it is a factor; one report suggested that having a family member who is an alumnus gives "a leg up" for
applicants.[15][259] One report suggested that siblings do not count as legacies.[259] In some cases, a parent's attendance at a
related graduate school counts as a legacy, but most colleges do not count this.[259] Many selective private colleges have a Students at the Commons at Green
River Community College in
higher admit rate for alumni children as a way to "keep the larger set of alumni happy and giving," and being a legacy
Washington.
applicant can mean as much as "100 or 200 points on the SAT."[260]

Legacy admissions have had a history of controversy; economist Peter Sacks criticized the practice of legacy admissions as
a "social reproduction process" in which "elite institutions have an implicit bargain with their alumni ... 'You give us money, and we will move your kid to the
front of the line.'"[228] Another agreed that legacies perpetuated a "hereditary aristocracy."[260] But an opposing view is that all colleges, to varying extents, make
choices as part of the admissions process, including state schools that charge in-state residents (with taxpaying parents) a lower rate than out-of-state residents, and
it was argued that there was not really much difference between taxpaying parents contributing to a state school as well as alumni contributing to a private school
—both with the possibility that it will help their offspring get into college.[228] Consultant Donald Dunbar suggested that admitting legacies encourages future
donations, and in turn these incoming money flows help the school subsidize the education of more minority students;[261] another source suggested that alumni
gifts were important in helping a college pay for financial aid and need-blind admission.[260] Legacy admissions was criticized by Daniel Golden in his book The
Price of Admission.[146]

Family wealth

In certain cases, the family wealth of applicants is considered, based on potential to make a substantial donation[24] to the school (beyond paying tuition and
separate from considerations such as ability or fame). These candidates are known as development cases and are intended to bolster the finances of the university,
especially to further its mission. The practice is not widely discussed by universities but is reported to be used by a number of top-ranked schools, including Duke
University (which acknowledges its use) and Brown University (which does not comment).[262]

Personal connections

Counselors and admissions directors tend to agree that in a few selected cases, personal connections can be important. A report based on a survey of admissions
directors suggested that "whom you know does matter," since high-level administrators as well as prominent alumni and trustees can exert pressure on admissions
offices to admit certain applicants.[242]

Other considerations

There was a report that more colleges are resorting to computerized fact-checking software, as well as anti-plagiarism tools such as Turnitin, which checks
documents for unoriginal content on the web,[140] possibly as a response to well-publicized scandals in which a student won admission to Harvard University by
fraudulent means.[263] Supplementary materials generally carry "no weight" in college admissions, according to one view.[90] A report in Time Magazine
suggested that many elite colleges used a vaguer measure of institutional fit to decide who is admitted, which is based on nonacademic qualities and may favor
"underrepresented minorities and students who demonstrate exceptional talent."[210] Students who take a "gap year" between high school and college can benefit if
the year was enriching and developing and helped the student mature.[115]

Acceptances, rejections, and waitlists

Notifications

Regular decision applicants are notified usually in the last two weeks of March, and early decision or early action
applicants are notified near the end of December (but early decision II notifications tend to be in February). The
notification of the school's decision is either an admit, deny (reject), waitlist, or defer. Notifications as an online status
update are becoming more common, although a few schools still send notifications by email or regular mail (in which case
a "fat" envelope is usually an acceptance whereas a "thin" envelope is usually a rejection or waitlist).

Letters of admission typically require the admitted student to maintain good grades and good conduct before matriculation.
Teachers and college counselors of seniors advise students against "senioritis." Schools do rescind admission if students
have been dishonest in their application,[264][265][266] have conducted themselves in a way deemed to be inconsistent with
the values of the school,[267][268] or do not heed warnings of poor academic performance; for example, one hundred high
school applicants accepted to Texas Christian University, whose grades plummeted in the spring of their twelfth grade as a Colleges use waitlists to hedge their
symptom of senioritis, received so-called "fear of God" letters from an admissions dean asking them to explain themselves bets, uncertain about how many
and threatening to rescind offers of admission.[269] accepted students will say yes, and
to draw applicants from the waitlist
Admitted students may also be awarded financial aid and notification of this is made around the same time. Students who when vacancies open. In addition,
are dissatisfied with an aid offer can appeal for the offer to be improved.[90][108] waitlists allow colleges to target
acceptance letters to students likely
International students who have been accepted will need to complete the necessary paperwork for visas (such as an I-20 to attend to maintain the college's
form).[41] selectivity ranking and yield.

Rejection letters from most schools will mention that there is no appeal process but many schools, especially public
universities such as the University of California have a formal appeal process requiring "new and compelling" information from the appellant.[270][271]

Wait list considerations

About half of schools use a wait list, particularly those that accept fewer than half of all applications.[8][9][32][272] Schools use the wait list as an enrollment
management tool because they are uncertain how many of their original admits will enroll,[15][273] but the exact implementation varies widely among colleges.
Some schools put a large number onto the wait list (relative to the class enrollment size) even though this puts many wait-listed students in "limbo" and gives most
of them only false hope,[274] the "basic equivalent of purgatory."[275] With a class size of only around 2,500, Penn put 3,535 applicants on its wait list for the Class
of 2022 (of whom 2,327 remained on the wait list) but accepted only 9.[276] In the same year, Tulane put over 10,000 applicants on its wait list but admitted only
2.[277] By contrast, the University of Oregon with a class size of 4,000 offered wait list status to only 264 and admitted 69 of them.[278] However, many schools do
lose a small number of admitted students due to a phenomenon sometimes called summer melt:[279][280] students, even those have sent in a deposit, will not show
up in the fall, and this "melt percentage" can be as high as 5% to 10% of persons who have paid a deposit.

The admission process is a complicated dance of supply and demand for colleges. And this spring, many institutions have accepted fewer applicants,
and placed more on waiting lists, until it becomes clear over the next few weeks how many spots remain.

— Jacques Steinberg in The New York Times, April 2010[273]

Schools can also use the wait list as a yield management tool. This strategy
involves admitting too few applicants in the regular admissions season to appear Wait list acceptances for selected schools Class of 2021 and 2022
to illustrate variability across schools and years
highly selective and then accept more wait-listed applicants later, or deliberately
Source: Annual Common Data Set of each school[281]
wait-listing over-qualified students who are likely to be accepted and to enroll
elsewhere.[13][135] Vanderbilt typically gets a tenth of its first-year class from the Wait list Wait list Wait list Wait list
College offers Class admits Class offers Class admits Class
wait list, and admitted 243 from its wait list for the Class of 2022.[13][282] of 2021 of 2021 of 2022 of 2022

Because the use of the wait list varies from school to school and from year to Stanford 842 36 870 30
year, there is a very high variability in the number of wait list admits and low Princeton 1168 101 1125 0
predictability in the chance of admission from the wait list pool. One survey
Dartmouth 2021 0 1925 0
suggested that 30% of wait-listed students are eventually accepted,[274] but this is
an average figure for all wait-listed students, and the percentage is dramatically Penn 3457 58 3535 9
lower at elite or prestigious schools. Much depends on how an institution executes Claremont McKenna 723 1 1037 25
on its admission strategy that year. A less selective school may have many
Tulane 5596 0 10384 2
applicants and a high number of admits, and end up placing few people on the
wait list and taking none year after year (e.g., Holy Cross had no wait list admits Michigan 11094 468 14893 415
for the Classes of 2021 and 2022), while a very selective school may put many on UNC-CH 5097 35 4977 22
its wait list and also end up taking many admits or no admit from its wait list.
Wesleyan 2267 108 1965 0
Students who are wait-listed can "work the wait list" by staying in touch with the Carnegie Mellon 5609 4 3677 109
admissions office to make sure the admissions office knows the student will
Macalester 356 104 426 0
attend if accepted,[15] and possibly take steps such as forwarding new grades and
making a subsequent visit,[68] or send a one-page letter or 60-second video Cal Poly SLO 3168 15 6643 2436
describing a strong desire to attend and the reasons.[273][283] A former dean of UC Santa Barbara 6650 960 7856 14
admissions at Franklin and Marshall College suggests that students not view the
UC Riverside 5499 321 11058 1143
wait list letter as a "polite denial" but rather as a possible opportunity.[68] Wait list
activity in the summer can generate a domino effect across multiple schools with Holy Cross 1109 0 1581 0
students accepting a wait list spot at one institution and opening up a spot at Oregon 134 73 264 69
another institution.[280]

A downside to wait lists is that by the time a student is accepted, there may be much less money available for scholarships or grants.[15]

