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Undergraduate Admissions Uncensored

The single best guide to all things that ‘matter’ in admissions

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In the months immediately following publication of the third edition of Admission Matters, Sally Springer, lead author, was quite certain there would be no fourth edition. As Springer freely admits, “Updating a book like Admission Matters takes a great deal of time and effort and it essentially takes over your life for many months.”

Springer is right of course. But lucky for us, she and her co-authors, Jon Reider and Joyce Vining Morgan, had a change of heart and recently got back together to produce the fourth edition of Admission Matters—the single, most useful college guide currently on the market.

“Admission Matters is not just comprehensive, it’s a paper version of a great college counselor,” commented Maria Furtado, executive director of Colleges That Change Lives.

Jennifer Delahunty, former dean of admissions and financial aid at Kenyon College, agrees, “Filled with both common sense and sage advice, the fourth edition of Admission Matters is the only guide any high school student—and his or her parent—will ever need.”

Since publication of the last edition in 2013, there have been remarkable changes in financial aid, standardized testing and application platforms. Application numbers have exploded, pushing selectivity to the limits of comprehension at a number of elite colleges. And the skyrocketing costs associated with a college education continue to far outpace annual increases in the cost of living.

From the outside looking in, the entire process of selecting and applying to colleges appears totally out of control—characterized by neither predictability nor humanity.  And instead of looking forward to their next chapter, high school students and their families have come to dread even starting the conversation.

But along comes Admission Matters with a reassuring message—“College admissions does not have to be, and should not be, an ordeal.”

To back this up, the Admission Matters team worked hard to update information and incorporate changes in an easy-to-understand narrative designed to give readers confidence in themselves and their ability to master the process and not have the process master them.

While the fourth edition of Admission Matters will look familiar to those who have read and relied on the third edition, there is a good deal of new material “sprinkled throughout” in addition to thorough updates—some even made at the page proof stage, when they were important enough.

 

As someone who annually reads and reviews a considerable number of college guidebooks, I’m very choosy about which ones I recommend.  In fact, the list is very short.

Since I discovered Sally Springer and her book at a NACAC conference several years ago, Admission Matters has been and remains at the top of that list. This is because I want to recommend a guide that is up-to-date, accurate and offers the kind of advice I offer to families, in user-friendly terms.

Following its predecessors, the fourth edition of Admission Matters is thorough, crystal clear, and very direct about what college applicants need to do and how to do it.

The authors are seasoned professionals with more than 100 years of experience in secondary and higher education in the roles of high school teacher and college counselor, college admissions officer, college professor and administrator, and independent educational consultant. They are parents themselves who have undertaken the college admissions journey with their own kids.

Admission Matters covers all the nuts and bolts of college admission—from developing a balanced college list to applying for financial aid. Tucked into appendices, there are worksheets, an application timeline and an annotated list of additional resources.  And to keep Admission Matters as current as possible, the authors are maintaining a website with free updates and additional materials.

I highly recommend Admission Matters to anyone with a college-bound student going through the process this fall or anyone wanting to be a little bit better prepared for the future.

And this recommendation goes for admissions professionals in colleges, schools, or working independently.

You won’t find a better, more comprehensive admissions guide on the market today.

Admission Matters is available online (on Amazon via the image below) and in bookstores everywhere.

James Madison University goes ‘test-optional’ for 2017-2018

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James Madison University

Joining a growing number of colleges and universities, James Madison University (JMU) will be rolling out a test-optional admissions policy for 2017-18. Students seeking admission will no longer be required to submit tests results from either the SAT or the ACT as part of the JMU application process.

Unlike other Commonwealth universities, which have also decided to downgrade reliance on standardized tests in admissions, JMU will not be adding any “strings” to their new policy. There will be no minimum GPAs, similar to test-optional policies in use by Christopher Newport University, George Mason University or Virginia Commonwealth University.  Applicants will be entirely free to decide whether they want to include test scores along with their applications.

“We’re providing applicants to Madison the opportunity to build their best application which could include test results, recommendation, or personal statement,” explained Joe Manning, JMU’s Associate Dean of Admission. “We’ve determined that our students’ high school curriculum is a more consistent indicator of their academic success.”

As the university works to update their website to reflect the change in policy, information on the application process for the coming year has been communicated during on-campus information sessions, including one for counselors last month.  In a nutshell, JMU will only require that applicants submit an application for admission (one choice will be the Coalition Application), a high school transcript, and a senior schedule of classes. An applicant can also submit, if they choose, a personal statement, a letter of recommendation and/or standardized test results to be used in the review of their application. Because this is a substantial change from how things were done in the past, JMU is developing a method for applicants to request the university delete test results that may already be on file in the admissions office.

The new policy didn’t come as a huge surprise to counselors who have worked with Madison over the years. It’s been evident by their decisions that application readers placed significant importance on information conveyed via the transcript—grades and consistent rigor of coursework throughout high school. Test results, while considered, appeared to be of secondary importance in Madison’s admissions decisions.

And JMU is joining an impressive group of colleges and universities that have made the decision to reduce the role of scores in admissions.  According to the nonprofit National Center for Fair and Open Testing (FairTest), the list of test-optional schools has grown to more than 950 accredited institutions awarding bachelor’s degrees, with more than 275 highly “ranked” in their “tiers” by U.S. News, including such familiar names as Bowdoin, Mount Holyoke, Pitzer, Smith, Trinity College, Wesleyan, Wake Forest, Providence and College of the Holy Cross.

In addition to James Madison, the most recent schools to announce test-optional policies are Emerson College in Boston, University of the Ozarks and Wofford College in South Carolina.  In the DC/Maryland/Virginia region, American, Catholic, Christopher Newport, GMU, George Washington, Goucher, Hampton, Hood, Loyola Maryland, Marymount, Old Dominion, Radford, Roanoke, Salisbury, St. John’s College, Trinity Washington University, Mary Washington, VCU and Washington College have either test-flexible or test-optional policies in place.

There appear to be a number of reasons for the recent “surge” in test-optional colleges. According to Robert Schaeffer, public education director for FairTest, “Admissions offices increasingly recognize that they do not need ACT or SAT scores to make good decisions. They know that an applicant’s high school record—grades and course rigor—predicts undergraduate success better than any standardized exam.”

Questions colleges don’t always like to answer

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The recent announcement of plans to drop four varsity sports from the University at Buffalo’s (UB)  roster of Division 1 offerings pretty much puts a face on what counselors and other admissions professionals have been warning about the impact of funding cuts on both public and private institutions.

UB recently revealed that men’s soccer, men’s swimming and diving, baseball and women’s rowing will no longer be sponsored. This decision affects 120 students currently on team rosters (30 other students on those rosters will graduate this year). Although UB’s athletes have been offered the opportunity to stay in school with scholarships intact, the reality is they won’t get to compete at the D1 level. And competition for athletes who have spent a lifetime honing skills is pretty fundamental.

For these athletes or department heads facing academic program cuts, it’s no secret that college administrators and boards are increasingly being asked to make hard choices as they struggle with demographic and economic realities in a battle for long-term survival and institutional health.

