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University of California Application: 10 Requirements Out-of-State Students Don’t Expect

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UCLA

Are you California dreaming? Do you want to spend your undergraduate years on a University of California (UC) campus?

The news is good — in spite of growing protests in recent years from many Californians (who believe resident students are being squeezed out), the percentage of out-of-state (and international) freshmen across all UC campuses is at an all-time high.

Out-of-state applicants, in fact, are now admitted at a higher rate than in-state applicants — to any UC campus, including flagship UC Berkeley. (In 2017 UC Berkeley admitted 22.1 % of out-of-state applicants versus 19.7% of in-state. At UC Davis,  72.2 % of out-of-state applicants were admitted, versus 35.9% of in-state!)

And although the UC Board of Regents has approved a policy to now limit nonresident enrollment to 18% on five of the UC campuses, more latitude will be given to UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UCLA and UC San Diego, which “will be grandfathered in”  per 2017-18 enrollment results. (Considering last year’s numbers, these percentages will likely be between 20 and 25%.)

If you’d like to take advantage of the opportunity and apply to be a part of next year’s University of California freshmen class, there are some specific UC requirements you’ll need to know about.

1. You will complete the unique UC application, which allows you to apply to more than one UC campus. And no matter how many campuses you choose, you will only need to submit one official test score. Each campus you apply to, however, will require a separate application fee — $70 per school for 2017-18 applicants.

2. The only time you can submit the application is between November 1 and November 30. It’s available as of August 1, so you can carefully complete each section well before the submission window opens.

3. You will NOT send an official transcript at application, but instead, will self-report your grades. Make sure to report them directly from your transcript — if you later accept an offer of admission, your official high school transcript will be required… and must match up!

4. Do not include letters of recommendation with your application. They are not required and will not be considered.

However, some applicants to any campus this year may be given the option  — or, as the UC website states, invited — via email to send up to two letters of recommendation, due by January 15. (Note: For the past two admission cycles, UC Berkeley alone has invited letters from some applicants; those who chose to take advantage of the opportunity were admitted at a slightly higher rate than those who did not.)

5. You will need to take the additional writing section of standardized tests — that’s the SAT with essay or the ACT with writing. You will select this option when you register for the exam. (Subject tests are not required, but certain programs on some campuses recommend them, so be sure to check your desired program on each school’s website.)

6. There is a minimum GPA requirement for application — and it’s higher for non-residents at 3.4, versus 3.0 for residents. (For the most selective UC campuses, both residents and nonresidents must have a GPA well above 3.4 in order to be truly competitive for admission.)

7. This minimum GPA is calculated using only your high school grades from the summer before your sophomore year to the summer after your junior year; and only your grades from any of fifteen specified college-prep courses. Grades in AP and IB courses will be weighted. GPAs are not rounded up; and pluses and minuses are not counted.

8. Completion of the fifteen college-prep courses, with a grade of C or better, are required for admission. Eleven of the fifteen courses must be taken prior to your senior year.

9. There are alternate ways to meet the college-prep courses requirement, such as taking a one-semester community college course (equivalent to a year-long high school course); earning certain scores on SAT, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams; admission by exam; or admission by exception.

10. Instead of writing an essay, you will select four of eight possible personal insight questions; each response is limited to 350 words. The admissions website provides writing tips and techniques, as well as a worksheet with suggestions for each question.

There is also a step-by-step guide for completing the entire application; the guide takes you through each question to help you understand how best to present yourself.

Considering the favorable odds, the time is right for out-of-state applicants who meet the academic criteria. If you can manage the additional nonresident tuition and want to apply, California (still) wants you, too!

Bonus: Read Sandy Clingman’s University of California Application: 10 Rules about the Visual and Performing Arts Requirement Out-of-State Students Don’t Know to learn more about the UCs unique admissions requirements. 