Transfer admissions
While most college admissions involves high school students applying to colleges, transfer admissions are important as well. Estimates of the percentage of
college students who transfer vary from 20%[284] to 33%[285] to 60%,[286] with the consensus position being around a third of college students transfer, and there
are many indications that transfer activity is increasing.[286] One report suggested that nearly half of all undergraduates in the nation were attending community
colleges.[287] Media coverage of student transfers is generally less than coverage of the high school to college transition. A common transfer path is students
moving from two-year community colleges to four-year institutions, although there is considerable movement between four-year institutions.[288] Reasons for
transferring include unhappiness with campus life, cost, and course and degree selection.[288] There are no consistent national rules for transfers, and requirements
vary by college.[117] Many community colleges have articulation agreements with four-year schools, particularly flagship state universities, so that matters such as
the transfers of credits are handled appropriately. There are indications that many private colleges are more actively seeking transfer applicants.[286] Still,
transferring can be difficult; transfer students have been described in the past as "academic nomads."[289]

See also
College tour National Association for College Admission Student financial aid in the United States
Cooling out Counseling The Early Admissions Game
FAFSA position Need-blind admission Transfer admissions in the United States
Hidden Ivies Open-door academic policy University and college admission
Ivy League Rolling admission First-generation college students in the
Senioritis United States

