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Tag: admissions

  • UC Davis Chancellor

    “New e-mails released by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign suggest that Provost Linda Katehi – who arrives as chancellor of UC Davis next month – knew of and may have played a role in at least one of the improper “clout admissions” under investigation in that state.

    Katehi, who has overseen admissions at the university since 2006, has repeatedly denied knowing anything about the secretive admissions known as “Category 1” that has led to about 800 underqualified but well-connected applicants being admitted to the flagship Illinois campus.

    The e-mails, however, suggest a train of influence in which Katehi made inquiries and forwarded information about a wait-listed student after a political figure in Illinois contacted her about the applicant. When the student got in, Katehi pronounced the decision via e-mail as “excellent.”

    Over the weekend, Katehi, who is traveling in Greece, reiterated to UC President Mark Yudof in an e-mail that she had “absolutely no role in the admissions decisions regarding so-called Category 1 admissions.”

    President remains confident

    Regarding the latest disclosures, Katehi told Yudof in a note that “all I did was inquire as to the status of the student’s application, and nothing more. I took no action and made no effort to alter, influence or interfere with the admissions decision of this applicant.”

    In an earlier interview with The Chronicle, Katehi said she was neither aware of the special admissions nor informed of them.

    “At this point, I haven’t seen anything that would cause me to lose confidence in Dr. Katehi,” Yudof said Monday.

    But state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, continued his call for a halt to the appointment of Katehi, who as chancellor will earn $400,000 plus a house and other benefits. He urged Yudof to convene a review panel to look into the matter.

    “With all due respect to Dr. Katehi, the story and answers she’s giving are just not believable,” Yee said. “She cannot claim she doesn’t know about these categories of privileged individuals, when in fact she directed a staff member to look into one of the applications.”

    Early in 2008, Katehi received an e-mail from the campaign manager to the Illinois state treasurer providing information about a wait-listed applicant.

    Katehi forwarded the application to the vice provost, asking for a status report. She described the student as “the daughter of a fairly prominent Greek family in Chicago.”

    Specialty admissions uproar

    Katehi, the treasurer and the campaign manager are all Greek Americans, as was the applicant, an heiress to a Chicago chocolate fortune, according to the Chicago Tribune, which broke the story of the specialty admissions in May and has continued its series as the state has investigated the scandal.

    The newspaper said a Greek Orthodox priest had originally contacted the state treasurer’s office asking for help on behalf of the young heiress, whose name has been redacted from the university’s e-mails.

    Some of the e-mails about the applicant are labeled “Cat 1,” indicating the category for special admissions. Applicants in this group had lower test scores but were admitted at higher rates than other applicants, according to the Tribune investigation.

    ‘Late decision’ admission

    Eventually, in an e-mail copied to Katehi, Vice Provost Ruth Watkins suggested that the applicant be admitted under “late decision” – a method often used to slip underqualified applicants under the radar.

    When Katehi received an e-mail informing her that the applicant in question would be admitted, she wrote, “Excellent.”

    Katehi is to arrive at UC Davis on Aug. 17.”

  • Black Colleges

    There are 117 colleges and universities in the United States that are designated as historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs); that is, they were founded with the mission of educating black men and women. They range from highly competitive universities offering undergraduate and graduate programs to noncompetitive two-year colleges with open admissions. Affordable and academically rigorous, they keep alive the history and traditions of the African-American experience while at the same time welcoming an increasing number of students of other races and backgrounds into their community.

    Today’s African-American students can attend college anywhere their grades, talents and interests take them. Yet increasingly they’re looking at HBCUs because they want the unique experience that only such institutions offer. In fact, “The last few years have seen a resurgence in HBCU enrollment”, comments Lori Wright, coordinator of multicultural student recruitment at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. Students tell her they are considering HBCUs not so much because of racial issues, but because they want to share their cultural heritage with students like themselves.