How to Make the Most of Your College Visits

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With summer upon us, many families take road trips, and parents of high school students may think about including one or two campus visits along the way. This is a great idea – as long as you understand you cannot get a true sense of a college culture when you visit during the summer. The campus will feel completely different once it is swarming with students and professors during the semester. However, it’s still better to visit colleges during the summer than not to visit at all. If you live in the Northeast and can plan visits for late August, that’s ideal because many college campuses start in late August while high schools usually begin around Labor Day. By late August, most college campuses are in full swing.

Visiting colleges with my daughter Amanda was incredibly enjoyable because we made sure not to let it get stressful. Instead, we focused on learning the factors she wanted and did not want in a college and getting a sense of the feel of each school. As I wrote in my new book, Love the Journey to College: Guidance from an Admissions Consultant and Her Daughter:

It may sound crazy, but I think that your first visits should include three colleges to which you do not think you will actually apply. Here’s why: if you are lucky enough to have visited colleges early in this process (maybe in 10th grade), your attitude and grades may shift a lot before you apply during your senior year. Don’t get caught up in the “name-brand schools;” visit schools to just learn as much as you can about what it means to attend college.

Harvard

Many families traveling to Boston like to visit the magnificent Harvard Quad. And why not, it’s a world-renowned university in one of the best cities in the US to attend college. But the reality is that even if you have phenomenal grades and near-perfect scores, you will probably not get into Harvard. Also, keep in mind that Harvard does not count ‘demonstrating interest.’ This means that unlike many other private colleges in our country that track your interest (such as visiting) as a factor in admissions, Harvard does not. So while it may seem fun to visit this top-tier school, you should really want to focus on schools that you have a better chance of getting into. So if you must visit Harvard, please remember that there are about 80 colleges that combine to bring 250,000 college students to the Boston area. Find several other colleges in the vicinity that appeal to you while visiting the city and make the trip fun and enjoyable, and not stressful.

If you can find colleges early in this process that you love and think you can get into, that can be a game changer for your emotional well-being as you navigate high school. Amanda, co-author of Love the Journey to College: Guidance from an Admissions Consultant and Her Daughter, said, “I can’t even explain to you how nice it was to be ecstatic about schools that I knew should accept me comfortably. From private, liberal arts schools to state schools and their honors programs, I had options that I loved and was excited about in tenth grade.”

Think of visiting colleges like window shopping, especially when you first begin. You are looking to evaluate what it is important to you. If you walk into a lecture auditorium that seats 1,000 students and you currently attend a small high school, that lecture hall may feel overwhelming to you. On the other hand, it may be exciting to have some anonymity if you felt a small classroom was too confining. There is no right or wrong way to feel about college. Your likes/interests may change over time, and this is 100% fine. There are about 4,000 colleges in America and dozens of them will meet your academic and social interests.

Jill and Amanda Madenberg co-author Love the Journey to College: Guidance from an Admissions Consultant and Her Daughter

For initial visits, try to visit a city school, a rural school, a small private school and a big state school. This will give you an idea of the different options throughout the country. It’s often hard to find the time during the school year to visit colleges, but going when students and professors who are typically on campus is the best way to really understand the school’s culture. Depending on where you live, you can even start by driving locally to colleges near your home. If getting to campuses is too much, or if you are trying to watch your budget, go online; the virtual tour is a great resource to at least give you a sense of a college’s physical layout.

Happy trails!

Editor’s Note: We are happy to welcome Jill as an occasional contributor to Admissions Intel. For more insights into the journey to college, we encourage you to Pre-order Jill’s book, which comes out on August 1, 2017. 

2017 Advanced Placement scores are now available

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Virginia Tech students are allowed to use up to 38 hours of AP credit towards graduation.

In case you missed the email, the College Board rolled out Advanced Placement (AP®) scores for tests taken this past May earlier this month.  And by now, most AP students should have already received their scores—for better or worse!