And a divide is opening between financially healthy colleges versus those that are not, making it imperative for students and their parents to understand how financial constraints affect colleges, application processes, and admissions decisions.

Given the current economic climate, here are some questions colleges don’t always like to answer:

  1. How has the admissions office been affected by budget cuts?
    Even in the face of increased numbers of applications to process, admissions budgets aren’t growing. As a result, admissions offices are making do with less. Glossy view books and travel allowances are becoming scarce, as colleges seek additional ways to trim budgets while continuing to respond to front office demands for more applicants. With tight budgets to manage, colleges are increasingly relying on enrollment management programs to guide and support the admission process, effectively allowing technology to take over recruitment and some elements of application review. As a result, students need to understand that their privacy is constantly under attack by colleges attempting to probe both qualifications and interest. Toward this end, seemingly benign third-party organizations seek to obtain and resell key pieces of information, ranging from standardized test scores to family income, to colleges hungry for data that can be fed into algorithms designed to assess credentials and guess at likelihood of enrollment. In other words, through skillful use of technology, admissions offices are not only saving money but also manipulating metrics important to ranking and outside perceptions of “quality”—both vital to long-term institutional health.
  2. Has the application process been affected?
    To gain better control over the process and factors affecting selectivity and “yield” (the percent of students accepting an offer of admission), colleges are experimenting with different early action and binding early decision plans. Rather than setting up a process that encourages a single windfall of applications late in the season, admissions offices are looking for a more even distribution of work from September to May. And the appeal of early decision candidates committed to attending at the front end of the process is undeniable for both management and yield. Some colleges find it more efficient to force hard decisions earlier by denying larger percentages of early applicants—it takes time and money to read and re-read applications. Others prefer keep all options on the table by rolling large numbers of applicants into the regular pool. And given uncertainties inherent in a process that indiscriminately recruits and makes it relatively easy to submit applications, colleges look for ways to cover all bets by enlarging and employing wait lists—secret weapons in the battle to improve yield and control investment in financial aid. Seeking an early understanding of policies and being aware of the institutional incentives behind these policies may help guide application strategies. But given the number of uncertainties affecting budgets, staffing and priorities, don’t be surprised if what you thought you knew is no longer true. It’s not unusual for colleges to make substantial changes in application procedures—sometimes late into the year. So feel free to ask the question.
  3. Are priorities changing in financial aid?
    While the new timeline imposed by an October 1 FAFSA start date and the use of “prior-prior year” income information for determining awards suggests a more sensible and timely approach to financial aid, the jury is still out as to how successful the new plan will be for both students and institutions. At the same time they are dealing with various logistical issues, colleges formerly boasting of “need-blind” admissions or “no loan” packaging are reassessing their policies to ensure adequate financial aid resources remain available to the greatest number of students. Most but not all colleges offer merit scholarships that are important recruitment tools in the process. But variations in the balance between grants and loans in financial aid packages make some colleges appear more generous than they really are. It’s not unusual for colleges to engage in “gapping” (not covering full need) when offering financial aid, but the gaps appear to be getting larger. And be aware that not all guarantee merit scholarships for four full years. To save money without harming published freshmen retention rates, colleges may not continue scholarships after two years—even if all academic requirements have been met. Although it really pays to be a savvy shopper before applying and committing to a school, keep in mind that financial aid offices ultimately hold all the cards and their incentive is to keep costs low while at the same time recruiting top prospects. Understanding the institution’s approach to financial aid from the very beginning could save disappointment later.
  4. Are budget cuts affecting programs?
    Ask Buffalo’s baseball players or Temple’s rowers or the swimmers at the University of Maryland why this may be important. While some cuts cannot be anticipated, others may be planned and colleges have a responsibility to make them public. Be aware that the question isn’t limited to sports. Responding to increased pressure to emphasize more marketable majors, colleges are re-configuring programs—cutting some and adding new opportunities. At a more basic level, colleges may be quietly increasing class size, making it more difficult to get some majors, relying more heavily on teaching assistants (TA’s), or offering specific classes less often—even eliminating them altogether. Short of finding that a program or major has been done away with, students may experience difficulty finishing in four years if classes are overloaded or simply unavailable, especially in areas where coursework is highly sequenced. And if the prospect of transferring sometime in your undergraduate career doesn’t appeal, make sure the programs (including athletic) in which you are interested are on firm footing with the institution.
  5. Will there be changes in requirements for graduation?
    Sometimes this can work in your favor. Loyola University of Chicago reduced the number of credit hours required for graduation from 128 to 120. But because AP/IB or other outside college credits earned during high school can mean significant money both to you and the institution, take the time to see how these credits may be applied (toward graduation or specific majors) and ask if the college anticipates changes in these kinds of arrangements. For example, Dartmouth no longer grants credit for AP or IB examinations. Placement and some exemptions may be offered instead. In other words, Dartmouth can now count on four years of tuition payments from undergrads. And the questions can be even more complex involving credit for internships, co-ops or research. If the goal is to graduate in four years or less, it’s worth investigating if there are plans under consideration that might affect your ability to graduate on time.
  6. What is the impact on student services?
    Applicants don’t always take into account the real value of the student services component when considering colleges. As schools discover they can make money from room and board packages, students may find themselves limited by restrictive housing policies and meal plans. For lots of different reasons—including financial—colleges are limiting students to on-campus housing for more years. The more captive the audience, the less risk involved in building glamorous new facilities. But beyond day-to-day living, services also include everything from library or gym facilities and hours, to tech support, career advising, health/mental health services or academic support for writing centers and math labs. These should be “growing” operations, and if they aren’t, budget cuts in these areas might be concerning.

Because colleges won’t always volunteer the information, it’s important that you do some in-depth research and ask the questions necessary to understand potential game changers.

Make it your mission to test whether the college “experience” promised today will be there four years from now, and make sure the process by which you get there is clear.

Waitlisted in 2017—you have lots of company

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For the admissions office, it’s a critical tool used to control the flow of students admitted to the institution. But for the applicant who has waited six long months for a decision, the wait list feels like a one-way ticket to nowhere.

And for students manipulated by enrollment management systems designed to attract thousands only to admit a select few, all we can say is, “Welcome to purgatory.”

The wait list scenario is particularly frustrating for the subset of applicants who were organized enough to submit early—Early Action, Early Action II, Single Choice Early Action, Restricted Early Action, Early Decision I or even Early Decision II—only to find themselves sitting on one or several wait lists.

And despite what “experts” might say, waitlisted students can only rely on anecdotal evidence as to what has worked in the past to move an application from wait list to admit.  What may have been successful last year, won’t necessarily work this time. There are just too many factors at play.

But hope springs eternal.

For the most part, colleges are unapologetic about using the hopes of waitlisted students to further enrollment goals designed to fill freshman classes with the best, brightest and most highly qualified high school students.

And those familiar with the game know the wait list is used to shape a class profile that aspires to be balanced between males and females, is geographically and racially diverse, meets legislated residency requirements, fills the needs of obscure departments or sports teams, and still covers some part of the college operating budget.

