Eight

Quest

ions a

bout

Colleg

e · Ad

missio

ns St

raigh

t Ans

wers

that

You

'll Ne

ver G

et fro

m Y

our G

uidan

ce C

ouns

elor

The

foU

owin

g is

can

did

advi

ce

for

high

sc

hool

sen

iors

and

the

ir p

aren

ts f

rom

T .K

. C

hang

, who

has

B.A

., M

.B.A

. and

J.D

. de

gree

s fr

om H

arva

rd,

an M

.A.

from

Yal

e, a

nd w

ho

rece

ntly

su

ffer

ed

thro

ugh

the

coU

ege

appl

icat

ion

orde

al w

ith h

is d

augh

ter.

1.

Doe

s ap

plyi

ng

early

de

cisi

on

Impr

ove

my

chan

ces

of a

dmis

sion

s?

Of c

ours

e it

doe

s.

Gui

danc

e co

unse

lors

are

obl

igat

ed

to p

reac

h ab

out

seek

ing

your

cal

ling,

fin

ding

the

ide

al

fit,

etc.

(al

l tr

ue,

but ..

. ),

the

trut

h of

the

mat

ter

is t

hat

earl

y de

cisi

on

clea

rly

impr

oves

yo

ur

chan

ces

of

adm

issi

ons

at h

ighl

y se

lect

ive

colle

ges.

E

arly

de

cisi

on

grea

tly

bene

fits

th

e co

llege

s in

nu

mer

ous

way

s, i

n sp

ite

of th

e se

lf-r

ight

eous

cri

tici

sm

of c

olle

ge p

resi

dent

s an

d th

e co

nfus

ing

back

-and

-for

th

chan

ges

betw

een

earl

y de

cisi

on a

nd e

arly

act

ion

amon

g th

e to

p Iv

y L

eagu

e sc

hool

s.

So, c

olle

ges

will

con

tinu

e to

us

e ea

rly

deci

sion

, an

d th

ey w

ill n

ot s

top

doin

g so

unt

il

all

thei

r co

mpe

titor

s st

op u

sing

it,

whi

ch i

s no

t li

kely

in

the

fore

seea

ble

futu

re.

Bec

ause

ear

ly d

ecis

ion

impr

oves

you

r ch

ance

s, y

ou

to b

ased

on

your

SA

T's

, gr

ades

and

oth

er a

ttri

bute

s.

But

if

you

aim

too

hig

h, o

r ai

m f

or a

col

lege

tha

t is

too

po

pula

r,

you

risk

be

ing

defe

rred

, an

d th

en

face

st

atis

tica

lly

muc

h w

orse

odd

s in

the

reg

ular

adm

issi

ons

proc

ess.

B

ut d

on't

lose

hop

e if

you

are

defe

rred

: I

know

pe

rson

ally

tw

o pe

ople

w

ho

wer

e de

ferr

ed

on

earl

y de

cisi

on b

ut e

vent

ually

got

int

o H

arva

rd,

incl

udin

g on

e of

f the

wai

ting

list.

The

oth

er a

dvan

tage

of

earl

y de

cisi

on i

s·th

at i

f yo

u do

get

in,

you

can

bas

ical

ly r

elax

fro

m e

arly

Dec

embe

r on

, an

d ha

ve a

gre

at s

enio

r ye

ar.

You

pra

ctic

ally

mus

t co

mm

it a

felo

ny

in o

rder

to

have

th

e ea

rly

deci

sion

ad

mis

sion

with

draw

n.

So,

you

are

then

abl

e to

do

all

thos

e (s

choo

l) e

xtra

curr

icul

ar a

ctiv

itie

s th

at y

ou d

id n

ot

have

tim

e fo

r pr

evio

usly

. O

n th

e ot

her

hand

, yo

u gi

ve u

p ch

oice

and

tha

t "y

ou-n

ever

-kno

w"

fact

or.

In o

ther

wor

ds,

you

sacr

ific

e th

at s

tret

ch s

choo

l th

at y

ou m

ight

hav

e go

tten

into

, bu

t di

dn't

appl

y to

be

caus

e yo

u w

ere

acce

pted

on

earl

y de

cisi

on.

H yo

u be

lieve

in

luck

, th

en d

on't

appl

y ea

rly

deci

sion

, be

caus

e it

is a

n un

deni

able

fac

t th

at c

olle

ge

adm

i11s

ions

dec

isio

ns a

re o

ften

qui

te r

ando

m,

with

out

reas

on a

nd b

ased

on

luck

.