  • Racial Admissions

    You have a lot of bad luck if you were born into an Asian family. If one of your parents is white, then you should claim that you are white instead of Asian when you apply to a college. Better yet, if you can find a way to claim that you are x% of American Indian, you have many more ways to get financial aid. Some say Asian-Americans are being denied spots at top colleges to keep their numbers in check (Asians make up 5 percent of the population). The following are percentages of Asian undergraduates at selected colleges, according to the New York Times, Jan 7, 2007:

    Stanford: 24%

    Harvard: 18%

    Princeton: 13%

    M.I.T.: 27%

    Asian-Americans are the odd group out, lacking the racial preferences enjoyed by other minorities and the advantages of wealth and lineage accrued by upper-class whites. Asians are type-cast in college admissions offices as quasi-robots programmed by their parents to ace math and science.

    The UC system (the University of California) announced a new admission policy (effectively reducing the number of Asian student population). Currently 36 percent of those admitted to the university system in 2007-8 were Asian Americans. In contrast, white applicants made up 34 percent of those admitted in 2007-8. Applying the new admissions standards, that percentage for Asian would drop to 29-32 percent. Under the proposed reforms, white applicants would have made up 41 to 44 percent of the entering class. So is this the case of “good” students are being denied admissions in favor of “mediocre” ones? Is it fair for the Asian American students who worked so hard but have disadvantages at attending their dream college(s)?

    Well, quite simply, the world is not fair. Many who pay their mortgage on time year after year, will need to share the burden of other foreclosure expenses by other people. If you are rich, then you need to pay more tax. If you are smart in one social group, then you have disadvantages to your college applications. If Obama was not black, did he have a chance? Is the Obama Presidency the end of Affirmative Action?

    This is not a new problem as there were many law suits filed before. Yale’s freshman Jian Li has filed a federal civil rights complaint against Princeton for rejecting his application for admission, claiming the University discriminated against him because he is Asian. The complaint, which was filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on Oct. 25, 2006, alleges that the University’s admissions procedures are biased because they advantage other minority groups, namely African-Americans and Hispanics, legacy applicants and athletes at the expense of Asian-American applicants. However the most recent UC’s admission policies would legalize such practice and deny Asians’ chances.

  • Application Essays

    When a student is writing his/her application essay, there are several aspects to do and not to do.

    Don’t “Thesaurus-ize” Your Essay. Do Use Your Own Voice.
    Admission officers can easily tell Roget from a high school senior. Big words, especially when misused, detract from the essay, inappropriately drawing the reader’s attention and making the essay sound contrived.

    Don’t Bore the Reader. Do Use Interesting Language.
    Admission officers have to read hundreds of essays, and they often skim. They aren’t looking for a new way to view the world; they’re looking for a new way to view the applicant. The best way to grip the reader is to begin the essay with a captivating snapshot.

    Do Use Personal Detail. Show, Don’t Tell.
    Good essays are concrete and grounded in personal detail. They do not merely assert “I learned my lesson” or that “these lessons are useful both on and off the field.” They show it through personal detail.

  • SAT (1)

    SAT Exam

    Because almost every college and university in the United States accepts the SAT exam as part of the admissions and placement process, more than two million students take the test every year. The SAT exam is divided into the SAT Reasoning Test and the SAT Subject Tests.

    The SAT Reasoning Test assesses a student’s critical thinking, analyzing, and problem-solving skills, all of which are necessary to succeed in higher education. This test is divided into three categories: Writing, Critical Reading, and Mathematics. The Critical Reading section is further broken down into three sections, two of which are 25 minutes and one of which is 20 minutes. The Mathematics section is broken down in a similar fashion as the Critical Reading Section, with two 25 minutes sections and on 20 minute section. Time allotted for the Writing section is 60 minutes: 35 minutes for multiple choice questions and 25 minutes for students to write an essay. All of the sections are scored from 200 to 800 points. The SAT exam is administered seven times a year in the United States, U.S. Territories, and Puerto Rico. It is also administered six times a year in other countries.