For the record, old fashioned snail mail reports were discontinued several years ago in favor of an online arrangement that requires you to have a College Board account to access scores. In other words, to obtain scores, students must have

  • an online College Board account requiring registration
  • a username and password
  • 2017 AP number (the number on the labels in the Student Pack) OR student identifier (student ID number) if provided on your answer sheet

Unless there was a problem with identification, scoring or test administration, your scores should now be available and will be added to a cumulative report of all AP tests you have taken to-date (you actually have to pay an extra fee to have any scores removed from the report).

If you’re unlucky enough not to have a score report, feel free to contact the College Board at [email protected] or 888-225-5427 (toll free) or 212-632-1780, especially if you haven’t received scores by September 1.

And what do the scores mean? AP scores are a “weighted combination” of results on the multiple-choice and free-response sections.  The final score is reported on a 5-point scale, as follows:

  • 5:  Extremely well qualified to receive college credit or advanced placement
  • 4:  Well qualified
  • 3:  Qualified
  • 2:  Possibly qualified
  • 1:  No recommendation

You can also think of the five-point scale in terms of letter grades, with 5 equating to an “A” and 1—well, you get the picture.

And what are they worth? The awarding of credit and placement status is determined by individual colleges or universities. You can check directly with the school or on the College Board website to research this information, but note that the latter is neither as specific nor as accurate as what you are likely to find on individual school websites.

In most cases, a student who scores a 4 or 5 may receive college credit. In rare cases, a school will require a 5, and almost no colleges will accept a score of 2. In fact, the most selective colleges will not accept a 3 for credit.

For example, George Mason University will accept a score of 3 for 4 credits in an entry-level environmental science class. For 8 credits, the student must earn a 4 or 5 on the exam.  Neither Georgetown nor GW will award credit for any score below a 4. In fact, Georgetown awards no credit for AP Capstone, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Comparative Government, AP US History, AP Human Geography, and AP Physics 1 or 2.

The University of Virginia generally awards credit for scores of 4 or 5, but for French will dip as low as a 3 for some entry-level exemption. The University of Maryland takes a different approach and awards credit for scores of 3 or better in Art History, English Language and English Literature but requires at least a 4 to receive credit in a foreign language.

Keep in mind that wise use of AP credit can reduce the total number of credit hours needed to graduate. At Virginia Tech, students are allowed to use up to 38 hours of AP credit towards graduation, while Vanderbilt University will only award up to 18 credits. And Dartmouth College will accept no AP credits toward graduation.

AP exam scores may also be used to meet standardized test requirements in the admissions processes of several colleges. Fair Test keeps track of this evolving trend on its Test Score Optional List and includes Colby College, Colorado College, Drexel University, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, NYU and the University of Rochester among those colleges and universities allowing APs to be submitted in place of ACT/SAT scores.

Teachers and AP administrators will also be receiving scores this month, and many high schools include score distributions in the school profiles they send to colleges along with transcripts (see Montgomery Blair High School’s profile for a good example). This is so admissions offices can put individual scores reported on applications in context with those earned by others in your class. But note that some high schools are extremely reluctant to make this information public and will routinely deny requests from families interested in evaluating a particular class or teacher.

For those new to the process, the online reporting system seems like an efficient, environmentally-friendly way to get scores. But be aware. The College Board can now connect your AP scores with PSAT and SAT scores as well as any grade, career interest or family income information you provide in the course of test registration or on their net price calculators. 

And the College Board is all about mining for data that can be sold to postsecondary institutions, scholarship programs, or any number of organizations willing to pay for lists it aggressively markets.

These connections can be both good and bad. If you haven’t graduated from high school, expect to receive recruitment materials from colleges purchasing name and contact information anxious to get to know you. At the same time, don’t be surprised to hear from questionable honor societies or other organizations hoping to con you into paying for something you don’t want.

Check back tomorrow for a sneak preview of AP test results as tweeted by College Board executive, Trevor Packer.