“Essentially, the wait list exists to accommodate for demographics that were not met in the initial round of admission offers,” explains Richard Clark, director of undergraduate admissions for Georgia Tech, in a blog post titled, The Wait List Sucks. “If you have the right number of deposits from the West coast, you go to your wait list for more East coast students. If you have enough Chemistry majors, you may be going the wait list for Business students. Ultimately, the job of admission deans and directors is to make and shape the class, as defined by institutional priorities. Meeting target enrollment is critical to bottom line revenue, creating a desired ethos on campus, proliferating the school’s brand, and other factors.”

For the record, wait lists are almost never prioritized and are almost always unpredictable.

And all too often, schools promoting “needs blind” admissions quietly convert to “needs sensitive” when it comes to plucking a few lucky students from the list. Consequently, most bets are off for financial aid if you come through the wait list.

In other words, there’s no ranking, no money, and not much hope.

Sometimes, the list is hardly more than a thinly disguised public relations scam designed to keep agitated parents, alums, and other interested parties at arm’s length. It represents a political solution to an uncomfortable situation.

We can all agree that waitlisted is not a great place to be. If you’ve been accepted or rejected, your status is clear. You can move on with your life. But waitlisted is living with uncertainty.

And at the end of the day, very few waitlisted students are invited to the dance.

Here are some 2016-17 Common Data Set statistics (Question C2) published by a handful of colleges and universities:

Amherst College
Waitlisted: 1269 (582 accepted places on the wait list)
Admitted: 3 (33 in 2015; 61 in 2014; 49 in 2013)

Barnard College
Waitlisted: 1615 (1340 accepted places)
Admitted: 59 (6 in 2015; 21 in 2014; 41 in 2013)

Carnegie Mellon University
Waitlisted: 3809
Admitted: 7 (4 in 2015; 73 in 2014; 87 in 2013)

College of William and Mary
Waitlisted: 4115 (2037 accepted places)
Admitted:  154 (187 in 2015; 59 in 2014; 96 in 2013)

Cornell University
Waitlisted: 4571 (2874 accepted places)
Admitted:  61 (81 in 2015; 96 in 2014; 168 in 2013)

Dartmouth College
Waitlisted: 2064 (1194 accepted places)
Admitted:  16 (129 in 2015; 0 in 2014; 87 in 2013)

Dickinson College
Waitlisted: 810 (238 accepted places)
Admitted: 29 (0 in 2015; 0 in 2014; 10 in 2013)

George Mason University
Waitlisted:  1218 (839 accepted places)
Admitted:  200 (350 in 2015; 684 in 2014; 252 in 2013)

Georgetown University*
Waitlisted:  2184 (1249 accepted places)
Admitted:  149 (114 in 2014; 82 in 2013)
*2016-17 data is not being made available

Goucher College
Waitlisted: 102 (46 accepted places)
Admitted: 20 (7 in 2015; 8 in 2014; 2 in 2013)

James Madison University
Waitlisted:  2560 (1585 accepted places)
Admitted:  205 (500 in 2015; 166 in 2014; 405 in 2013)

Princeton University
Waitlisted: 1237 (840 accepted places)
Admitted: 18 (39 in 2015; 41 in 2014; 33 in 2013)

University of Michigan
Waitlisted: 11,197 (3970 accepted places)
Admitted: 36 (90 in 2015; 91 in 2014; 89 in 2013)

University of Richmond
Waitlisted: 3209 (1236 accepted places)
Admitted:  60 (151 in 2015; 12 in 2014; 95 in 2013)

University of Virginia
Waitlisted: 4987 (2871 accepted places)
Admitted:  360  (402 in 2015; 42 in 2014; 185 in 2013)

Villanova University
Waitlisted: 5452 (2677 accepted places)
Admitted: 26 (50 in 2015; 464 in 2014; 350 in 2013)

Virginia Tech
Waitlisted:  2118 (1544 accepted places)
Admitted:  0 (750 in 2015; 110 in 2013)

Washington and Lee University
Waitlisted:  1529 (652 accepted places)
Admission offers: 48 (193 in 2015; 72 in 2014; 96 in 2013)

Williams College
Waitlisted:  2343 (864 accepted places)
Admission offers: 24 (53 in 2015; 70 in 2014; 44 in 2013)

Numbers vary by year depending on how accurately the admissions office pegged its “yield” or how desperate the need to control the composition of the freshman class. For colleges with unfilled seats after May 1st, the pool of waitlisted students is like a candy jar from which they can pick and choose depending on wants and needs.

“The wait list is a reminder that I’m not very smart,” continues Clark.  “If I were better at my job, I could predict exactly how many students each year would accept our offer of admission.”

Sure there are steps you can take to try to get off the list—write a letter, get another recommendation, meet with an admissions rep—but there is an emotional cost which must be factored in.

“This is probably the toughest decision to get from a school,” explains Dean J, in her UVa admission blog. “For now you need to look at your other options and think about which one feels right to you.  Some of you will want to hold on and see what happens with the waiting list and others will want to fully invest themselves in another school.”

There is no right or wrong here—only what is right for the individual student.

But is the list generally worth the wait?

Sometimes, but not usually.

Georgetown dean suggests admissions advantage for students submitting the ‘new’ SAT

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Students submitting ACT scores to Georgetown University this year could have been at an admissions disadvantage relative to those submitting results from the new or “redesigned” SAT, according to a statement made last week by Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Charles Deacon.

“A lot of people are advised by their high school counselors maybe to take the ACT, which we don’t think is great advice,” said Deacon in an interview published by The Hoya, Georgetown’s student-run newspaper, in reference to testing strategies used by applicants for fall 2017 admission.

Why would that be? Because Dean Deacon believes, based on what he heard from the College Board, that scores from the redesigned SAT appear higher than those from either the old SAT or the ACT.

And he’s right—sort of. But there’s a reason. In fact, there are several reasons why the scores are higher, including that it’s an entirely different test.

While rumors have circulated for years about Georgetown’s alleged preference for College Board products, this is the first time a statement seeming to confirm the bias has appeared in print. And it comes in the context of transitioning from the “old” SAT, last given in January, 2016, to the redesigned SAT, which debuted in March, 2016.

During the transition to the new test, a large number of students planning to apply for fall 2017 opted to take the ACT, to avoid what appeared to be a significant number of unknowns in content and scoring for the new SAT. Still others took the old SAT for some of the same reasons.

And many took various permutations and combinations of the three tests. But for Georgetown, it seems that students submitting the new SAT might have had an advantage over those submitting only the old SAT or the ACT.

Once initial scores from the new SAT came in and were analyzed by the College Board, a conversion tool was devised and posted online that compared those scores with those from the older test and the ACT.

While the ACT initially protested that the concordance was completed without sufficient study, the resulting comparisons made it clear that students taking the new test were coming in with numerically higher scores than in the past. It didn’t mean they necessarily did better and could look forward to applying to more selective schools. It simply meant the numbers were higher and a translating tool between the old and new tests was necessary to compare applicants.