Notes
1. Mamlet 2011, p. 109. 3. Mamlet 2011, p. 20.
2. Robin Mamlet and Christine VanDeVelde, College Admission: From 4. "NCES Digest of Education Statistics, 2018 Digest Table 219.10" (htt
Application to Acceptance, Step by Step, Three Rivers Press, 2011, ps://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_219.10.asp).
Retrieved January 6, 2016 Retrieved August 28, 2019.
 5. "NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2018 Digest Table 305.10" (htt
ps://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_305.10.asp).
Retrieved August 28, 2019.
6. "A majority of U.S. colleges admit most students who apply" (https://
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/09/a-majority-of-u-s-college
s-admit-most-students-who-apply/). Pew Research Center. April 9,
2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
7. "Common App Impact" (https://www.commonapp.org/about/common-
app-impact). Common App. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
8. "College Admission Trends Include Increased Reliance on Early
Decision and Wait Lists, Acceptance Rates on Par Previous Year" (ht
tps://web.archive.org/web/20150924152642/http://www.highbeam.co
m/doc/1G1-239946968.html). States News Service via Highbeam
Research. October 20, 2010. Archived from the original (http://www.h
ighbeam.com/doc/1G1-239946968.html) on September 24, 2015.
Retrieved August 31, 2012.
9. Lynn O'Shaughnessy (October 19, 2011). "Latest Trends in College
Admissions: 15 Things You Should Know" (https://www.cbsnews.co
m/8301-505145_162-37246967/latest-trends-in-college-admissions-
15-things-you-should-know/). CBS News. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
10. Graeme Paton (June 6, 2012). "British university 'malaise' forcing
bright students to US: Growing numbers of bright teenagers are
rejecting British universities in favour of those in the United States
amid claims they no longer represent value for money, a leading
headmaster has warned" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/edu
cationnews/9306485/British-university-malaise-forcing-bright-student
s-to-US.html). The Telegraph. London. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
"... the proportion of students taking the US college entrance exam in
Britain increased by a third last year compared ..."
11. Erica L. Green, April 10, 2018, Justice Department Launches Probe
of College Early Admissions (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/10/u
s/politics/justice-department-probe-college-early-decision.html), 'The
New York Times, Retrieved April 11, 2018
12. Moriah Balingit, Nick Anderson, Susan Svrluga and Devlin Barrett,
March 14, 2019, Washington Post, Rescinded admissions, a class-
action suit: Fallout from college scandal spreads (https://www.washin
gtonpost.com/local/education/in-the-wake-of-operation-varsity-blues-
admissions-rescinded-at-usc/2019/03/14/26ba5164-4688-11e9-8aab
-95b8d80a1e4f_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1),
Retrieved March 15, 2018, "......"
13. Valerie Strauss (April 4, 2012). "Some 2012 college admissions rates
hit new lows" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/
post/some-2012-college-admissions-rates-hit-new-lows/2012/04/03/
gIQA5ElIuS_blog.html). Washington Post. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
14. Steve Cohen (September 23, 2011). "Top 10 myths of college
admissions" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/p
ost/top-10-myths-of-college-admissions/2011/09/22/gIQAEn8XoK_bl
og.html). The Washington Post. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
15. Andrew J. Rotherham (May 5, 2011). "Five Biggest Myths About
College Admissions" (http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,
2069625,00.html). Time Magazine. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
16. Anthony Zurcher, July 25, 2014, BBC News, Ivy League
miseducation (https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-2849
2894), Accessed July 26, 2014
17. Dwight Garner (March 3, 2011). "Application Adventure: A Dad's
College Essay" (https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/books/04book.
html). The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
18. Mamlet 2011, p. 27.
19. Mamlet 2011, p. 32.
20. Mamlet 2011, p. 28.
21. Mamlet 2011, p. 35.
22. Mamlet 2011, pp. 38–39.
23. Mamlet 2011, p. 30.
24. Kathleen Kingsbury (January 9, 2009). "Dirty Secrets of College
Admissions" (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2009/01/09/dirty-
secrets-of-college-admissions.html). The Daily Beast. Retrieved
July 7, 2012.
25. Mamlet 2011, p. 45.
26. Hernandez 2009, pp. 157–158.
27. Mamlet 2011, pp. 34–35.
28. Mamlet 2011, p. 42.
29. quoting Jennifer Delahunty, dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at
Kenyon College
30. Eyder Peralta (September 21, 2011). "Survey: Universities
Increasingly Admitting Students Based On Wealth" (https://www.npr.
org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/09/21/140681011/survey-universities-incr
easingly-admitting-students-based-on-wealth). NPR. Retrieved
December 12, 2011.
31. Mamlet 2011, p. 40.
32. Melissa E. Clinedinst; Sarah F. Hurley; David A. Hawkins (2011).
"2011 State of College Admissions" (http://www.nacacnet.org/resear
ch/PublicationsResources/Marketplace/research/Pages/StateofColle
geAdmission.aspx). National Association for College Admission
Counseling (NACAC). Retrieved January 14, 2013. "Previous
admission experience ... statistics/data analysis ... higher education
administration ... marketing/public relations ..."
33. Eric Hoover (August 4, 2010). "On 'Finite' Recruitment" (http://chroni
cle.com/blogs/headcount/on-finite-recruitment/26001). The Chronicle
of Higher Education. Retrieved January 14, 2013. "... They are
counselors, but also recruiters. They use marketing techniques, but
many don't like to use the "m word." ..."
34. Kelly Truong (July 1, 2010). "Admission Officials' Tweets Fall on
Deaf Ears" (http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/admission-offici
als-tweets-fall-on-deaf-ears/25254). The Chronicle of Higher
Education. Retrieved January 14, 2013. "... but college admissions
officers typically fall into the 30-to-40 age demographic ..."
35. Hernandez 2009, pp. 1–3.
36. Eric Hoover (June 29, 2011). "A 'Sea Change' in Admissions" (http://
chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/a-sea-change-in-admissions/28421).
The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved January 14, 2013. "...
rising costs ... impact of the web ... social media such as Facebook
or YouTube that admissions offices need to master."
37. Joanne Levy-Prewitt (December 30, 2006). "Juniors should be wary
of slick college admission come-ons" (https://web.archive.org/web/20
150329064823/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-132960540.html).
The Record (Bergen County, NJ) via Highbeam Research. Archived
from the original (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-132960540.htm
l) on March 29, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2012. "... If you are a
junior in high school, this winter or spring you are very likely to be
inundated with glossy view books and slick brochures ..."
38. Jacques Steinberg (May 19, 2011). " 'Best Colleges'? Counselors
Beg to Differ With U.S. News" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/20
11/05/19/nacac-on-usnews/). The New York Times. Retrieved
December 12, 2011.
39. Tanya Caldwell (March 26, 2012). "The Start of BigFuture, a New
College Planning Web Site" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/201
2/03/26/college-board-bigfuture-web-site/). The New York Times.
Retrieved May 17, 2012.
40. "Nonprofit at center of college scandal". [San Francisco Chronicle.
March 14, 2019.
41. Tanya Caldwell (April 6, 2012). "For International Students, a College
Admissions Checklist for April" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2
012/04/06/for-international-students-a-college-admissions-checklist-f
or-april/). The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
42. "Frequently Asked Questions about Finding a College" (http://diycoll
egerankings.com/frequently-asked-questions-about-finding-a-colleg
e/). diycollegerankings.com. 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
43. "US News & World Report rankings" (http://colleges.usnews.rankings
andreviews.com/college). US News & World Report. Retrieved
September 29, 2014.
44. "The 50 Best Colleges in America" (http://www.businessinsider.com/
best-colleges-in-the-us-2014-9?op=1).
45. "MONEY's Best Colleges" (https://best-colleges.time.com/money/full-
ranking#/list). TIME. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
46. "Washington Monthly's College Rankings" (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20141107154840/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/20
06/0609.libarts.html). Archived from the original (http://www.washingt
onmonthly.com/features/2006/0609.libarts.html) on November 7,
2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
47. "Forbes America's Top Colleges Ranking" (https://www.forbes.com/to
p-colleges/list/). Retrieved July 20, 2015.
48. Tanya Caldwell (April 18, 2012). "Rankings Did Not Motivate College
Official Who Falsified SAT Scores, Report Finds" (http://thechoice.blo
gs.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/claremont-mckenna-official-who-falisified
-sat-scores-was-not-motivated-by-rankings-report-finds/). The New
York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
49. Justin Pope (August 17, 2012). "Emory University Sent False Data
To Rankings Groups For More Than A Decade: Report" (https://www.
huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/20/emory-university-sent-fal_n_181028
7.html). Huffington Post. Retrieved August 20, 2012. "... Prestigious
Emory University intentionally misreported student data to rankings
magazines for more than a decade ...."
50. Lynn O'Shaughnessy (September 12, 2012). "How U.S. News'
College Rankings Can Hurt You" (http://www.thecollegesolution.com/
how-u-s-news-college-rankings-hurt-you). The College Solution.
Retrieved September 14, 2012. "One of the perverse aspects about
the rankings is that turning out thoughtful, articulate young men and
women, who can write cogently and think critically won't budge a
school's ranking up even one spot."
51. Lynn O'Shaughnessy (May 3, 2012). "The Realities of Merit
Scholarships" (http://www.thecollegesolution.com/the-realities-of-mer
it-scholarships). The College Solution. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
52. Lynn O'Shaughnessy (March 10, 2011). "The Real Cost of Attending
an Expensive East Coast University" (http://www.thecollegesolution.c
om/the-real-cost-of-attending-an-expensive-east-coast-university).
The College Solution. Retrieved August 20, 2012. "Rankings