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Wisest Ivy League Major for 2017-2018 Admissions Cycle

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It’s a question undecided applicants are always asking: what should I put down as my intended major on my college applications? The answer of course will depend on the exact colleges one is applying to and the potential majors one will consider; however, this year, 2017, as students get ready to apply during the 2017-2018 admissions cycle for Fall 2018 freshmen spots at America’s most selective colleges, there is one major that certainly deserves your attention more so than others. Drumroll please….

Making the most of the summer before senior year

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For college-bound high school students, the months between junior and senior years are crucial for jump starting the application process.

It’s also a great time for discovering new interests, adding to your resume, and otherwise positioning yourself for beginning the ultimate transition from high school senior to college freshman.

The first day of the last year of high school will be here before you know it. But in the meantime, here are some ways you can make the most of the summer before senior year:

Work. Options range from scooping ice cream at the shore to organizing a book drive, conducting research, interning on Capitol Hill or hammering nails for Habitat for Humanity. By the time you’ve completed junior year of high school, you should be old enough and responsible enough to work—full or part time, paid or unpaid. Work builds character, introduces career options, teaches skills, and expands your network in important ways. Don’t miss the opportunity to add to your resume while learning something about yourself and others.

Visit Colleges. Campus tours don’t stop just because undergrads are off doing other things. Now is the time to check out the last few colleges on your list and refine your ideas of how location, size or architecture affects your thinking about a particular campus. And by the way, the summer is a great time for having more relaxed conversations with admissions staff, coaches, or professors in departments you may be targeting.

Nail Down the List. Take a deep breath and begin eliminating schools that don’t really appeal or offer what you want. Zero-in on places representing the best fit—academically, socially, and financially—and begin committing to a realistic list of schools to which you intend to apply.

Demonstrate Interest. Beyond visiting campuses, engage in a systematic demonstrated interest campaign. Be proactive by getting on mailing lists, requesting information, initiating correspondence, getting to know regional representatives and attending local events. In addition to showing your favorite schools a little love, you might just learn something important about campus culture or new initiatives colleges want to introduce to prospective applicants.

Get Organized. There are a zillion moving parts to the college admissions process. Get a handle on them by creating a spreadsheet of colleges on your list and noting deadlines, requirements (recommendations, test score submission, interviews), important admissions policies (non-binding early action vs. binding early decision), and application quirks (supplements, scholarships, honors programs/colleges). Also, make note of which colleges use the Common Application, the Universal College Application (UCA), the Coalition Application or other school-based forms.

Prepare your Resume. If you don’t have one already, put together a resume or a detailed written list of accomplishments and activities. Turn it into a PDF for sharing with others or uploading with applications. Explore online resume templates, such as ZeeMee or Linked In. If you know colleges on your list partner with ZeeMee, consider creating a private account before the end of the summer

Do the Clerical Part. There’s no reason not to complete the simple stuff early in the summer by opening applications and entering basic information. All three major platforms are capable of rolling information from one year to the next and encourage the completion of questions that are unlikely to change. So do it. The Coalition and the UCA are set up so that colleges can launch as early as July 1. The Common Application will be ready to go on August 1. Other applications and supplements will appear on websites as the summer progresses. If you start shared elements of your applications, you will be one step ahead.

Draft Essays. Now is the time to begin brainstorming and drafting essays. Explore a variety of topics and don’t be afraid to change direction or discard work that’s going nowhere. This is the advantage of writing and reflecting during summer months before the pressures of senior year cut into Zen time. While essay prompts for personal statements have been posted for months, college-specific supplements and essays will roll out over the course of the summer. Keep checking websites and make note of prompts as they appear. And then start writing!

Prep for Standardized Tests. You’ve probably taken the ACT and/or the SAT at least once. If you didn’t knock the ball out of the park the first time (and most don’t), plan to prep for a retake. SAT now offers an August test, in addition to October. ACT has a test in September and in 2018 will have one in July. For the most part, scores from these tests will be returned in time for you to make the earliest of early deadlines. Get a tutor, sign-up for classes or simply sit at the kitchen table and take timed practice tests.