As a result, a number of test prep organizations and individual colleges devised detailed tables designed to facilitate these comparisons. Princeton Review distributed a quick SAT-ACT comparison table as a bookmark for counselors to keep at their desks.  Compass Prep compiled and published “estimated” new SAT score ranges for 360 popular colleges and universities, using most-recently reported old SAT scores translated via concordance into new SAT scores.

According to this translation, Georgetown went from a published midrange of 1320-1500 for the old SAT to an estimated midrange of 1390-1560 for the new SAT. In other words, students taking the new SAT would have to score higher to stay within Georgetown’s most recent 25th-75th percentile of entering freshmen.

But Georgetown evidently didn’t look at it that way. A counselor newsletter circulated last fall said, “We do not plan to use the College Board’s concordance tables to adjust SAT I scores in either direction.” This policy was recently confirmed by a representative from the Georgetown admissions office.

Instead, admissions readers were asked to look at scores “contextually” and without a tool to facilitate comparisons among applicants submitting different tests.

At the same time, The Hoya reported Deacon as noting that Georgetown saw an increased number of students taking and submitting scores for the ACT that looked “lower” when compared to the new, inflated SAT scores.  “Deacon said this trend could have hurt students who preferred to submit ACT scores instead of the new SAT scores they received because they considered it to look more impressive.”

Reacting to concerns about any disadvantage suffered by students submitting the ACT only, Dean Deacon, speaking through a representative, said he was concerned that students “traditionally preparing” for the SAT were interrupted in their preparations by counselors who encouraged them to switch to the ACT, and this may have produced lower scores.

In other words, he felt that any harm done was a result of switching tests and not a result of any Georgetown bias produced by failing to recognize the new scale and use concordance tables to translate scores from one test to the other.

James Murphy, the Director of National Outreach for The Princeton Review disagrees, “The decision to treat the new SAT scores as if they are equivalent to the old test is a misuse of the exam, and College Board would be the first to say so.  It almost certainly hurt students who applied to Georgetown.”

Georgetown is still working on compiling numbers for the Class of 2021, and admissions results will be mailed by the end of this week.

Admissions data visualized

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Once again, self-described “tableau dabbler,” Jon Boeckenstedt, associate vice president for enrollment management at DePaul University, has come up with easy-to-use tools for visualizing basic college admissions data.

Drawing from information compiled in Peterson’s Undergraduate database and the Peterson’s Undergraduate Financial Aid database, both copyright 2016 by Peterson’s-Nelnet, Boeckenstedt has created a series of ten “views” or charts showing test scores, male and female admit rates, early decision vs. regular admit rates, need data as well as some general international student information to be used with caution.

And the colorful “optics” can be very revealing as well as educational for anyone putting together a college list.

For example, by looking at “SAT Math distributions,” it’s very easy to see that an applicant to Caltech with less than a 700 Math SAT has nearly no chance of admission as 98.9 percent of the freshman class entering fall 2015* (the teal-color bar) had math scores over 700 (exact numbers can be found by hovering your mouse over the bar).  Judging from ACT Composite distributions, the student with less than a 30 Composite ACT score had no chance of admission to Caltech.

Using the same database, Boeckenstedt lays out 25th and 75th percentiles for SAT CR and Math scores as well as ACT Composites. Looking at the ACT view, for Stanford University, the 25th percentile of the distribution was 31 and the 75th percentile was 35—not too promising for a student with an ACT Composite below 31.

“While test scores are not the primary factor in admissions decisions, these charts can give you a good sense of where you might stand in the applicant pool,” explained Boeckenstedt. “And while you might not eliminate yourself from consideration if your scores are close to the border between one range and another, it’s clear that high scores are an important consideration at many of these institutions.”

Admit rate data, or the percentage of applicants offered admission, is equally interesting.  The chart illustrating the difference between admit rates for men and women shows exactly how wide the margin can be. For example, in fall 2015, the admit rate for men at Vassar College was 35.4 percent and for women was 21.5 percent—a significant difference easily visualized by the distance between the purple and orange dots. At Harvey Mudd College, the admit rate for men was 9.4 percent while the admit rate for women was 21.4 percent—the dots are reversed!

But it’s the chart documenting the early decision (ED) and overall admit rates and their difference that could possibly suggest application strategies.  In fall 2015, the admit rate for ED candidates at Tufts University was 39.2 percent, but the overall admit rate was only 16.1 percent, suggesting a huge advantage for ED applicants. This is confirmed in the light blue bar to the right of the chart showing the difference between the two rates.

Boeckenstedt warns that it’s important to be realistic about admit rates. “A 15% admission rate does not mean that your chances are one in seven; your chances may be better or worse based on any one of many factors in your file.”And, “if you’re a top student in the applicant pool, your chances are probably better; if not, and if there is nothing else to get your application noticed, your chances are almost certainly worse.”

He goes on to add, “…it’s clear that Early Decision makes the choice about where to apply, and under what plans, even harder.”

All of Boeckenstedt’s charts may be filtered by state. And to navigate the various views, simply click the gray boxes or arrows along the top. Use the scroll bar to move down the view, and hover over any data point to show details.

For the record, all the score information is given in terms of the “old” SAT and not the “new” SAT.

*3/17/17 Correction

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Colleges that substitute graded papers for essays or test scores

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Colleges use many different tools for evaluating an applicant’s writing skills.

And considering the number of remedial writing and communications classes offered at even the most prestigious institutions, the need for making an accurate assessment of college-readiness in this key area is becoming increasingly important.

To assess writing ability, colleges may carefully review grades in writing-intensive English, history, and social science classes.  Or they may require one or more essays as part of an application for admission.

Some colleges factor in SAT or ACT writing scores during their evaluations.  Less frequently, they might even download and review an essay written for a standardized test.

And a handful of colleges invite or require the submission of a “graded” paper in lieu of an essay or as part of additional requirements for test-optional/test-flexible admissions.

At last count, over 50 Common Application member colleges, including Agnes Scott, Amherst, Brandeis, and Sarah Lawrence have made provision for uploading or otherwise receiving graded papers. In fact, the Coalition Application has built-in capacity for both storing and adding these kinds of documents to applications.

And it’s not such a bad idea.

Graded papers not only provide insight into a student’s basic writing ability, but they also speak volumes about a high school’s grading system.

For example, an “A” on a paper filled with grammar, spelling or syntax errors obviously diminishes the value of the grade and suggests the possibility of grade inflation at work within a specific class or at the high school in general.  And it may say something about the applicant’s ability to recognize fundamental mistakes in their own work.

On the other hand, a “C” on a beautifully written essay could be indication of a particularly difficult or demanding class or school.

“There were times when I would be reading the essay being awed by the poor level of writing, while the teacher still gave an A to the student,” said former dean of admissions and financial aid Tom Parker, in an interview with the Amherst Student. “[A graded paper] was a great opportunity to have a deeper look into the varying levels of writing education in high schools.”

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to discover if a college is inviting a graded paper or how it should be submitted.  And there are usually no guidelines as to what should accompany the paper, if anything. But it might be helpful to include a cover sheet with basic identifying information such as the student’s name and birthdate; the name of the course for which the paper was written noting honors, AP or IB; the specific assignment or essay prompt; and possibly the final grade for the class.