Perversion – ... US News & World Report's college rankings doesn't
... bestow demerits for being unaffordable. ..."
53. Nicholas Thompson (September 2000). "Playing With Numbers: How
U.S. News mismeasures higher education and what we can do
about it" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130114232520/http://www.w
ashingtonmonthly.com/features/2000/0009.thompson.html).
Washington Monthly. Archived from the original (http://www.washingt
onmonthly.com/features/2000/0009.thompson.html) on January 14,
2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013. "... U.S. News rankings don't
measure how much students learn; ..."
54. " "Best For Whom?": College Admission Counselors Challenge Key
Assumptions About College Rankings" (https://web.archive.org/web/
20160413175648/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-256790465.ht
ml). States News Service (via Highbeam Research). May 19, 2011.
Archived from the original (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-2567
90465.html) on April 13, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2012. "... The
annual rankings of undergraduate colleges and universities by U.S.
News and World Report generate negative opinions among
professionals who work most closely with students and families ..."
55. Note: this "reputation survey" makes up 25% of the ranking.
56. Jaschik, Scott (June 20, 2007). "More Momentum Against 'U.S.
News' " (http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/06/20/usnews).
Inside Higher Ed.
57. "ANNAPOLIS GROUP STATEMENT ON RANKINGS AND
RATINGS" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070626055807/http://ww
w.collegenews.org/x7131.xml). Annapolis Group. June 19, 2007.
Archived from the original (http://www.collegenews.org/x7131.xml)
on June 26, 2007.
58. Note: associations include the National Association of Independent
Colleges and Universities and the Council of Independent Colleges.
59. Morse, Robert (June 22, 2007). "About the Annapolis Group's
Statement" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070702061309/http://ww
w.usnews.com/blogs/college-rankings-blog/2007/6/22/about-the-ann
apolis-groups-statement.html#read_more). U.S. News & World
Report. Archived from the original (https://www.usnews.com/blogs/co
llege-rankings-blog/2007/6/22/about-the-annapolis-groups-statemen
t.html#read_more) on July 2, 2007.
60. Mamlet 2011, pp. 133–134.
61. Mark Kantrowitz (April 11, 2009). "Guidance Office: Answers About
Financial Aid, Part 6" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/1
1/guidance-office-answers-about-financial-aid-part-6/). The New York
Times. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
62. Mamlet 2011, p. 160.
63. Excludes military academies and small specialized schools -
Caltech, Olin College, Cooper Union, Babson University, Curtis
Institute of Music, Juillard.
64. Lauren Lyster, Yahoo Finance. Only 150 of 3500 U.S. Colleges Are
Worth the Investment: Former Secretary of Education (https://financ
e.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/only-150-3500-u-colleges-worth-inves
tment-former-132020890.html), Accessed May 7, 2013
65. Note: for the complete list see external links under "ROI"
66. Singletary, Michelle (January 11, 2020). "Is college still worth it?
Read this study" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/persona
l-finance/is-college-still-worth-it-read-this-study/2020/01/10/b989451
4-3330-11ea-91fd-82d4e04a3fac_story.html). The Washington Post.
Retrieved January 12, 2020.
67. Mamlet 2011, p. 166.
68. Carolyn Butler (September 13, 2011). "Follow 7 Strategies to Get
Into College: To stand out in the admissions game, prepare early and
use common sense" (https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleg
es/articles/2011/09/13/follow-7-strategies-to-get-into-college?PageNr
=2). US News. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
69. Carolyn Butler, Arlene Weintraub, Justin Snider, Margaret Loftus,
Rett Fisher, Kimberly S. Wetzel (others) (2012). "Best Colleges:
Choose the Right School For You". US News & World Report. "2012
edition; various authors and rankings; pages 19, 20, 30, 62, 63, 68–
70, 78, 84, 86, 88, others"
70. Tanya Caldwell (March 30, 2012). "6 Tips About College Admissions
Results" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/6-tips-about
-college-admissions-results/). The New York Times. Retrieved
May 15, 2012.
71. "Schools That Meet Full Financial Need With No Loans" (https://ww
w.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/20
18-09-18/18-schools-that-meet-full-financial-need-with-no-loans).
U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
72. "Lectures – Professors" (http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/profess
ors/professorsbytopic.aspx). The Teaching Company. July 18, 2012.
Retrieved July 18, 2012. "Note: in some instances, professors may
have changed university affiliations since the year of publication of
their respective Teaching Company courses"
73. https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/tuition-and-fees, Accessed
August 27, 2019
74. Daniel de Vise (October 28, 2011). "College Web sites to post cost
calculators for prospective students" (https://www.washingtonpost.co
m/local/education/college-web-sites-to-post-cost-calculators-for-pros
pective-students/2011/10/27/gIQABj0SQM_story.html). Washington
Post. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
75. Mary Beth Marklein (February 7, 2012). " 'Best value' colleges: Some
have high price tags" (https://www.usatoday.com/news/education/sto
ry/2012-02-07/princeton-review-best-value-colleges-2012/52991578/
1). USA Today. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
76. Rebecca R. Ruiz (November 15, 2011). "Only One in Three Full-
Time Students Pays Full Tuition" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.co
m/2011/11/15/economix/). The New York Times. Retrieved May 25,
2012.
77. Jacob Goldstein (May 25, 2012). "The Price Of College Tuition, In 1
Graphic" (https://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/05/22/153316565/t
he-price-of-college-tuition-in-1-graphic). NPR. Retrieved May 25,
2012.
78. Paul Fain (May 2, 2010). "Why Deep Tuition Discounts May Not
Spell Financial Doom: They can be a useful tool as long as tuition
revenue is solid" (http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Deep-Tuition-Disc
ounts-May/65331/?viewMobile=0). The Chronicle of Higher
Education. Retrieved January 14, 2013. "... Discounting in higher
education began in the 1970s, as college admissions officers copied
the pricing systems used by airlines and other businesses. The
approach of charging as much as people would pay was novel in the
academy. ...."
79. Lynn O'Shaughnessy (May 31, 2011). "Don't Believe a College
Sticker Price" (https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-college-
solution/2011/05/31/dont-believe-a-college-sticker-price). US News.
Retrieved May 25, 2012.
80. "The Real Price Of College" (https://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/
05/11/152511771/the-real-price-of-college). NPR. May 11, 2012.
Retrieved May 25, 2012.
81. Judith Scott-Clayton (November 4, 2011). "College Is Cheaper Than
You Think" (https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/college-i
s-cheaper-than-you-think/). The New York Times. Retrieved May 25,
2012.
82. Jacob Goldstein (October 28, 2010). "Average Sticker Price For
Private College: $36,993 A Year" (https://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2
010/10/27/130867761/average-cost-for-a-year-of-private-college-40-
476). NPR. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
83. Kim Clark (October 29, 2011). "College costs climb, yet again" (htt
p://money.cnn.com/2011/10/26/pf/college/college_tuition_cost/index.
htm). CNN Money Magazine. Retrieved May 25, 2012. "While
community college tuition posted a sharp 8.7% gain, it's still a
bargain: only about $3,000 a year for full-time tuition."
84. NBC News, These Two Colleges Plan 'Tuition Reset' With 40
Percent Cut (https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/freshman-year/these
-two-colleges-plan-tuition-reset-40-percent-cut-n442876), Retrieved
October 12, 2015, "... two small private liberal arts colleges are
actually cutting tuition next year — by more than 40 percent. Utica
College in New York and Rosemont College in Pennsylvania ..."
85. New York Times, Top Colleges Doing the Most for the American
Dream (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/25/sunday-revi
ew/opinion-pell-table.html?emc=edit_ty_20170526&nl=opinion-today
&nlid=76434108&te=1&_r=0), Retrieved May 26, 2017
86. Chana Joffe-Walt; Jacob Goldstein (May 2, 2012). "How Colleges
Fight For Top Students" (https://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/05/0
2/151759177/how-colleges-fight-for-top-students). NPR. Retrieved
May 25, 2012.
87. Jay Conley (September 14, 2011). "New Online Tools Expected to
Lift Veil on College Sticker Prices: With federal mandate, all schools
must offer net price calculators online by October 29" (https://www.us
news.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2011/0
9/14/new-online-tools-expected-to-lift-veil-on-college-sticker-prices).
US News. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
88. Brian Burnsed (May 16, 2011). "Americans Split on Value of a
College Degree: A Pew study indicates many are skeptical, but
college graduates remain confident in their choices" (https://www.usn
ews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/05/16/americans-split
-on-value-of-a-college-degree). US News. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
89. Nona Willis Aronowitz, October 3, 2014, NBC News, Middle-Class
Squeeze: Is an Elite Education Worth $170,000 in Debt? (https://ww
w.nbcnews.com/news/education/middle-class-squeeze-elite-educatio
n-worth-170-000-debt-n212811), Retrieved October 3, 2014,
"... recruiting high-achieving, low-income kids to apply ... 18 percent
of Williams students now pay no tuition ... To offset the cost, these
schools often aggressively recruit students whose families can pay
the full cost ..."
90. Jacques Steinberg (January 20, 2012). "The Choice on 'Today': Tips
on Fafsa, and Net-Price Calculators" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.
com/2012/01/20/choice-on-today-fin-aid/). The New York Times and
The Today Show. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
91. Lynn O'Shaughnessy (June 25, 2012). "Will Your Home Equity Hurt
Financial Aid Chances? A Case Study" (http://www.thecollegesolutio
n.com/will-your-home-equity-hurt-financial-aid-chances-a-case-stud
y). The College Solution. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
92. "CNN Money college cost calculator" (http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tool
