Standing Out in a Sea of 121,000: The UC Admissions Game This Year
According to a preliminary January 4th report and subsequent data collected over the past month, the University of California system is reporting receiving 121,005 applications for Fall 2008, breaking its own record for the fourth consecutive year. Applications have increased by 9 percent over 2007.
Most interesting, out-of-state applications increased by 14.4 percent, and international applicants by 25.2 percent. As each UC continues to grow, the nationwide and even worldwide recognition grows along with them. Continuously ranked as the #1 public schools in the country, the Universities of California command a staggering, but very well-deserved growth rate.
With the number of applications so high, it is becoming increasingly difficult to be accepted to a UC. Consider these three tips to help your odds.
- Apply to multiple UCs. Though each school is individually ranked by college guides -- with Berkeley, Los Angeles, and San Diego always topping the charts -- all offer a very high quality level of education. The lower ranked UCs like Irvine, Santa Cruz, Riverside, Davis, and Santa Barbara may receive less attention than juggernaut Berkeley, but they are still fantastic schools which carry more prestige than most other public and even private universities. Applicants apply to, on average, 3.6 UCs, so follow the trend to increase your odds.
- Consider community college first. The UCs actively recruit students from California community colleges. Most have a program of guaranteed acceptance called TAG or Transfer Admissions Guarantee that will allow you automatic admission if you meet certain minimum criteria. While Berkeley has no such guarantee, UC San Diego offers this TAG program, and UC Los Angeles offers preferred, though not guaranteed, admission through its TAP (Transfer Alliance Program). If you have your heart set on a UC and have been rejected, take advantage of these transfer programs. Not only will you get the same degree as the freshman admits, but you will also save money by paying much less expensive community college tuition for two years.
- Establish residency before applying. If you are an out-of-state student, try to establish residency in California. Since UCs strongly favor in-state applicants, you may find yourself accepted with the same exact credentials simply by establishing residency first. For tips on how to do this, read my article about paying in-state tuition as an out-of-state student and scroll down to the heading, "Establish Residency".
While standing out in a sea of 121,000 other applicants is difficult, the UCs work hard to ensure access for any qualified student. For school-specific tips, consult the university you are most interested in and ask for guidance for your particular situation.
Have a question or comment? Leave me one.Reviewing the Princeton Review’s Best 366 Colleges (2008 Edition)
While this post does contain affiliate links to Amazon.com, this review is my accurate and honest opinion. My comments are unsolicited and unpaid.
I was finally able to look through a copy of the Princeton Review's The Best 366 Colleges, 2008 Edition
What I have always liked about Princeton Review's guides is the anecdotal look at each college. Because the narratives are written by actual students at each of the schools, you get a very accurate portrait of the universities. In addition, there is terrific statistical information which discusses all of the basics like academic selectivity and tuition costs, and also often forgotten areas like the living situations, campus security, and classroom size.
The problem I have with most other college guides is that they focus too much on the elite schools and pay little attention to smaller local and state colleges. This guide gives time and space for even the little guys, and you can count on a full two-page spread for each.
Naturally, each of the reviews should be taken with a grain of salt, as the feedback comes from a very small sampling of students from each college. But if you are still trying to narrow down your selection, or if you need help differentiating between your top choices, I highly recommend this book.
If you have a previous version (from within the last couple of years), you should be fine without upgrading. But if not, all 832 pages with more than 120,000 students reviews can be found in The Best 366 Colleges, 2008 Edition (College Admissions Guides)
The ‘Free College’ Fad is Catching On - Stanford and Washington Join Harvard and Yale
Last month, I discussed the new 2008 college endowment figures and answered the question: should you care? At the time I said no, but now I may be starting to change my mind.
California's Stanford University and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri have joined the ranks of schools like Harvard and Yale in offering what has been dubbed 'free college' for students in certain financial brackets. Responding both to economic and political pressures, Stanford is offering free tuition to families earning less than $100,000 annually, and free room, board, and other expenses to families earning under $60,000. Washington University is also offering this new 'free college' program by replacing loans with grants for families earning under $60,000.
Stanford's new policy also hints at "other significant enhancements" regarding the financial aid program.
It has been common for universities, especially the top-ranked Ivy League colleges, to compete in "buying" elite students by luring them with attractive financial aid packages. As a result, their lesser performing and often economically disadvantaged peers would be forced to pay full price without much grant or scholarship assistance. Now there seems to be a greater emphasis on attracting a more diverse pool of students. Seeing colleges begin to use their hearty endowments for reasons outside of just 'merit money' is a big step in the right direction.
With several top-ranked schools reevaluating their financial aid packages, I estimate that it's only a matter of time until even more hop on the bandwagon. I have always believed that money considerations should not influence college decisions, and it is great to see this philosophy reflected in new policies focusing on providing wider access to education.
Have a question or comment? 1 person does.Financial Aid Consultants: Spending Money to Make Money?