Once the decision has been made about what to send, students sometimes need to figure out how to send it, as colleges vary enormously on how they prefer to receive graded papers—upload, U.S. mail, fax, or email.

Although the Common App offers easy-to-use tools for uploading graded papers, a number of colleges have mysteriously chosen to make the process more complicated. For these members, the Common App may only provide an easily missed link on the “My Colleges” page under “First-Year Test Policy.”  If you follow the link, you may be given instructions for submitting the paper.  Or not.

To make things even more challenging, a note might appear under the “Instructions & Help Center” column to the right of the college-specific preferred testing question usually after you mark your intention to go test-optional.

And sometimes, the Common Application provides no information relative to paper submissions.  In this case, you’re on your own to find instructions on a school’s website or wait until the college sends you an email outlining the process.

This might be where the Coalition Application’s Student Locker comes in handy. As part of its package of application tools, the Coalition Application makes the Locker available as an easy-to-use repository for graded papers and other documents related to a student’s high school career. Using the Coalition platform, a student can very easily attach papers to applications requesting them.

So how does an applicant find out if a college requires or invites the submission of a graded paper or will accept a paper in lieu of test scores?

This is where it’s to a student’s benefit to research and compare different application formats accepted by individual colleges. The best place to start is the school website, where allowable applications will be listed. And don’t be surprised to find multiple applications used by a single college, including the Common App, the Universal College Application (UCA), the Coalition Application, the Cappex Application, a school-based online application and/or a paper version of the same.

Although it may take a little time, it’s often worth the effort to investigate the requirements of each application because they may differ significantly. And you should pick the application that is easiest to use and best represents your credentials.

For example, many Common Application member colleges list on their websites other application forms, which allow students to substitute graded papers for essays—even when the Common Application doesn’t.  This year, the University of Chicago allowed a graded paper to be substituted for an essay only for those students using the Coalition Application.

To give you an idea of how complicated these questions can be, here are some Common App member colleges that provide for paper (graded or otherwise) submissions:

  • Agnes Scott (Member Question upload—Preferred testing plan)
  • Albright College  (homeschooled students/optional for others)
  • Amherst College (Writing Supplement)
  • Augustana, IL (Link on My Colleges)
  • Austin College (Member Question—Preferred testing plan)
  • Baldwin-Wallace (Member Question upload—Preferred testing plan)
  • Bennington College (Dimensional Application)
  • Bloomfield College (Writing Supplement)
  • Brandeis (Writing Supplement—test flexible)
  • Butler University (option for international applicants)
  • Caldwell University (Website)
  • Catholic University (homeschooled students)
  • Cedar Crest College (online application)
  • Chatham University (Writing Supplement)
  • College of Saint Rose (Website)
  • Daemen College (Website)
  • Elizabethtown College (Website)
  • Emerson College (option for students deferred from early action)
  • Fairfield University (Member Question upload)
  • Franklin and Marshall (link on My Colleges)
  • Franklin Pierce University (Website)
  • Gettysburg College (homeschooled applicants)
  • Green Mountain College (Writing Supplement)
  • Guilford College (Test optional instructions provided in tool bar)
  • Hiram College (Website)
  • Hood College (option for international applicants)
  • Hampshire College (Writing Supplement)
  • Kings College (Website)
  • Lake Erie College (Website)
  • Lewis and Clark (Member Question upload—Preferred testing plan)
  • Lynchburg College (Website)
  • Marietta College (Website)
  • Marlboro College (Writing Supplement—writing sample)
  • Muhlenberg (Instructions provided under Preferred testing plan)
  • Niagara University (Website)
  • Oberlin College (Writing Supplement: homeschooled applicants)
  • Providence College (homeschooled applicants)
  • Roanoke College (Member Questions—test optional consideration)
  • Saint Leo University (Instructions provided in tool bar and on website)
  • Sarah Lawrence (Member Question upload)
  • Siena College (Website)
  • SUNY Plattsburgh (Website)
  • Stetson (Writing Supplement)
  • St. John Fisher College (Website)
  • St. Olaf College (Coalition Application)
  • Union College (Coalition Application)
  • University of Chicago (Coalition Application)
  • University of Evansville (Website)
  • University of Scranton (Website)
  • University of the Sciences (Website)
  • Ursinus College (international applicants)
  • Washington College (Website)
  • Wheaton College MA (Website)
  • William Jewell College (Website)
  • Yale University (Coalition Application)

Other colleges offering the graded paper option include Catawba College, Hellenic College, Point Park University, the University of Baltimore, and the University of Oregon (alternate admission process).

And here’s a tip for underclassmen:  begin saving or setting aside good examples of graded papers.  You never know when they might come in handy.

Colleges offer advice on deferral

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Too many applicants who applied early this fall are finding they’ve been neither accepted nor rejected, but deferred to a much larger regular admissions pool. And this is not a particularly happy place to be, especially if you were counting on having the college admissions thing totally wrapped up by winter break.

But there’s really not much sense in dwelling on the negative. Think of the deferral as an opportunity to explore other options. And although there are no guarantees, continuing the campaign for admission to the college that deferred you will sometimes work in your favor.

After the initial shock is past, take stock of the situation and make a plan, preferably in consultation with your school counselor or an independent educational consultant with whom you’ve been working. Once you decide to press your case, it’s usually advisable to provide new information in the way of grades, scores and accomplishments.  Note that it’s very important to follow directions, which should be clearly outlined on the school website or in the notice of deferral.

But not every college specifically states what it is they want in the way of follow-up. Some are coy and general about the kinds of information they’d like to see, preferring to leave it to the imagination of applicants wishing to demonstrate continued interest or improve their odds for admission. Others specifically list the materials they’d like to see and the process by which they should be submitted. Most colleges encourage continued communication, especially with regional representatives.

Still others, like the University of Virginia, warn against sending additional information or making contact with the admissions office. This approach is more the exception than the rule and may be subject to some flexibility—even for UVa.

There are some consistent ‘themes’ in the advice provided by different colleges to students they deferred. One that often surprises applicants is how much they are encouraged to retake standardized tests in January or February. This is usually not welcome news for students who thought they were finished with all that!