s/collegecost/collegecost.html). Retrieved September 29, 2014.
93. Lynn O'Shaughnessy (May 22, 2012). "Do You Really Expect Me to
Pay That Much for College?" (http://www.thecollegesolution.com/do-
you-really-expect-me-to-pay-that-much-for-college). The College
Solution. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
94. Beckie Supiano; Andrea Fuller (March 27, 2011). "Elite Colleges Fail
to Gain More Students on Pell Grants" (http://chronicle.com/article/P
ell-Grant-Recipients-Are/126892/). The Chronicle of Higher
Education. Retrieved September 14, 2012. "... Just under 15 percent
of the undergraduates at the country's 50 wealthiest colleges
received Pell Grants in 2008-9, ..."
95. Kim Clark (September 13, 2010). "College Cash 101: "Financial Aid
eBay" Winners Set Off Scholarship Bidding Wars" (https://www.usne
ws.com/education/blogs/college-cash-101/2010/09/13/financial-aid-e
bay-winners-set-off-scholarship-bidding-wars). US News. Retrieved
July 7, 2012.
96. Grace Wong (December 12, 2005). "Early decision action plan: Your
child has been accepted to the college of their dreams – but are you
sure you can afford it?" (http://money.cnn.com/2005/12/09/pf/college/
early_decision/index.htm). CNN/Money. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
97. Susannah Snider September 15, 2014, US News, Colleges and
Universities That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need (https://www.usn
ews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/0
9/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need),
Retrieved October 1, 2014
98. The New York Times, January 18, 2017, Some Colleges Have More
Students From the Top 1 Percent Than the Bottom 60. Find Yours. (h
ttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/18/upshot/some-college
s-have-more-students-from-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60.ht
ml?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_up_20170915&nl=upshot&nl_art=7
&nlid=76434108&ref=headline&te=1), Retrieved September 15,
2017
99. Valerie Strauss (October 3, 2011). "A new college admissions bible"
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/a-new-co
llege-admissions-bible/2011/10/02/gIQAZVhqHL_blog.html).
Washington Post. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
00. Mamlet 2011, p. 22.
01. Ry Rivard, October 28, 2013, Inside Higher Ed, Using FAFSA
Against Students (http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/28/c
olleges-use-fafsa-information-reject-students-and-potentially-lower-fi
nancial-aid), Accessed December 12, 2013, "... Now, some colleges
use this FAFSA position when considering students' applications for
admission, which may affect decisions about admission or placement
on the wait list, said David Hawkins ..."
102. CBS News, Lynn O'Shaughnessy, October 30, 2013, Be careful what
you share on the FAFSA (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/be-careful
-what-you-share-on-the-fafsa/), Accessed December 12, 2013,
"... The order, however, could also be hurting students who list their
favorite school as No. 1. If a teenager shows too much interest in a
school, the admission office may decide to offer the applicant a lower
award because it is assumed that the child will enroll anyway ..."
103. Liz Weston, Reuters, November 11, 2013, Daily Finance, Colleges
May Penalize Students Over Preference on Financial Aid
Applications (http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/11/11/colleges-may-
penalize-students-over-preference-on-financial-aid/#!slide=976781),
Accessed December 12, 2013, "... Students can list up to 10 schools
to receive their financial aid information, and the ones they list first
strongly predict which enrollment offers they're likely to accept,
college consultants say ..."
104. Lynn O'Shaughnessy, October 30, 2013, The College Solution, A
Dirty Little FAFSA Secret (http://www.thecollegesolution.com/a-dirty-l
ittle-fafsa-secret/), Accessed December 10, 2013
105. Rachel Fishman, October 28, 2013, Access to Higher Education,
Higher Ed Watch, The Dark Side of Enrollment Management (http://h
igheredwatch.newamerica.net/blogposts/2013/the_dark_side_of_enr
ollment_management-95569) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/
20131217224151/http://higheredwatch.newamerica.net/blogposts/20
13/the_dark_side_of_enrollment_management-95569) December
17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Accessed December 13, 2013,
"... The FAFSA should either not allow institutions to see where
students have applied or it should list the institutions in alphabetical
order ..."
106. Lynn O'Shaughnessy (November 29, 2011). "Take First Step to
Apply for College Financial Aid" (https://www.usnews.com/education/
blogs/the-college-solution/2011/11/29/take-first-step-to-apply-for-coll
ege-financial-aid). US News. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
107. Note: there are impostor websites similar to the official government
website, sometimes asking for fees; the official FAFSA website is
free; see FAFSA for further information
108. Victor Luckerson (January 25, 2013). "10 Tips for Getting the Most
Out of College Financial Aid" (http://business.time.com/2013/01/25/1
0-tips-for-getting-the-most-out-of-college-financial-aid/). Time
Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
109. Student Debt, by the numbers, Utne Reader, July–August 2012,
page 39
110. Jacques Steinberg (April 11, 2012). "Transferring to a State
University, and Saving Tens of Thousands of Dollars in the Bargain"
(http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/transferring-to-
save/). The New York Times: Education. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
111. "No Loans for Low Income Students" (http://www.finaid.org/question
s/noloansforlowincome.phtml). Smart Student Guide. May 17, 2012.
Retrieved May 17, 2012.
112. "Table 1. Number and percentage distribution of Title IV institutions,
by control of institution, level of institution, and region: United States
and other jurisdictions, academic year 2009–10" (http://nces.ed.gov/
das/library/tables_listings/showTable2005.asp?popup=true&tableID=
7062&rt=p). National Center for Educational Statistics, U.S.
Department of Education. 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
113. Lisa W. Foderaro (March 1, 2009). "Well-Regarded Public Colleges
Get a Surge of Bargain Hunters" (https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/
02/nyregion/02suny.html?ref=admissions). The New York Times.
Retrieved December 12, 2011.
114. Andrew J. Rotherham (December 1, 2011). "The Latest Wrinkle in
College Admissions: State schools are increasingly recruiting out-of-
state students who pay higher fees. But is this fair?" (http://ideas.tim
e.com/2011/12/01/the-latest-wrinkle-in-college-admissions/). Time
Magazine. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
115. Howard and Matthew Greene (October 22, 2003). "PBS: 'Ten Steps
to College' (transcript)" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/arti
cles/A21178-2003Oct13.html). Washington Post. Retrieved May 19,
2012.
116. Brennan Barnard (June 11, 2012). "How to Make the Most of a
College Visit" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/11/colleg
e-visit/). The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2012. "... there is
still no match for the gut feeling one gets when stepping on a college
campus ..."
117. Allen Millett; Leslie Goldberg (1999). "E-Campus Discussion
Lounge" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-adv/liveonline/viewpoi
nt/collink/collink120199.htm). Washington Post. Retrieved May 19,
2012.
18. Carl Elliott (June 27, 2012). "Lawn Boy: the College Years" (http://chr
onicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/lawn-boy-the-college-years/48619). The
Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved January 14, 2013. "Never
have I seen such careful attention to landscaping. ..."
19. Jenna Johnson (March 26, 2012). "Tips for maximizing your college
admissions visits" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/campus-o
verload/post/tips-for-maximizing-your-college-admissions-visits/201
2/03/26/gIQAqFVTcS_blog.html). Washington Post. Retrieved
May 18, 2012.
20. Source: presentation by Michael Szarek, April 2012.
21. Valerie Strauss (interviewer) Angel B. Perez (interviewee) (March 7,
2010). "College admissions strategies: Don't listen to friends, and
more" (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/college-admi
ssions/college-admissions-strategies.html). The Washington Post.
Retrieved December 12, 2011.
22. Mamlet 2011, p. 142.
23. Michael Szarek (2011). "17 Things to Remember" (http://cc4therestof
us.com/17-things-to-remember-in-surviving-the-college-decision-pro
cess/). College Counseling for the Rest of Us. Retrieved
December 17, 2011.
24. Jay Mathews (January 20, 2012). "5 wrong ideas about college
admission" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/po
st/5-wrong-ideas-about-college-admission/2012/01/19/gIQAayDXBQ
_blog.html). Washington Post. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
25. Marc Silver (August 16, 2010). "Rocketing Past the College
Admissions Blunders: Deans and college counselors have seen it all,
from the sublime to the ridiculous" (https://www.usnews.com/educati
on/best-colleges/applying/applying-101/articles/2010/08/16/rocketing
-past-the-college-admission-blunders). US News. Retrieved
December 12, 2011.
26. Mamlet 2011, p. 67-70.
27. Mamlet 2011, p. 74.
28. Stacey Kostell; Michele Hernandez; Steve Loflin; Katherine Cohen
(October 12, 2011). "How Can High School Seniors Improve Odds of
College Admissions?" (https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/coll
ege-admissions-experts/2011/10/12/how-can-high-school-seniors-im
prove-odds-of-college-admissions). US News. Retrieved
December 12, 2011.
29. Mamlet 2011, p. 76.
30. Mamlet 2011, p. 73.
31. Mamlet 2011, p. 43.
32. Mamlet 2011, p. 23.
33. Karen W. Arenson (January 17, 2008). "Applications to Colleges Are
Breaking Records" (https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/education/
17admissions.html?ref=admissions). The New York Times.
Retrieved December 12, 2011.
34. Caldera, Camille (February 22, 2019). "Record 43,330 Apply to
Harvard College Class of 2023" (https://www.thecrimson.com/article/
2019/2/22/record-applicants-admissions-2019/). The Harvard
Crimson. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
35. Daniel Golden (May 29, 2001). "Glass Floor: Colleges Reject Top
Applicants, Accepting Only the Students Likely to Enroll" (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20120426082540/http://www.tdy-perdiem.com/clu
b1/college12.htm). The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the
original (http://www.tdy-perdiem.com/club1/college12.htm) on April
26, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
36. Nancy Meislahn; Don Fraser Jr.; Jolyn Brand; George Mills (July 20,
2011). "What Are Some Mistakes to Avoid in the College Admissions
Process?" (https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-admissi
ons-experts/2011/07/20/what-are-some-mistakes-to-avoid-in-the-coll
ege-admissions-process). US News. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
37. {{Scott Jaschik, April 23, 2018, Inside Higher Ed, Social Media as
'Fair Game' in Admissions: Survey finds that majority of college
officials and students think it is legitimate to examine applicants'
social media accounts. But declining numbers do so. (https://www.in
sidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/04/23/new-data-how-colle
ge-admissions-officers-view-social-media-applicants) Retrieved
August 26, 2019
38. Data sourced from Common Data Set published by colleges for Fall
2018 admission (2018-2019)or college news releases and student
publications
39. Admission rates at public universities are much lower for out-of-state
applicants. The higher admit rate for in-state applicants may be set
by law or regulation as a minimum or defined by how certain in-state
applicants must be admitted (e.g., those meeting a certain class rank
or GPA). The numbers in the common data sets provide a blended
rate for the entire class regardless of residency of applicant or
admitted student.
140. Kim Clark (November 15, 2010). "8 Big Changes to College
Admissions in 2010 and 2011" (https://www.usnews.com/education/b
est-colleges/applying/articles/2010/11/15/8-big-changes-to-college-a
dmissions-in-2010-and-2011). US News. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
141. Richard Pérez-Peña; Jenny Anderson (January 13, 2012). "As a
Broader Group Seeks Early Admission, Rejections Rise in the East"
(https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/education/early-admission-app
lications-rise-as-do-rejections.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&pagewan
ted=all). The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
142. Jacques Steinberg; Rebecca R. Ruiz (December 20, 2011). "Early
Line on Early Admissions" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/
12/20/2012-early-admission/). The New York Times. Retrieved
May 15, 2012.
143. "Tufts University, Office of Institutional Research, 2018-19 Common
Data Set" (https://provost.tufts.edu/institutionalresearch/about-tufts/c
ommon-data-set/). Tufts University, Office of Institutional Research.
Retrieved August 29, 2019.
144. "American University, Office of Institutional Research and
Assessment, Common Data Set 2018-19" (https://www.american.ed
u/provost/oira/upload/cds_americanu_2018-2019-2.pdf) (PDF).
Retrieved August 29, 2019.
145. Kim Clark (December 27, 2010). "6 Kinds of Students Shouldn't
Apply to College Early: Late bloomers and those who need financial
aid benefit from regular applications" (https://www.usnews.com/educ
ation/best-colleges/applying/articles/2010/12/27/6-kinds-of-students-
shouldnt-apply-to-college-early). US News. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
146. Neal Gabler (January 10, 2010). "The college admissions scam" (htt
ps://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/20
10/01/10/the_college_admissions_scam/). Boston Globe. Retrieved
May 18, 2012.
147. Scott Jaschik (February 25, 2011). "Elite universities surrender to
early admissions" (https://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-
02-25-early-admissions_N.htm). USA Today. Retrieved
December 12, 2011.
148. Hernandez 2009, pp. 36.
149. Hernandez 2009, pp. 33.
150. Diana Hanson; Esther Walling; Craig Meister; Kristen Tabun
(November 16, 2011). "Which College Admissions Deadline Should
You Choose?" (https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-ad
missions-experts/2011/11/16/which-college-admissions-deadline-sho
uld-you-choose). US News. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
151. Nona Willis Aronowitz, March 6, 2014, NBC News, Does the New
SAT Spell Doom for the Test Prep Industry? (https://www.nbcnews.c
om/news/education/does-new-sat-spell-doom-test-prep-industry-n45
936), Accessed March 6, 2014
152. Note: answer = 14; for further explanation, click on the picture and
read the description.
153. Mamlet 2011, p. 98.
154. Theo Emery (September 25, 2009). "College Options (And
Strategies) for the 'B' and Even 'C' Student" (http://thechoice.blogs.n
ytimes.com/2009/09/25/nacac-b-c/). The New York Times. Retrieved
December 12, 2011.
155. Hunter, Jeffrey G.; Samter, Wendy (July 1, 2000). "A college
admission test protocol to mitigate the effects of false negative SAT
scores" (https://archive.today/20130125041452/http://www.highbea
m.com/doc/1P3-56122130.html). Journal of College Admission via
Highbeam Research. Archived from the original (http://www.highbea
m.com/doc/1P3-56122130.html) on January 25, 2013. Retrieved
August 20, 2012. "According to Gandara and Lopez (1998), SAT
scores will be weighted anywhere from "almost not at all" to "heavily"
in the admission decision, depending upon the college or university."
156. Hernandez 2009, pp. 57.
157. "ACT vs SAT: Key differences between the ACT and SAT" (http://ww
w.studypoint.com/ed/act-vs-sat/). Studypoint.com. 2012. Retrieved
June 22, 2012.
158. Mamlet 2011, p. 92.
159. Renee Dudley, September 21, 2016, Reuters, Despite warnings,
College Board redesigned SAT in way that may hurt neediest
students (https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/college
-sat-redesign/), Retrieved October 12, 2016, "...no penalty for
guessing wrong, ... encourages students to answer every question ...
simply earn points for the questions you answer correctly..."
160. Note: SAT updated in 2016
161. Jacques Steinberg (September 12, 2010). "Q. & A. College
Admissions; ACT vs. SAT: Deciding Which Exam to Take" (https://qu
ery.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEEDF1339F931A2575A
C0A9669D8B63). The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
62. Sarah Gonzalez (November 10, 2011). "SAT Tests Favor White,
Male Students, Book Argues" (http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2011/
11/10/sat-tests-favor-white-male-students-book-argues/). NPR
Florida. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
63. Hernandez 2009, pp. 59–65.
64. Mamlet 2011, p. 94.
65. Hernandez 2009, pp. 97.
66. Hernandez 2009, pp. 115–116.
67. "All Members" (https://web.archive.org/web/20121031075325/https://
www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Members.aspx). The Common
Application. Archived from the original (https://www.commonapp.org/
CommonApp/Members.aspx) on October 31, 2012. Retrieved
November 1, 2012.
68. Hernandez 2009, pp. 107.
69. Hernandez 2009, pp. 153–156.
70. Dunbar 2007, pp. 29, 36, 38, 83–96.
71. Dunbar 2007, p. 62, 66, 67.
72. Dunbar 2007, p. 93.
73. Sanjay Solomon, January 30, 2015, The Boston Globe, Can a
Failure Resume Help You Succeed? (https://www.boston.com/jobs/n
ews/2015/01/30/can-failure-resume-help-you-succeed/uTBdq9A7LfX
XF7vVOlG9oM/story.html), Retrieved January 30, 2016, "... "Asking
'what is your biggest failure?' is an opportunity [for an interviewer] to
get a reality check and to put a little pressure on this person"...."
74. Dunbar 2007, pp. 110–122.
75. Hanley, Thomas A., Jr. (January 1, 2005). "Shyness and the College
Admission Process: Who is Being Left Out?" (https://archive.today/2
0130125180139/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-809396571.htm
l). Journal of College Admission. Archived from the original (http://ww
w.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-809396571.html) on January 25, 2013.
Retrieved August 20, 2012. "... If two applicants appeared
academically equivalent on paper and both were interviewing at a
top tier school, the gregarious, self-confident candidate would most
likely be perceived more favorably than the timid and self-conscious
one ..."
76. University, Undergraduate Admission at Stanford. "How to Apply :
Stanford University" (https://admission.stanford.edu/apply/freshman/
apply.html). admission.stanford.edu. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
77. Jeremy S. Hyman; Lynn F. Jacobs; Jonathan Reider (September 15,
2010). "10 Tips for Writing the College Application Essay" (https://ww
w.usnews.com/education/blogs/professors-guide/2010/09/15/10-tips-
for-writing-the-college-application-essay). US News. Retrieved
December 12, 2011.
78. Dunbar 2007, p. ix.
79. Dunbar 2007, pp. 11–21.
80. Dunbar 2007, p. 25.
81. Gelb, Alan (May 14, 2012). "The College Admissions Essay: Finding
a Topic" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/14/the-college-
admissions-essay-finding-a-topic/). The New York Times. Retrieved
May 15, 2012. "For your college admissions essay, you will be asked
to write 500 flawless words ... As far as I'm concerned, the only
taboo is shameless self-promotion."
82. Mamlet 2011, p. 207.
83. Dunbar 2007, p. 34.
84. Dunbar 2007, pp. 67–68.
85. For example: "I did this, I did that, then I did this" and on and on ...
86. Dunbar 2007, p. 50.
87. Dunbar 2007, p. 54.
88. Dunbar 2007, p. 136+.
89. Dunbar 2007, p. 147.
90. Hernandez 2009, pp. 130–136.
91. Hernandez 2009, pp. 6–9.
92. Mamlet 2011, p. 58.
93. Anders, George (December 1, 2014). "What Essays Thrill Elite
Schools? These Teens Will Show You" (https://www.forbes.com/site
s/georgeanders/2014/12/01/what-essays-thrill-elite-schools-these-te
ens-will-show-you/). Forbes. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
94. Bonnie Rochman (March 26, 2012). "The Latest Trend in College
Admissions: Parents Write Letters of Recommendation: Some
colleges are starting to ask Mom and Dad to put in a written plug for
their progeny in the college admissions process" (http://healthland.ti
me.com/2012/03/26/the-latest-trend-in-college-admissions-parents-w
rite-letters-of-recommendation/). Time Magazine. Retrieved May 18,
2012.
95. Hernandez 2009, pp. 153.
196. Hernandez 2009, pp. 137.
197. Frank Bruni, January 19, 2016, The New York Times, Rethinking
College Admissions (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/opinion/re
thinking-college-admissions.html?_r=0), Accessed January 19, 2016
198. Lisa Heffernan and Jennifer Wallace, January 20, 2016, The
Washington Post, To get into college, Harvard report advocates for
kindness instead of overachieving (https://www.washingtonpost.com/
news/parenting/wp/2016/01/20/to-get-into-college-harvard-report-adv
ocates-for-kindness-instead-of-overachieving/?tid=sm_fb), Retrieved
January 20, 2016, "...Parents, educators and college administrators
have long wrestled with the unintended negative side effects ...
intense focus on personal achievement and the unfair advantages of
more affluent students...."