2. D

o SA

T pr

epar

atio

n C

OU

1181

hel

p?

shou

ld a

pply

to

a co

llege

tha

t is

som

ewha

t ab

ove

wha

t O

f cou

rse

they

·do.

M

any

year

s ag

o, t

he E

duca

tion

al

you wo

ald~haYeJitianiw~&pi.a._.._....~

.&rnc:es

,(E'IS). ,'

1hilh

.adJ

nini&

tera·t¥

.SAt

."

used

to p

ut o

ut th

e pr

opag

anda

that

pre

para

tion

doe

s no

t he

lp.

So,

whe

n I

took

the

tes

ts,

in t

he d

ista

nt p

ast,

alth

ough

I d

id n

ot t

ake

an S

AT

cou

rse,

I p

repa

red

for

them

on

my

own

usin

g B

arro

n's.

!;i

inee

man

y of

my

fello

w s

tude

nts

belie

ved

the

ET

S pr

opag

anda

and

did

no

t pr

epar

e fo

r th

e te

sts,

the

com

petit

ion

was

muc

h le

ss

iqte

nse

whe

n I

took

the

SA

T's

. S

ubse

quen

tly,

ET

S w

as f

orce

d by

law

to

disc

lose

its

pr

evio

us t

ests

(th

ey u

sed

to b

e se

cret

, so

pre

para

tion

co

urse

s li

ke K

apla

n's

had

to s

end

in m

emor

y ex

pert

s to

ta

ke t

he t

ests

and

~emorize

the

ques

tions

).

Now

, ev

en

ET

S ad

mits

tha

t pre

para

tion

doe

s he

lp (D

uh ...

). B

ut t

he r

esul

t of

thi

s is

sim

ilar

to

the

arm

s ra

ce

betw

een

the

U.S

. and

the

Sovi

et U

nion

. H

ever

yone

els

e is

eit

her

taki

ng a

n SA

T c

ours

e or

pre

pari

ng f

or

the

SA

T's

, th

en t

he o

vera

ll le

vel o

f com

petit

ion

rise

s.

As

in

Alic

e in

Won

derl

and,

yo

u m

ust

keep

run

ning

jus

t to

st

ay i

n th

e sa

me

plac

e.

How

ever

, fo

r pa

rent

s sh

ocke

d by

the

sta

tist

ic t

hat

the

num

ber

of a

ppli

cant

s to

Har

vard

who

had

a p

erfe

ct

scor

e of

800

exc

eede

d th

e nu

mbe

r of

pla

ces.

in

the

fres

hman

cla

ss,

note

tha

t E

TS

resc

aled

the

SA

T s

core

s in

199

6.

The

refo

re,

an 8

00 s

core

, w

hich

was

ext

rem

ely

rare

bef

ore

1996

, is

now

rel

ativ

ely

com

mon

. P

rinc

eton

Rev

iew

is

quit

e go

od.

The

cou

rses

off

ered

by

sub

urba

n hi

gh s

choo

ls v

ary

in q

ualit

y, r

angi

ng f

rom

t!uPJ

~~,..enWL¥(

&,.:

1&

•

rela

tivel

y in

effe

ctiv

e.

Bec

ause

th

e SA

T's

ar

e un

derg

oing

maj

or c

hang

es,

it i

s pr

obab

ly e

ven

mor

e im

port

ant

to t

ake

a pr

epar

atio

n co

urse

thi

s ye

ar,

as t

he

cour

ses

are

likel

y to

hav

e th

e m

ost

curr

ent

info

rmat

ion

on w

hat

the

new

tes

ts a

re g

oing

to lo

ok l

ike.

3.

Wha

t bo

oks

abou

t th

e ap

plic

atio

n pr

oces

s sh

ould

I bu

y?

Mic

hele

Her

nand

ez's

"A

Is

for

Adm

issi

on"

is a

n ey

e-op

ener

and

ind

ispe

nsab

le.

Som

e of

the

info

rmat

ion

in t

he b

ook

is o

utda

ted,

how

ever

; for

exa

mpl

e, s

he s

tate

s th

at C

orne

ll do

es n

ot g

ive

spec

ial

cons

ider

atio

n fo

r ea

rly

deci

sion

, w

hich

is

de

fini

tely

no

t tr

ue

any

long

er.

Her

nand

ez w

rote

an

othe

r bo

ok,

"Aci

ng

the

Col

lege

A

ppli

cati

on",

whi

ch i

s a

less

use

ful

sequ

el w

ith m

any

of

the

sam

e id

eas.