In any event, the following is a sample of the many ways colleges and universities want to hear from students deferred:

Brown University
You may certainly let us know if there is a significant accomplishment or a noteworthy change in your circumstances, but it is not necessary to amend your application as a matter of course. Remember that a deferral does not mean that an applicant has fallen short in terms of qualification for admission. Make sure that your counselor has the Mid-Year Report form so we can receive your fall term grades and any updates your school would like to provide.   http://www.brown.edu/admission/undergraduate/ask?faq_category=All

College of William and Mary
As a deferred student, your application will automatically be reviewed again, in its entirety, during our Regular Decision review process in the spring….Over the coming weeks, you are welcome to send us any new academic information (first-semester grades, updated standardized test scores) as well as any high-level awards or significant accomplishments not included in your original application. You can also send us a letter/email/statement of continued interest. If you elect to send us such a statement, this does not have to be anything overly elaborate. This should simply be a few paragraph explanation of why you feel like William & Mary is the best fit for you. Whenever we receive such materials (academic information, awards accomplishments, statements of continued interest, etc.) we make sure to file everything appropriately with your application.     http://wmblogs.wm.edu/admiss/decisions-decisions-early-decision-2016-edition/

Elon University
When Early Decision and Early Action applicants are deferred, the admissions committee is requesting new information to be used in reconsidering your application in the Regular Deadline program. While receiving a deferred decision may be disappointing, receipt of new information in the form of mid-year grades or updated standardized test scores provides you the opportunity to be considered for admission in the final pool.  https://www.elon.edu/e/admissions/undergraduate/apply/path-of-a-first-year-application.html

Emory University
Students who are deferred to Regular Decision should send first semester senior grades from their high school and any new application information.      http://apply.emory.edu/apply/ed.php

Georgetown University
Early Action admission is offered to a limited number of students, those whom the Admissions Committee is certain they would offer admission based on information from freshman, sophomore and junior years only. Deferred students are strongly encouraged to maintain high senior year grades and submit any new information, such as standardized test scores, new honors or awards.   https://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/firstyear/early-action#10

Gettysburg College
Some Early Decision applicants who are not offered acceptance at that time will be deferred to the Regular Decision admission pool and their application will be reviewed again. Additional semester grades or new test scores may be submitted for students deferred to Regular Decision.
https://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/catalog/policies/policy-details.dot?id=6a3fce7c-50d8-4742-bc78-74b426739bef

Johns Hopkins University
You are not required to submit any additional materials. However, if you would like to, you may submit supplemental materials to your application file for review during the RD selection process. This information could be additional standardized test results, your senior year semester grades, additional letters of recommendation, an updated rèsumè, or an additional written statement of your interest in Johns Hopkins.  https://apply.jhu.edu/apply/faq/early-decision/

MIT
The only “new” thing you need to send in is the February Updates & Notes form. You’ll use the FUN form to tell us your midyear grades and anything new that has happened or will happen. As always, you can send us stuff via fax (617-687-9184) or mail, but the FUN form is the best way to update us. The FUN form is due by February 15th.

You may still submit a supplemental portfolio, but you do not need to; I would only consider this if you were planning to do so during EA but ran out of time. If you are retaking tests in December or January, you may also designate MIT as a score recipient, and we’ll add them to your application.

You may not rewrite your essays, redo your interview, redo your entire application…anything like that. We deferred you because we want to reconsider your application (the one you have already sent) in RA.   http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/tips-for-the-ea-deferred

Rice University
The best thing you can do after being deferred is to keep the Admission Office updated with new information since the original submission of your application. We must have your senior mid-year grade report sent from your high school to Rice. We invite you to tell us about your continued interest in Rice along with details of any new awards, accolades, or accomplishments. Additions to your file should be directly from you, the student. Please do not send additional letters of recommendation from school officials, Rice alumni, or others. Send any updates via your Rice Admission Student Portal (preferred) or email to [email protected] by March 1, 2017.   http://futureowls.rice.edu/futureowls/defer_faq.asp

Tulane University
DO: Contact your admission counselor and let him or her know you are interested in Tulane. You can reach out to your admission counselor here. You’ll want to shoot him or her an e-mail in the coming weeks (not necessarily today… let the dust settle and your emotions subside) letting them know that you have been deferred and that you remain strongly interested in Tulane. Let your counselor know that you’ll send your first semester grades and also feel free to let him or her know that Tulane is very high on your list. It will be nearly impossible to be admitted to Tulane if you do not, in some form, reach out to us. We’d like to only take those students who we know want to enroll here.

DO: Send us an essay about why you are interested in enrolling at Tulane, if you have not already done so. See the prompt on the application for admission. Tell us why you would be a great fit here, and why Tulane is a great fit for you. Do some research. Many times, we defer students who are academically qualified to be admitted, but we are unsure of their interest level. So reach out and let us know.

DO: Send us some additional materials. You are welcome to send us a new resume, essay, your first semester grades, an art or music portfolio, a new SAT or ACT score, etc. While some of the smaller things may not make a big difference, an increase on your SATs, or a nice well-written essay all about your Tulane visit can go a long way. Mid year reports are recommended for deferred students. Again, keep in mind, unless its a major change in extracurricular activities, it won’t change too much (same goes for additional teacher recommendations). The biggest changemaker will be new test scores. http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/2011/12/ive-been-deferred-now-what.html

University of Chicago
If you applied through the Early Action or Early Decision I application plans, your application may be deferred. This means that the admissions committee wants to review it again in the context of the Regular Decision pool. Your application will be automatically rolled over to the Regular Decision round, and you do not need to reapply or submit additional application materials. If you would like, you can reach out to your regional admissions counselor to express your continued interest in attending UChicago.   https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/application/application-plans

U Mass Amherst
Applicants who were deferred from Early Action will receive a second review at the end of March. Make sure that any new academic information (mid-semester grades, higher test scores, etc.) has been sent to us by March 1. Please do not send duplicate information or additional recommendations. Visiting or contacting the Admissions Office will not enhance your chance of being admitted.   https://www.umass.edu/admissions/apply/dates-and-deadlines/early-action-faqs

University of Michigan
We know being deferred isn’t the response you were hoping for. We truly appreciate your interest in the University of Michigan. Right now, you simply need to be patient, and keep striving to do your best in school. We also request that your high school counselor submit an official copy of your 7th semester grades (or 1st trimester grades) through the Common Application so that these courses may be used in the evaluation process.     https://umich.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2080

University of Notre Dame
1. Our office encourages deferred students to keep us updated with any changes to their application. The most important piece is sending us your first semester senior year grades. Many high school counselors will do this automatically, but if not, this should be a top priority. The Admissions Committee wants to see that students are maintaining a strong academic performance throughout their senior year, particularly if the applicant is taking high level courses. Any changes in GPA or class rank can also be helpful to our evaluation process.

2. You may also update us to any significant extra-curricular accomplishments or awards that you receive in the coming months. The easiest way to do this is to email this information to either your regional Admissions Counselor or to [email protected].

3. You do not need to submit any additional letters of recommendation. We generally do not encourage letters of recommendation beyond the required academic teacher letter and optional counselor letter, which you submitted with your original application. Of course, if any additional letters are submitted on your behalf, they will be added to your file.

4. If Notre Dame is truly one of your first choice schools, you may also write a letter of desire explaining why you believe Notre Dame is the best school for you. You may send this letter directly to your Regional Admissions Counselor and he or she will be sure to add it to your admissions file. This letter of desire is a useful opportunity to tell the Admissions Committee a little bit more about you and to explain why you would like to attend Notre Dame.
http://admissions.nd.edu/connect/news/55792-advice-to-the-deferred/

University of Pennsylvania
…deferred applicants contact the admissions office during the regular decision round with any updates to their applications — new awards, test scores or even additional letters of recommendation — though applicants should not exaggerate their accomplishments in an attempt to impress the admissions office.