Research and Apply for Scholarships. The scholarship hunt should begin now—not after all your college applications have been submitted. A surprising number of scholarships have applications due early in the school year and use essay prompts similar to those you’re working on for colleges. Use FastWeb or Cappex to get an overview of what’s out there. And while you’re at it, explore FAFSA4caster with your parents for a little reality testing and apply early for that all-important Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID. FAFSA goes live on October 1, but there’s nothing to be gained by waiting until then to sign-up for the FSA ID.

Secure Recommendations. If you haven’t done so already, try to get in touch with at least two core academic teachers from junior year to ask for college recommendations. You may or may not need both, but it’s always a good idea to have two teachers willing to support you. Don’t delay—teachers may limit the number of recommendations they’re willing to write or they may want to get started before school begins. And be sure to provide recommenders with whatever background information they request—at a minimum, a resume and cover note reinforcing your appreciation and why you asked them to play this important role in your application process.

Schedule Interviews. Many colleges offer on-campus interviews during the summer. You want to be able to check these requirements off your list sooner rather than later. Colleges make it easy to combine interviews with campus tours, but you have to schedule early to get days and times that work for you.

Position Yourself for Fall Classes. Be aware that senior year courses and grades can be very important in admissions decisions. Colleges want to see upward trends in grades, and they care very much that you continue to challenge yourself academically. Obtain texts for any challenging or AP/IB classes and “study forward” during the summer. If necessary, give your tutor a call and go over the first few chapters of material you know will keep you up late at night come September.

Read, Relax, Enjoy Yourself and Connect with Friends.  A year from now, you’ll be packing your bags!

Yale finds creative use of technology opens new possibilities for admissions

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Yale University.

Yale University is experimenting with the role digital media can play in college admissions. Using technology advanced last year by the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success, Yale’s admissions readers in some cases became admissions viewers and experienced what will likely become a third dimension in college admissions—the creative use of media to present the case for admission to a highly selective institution.

Staying on the cutting edge of technology is challenging in any field, but changes in college admissions since the introduction of the electronic application are almost beyond description. Stacks of manila folders tucked into walls of file cabinets have been replaced by application “platforms” configured to align with enrollment management software, which oversees a process that is increasingly data-dependent and data-driven.

 

And the work has become less cyclical and more continuous as applicants have the luxury of starting applications earlier by entering information that “rolls over” from one year to the next.  Marketing begins with the administration of the first PSAT, with even the earliest scores sold to colleges anxious to get their names before potential applicants. There’s hardly a moment to reflect on successes and failures before it’s time to gear up for the next group of recruits turned applicants.

But as almost anyone involved in college admissions would agree, something isn’t quite right with this picture—the entire college admissions process is due for a major overhaul. And a handful of deans and enrollment management experts are ready to try.

“Technology has transformed how we process applications and how we read applications, but not how we create content for these applications,” commented Jeremiah Quinlan, Yale’s dean of undergraduate admission.

Like many others charged with overseeing admissions, Quinlan felt the time had come for Yale to experiment with application content that responded to the pervasiveness and availability of digital media.  While the Common Application set the standard, others saw a market ripe for innovation.

“I really felt we needed to make a change. We were looking at more and more essays that felt like they had been written by 47-year olds and not 17-year olds,” said Quinlan. “We thought we needed more material—different material—in the review process.”

Enter the Coalition application. Born out of concern that reliance on a single electronic application was a risky proposition and developed with a view toward attracting a wider, underserved audience, the Coalition application as built by CollegeNet looked for ways to integrate creativity and give colleges the kind of basic flexibility they wanted in an application platform.

“After the fall of 2013, we needed to bring more options into the application space,” Quinlan explained. “We thought giving students a choice of applications would be better for colleges and better for applicants.”

