Elite College Admissions Is Not Arbitrary

There are a couple of letters to the editor in The Wall Street Journal today under a headline that reads “The Arbitrariness of Elite College Admissions.” As our loyal readers know all too well, the core objective of this college admissions blog is to demystify the highly selective college admissions … 

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Scandal Offers Little Insight into Admissions Process

One of our readers recently asked, “You cover college admissions every day. Why are you not covering every development in the college admissions bribery and cheating scandal?” The answer is a simple one: we reported on the scandal extensively when the news broke, we offered insights on various news broadcasts … 

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How College Admissions Isn’t Like Dating

In highly selective college admissions, interest matters. Colleges want to know that you love them. They want to know that you’ll choose them over any other school. As Meredith Grey told McDreamy in “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Pick me, choose me, love me.” You see, colleges are insecure like that and this … 

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Late in the College Admissions Process

Around this time of year, parents sometimes write in something that goes like, “It’s really late in the college admissions process. There’s probably nothing you can do for my daughter as she’s applying to college. But I guess I’m writing you anyway. I’m not sure why.” We’re not sure why you’re … 

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Start Early at College Admissions Process

Folks sometimes ask us when is the best time to come to Ivy Coach for college admissions advice. Our answer is typically something like this: “As early as possible because we can correct mistakes before they become just that — mistakes. Mistakes in coursework, mistakes in testing, mistakes in extracurriculars … 

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Beginning the College Admissions Process

How soon is too soon to begin the college admissions process? If you’re the parent of a ninth grader, it’s certainly not too soon as the courses that your child maps out for the next four years matter a great deal in the highly selective college admissions process. Even just … 

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Admissions Process

There’s an article in “Parade” by Nancy Berk in which the screenwriter for the Tina Fey and Paul Rudd-starrer “Admission“, Karen Croner, is interviewed. In the interview, Croner basically says that high school kids should be who they are and not let the college admissions process define who they are … 

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College Application Process

In an effort to increase application numbers, colleges streamlined the college application process by making it easier for students to apply.

College Admission Process

There is a “Times” piece entitled “Five Biggest Myths About College Admissions” by Andrew Rotherham in which Mr. Rotherham writes that the college admission process is “much more haphazard than people think.” That’s not the case. Does it matter if a college admissions counselor had a much-needed cup of coffee … 

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College Admissions Process

Summer melt is a term in the college admissions process when students who commit to attending a university change their mind.
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