    The SAT Subject Tests assess a student’s knowledge, as well as his or her ability to apply that knowledge, in specific subject areas. There are currently twenty subject tests, all of which fall under the general subjects of English, history, math, science, and languages. The tests assess how well a student has mastered a subject, but the content of the exams is not based on any specific curriculum or textbook. Colleges and universities use these exams in the admissions process, as well as to advise students and for placement purposes. Some schools require specific exams while others will allow the student to choose the subject tests he or she wishes to take. All of the SAT Subject Tests are 60 minutes and are comprised of multiple choice questions. It is recommended that students take the exams at the end of their junior year or the beginning of their senior year, or as soon as the student has completed the high school class related to the subject test (for example, Physics or World History).

    Students may register for the SAT exam online or via mail. Tests are administered on Saturdays; if a student cannot take the exam on a Saturday because of religious observance, he or she can take the exam on a Sunday. Students who are registering to take the exam on a Sunday for the first time, are younger than thirteen, are requesting to test closer to home (because the nearest testing site is at least 75 miles away), or plan to test in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, or Togo, must register with a paper application via mail. There is a fee of $41.50 to take the SAT Reasoning Test, which includes up to four score reports sent to colleges and universities. For the Subject Tests, there is a basic fee of $18.00, a fee of $8.00 for each additional exam, and an additional $19.00 for Language Tests with Listening.

  • What Colleges Look for in an Applicant

    What Colleges Look for in an Applicant

    When deciding which applicants to admit to their college, admissions officers consider many different factors.

    – A Challenging Schedule
    One of the main factors that college admissions officers look for is a rigorous class schedule. Universities want students who are willing to challenge themselves. Depending on the college, a challenging schedule is even better than having the best grades. If an admissions officer is deciding between two applicants, where one student has a 4.0 with standard courses and the other applicant has a 3.5 average but takes advanced courses, the admissions officer will usually pick the 3.5 average student.

    – Grades
    Although a challenging schedule may hold a little more precedence, grades are still vital to colleges. Many colleges have a minimum GPA (Grade Point Average) requirement in order to apply. Therefore, it is essential that a student keeps his/her grades up throughout his/her entire high school career. Also, students should not slack off in their senior year of high school. It has happened time and time again that a university revokes the student’s admission due to “senioritis”.

    – Standardized Test Scores (SAT, SAT 2)
    Colleges definitely take admissions test scores into consideration. Starting in the 21st century, in order to get a scholarship off test scores, the student’s test scores must be in the 99th percentile minimum. If test scores are near the median range, then class schedules and grades will be the main deciding factors for admission. If test scores are low, an admissions counselor may discard the student immediately unless their grades and schedule are simply outstanding.

    – Extracurricular Activities
    Being involved in extracurricular activities shows admissions officers that the student is a well-rounded student and that the student is good with time management skills. Colleges want students who are going to be involved with activities on their campus. Keep in mind, however, that a student should not join a bunch of activities just to fill up his/her high school resume. Admissions officers are looking for quality over quantity. A few activities that really interest the student looks a lot better on a high school resume.

    Application Essay
    The college application essay allows a student to show his/her uniqueness to admissions officers. Counselors look for application essays that are honest and provide supplemental information. Counselors do not want to see a student restating what is in their transcript.

    Letters of Recommendation
    Admissions officers rely on letters of recommendation to let them know how others view the student. Generally, a student wants to ask someone who knows them well and would give a positive report.

  • Yield

    Recently, there is a new type of ranking/rating that can determine which universities/colleges are really the most popular. It can help determine which college students really want to go to. The process is to look at a school’s yield, which is the percentage of applicants accepted by a university who end up enrolling at that institution that year. If a school has a high yield (a large proportion of those admitted enroll), it means that the school is most likely very popular amongst high school students, has a high reputation, and the students are motivated to go the given university. A low yield means that the school is probably a school that students use as a “safety” or “last resort” college. Many colleges use yield as a part in determining how many students they need to admit each year. Currently the college with the best yield is Harvard University.