I discussed the dangers of personal statement coaches on Saturday, and I'd like to address a similar topic today. I am always skeptical of any type of 'college admissions coach', and financial aid consultants strike me as even more suspicious. While other consultants offer a benefit that is rather unquantifiable (there's no specific dollar value of a 2200 SAT score or Harvard admission, for example), financial aid coaches offer money for money. On a simple analysis, if you earn more in financial aid than you pay the coach, you come out ahead. On the other hand, if you pay more than you earn, you have lost money with no other material benefit.
Thus, I am wary when I see steep fees charged for these consultants. Ivywise, a New York-based firm, in particular receives a lot of criticism for their programs. At roughly $650 an hour, I have wondered if their financial aid coaches can actually get you that much money back.
My suspicions grew when I read Ivywise's February 2008 newsletter which featured an article written by financial aid counselor Rod Bugarin, in which he says: "government loans for parents (called PLUS loans) have a relatively low interest rate (currently 6.1%)."
While this piece of information would be correct for students borrowing in the 2005-2006 aid year, PLUS loans have been fixed at 8.5% since July 1, 2006. Mr. Burgarin who presumably also charges the approximately $650/hour fee of Ivywise is relying on information almost two years old to give financial aid advice. This worries me.
In fairness, I e-mailed Mr. Burgarin last week about the error and he had this to say:
[T]hanks for letting me know. I[']ll make changes on monday. I should[']ve double checked the interest rate before publishing the article. As this article was in a two part series, I[']ll let readers know in next month[']s edition. Thank you.
Though it is now Tuesday and the error persists, I am glad to see him acknowledge the mistake and endeavor to correct it. But should I, a small, independent purveyor of free advice really be correcting the errors of a career financial aid consultant who charges hundreds of dollars per hour for his service? Ivywise's most expensive package runs for over $32,000, and patrons could potentially be paying for damaging advice. Industry experts earning salaries for their services should know better.
I do not mean to criticize any one program or company. Instead, I would like to remind students and parents that there are options available outside of high-priced consultants. Much of the advice they offer is available free at many places on the Internet, including this site. The industry of college admissions consulting is one in which more the expensive services are not necessarily better.
Have a question or comment? 2 people do.Could Rising Interest Rates on Student Loans Actually Be a Good Thing?
I've blogged previously about private student loans and why they tend to be a bad choice (see the final point on my article about comparing forms of financial aid). Federal loans with their lower interest rates are almost always a better option than the high-interest, often restrictive private alternatives. But the current sub-prime mortgage crisis and recent Federal legislation have meant that even if students avoid private loans, they are still getting hit with the effects of a tanking economy. As John at Free College Blog points out, the credit crunch is having far-reaching effects:
[T]he recent legislative reform drastically reduces the amount of income [student lenders] are able to generate. To make up the difference, lenders are: raising rates on private loans; denying loans to students with low credit scores; or getting out of the [Federal] subsidized loan business all together.
One of the biggest advantages of Stafford and Perkins loans, and also graduate PLUS loans, is that none used to require a credit check. But with students as such big credit risks, and with lenders losing money on defaulted loans, banks are becoming more reluctant to deal with students as openly as they have in the past. This is troublesome for everyone.
Perhaps, though, the news isn't entirely dire. John goes on to make another excellent point:
In the long run, this could be helpful for tuition costs as more schools figure out business models that allow them to admit students without necessarily needing loans to pay for it.
Surely we should be cautious in praising soaring interest rates, but this point is a good one. As the cost of education continues to increase exponentially and as graduate debt follows its own upward path, colleges will soon have no choice but to dip into their endowments to make their programs more accessible. We're looking at a lot of trouble in the short-term, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel after all.
Have a question or comment? Leave me one.More on the Dangers of Personal Statement Coaching and Editing
On Tuesday, I wrote a new article for parents that touched on the dangers of parents helping their child to write the personal statement (see point 6). On the same day, The Boston Globe published an article warning that college applications can be too good. I thought it would be a good idea to expand upon what I suggested for parents in my own article by generalizing the advice to cover these so-called "College Application Consultants" or "Personal Statement Coaches".
The Boston Globe cautions that, "[a]s college admissions officers sift through thousands of application essays [...] they increasingly encounter writing that sparkles a bit too brightly or shows a poise and polish beyond the years of a typical teenager." They suggest that such essays are known around the admissions office by the pejorative nickname 'DDI', for 'Daddy Did It'. Further, they reinforce my assertion that colleges are increasingly cross-referencing the SAT or ACT essay with the personal statement to ensure that a student's voice, word use, and syntax are consistent. It also becomes obvious that something is amiss when the level of polish varies dramatically between the short answer responses and the longer essay.
The importance of the application essay is well-known, and I see more and more students each season turn to professional services which offer to edit and sometimes even write the personal statement for you. College admissions officers are wise to these services and are employing even more techniques to spot and punish cheaters in the admissions process.
The most important piece of advice I can offer is to remember that while universities do want to see some level of polish, they still expect you to write like a 17- or 18-year-old. Some minor mistakes are good, and make you seem real and personal. If you do decide to hire a professional essay editor, make sure that none of the changes alter your own personal voice or the authenticity of the essay. Take this tip from admissions director at MIT Stu Schmill, who warns against penning a 'sanitized' essay: "[t]he best thing [you] can do is write from the heart."
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