199. "International Student Enrollments Increase in 2010/11" (http://www.ii
e.org/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/Press-Center/Press-Releases/
2011/2011-11-14-Open-Doors-International-Students). Retrieved
September 29, 2014.
200. Sally Holm (interviewer) Sean Logan (interviewee) (Winter 2013).
"Inside College Counseling with Director Sean Logan" (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20150510172036/https://www.andover.edu/About/Ne
wsroom/TheMagazine/Documents/AndoverMagSeanLogan.pdf)
(PDF). Andover Magazine. Archived from the original (https://www.a
ndover.edu/About/Newsroom/TheMagazine/Documents/AndoverMag
SeanLogan.pdf) (PDF) on May 10, 2015. Retrieved February 24,
2013.
201. "Apply to uni in the USA – The Student Room – The Student Room"
(http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Applying_to_the_United_Stat
es). The Student Room. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
202. Halls, Andrew (September 29, 2011). "The American dream: How to
apply to a US university" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/univ
ersityeducation/8796366/The-American-dream-How-to-apply-to-a-U
S-university.html). The Daily Telegraph. London.
203. "US Admissions Criteria – Undergraduate Study in the USA – US-UK
Fulbright Commission" (http://www.fulbright.org.uk/study-in-the-usa/u
ndergraduate-study/applying/admissions-criteria#academics).
Retrieved September 29, 2014.
204. "Study Abroad Grants – Study Abroad Funding – University In The
USA" (https://web.archive.org/web/20141225040629/http://www.uniin
theusa.com/how-why/us-applications/1449/interviews). Archived
from the original (http://www.uniintheusa.com/how-why/us-applicatio
ns/1449/interviews) on December 25, 2014. Retrieved
September 29, 2014.
205. Wallis, Janette (October 7, 2011). "Why study in the US could be a
bright idea" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducati
on/8810587/Why-study-in-the-US-could-be-a-bright-idea.html). The
Daily Telegraph. London.
206. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130124222427/htt
p://www.intstudy.com/study-in-america/study-advice/apply-to-study-in
-america). Archived from the original (http://www.intstudy.com/study-i
n-america/study-advice/apply-to-study-in-america) on January 24,
2013. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
207. NACAC (2010). "Survey". Summit High School. "(from a handout by
the SHS guidance department); note: percent is those colleges
agreeing that each factor exerted "considerable importance" in their
decision to admit students"
208. Jenny Anderson (August 5, 2011). "For a Standout College Essay,
Applicants Fill Their Summers" (https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/0
6/nyregion/planning-summer-breaks-with-eye-on-college-essays.htm
l?ref=admissions). The New York Times. Retrieved December 12,
2011.
209. Mamlet 2011, p. 69.
210. Kayla Webley (April 12, 2012). "How Colleges Really Make
Admissions Decisions" (http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/04/12/how-c
olleges-really-make-admissions-decisions/). Time Magazine.
Retrieved May 17, 2012.
211. Hernandez 2009, pp. 104.
212. Dunbar 2007, p. 6.
213. Hernandez 2009, pp. 66–71.
214. Hernandez 2009, pp. 110–111.
215. Unigo.com, Author (July 13, 2018). "10 colleges that don't require
SAT or ACT scores" (https://www.unigo.com/get-to-college/college-s
earch/test-optional-colleges-10-colleges-that-dont-require-sat-or-act-
scores). Unigo.com. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
216. Mamlet 2011, p. 57.
217. Mamlet 2011, p. 53.
218. Hernandez 2009, pp. 146.
219. Mamlet 2011, p. 13.
20. Mamlet 2011, p. 41.
21. Note: quoting William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions and
Financial Aid at Harvard University.
22. Hernandez 2009, pp. 139.
23. Peter Van Buskirk (June 9, 2010). "9 Testing Tips for College
Applicants" (https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-college-ad
missions-insider/2011/08/29/9-testing-tips-for-college-applicants).
US News. Retrieved October 15, 2012. "... Keep the "superscore" in
mind: At most colleges, admissions officers look at the best
combination of scores."
24. Devon Keefe (August 17, 2009). "Develop a Testing Strategy.
(Kaplan)(presenting SAT Reasoning Test scores for college
application)" (https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-207214496).
Newsweek via Questia Online Library. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
"Even many schools that have "opted out" of Score Choice have
suggested that they will continue to "super score" students' test
scores (i.e., take the highest sectional score from each test and
combine them)."
25. Valerie Strauss (June 9, 2010). "Do colleges superscore ACT and
SAT equally?" (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/sat-a
nd-act/superscoring-act-vs-sat.html). The Washington Post.
Retrieved October 15, 2012. "... most schools superscore both the
ACT and the SAT. While many schools do, many more do so for the
SAT than the ACT."
26. Daniel de Vise (February 8, 2012). "College, Inc" (https://www.washi
ngtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/guest-post-calculator-shopping
-the-night-before-the-sat/2012/02/08/gIQAoVc0yQ_blog.html). The
Washington Post. Retrieved October 15, 2012. "Not many
superscore the ACT, because they'd have to work with five separate
numbers, including a composite that often has been rounded up or
rounded down ..."
27. "Athletes get break on college admission standards" (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20160409204017/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-
21070487.html). Charleston Daily Mail. Associated Press. December
31, 2009. Archived from the original (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/
1P2-21070487.html) on April 9, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2012. "...
A review of admissions data submitted to the NCAA by most of the
120 schools in college footballs top tier shows that athletes enjoy
strikingly better odds of having admission requirements bent on their
behalf. ..."
28. Rebecca R. Ruiz (November 15, 2011). "Debating Legacy
Preferences in Admissions" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/201
1/11/15/legacy-admissions/?ref=admissions). The New York Times.
Retrieved December 12, 2011.
29. Dunbar 2007, p. 155.
30. Steve Cohen; Anne Dwane; Paulo de Oliveira; Michael Muska
(2011). "Getting In! The Zinch Guide to College Admissions" (https://
books.google.com/books?id=MKQOs-pXjA4C&pg=PA197&lpg=PA19
7&dq=%22banding%22+%22college+admissions%22&source=bl&ot
s=cvCC9OD8qJ&sig=WmOiJ1Qq3PzxPxjhH9hYKCwneaE&hl=en&s
a=X&ei=EfKiT82wNcX06AGOs6ndCA&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAQ#v=one
page&q=%22banding%22%20%22college%20admissions%22&f=fal
se). Wiley Publishing. Retrieved May 3, 2012. "(see page 197)"
31. Mamlet 2011, p. 121.
32. Note: colleges can tell whether emails are opened or not by a
prospective student.
33. Note: admissions officers can see all colleges applied to that are
listed on the FAFSA form, and there are reports that some colleges
interpret being first or second on the FAFSA list as a sign of
demonstrated interest
34. Note: "likely" meant there was an estimated 80% chance of
acceptance by the college
35. Dunbar 2007, p. 55.
36. Dunbar 2007, p. 56, 57.
37. Dunbar 2007, pp. 69–82.
38. An admissions staffer at Gettysburg College (who requested to
remain anonymous) agreed most application essays were boring.
39. Hernandez 2009, pp. 130–131.
40. Tough, Paul (September 10, 2019). "What College Admissions
Offices Really Want" (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/1
0/magazine/college-admissions-paul-tough.html,%20https://www.nyti
mes.com/interactive/2019/09/10/magazine/college-admissions-paul-t
ough.html). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 (https://www.worl
dcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved September 17, 2019.
241. Kate Zernike (March 30, 2009). "Paying in Full as the Ticket Into
Colleges" (https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/education/31colleg
e.html?adxnnl=1&ref=admissions&adxnnlx=1323736058-Eaz0sOFg
vQqaLKkSLqo30g). The New York Times. Retrieved December 12,
2011.
242. Tamar Lewin (September 21, 2011). "Universities Seeking Out
Students of Means" (https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/21/education/
21admissions.html). The New York Times. Retrieved December 12,
2011.
243. Stacey Kostell (November 23, 2011). "Does Financial Need Impact
College Admissions Chances?" (https://www.usnews.com/education/
blogs/college-admissions-experts/2011/11/23/does-financial-need-im
pact-college-admissions-chances). US News. Retrieved May 18,
2012.
244. Jeremy Diamond, Sarah Ferris, October 21, 2013, The GW Hatchet,
GW misrepresented admissions and financial aid policy for years (htt
p://www.gwhatchet.com/2013/10/21/gw-misrepresented-admissions-
and-financial-aid-policy-for-years/), Accessed December 13, 2013,
"... Administrators now say the admissions process has always
factored in financial need. But that contradicts messaging from the
admissions and financial aid offices that, as recently as Saturday,
have regularly attested that the University remained need-blind ..."
245. Hernandez 2009, pp. 209–210.
246. Claudio Sanchez (March 1, 2012). "Case Renews Focus On Race In
College Admissions" (https://www.npr.org/2012/03/01/147663617/ca
se-renews-focus-on-race-in-college-admissions). NPR. Retrieved
May 18, 2012.
247. Valerie Strauss (February 22, 2012). "College admissions: How
diversity factors in" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-s
heet/post/college-admissions-how-diversity-factors-in/2012/02/20/gI
QAs0BHSR_blog.html). Washington Post. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
248. Pete Williams and Erin McClam, NBC News, June 24, 2013,
Supreme Court raises bar for affirmative action in college admissions
(http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/24/19115041-supreme-
court-raises-bar-for-affirmative-action-in-college-admissions?lite),
Accessed December 31, 2013, "... it amounts to a warning to
colleges nationwide that the courts will treat race-conscious
admissions policies with a high degree of skepticism ..."
249. "Some Asians' college strategy: Don't check 'Asian' " (https://www.us
atoday.com/news/education/story/2011-12-03/asian-students-college
-applications/51620236/1). USA Today. Associated Press. December
4, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
250. Daniel E. Slotnik (February 8, 2012). "Do Asian-Americans Face
Bias in Admissions at Elite Colleges?" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytime
s.com/2012/02/08/do-asian-americans-face-bias-in-admissions-at-eli
te-colleges/). The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