One of over 90 colleges that originally joined the Coalition and 47 that actually launched applications for 2016-17, Yale viewed this as an opportunity to design a substantially different set of application specifications from those contained in the Common Application.

Students applying to Yale could choose to write two additional 200-word essays (beyond the personal statement and other short-answer questions) for the Common Application or they could choose to write one 250-word essay and provide an upload related to that essay on the Coalition application.

While many Coalition members chose to simply replicate requirements laid out on the Common Application, Quinlan decided to offer alternate but not totally different requirements on Yale’s Coalition application. He kept the prompts the same for both applications, but used the Coalition application’s functionality to support links to digital media.

“It was critical to our review process that we not give preference to one application type over another. Our results from the first year bear this out; the rate of admission for students who submitted the Common Application and for students who submitted the Coalition Application were nearly identical.”

Nevertheless, the results were exciting. While only about one percent or 300 of Yale’s applicants used the Coalition application, the advantage of providing students with a choice of how to present themselves was clear. In some cases, the online media helped “separate” a student or verified some element of the application that didn’t come through strongly enough in a recommendation or through a student’s writing.

“We found certain situations, for example, where a video component made a difference—showed examples of kinds of characteristics we’re looking for.”

To illustrate his point, Quinlan talks about an application Yale received from Justin Aubin, an Eagle Scout who lives and attends high school in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. Justin’s recommendations were excellent, and he was an outstanding student. But Yale has lots of those applicants.

What made Justin stand apart was a video his older brother filmed to document the construction of Justin’s Eagle project. In this distinctly amateurish record of decisions made as the work progressed, the Yale admissions office could easily see how Justin managed and supervised younger scouts and how he exhibited compassionate leadership, which inspired respect from the group as a whole.

The additional essay Justin provided put the video in context. But most importantly, he presented information that highlighted and underscored character traits Yale values and wants to bring to campus in the classes they admit. Other information on the application suggested this was possibly the case, but the video nailed it.

Justin Aubin was eventually admitted and will be attending Yale in the fall as a member of the class of 2021. And Quinlan credits Justin’s creative use of digital media—submitting the video—as making the difference

In all fairness, Yale isn’t the first institution to allow videos and other digital media to be submitted as part of an application for admission. Goucher College in Maryland and George Mason University in Virginia and others have video options available through institutional applications.

And it’s not all that unusual for colleges to offer several different application formats with differing requirements. In fact, smaller colleges make clear that their institutional applications are often more popular than the standardized Common Application.

In addition, last year’s applicants could use ZeeMee, an online resume promoted in questions on the Common Application, or SlideRoom—a Common App partner—to provide more visual support for their talents and interests.

But the difference for colleges using the Coalition application was that they could design their own questions and media integration. They didn’t have to rely on a third-party website that might encourage more “freeform” or off-message responses.

Yale’s new application was no more difficult for staff to review than the two-essay Common App version and could be scripted to allow for comparable responses across applicants using either platform. Linking the digital media to an essay prompt was key to the success of the experiment.

“Staff enjoyed doing something else. It was a way to experiment with new ways of interpreting new kinds of application content.”

Quinlan has a great deal of respect for the Common Application and has no interest in changing that relationship, which has worked very well for Yale. But he does want to offer students a choice of application platforms.

“We want the two applications to be different so students can be thoughtful about which they use and what they decide to present to us.”

While he expects to “tweak” the essay prompts offered in the Yale supplement, Quinlan will continue to provide the digital media option in the Coalition application. “We will maintain the two applications for next year with the same set-up.”

And students will be free to choose the application platform that best presents their credentials and makes their case for admission to Yale University.

For the record, the Coalition application will make available new functionality on June 15. And for the coming year, the roster of institutional members will grow to 135.  After July 1, colleges can open individual applications according to their own timelines.

NCAA Website Helps High School Athletes Explore Eligibility for College Play Earlier

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When the NCAA updated its Eligibility Center website in November 2016, the goal was to make it “a lot easier for students to navigate,” says Gretchen Morin, Coordinator of Eligibility Center Communications.