“They can demonstrate their interest and update us with only one communication, however they would like to do that….I just don’t want them to feel like they have to create some other persona.”      http://www.thedp.com/article/2015/02/advice-for-deferred-applicants

University of Richmond
There are two main reasons that we defer applications to RD. In the majority of cases, the committee simply wants to see these applications in the context of the entire applicant pool, before we make a final decision. In some cases, however, there may be something specific the committee wants to see – for example, your full first semester grades, if your first quarter grades were of concern or if you had a significant dip in your junior year and the committee wants to see a full semester’s recovery. Deferred students should feel free to contact their regional counselor and ask if there’s anything more they can do to improve their application in Regular Decision; just keep in mind that nine times out of ten, the answer will be no, the committee just wants to review your application in light of the whole applicant pool. Every year there are deferred students who are admitted in Regular Decision (though you are no longer bound by the ED contract, in that event).

Do: Keep up the hard work to maintain a strong academic record in your senior year. Don’t be discouraged by a deferral; it’s not a negative comment on your abilities or potential. Let this add fuel to the fire to motivate you to show the admission committee that you are capable of maintaining the strong record you have already set forth in your initial application. We’d love to see all A’s and B’s in the senior year.

Do: Ask yourself if you are comfortable with your test scores. Scores are certainly not the exclusive deciding factor in any application, but they can influence a decision. If you’re comfortable with your scores, awesome! If not, perhaps consider a January test date. This may be a good opportunity to try your hand at the SAT versus the ACT, or vice versa.   http://admissionblog.richmond.edu/?assetid=e7f692edac1c04197a01ff7e32ce8f28

University of Virginia
If you were deferred from Early Action to Regular Decision it means that we feel your application deserves another review. You possess many of the strengths we expect our admitted students to present in their applications but we cannot offer you admission at this stage. In many cases we want to see how deferred students are doing in the classroom during their senior year.

Please send any updated testing to our admission office as soon as it becomes available. We will review your application again in Regular Decision. Please be sure to forward  new test results immediately.

Other than midyear grade updates or new standardized test results, we will not be able to review any edits to your application or additional information. Please do not send additional information, including recommendations, during this time.       http://admission.virginia.edu/defer

Wellesley
If you are deferred, sending certain additional materials may be helpful to the College during the next round of the decision-making process. You may want to send us your most up-to-date grades, a list of any recent special honors or awards you have received, or any helpful information you may not have provided with your initial application. An additional recommendation may also be helpful. If you have been deferred and you are not sure exactly what to send, just contact us and we’ll help you decide.   https://www.wellesley.edu/admission/faq#defer#bJCiqZOSeCHu6gD4.97

Nancy Griesemer is an independent educational consultant and founder of College Explorations LLC. She has written extensively and authoritatively about the college admissions process and related topics since 2009. Never miss one of Nancy’s articles – subscribe to her mailing list below.

Dealing with deferral

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Yale University deferred 53% of applicants for the class of 2021 to regular decision out of 5086 students who applied “single-choice” early action this fall.  Duke deferred  671 out of 3516 binding early decision candidates, while MIT deferred 5853 of its 8394 early action applicants.

Notre Dame deferred 893 out of 6020 Restricted Early Action (REA) candidates, while Georgetown deferred all students not accepted to a similar REA program to the spring review. Brown deferred 60% of 3170 early decision candidates to regular decision, at the same time Middlebury deferred about 9% of 673 early decision applicants.

Although each of these schools has its own enrollment management strategy for dealing with deferred students,  it’s clear that way too many who applied early this fall are finding they’ve been neither accepted nor rejected, but deferred to the regular admissions pool.

And if you find yourself in this position, know that you’re not alone.

Because many colleges received record numbers of early applications, it stands to reason that unless acceptances increase, you have considerable company—mostly very disappointed.

But try to put the best face on your disappointment. Think of deferral as a kind of holding pattern. A college may be sending a signal it needs to know a little more about you before making a final decision. The admissions office may want to see your application in the context of the entire applicant pool or may simply want to see how well you’re continuing to do senior year.

You can also interpret the message as an opportunity to regroup or reconsider your application strategy.  For some students, a deferral can be a wake-up call. Make sure you are applying to a solid mix of schools, including a sufficient number of colleges where there is a good or better likelihood you will be admitted.

If you continue committed to the college that deferred you, don’t despair. Although there are no guarantees, you can either respond to the challenge or wait for the next round of decisions to come out in the new year.

I recommend responding. And here’s how:

1. Do not crash—finish those applications. There’s no question this is a setback. It’s normal to feel disappointment, but don’t allow it to be crippling. Most importantly, don’t let this relatively minor bump in the road delay completion of the rest of your applications. Finish remaining essays as soon as possible and try to submit well in advance of due dates.

2.  Understand and follow the rules.  Before doing anything, be sure to review and understand deferral policies. Some colleges are quite clear that deferred applicants should not call, write, or send additional materials. Others will welcome communication.  Know the policy and form a plan of action to appropriately address the deferral.

3. Contact Admissions. Try calling or emailing the admissions representative for your area. He or she most likely read your application and possibly remembers you. It’s a busy time of year for admissions, but if you’re lucky you might get personal feedback and a sense of how your application stacked up against the rest of the early pool. You might also get ideas on how to strengthen your candidacy by clarifying misunderstandings or by submitting additional test results, information, or recommendations. But whatever you do, resist the temptation to complain or badger the staff.

4. Update your application. Although colleges require that official midyear grades be sent directly by your high school, take the initiative to forward a copy of your semester grade report with a cover letter firmly restating your commitment to attend if admitted—only if that’s truly the case of course—along with as succinct statement as to why you think the college is the best fit for you. Include reference to any new and improved standardized test scores, additional leadership positions, new memberships, recent events or community service activities in which you have been involved, and any special awards you received. Consider sending an additional writing sample or essay. And feel free to add relevant supplementary information such as links to videos or newspaper articles. Remember colleges really only want to know what’s happened since you submitted your original application, so don’t rehash the past. And don’t snow them with paper. Be deliberate in what you send.

5. Consider a campus visit. If you haven’t already spoken with the area representative, try to make an appointment to meet sometime in January or February. This can be an opportunity to make your case for admission face-to-face. If the rep is not available, don’t be discouraged—it’s peak reading season and time is limited. Instead, visit a class, have lunch, and take a closer look at the campus. You may find subtle changes in your feelings about the school that open you to other possibilities.

6. Send another recommendation. If permitted, make arrangements to have another recommendation sent on your behalf. Look for someone who can speak to qualities other than those represented in recommendations the college already received. Consider asking a coach, your employer, a faculty sponsor for one of your membership organizations, or a senior year teacher who has gotten a chance to get to know you. Do not flood the admissions office with hundreds of additional recommendations. This won’t help.

7. Try retesting. If test scores appear to be a barrier to admission, try retaking either the SAT (January) or the ACT (February). Who knows? Your scores may improve significantly enough to make a difference in your admissions prospects.

8. Make academics your first priority. Now is the time to reveal your true character by working even harder to improve class standing. Don’t be lured into “senioritis.” Colleges on the fence about your candidacy will be impressed by a continued upward trend in grades.