251. Kara Miller (February 8, 2010). "Do colleges redline Asian-
Americans?" (https://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/
oped/articles/2010/02/08/do_colleges_redline_asian_americans/).
Boston Globe. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
252. Andrew Lam, January 30, 2017, The New York Times, White
Students' Unfair Advantage in Admissions (https://www.nytimes.com/
2017/01/30/opinion/white-students-unfair-advantage-in-admissions.h
tml?em_pos=small&emc=edit_ty_20170130&nl=opinion-today&nl_ar
t=13&nlid=76434108&ref=headline&te=1&_r=0), Retrieved January
31, 2017, "...There's ample evidence that Asian-Americans are at a
disadvantage in college admissions..."
253. Hernandez 2009, pp. 201.
254. Hernandez 2009, pp. 118.
255. "Trump administration dials back Obama-era affirmative action
guidance" (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-administration-dial
s-back-obama-era-affirmative-action/story?id=56347886).
256. Green, Erica L.; Apuzzo, Matt; Benner, Katie (July 3, 2018). "Trump
Officials Reverse Obama's Policy on Affirmative Action in Schools"
(https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/us/politics/trump-affirmative-ac
tion-race-schools.html). The New York Times.
257. "Trump administration revokes Obama-era guidance on race in
admissions" (https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politi
cs/ct-trump-college-admissions-race-20180703-story.html).
258. "Trump Administration Will Roll Back Obama-Era Guidelines
Encouraging Colleges to Consider Race in Admissions Process" (htt
ps://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/07/affirmative-action-trump-roll
ing-back-obama-guidelines-race-college-admissions-process.html).
July 3, 2018.
259. Hernandez 2009, pp. 121–122.
60. Neal Conan (January 15, 2004). "Analysis: College admissions and
legacies" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160409190610/https://www.
highbeam.com/doc/1P1-89438132.html). NPR Talk of the Nation (via
Highbeam Research). Archived from the original (http://www.highbea
m.com/doc/1P1-89438132.html) on April 9, 2016. Retrieved
August 20, 2012. "... it can mean as much as 100 or 200 points on
the SATs, ..."
61. Dunbar 2007, p. 166.
62. Golden, Daniel (September 9, 2006). "How Lowering the Bar Helps
Colleges Prosper" (https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB11577425181775
7837). Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660 (https://www.worldcat.or
g/issn/0099-9660). Retrieved June 10, 2012.
63. Jacques Steinberg; Katie Zezima (May 18, 2010). "Campuses
Ensnared by 'Life of Deception' " (https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/
19/education/19harvard.html?pagewanted=all). The New York
Times. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
64. "Georgetown moves to expel two students in aftermath of ..." (https://
www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/05/15/georgetown-moves-
expel-two-students-aftermath-admission-scandal/) Retrieved
September 21, 2019.
65. "Yale rescinds admission of a student whose family paid $1.2 million
to get her in" (https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/25/us/yale-rescinds-st
udent-admissions-scandal/index.html). Retrieved September 21,
2019.
66. "Stanford expels student admitted with falsified sailing credentials" (h
ttps://www.stanforddaily.com/2019/04/07/stanford-expels-student-ad
mitted-with-falsified-sailing-credentials/). www.stanforddaily.com.
Retrieved September 21, 2019.
67. "Harvard rescinded admission for racist comments. It wasn't the first
time" (https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/18/us/harvard-rescind-admissi
on/index.html). www.cnn.com. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
68. "Harvard Rescinds Acceptances for At Least Ten Students for
Obscene Memes" (https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/6/5/202
1-offers-rescinded-memes/). Retrieved September 21, 2019.
69. Tanya Caldwell (June 18, 2012). "University Sends 'Fear of God'
Letter to Students With Senioritis" (http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.co
m/2012/06/18/university-sends-fear-of-god-letter-to-students-with-se
nioritis/). The New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2012. "College-
bound seniors beware: ... failing grades ... your university may soon
threaten to rescind your admission ..."
70. "On College: Think hard and rationally before appealing a UC
school's denial of admission" (https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/0
3/24/on-college-think-hard-and-rationally-before-appealing-a-uc-scho
ols-denial-of-admission/). Retrieved September 21, 2019.
71. "Admissions Decision Appeal" (https://admissions.wvu.edu/forms-an
d-procedures/admissions-decision-appeal). admissions.wvu.edu.
Retrieved September 21, 2019.
72. Note: figure for Fall 2010 admission cycle was 48% of colleges using
wait lists.
73. Jacques Steinberg (April 13, 2010). "For Students, a Waiting List Is
Scant Hope" (https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/education/14waitl
ist.html?ref=admissions). The New York Times. Retrieved
December 12, 2011.
74. Lynn O'Shaughnessy (April 9, 2010). "Getting Off a College Wait
List: 5 Things to Do Now" (https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505145_
162-37241846/getting-off-a-college-wait-list-5-things-to-do-now/).
CBS News. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
75. Zach Miners (April 9, 2010). "You've Been Put on the Wait List for
College. Now What?" (https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colle
ges/right-school/timeline/articles/2010/04/09/youve-been-put-on-the-
wait-list-for-college-now-what). US News. Retrieved December 31,
2011.
References
Coates, Ken; Morrison, Bill (2015). What to Consider If You're Considering College: New Rules for Education and Employment. Dundurn.
ISBN 978-1459723726.
Dunbar, Donald (2007). What You Don't Know Can Keep You Out of College (https://archive.org/details/whatyoudontknowc0000dunb). Gotham
Books. ISBN 978-1-59240-302-8.
Hernandez, Michele A. (2009). A is for Admission: The Insider's Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges. Grand Central
Publishing. ISBN 978-0-446-54067-4.
Mamlet, Robin; Vandevelde, Christine (2011). College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step. New York: Three Rivers
Press. ISBN 978-0-307-59032-9.
External links
276. "University of Pennsylvania Common Data Set 2018-19" (http://www.
upenn.edu/ir/Common%20Data%20Set/UPenn%20Common%20Dat
a%20Set%202018-19.pdf?pdf=CDS%202018-19) (PDF). Retrieved
September 21, 2019.
277. "Tulane Common Data Set 2018-19" (https://tulane.app.box.com/s/z
wm37ymscy77bx5oh0elusqfcsnl66sz). Retrieved September 21,
2019.
278. "University of Oregon Common Data Set 2018-19" (https://ir.uorego
n.edu/sites/ir1.uoregon.edu/files/CDS_2018-2019.pdf) (PDF).
Retrieved September 21, 2019.
279. Scott Jaschik (April 4, 2011). "The Other 'Summer Melt' in
Admissions" (http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/04/04/new_r
esearch_points_to_a_summer_melt_issue_for_low_income_student
s). Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
280. Scott Jaschik; Kevin Kiley (May 5, 2011). "Private colleges try to
round out fall's enrollment into summer" (https://www.usatoday.com/n
ews/education/2011-05-05-college-admissions-summer_n.htm).
USA Today. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
281. Note: wait list admits are the number of students initially put on the
wait list, who were eventually offered admission and who accepted
this offer.
282. "Vanderbilt 2018-19 Common Data Set" (https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/v
u-wp0/wp-content/uploads/sites/300/2019/08/15201349/Common-Da
ta-Set-2018-2019.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved September 21, 2019.
283. Tracy Jan (April 18, 2009). "Students hope to beat college waiting
list" (https://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/200
9/04/18/students_hope_to_beat_college_waiting_list/). The Boston
Globe. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
284. David Moltz (February 18, 2010). "More private colleges court
community college transfers" (https://www.usatoday.com/news/educ
ation/2010-02-18-IHE-transfer-students-18_ST_N.htm). USA Today.
Retrieved May 19, 2012.
285. Lynn O'Shaughnessy (November 16, 2010). "Transfer Students: 8
Things You Need to Know" (https://www.usnews.com/education/blog
s/the-college-solution/2010/11/16/transfer-students-8-things-you-nee
d-to-know). US News. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
286. Bill Schackner (March 28, 2012). "Transfers a hot commodity for
colleges" (http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/education/transf
ers-a-hot-commodity-for-colleges-240047/). Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Retrieved May 18, 2012.
287. Roman, Marcia A. (January 1, 2007). "Community College
Admission and Student Retention" (https://archive.today/201301251
03740/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1209566581.html).
Journal of College Admission (via Highbeam Research). Archived
from the original (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1209566581.ht
ml) on January 25, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2012. "Community
colleges enroll nearly half the undergraduates in the U.S."
288. Kim Clark (January 16, 2009). "Obama's Lessons for Transfer
Students: His former roommate talks about what he and Obama
learned about switching between colleges" (https://www.usnews.co
m/education/articles/2009/01/16/obamas-lessons-for-transfer-studen
ts). US News. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
289. Tim Barker (February 5, 2012). "Meet the transfers – they are
academic nomads: Schools, government seek to streamline system
to help more students make switch to four-year colleges, keep credit
hours they have earned" (https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/educa
tion/meet-the-transfers---they-are-academic-nomads/article_075d61
0e-dc58-5686-abfe-61c803e18594.html). St. Louis Today. Retrieved
May 19, 2012.
 Estimated college cost calculator (https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/paying-your-share/expected-family-contribution-calculator#)
hosted by the College Board
CSS Profile college aid estimator (https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/) hosted by the College Board
National Center for Education Statistics (https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/) College navigator
Workshop on campus visits (https://vimeo.com/121807311)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=College_admissions_in_the_United_States&oldid=952268574"

This page was last edited on 21 April 2020, at 11:23 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.