Updates include Help sections and FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) on each page; and a module to let students track their progress through eligibility certification. These new features are especially significant since eligibility rules have also been recently modified: as of 2016, students must complete a specific progression of core courses during their high school years, and meet minimum GPA and test scores, per a sliding scale.

“We also wanted to streamline the registration process,” says Morin, so profile questions were eliminated or revised “to get just the information we need.” Students can now quickly complete registration and start using the website.

Wanting to encourage student-athletes to use the website earlier in their high school careers led to another update: the Profile Page, an alternate (and free) registration option to the existing Certification Account (which requires a fee).

The Profile Page is a preliminary account designed to help high school freshmen and sophomore student-athletes “get into our system and get into the communication flow,” says NCAA Director Nick Sproull. “We can make sure they know and understand the rules earlier in the process.”

“Later,” says Sproull, “if a student-athlete is being recruited by a Division I or Division II college or university, they can easily transition that account from a free Profile Page to a paid Certification Account to be certified for eligibility.”

To open either type of account, students need to have a reliable email and complete a personal profile that includes their age, contact information, and high school data. They can also begin to record their sports history; this will facilitate any subsequent transition later from the Profile Page to the Certification Account.

(Note: students who participate in Division III college sports do not need to be certified.)

In addition to opening a Profile Page, student-athletes can chat with their own high school and club coaches to get feedback and insight on the recruiting process. For academic eligibility guidance, students should also speak with their school counselors.

Since there is no cost involved to setting up a Profile Page, “we really encourage freshmen and sophomores to go ahead and sign up for that Profile Page account right away,” says Sproull. “The first day of ninth grade is not too early.”

National Merit® ‘Commended Student’ cutoff up by 2 points

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The National Merit® Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has confirmed that the national cutoff score for the ‘Commended Student’ designation will be 211 for the class of 2018—or 2 points higher than the cutoff for the class of 2017. While the higher cut score isn’t particularly predictive of state-by-state ‘Semifinalist’ cutoffs (except possibly at the lowest levels), it does reinforce speculation that continued upward pressure on PSAT/NMSQT® scores may result in higher score requirements for students hoping to earn National Merit Scholarships in some states.

“A simple response to a 2-point increase in the Commended Student cutoff would be to assume a 2-point increase in state Semifinalist cutoffs. It turns out that things are far from simple,” writes Art Sawyer in the Compass Education Group blog. “Based on our research, we are predicting that the most common state cutoff changes will be +0, +1, and +2. We expect that a small number of cutoffs may drop a point or go up by 3 points.”

And between changes in test scoring eliminating the guessing penalty and changes in the scale (from 20-80 to 160-760), the use of data from years prior to 2016 make estimates for state-by-state cutoffs a little complicated.

In addition, the scoring changes together with a new computation for the PSAT/NMSQT “Selection Index” (math, writing/language and reading on a scale of 8 to 38 multiplied by two) also put into play the possibility that two students from the same state with identical Total PSAT/NMSQT scores from the October test could have very different outcomes—one commended (or semifinalist) and one not.

According to the NMSC website, of 1.6 million NMS entrants, roughly 50,000 with the highest Selection Index (SI) scores qualify for recognition in the scholarship program. Note that only students taking the PSAT/NMSQT in the 11th grade qualify.

About 34,000 or more than two-thirds of the high scoring juniors receive Letters of Commendation. These students are named on the basis of a “nationally applied” SI score which varies from year-to-year and is typically below the level required for participants to be named semifinalists in most states. For the class of 2017, the cutoff score was 209.  In 2016, the last year to use the “old” PSAT, the cutoff score was 202. In 2015, it was 201 and in 2014, it was 203.