9. Step-up community or school involvement. This is definitely NOT the time to quit participating in school- or community-based activities. Instead, you should seek out leadership opportunities and have a continued impact on your community. Colleges want to see a commitment to service that doesn’t just end because the paperwork was submitted.

10. Complete scholarship, financial aid and/or honors college applications. Don’t stop now. If the college has supplementary scholarship or honors college applications, make sure they are completed and submitted before deadline. Be aware that completing these documents—especially after a deferral—shows a significant level of continued interest.

11. Talk to your school counselor. Be sure to provide your counselor with the most up-to-date information on additional accomplishments that may be relevant to your application and ask for these accomplishments to be included along with midyear grades. If the college remains your first choice, suggest your counselor make this point somewhere on the form or possibly in a cover letter. In some cases, a call from your counselor to the admissions office will help, particularly if he or she has a strong relationship with the college.

12. Move on. Consider your deferral an opportunity to explore other options, including ED II at another school. It’s hard not to be miserable over a less-than-positive response to all the hard work you’ve put into being the best possible candidate for admission. But once you have done everything possible to persuade the college to admit, turn your attention elsewhere and don’t dwell on the negative. Even with this small detour, remain confident in your prospects.

For a college perspective on deferral, read advice provided by the University of Notre Dame and Tulane University.

This is part one of a two-part series on deferrals. For part two, click here.

Nancy Griesemer is an independent educational consultant and founder of College Explorations LLC. She has written extensively and authoritatively about the college admissions process and related topics since 2009. Never miss one of Nancy’s articles – subscribe to her mailing list below.

4 Reasons Students Should Consider Going to College in Europe

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High school students analyzing America’s higher education landscape today are wise to question whether it makes sense to pursue a degree at a college or university that is overpriced, ideologically stifling, and socially antithetical to their personal values. Yet, if they are serious about acquiring valuable knowledge for their career goals and for overall self-improvement, students should not cower at the thought of earning the exact degree they want wherever they want to earn it. While in most cases, young Americans will only consider college or university options in America, the good, and somewhat surprising news to many, is that there are terrific – and even superior – higher education options beyond America’s borders. In fact, young Americans may be better off spending their entire undergraduate careers in Western Europe instead of the United States of America. Here are four reasons why:

Earn Your Degree in 3 Years Instead of 4 Years

Why spend four years at Yale, Harvard, or Princeton when you could spend three years at Oxford, Cambridge, or Imperial College London? The standard undergraduate degree takes a good year longer to complete in the U.S. than it does in England, where the standard undergraduate degree is typically completed in three years. In fact, across Europe, many degrees are doable in only three years. Why does it take longer in the U.S.? Well, that’s mainly because in England and across Europe universities…

Don’t Waste Your Time on Required General Education or ‘Diversity’ Courses

In America it has become standard for large public research universities, small liberal arts colleges, and everything in between to require students to complete general education and distribution requirements that have little to nothing to do with their major area of study. This means that if you are an Engineering major you may still need to take a course in the social sciences in order to earn your degree. If you are Math major you may still need to take a required diversity course to meet graduation requirements. If you are an Economics major you may still need to fulfill a foreign language requirement before you receive your diploma. You get the idea.

UCLA

Taking even a few required courses that you have no interest in adds up fast – so fast that soon you find yourself paying for an entire year of tuition that has nothing to do with your intended career or major area of interest. In Europe, especially in England, every class you take will be in your major (or as they call it, course) area. If you are studying History, every course you take will be related to History. If you want to immerse yourself in Business, all courses you take from day one until the day you graduate will educate you about business.

UCL1

UCL2

Male students in particular are often not as inclined to multitask as female students; therefore, men, pay attention: England’s style of higher education is best suited for the student who knows exactly what he (or she) wants to study and who does not want to mess around with subjects that are tangential to his (or her) goals. It’s one thing to get a broad-based education in high school; college is arguably the ideal time to focus on a very narrow subject deeply. Sadly, most undergraduate institutions in the U.S. don’t permit students to delve as deeply and fully into subject areas as their counterparts in England because of the many other academic requirements U.S. colleges and universities place upon their students.

Pay Less Money Than You’d Ever Expect for a European Degree

The retail price of Europe’s top universities is often far less than the retail price of tuition at America’s top universities. In many cases college is free to European citizens, which promotes great economic diversity of students attending European universities. In addition, many universities in England and throughout Europe participate in the U.S. Federal Student Aid Program, which allows American students to take out loans similar to the ones they would be taking out to attend U.S. colleges anyway. In Germany, college is essentially free to all non-citizens – even Americans, and one may not even need to learn German to study in Germany, as increasingly entire undergraduate degree programs in Germany are offered in English.

Expose Yourself to Amazing Experiences and Diversity Outside of the Classroom

If you are studying in a big American city you can of course go out to dinner at a great French restaurant or hit up the clubs in the trendy part of town. If you are studying in London, you can spend your entire weekend in Paris, Budapest, or Seville. In Europe, centuries worth of the culture and history of Western Civilization beckon around nearly every corner. While the U.S. is fascinating and filled with important sites and dynamic culture, if you are from the U.S., college is an ideal time when you could be exposing yourself to a life unlike any you have experienced in the past or will experience again in the future. Europe offers you just this sort of experience.

While many American colleges boast of diversity when pointing to the race, state of residence, or country of citizenship of their students, it is obvious to anyone who looks at the situation critically that such diversity is often superficial at best. At top American colleges especially, no matter a student’s race, state of residence, or country of citizenship, he or she is far more likely to be a son or daughter of a doctor, lawyer, investment banker, politician, or owner of a major company than he or she is to be the son or daughter of a farmer, factory worker, waitress, construction worker, or truck driver. Your college years should be the time to gain exposure to a greater diversity of people and perspectives than you ever could gain exposure to in high school or may ever be able to have access to again upon entering the world of work. Studying in Europe will allow you to do just that, as European universities attract students from all economic levels and all corners of the Earth because of their relative affordability and quality.

Skin Deep Diversity

If you are studying in a small town in the U.S. your most likely social options each weekend will consist of getting drunk or staying sober in the dorms or off-campus with middle or upper class peers. As mentioned previously, in Europe, university students often come from a greater number of countries, cultures, and classes, and these individuals’ ideal diversions often does not come in the form of getting drunk at frat parties or at pre-game or post-game parties on and around campus. If you have had any social life in high school, college social life in the U.S. has a very real feeling of ‘been there, done that’ with a splash of greater excess. European students’ ideal form of socialization is on average more sophisticated than that of their peers in the U.S. both because of Europe’s lower legal drinking ages and more diverse social preferences.

Europe vs. America

Bottom Line

Going to college in Europe often means attending class with and living nearby students who are more focused on their academic and professional goals and who socialize in myriad ways that average American students would never even consider on their college campuses. Europe is not for everyone; however, if you find yourself unhappy with or underwhelmed by your undergraduate study options in the U.S., you should seriously consider crossing the pond and challenging yourself to a style of education and a social environment utterly distinct from what you would likely experience at most colleges and universities in the U.S.