Ja

mes

Fal

low

s' e

xpos

ee o

n th

e ea

rly

adm

issi

on s

cam

an

d ot

her

artic

les

in t

he A

tlan

tic

Mon

thly

ar

e qu

ite

info

rmat

ive.

N

ick

Lem

ann

's b

ook

on t

he S

AT

, "T

he B

ig

Tes

t",

is a

fas

cina

ting

read

, bu

t not

use

ful a

s a

prac

tica

l ai

d. Fo

r ge

nera

l de

scri

ptio

ns o

f all

the

top

sch

ools

, "T

he

Fis

ke

Gui

de

to

Get

ting

into

the

R

ight

Col

lege

" an

d "F

iske

Gui

de t

o C

olle

ges"

are

use

ful

refe

renc

es w

hich

co

nven

ient

ly g

athe

r al

l th

e nu

ts-a

nd-b

olts

inf

orm

atio

n in

one

pla

ce.

4. G

uida

nce

coun

selo

rs a

nd a

dvic

e bo

oks t

ell

me

that

the

best

way

to d

ecid

e wh

ich

colle

ges

to a

pply

to

Is to

tal

k to

my

fello

w-s

tude

nts

and

frien

ds,

Is th

at

true?

Man

is

a he

rd a

nim

al,

and

high

-sch

ool

seni

Qrs

are

no

exc

eptio

n.

A s

impl

e ill

ustr

atio

n:

I kn

ow s

omeo

ne

this

yea

r w

ho g

ot i

nto

Flar

vard

and

Sta

nfor

d,

but

was

re

ject

ed o

r w

aitli

sted

by

Geo

rget

own,

Duk

e, U

nive

rsity

of

Pen

nsyl

vani

a an

d W

ashi

ngto

n U

nive

rsity

in

St.

Lou

is.

Gof

igur

e.

·

In o

ther

wor

ds,

for

reas

ons

that

are

mys

teri

ous,

ce

rtai

n sc

hool

s ha

ve b

ecom

e ex

trem

ely

popu

lar,

an

d th

eref

ore,

re

ceiv

e .

an

over

abun

dant

nu

mbe

r of

ap

plic

atio

ns.

The

se i

nclu

de t

he s

choo

ls n

amed

abo

ve,

as

wel

l as

N

YU

, T

ufts

an

d ot

her

urba

n sc

hool

s.

Con

vers

ely,

sc

hool

s in

le

ss

urba

n se

tting

s su

ch

as

Dar

tmol

lth h

ave

beco

me

less

pop

ular

. W

ell,

the

reas

ons

are

not

that

mys

teri

ous.

Fi

rst,

scho

ols

like

Duk

e se

nd o

ut r

ecru

iter

s w

ho g

o ar

ound

the

co

untr

y w

hipp

ing

up

enth

usia

sm

amon

g se

nior

s an

d ge

tting

the

m t

o ap

ply,

and

the

n pr

ocee

d to

rej

ect

them

in

ord

er to

im

prov

e it

s st

atis

tica

l ra

nkin

g.

Seco

nd,

TV

show

s li

ke F

rien

ds,

Sein

feld

, Se

x an

d th

e C

ity a

nd

popu

lar c

ultu

re i

n ge

nera

l hav

e gl

amor

ized

urb

an li

ving

. A

s a

resu

lt (

and

also

bec

ause

its

nei

ghbo

rhoo

d is

no

long

er a

slu

m),

Col

umbi

a ha

s cl

imbe

d to

the

top

of

the

Ivy

rank

ings

, ju

st b

elow

the

top

thr

ee.

Scho

ols

like

T

ufts

(w

hich

ski

rted

ban

krup

tcy

in t

he 1

980'

s) h

ave

also

be

com

e su

rpri

sing

ly p

opul

ar a

mon

g hi

gh s

choo

l se

nior

s.

Sim

ilarl

y, B

row

n re

ceiv

es a

dis

prop

ortio

nate

num

ber

of

appl

ican

ts,

espe

cial

ly

from

w

omen

; th

us,

I kn

ow

pers

onal

ly

a se

nior

w

ho

was

ac

cept

ed

this

ye

ar

to

Har

vard

, bu

t rej

ecte

d by

Bro

wn.

5. I

am

a n

inth

gra

der

In p

ublic

sch

ools

; sh

ould

I

trans

fer t

o a

priv

ate

scho

ol to

Impr

ove

my

chan

ces

of

adm

issi

ons?

In g

ener

al,

no.

The

app

lica

tion

s fo

r ea

rly

deci

sion

ar

e du

e by

Nov

embe

r 1

of t

he

seni

or y

ear,

an

d by

Ja

nuar

y 1

for

regu

lar

adm

issi

ons,

so

the

mos

t cr

ucia

l ye

ars

for

an a

ppli

cant

are

11t

h gr

ade

and

lOth

gra

de,

in

that

ord

er.