The increase in this year’s cutoff for commended status is in line with generally inflated PSAT scores, which may have been encouraging to students initially hoping to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship. Unfortunately, life isn’t always so straightforward and the NMS competition is anything but straightforward. State-by-state semifinalist cutoffs are predictable within a range. But only after the NMSC applies a little politics to its formula and the announcement is made in September will there be any certainty as to who qualifies as a semifinalist. To earn the title of “finalist,” these students will have to jump through an additional series of largely bureaucratic administrative hoops.

To facilitate the conversation about the class of 2018, however, Compass Education Group has come up with a chart predicting “estimated ranges” (with 1330 comments) for the state-by-state semifinalist cutoff.  The ranges “reflect the variability of year-to-year changes within a state” and are based on research conducted by the test wizards at Compass Prep. While interesting, the ranges and “most likely” scores are by no means guaranteed.

At this point, it’s not worth spending a whole lot of time worrying about PSAT/NMSQT® results. They are predictive of very little beyond possible achievement on the SAT. Colleges will never see these scores, and how the NMSC determines state-by-state semifinalist cutoffs is entirely out of anyone’s control.

Goldwater Foundation awards 240 scholarships to STEM undergrads

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Iowa State University was awarded the maximum of 4 Goldwater Scholarships for 2017.

The Board of Trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation recently announced the awarding of 240 scholarships for the 2017-2018 academic year to undergraduate sophomores and juniors from the United States. An additional 307 nominees were named as Honorable Mentions.

These scholarships represent the “gold standard” for undergraduate achievement in fields of science, mathematics and engineering. Not only are they the source of significant bragging rights for the various institutions represented among the winners, but they are quite frequently an important stepping stone toward significant financial support for postgraduate education.  PhD programs in STEM areas and important fellowship providers such as the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Hertz Foundation, consider Goldwater awards among the most prestigious of national undergraduate awards for young scientists.

The one- and two-year scholarships are set up to cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500.  They were originally designed to “alleviate a critical current and future shortage of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers.”  In today’s terms, a more realistic statement of purpose would be to provide “a continuing source” of highly qualified individuals to those fields of study and research. While the money isn’t huge, the prestige is enormous and undergrads in STEM fields compete hard for nominations based on their research, internships, and work in relevant industries.

This year’s Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,286 students who were nominated by the institutional representatives from among 2000 colleges and universities nationwide.  Among these, 133 of the Scholars were men and 103 were women, and virtually all intend to obtain a PhD as their degree objective. Twenty-two Scholars were math majors, 153 were science and related majors, 51 were majoring in engineering and 14 were computer science majors.  And for the record, many have dual majors in a variety of mathematics, science, engineering and computer disciplines.

Since its first award in 1989, the Goldwater Foundation has distributed 7,921scholarships totaling approximately 63 million dollars. And these award-winners go on to do great things. Recent Scholars have been awarded 89 Rhodes Scholarships, 127 Marshall Awards, and 145 Churchill Scholarships, 96 Hertz Fellowships, in addition to winning other distinguished national awards.

For many prospective Goldwater Scholars, the competition is most intense at the institutional level.  Colleges establish their own nomination criteria and procedures to determine the extent to which individual students have the commitment and potential to make significant contributions to their fields. Students who plan to study medicine are only eligible if they plan a research career rather than a career as a practicing physician.  Four-year institutions may nominate up to four current sophomores or juniors.

This year, the University of Maryland-College Park, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Richmond were the big winners among competing colleges and universities in the Washington metropolitan area, each with three Goldwaters. Two George Mason University students were awarded scholarships, while Georgetown University, the College of William and Mary, James Madison University, Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia, each had one Goldwater Scholar.

The only universities receiving the maximum of four Goldwater awards were the University of Alabama, Iowa State University, Princeton University and Stanford University.

From any perspective, an institution’s track record for Goldwater Scholars is a reasonable barometer by which prospective students might measure dedication to undergraduate research in STEM-related fields. For more information and complete lists of scholars going back to 2006, visit the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education website.