About Admissions 2017

What’s New?
Each year we hear about new developments in the college admissions process. On the West Coast we heard that the UCs would continue to increase their resident enrollments and place a 20% cap on out-of-state admissions. The big news on the East Coast came through Harvard’s petition to college admissions offices, parents and educators to change the culture of overachievement by promoting a focus on greater kindness and concern for others in high school students.

Admissions results from 2017 reveal that despite the optimism that college admissions might change, for now admission rates continue to drop and competition continues to rise. The most dramatic drop we saw this year was in admission to programs in computer science. The good news is that students appear to have even more control than in past years of shaping their admission to private small liberal arts colleges and some out of state public schools.

How to Proceed in 2017-18

• Show Demonstrated Interest! For years it has been clear that admission improves for those who make an effort to reach out to admissions representatives and show a fit. Today this task is ever more relevant.
  • Properly strategize your college visits. Visit colleges and universities where your effort counts. Visiting Harvard or UC Berkeley will not improve your chances of being admitted there.
  • If you can’t visit, write. It is expensive and time-consuming to fly around the country visiting colleges. If you can’t visit a college, then find a way to connect with the college by emailing and participating in online exchanges. Make it clear to the college why you want to be their student and ask good questions that demonstrate serious consideration of attending the college.
• Showcase ALL of who you are. A music or art supplement may be the very thing that separates you from the student who doesn’t have one. Make sure that you are taking advantage to highlight your every strength.
• Consider Canadian and English colleges and universities. There are some wonderful opportunities (several at a lower cost) to study abroad for an undergraduate education.
• Be You in Your Essays. Don’t fall for gimmickry or try to sell admissions on some contrived or overblown version of who you are. Be authentic and honest in your writing to bring out your personal best qualities and abilities.
  • Speaking of essays...The Common Application has revised a prompt and added new prompts to help students to be more authentic (and efficient!):
    • 5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. [Revised]
    • 6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? [New]
    • 7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. [New]
• Start Your Essays Early. Every admissions office in the world offers this advice and there is a reason for it. There is very significant work involved in applying to 10-12 colleges. 
  • Read up here on how many essays students write in a typical application cycle.