It i

s of

utm

ost

impo

rtan

ce t

hat

the

appl

ican

t be

in

the

top

10%

of

her

high

sch

ool

seni

or c

lass

. It

is

an

arbi

trar

y cu

t-of

f po

int,

but

colle

ge

rank

ings

ar

e ba

sed

on i

t. B

ecau

se o

f th

e ge

nera

lly s

uper

ior

acad

emic

lev

el a

t pr

ivat

e sc

hool

s as

opp

osed

fo p

ubl_

ic s

choo

ls,

it w

ill tak

~

time

for

you

to c

atch

up

and

adju

st a

fter

you

tra

nsfe

r to

a

priv

ate

scho

ol.

IT y

ou w

ant

to g

o to

a p

riva

te s

choo

l, yo

ur s

houl

d tr

ansf

er e

arli

er,

say,

7th

gra

de.

Oth

erw

ise,

yo

u w

ill w

ork

your

tai

l of

f tr

ying

to

catc

h up

, an

d st

ill

end

up in

the

mid

dle

of th

e cl

ass

in y

our

seni

or y

ear.

On

the

othe

r ha

nd,

priv

ate

scho

ols

tend

to

have

m

uch

bett

er g

uida

nce

depa

rtm

ents

. T

hey

can

prob

ably

gu

aran

tee

that

, by

hoo

k or

cro

ok,

they

will

get

you

int

o at

lea

st a

dec

ent

colle

ge,

just

bel

ow t

he v

ery

top

tier.

T

hat

is s

ort

of t

he i

mpl

icit

bar

gain

tha

t yo

u (a

nd y

our

pare

nts)

st

rike

with

the

pri

vate

sch

ool,

and

wha

t th

ey

are

payi

ng th

e tu

ition

for.

And

, of

cou

rse,

you

are

lik

ely

to g

et a

muc

h be

tter

aca

dem

ic e

duca

tion

at

a pr

ivat

e sc

hool

(pu

blic

sch

ools

are

goo

d fo

r ot

her

reas

ons)

, bu

t w

e ar

e ta

lkin

g ab

out c

hanc

es fo

r co

llege

adm

issi

ons

here

.

6.

D o

ath

lete

s ha

ve a

n ad

vant

age

In c

olle

ge

adm

issi

ons?

Of

c ou

rse

they

do.

B

ut t

hat

fact

in

itsef

f is

not

pa

rtic

ular

ly u

sefu

l, be

caus

e by

now

, yo

u al

read

y kn

ow

whe

ther

you

are

a t

alen

ted

athl

ete

good

eno

ugh

to b

e re

crui

ted

by c

olle

ges.

Y

ou e

ithe

r are

, or

you'

re n

ot.

Wha

t is

muc

h m

ore

sign

ific

ant

is t

he i

mpa

ct t

hat

athl

etic

rec

ruit

ing

has

on t

he o

vera

ll st

atis

tica

l od

ds o

f ad

mis

sion

s,

espe

cial

ly

for

smal

ler

colle

ges.

E

ach

colle

ge n

eeds

a c

erta

in n

umbe

r of

ath

lete

s in

ord

er t

o fi

eld

vars

ity t

eam

s (a

nd t

he b

ack

benc

h) f

or t

he m

ajor

an

d m

inor

int

erco

llegi

ate

spor

ts.

So,

a sm

alle

r co

llege

th

at w

ants

to

be

com

petit

ive

in

inte

rcol

legi

ate

spor

ts

need

s to

res

erve

a m

uch

high

er p

ropo

rtio

n of

pla

ces

in

its in

com

ing

clas

s fo

r re

crui

ted

athl

etes

. Fo

r ex

ampl

e,

a st

udy

by t

he f

orm

er p

resi

dent

of

Prin

ceto

n sh

owed

th

at

at

Will

iam

s,

40%

of

th

e un

derg

radu

ate

men

pla

y in

int

erco

lleg

iate

spo

rts.

T

he

perc

enta

ge i

s 22

% a

t P

rinc

eton

, i4

% a

t St

anfo

rd a

nd

3% a

t th

e U

nive

rsity

of M

ichi

gan.

In

o!h

er w

ords

L a

t smitller~~~~t

lv~'bo

lleg

es~

_man

y

mor

e of

the

plac

es in

the

inc

omin

g cl

ass

are

take

n up

by

recr

uite

d at

hlet

es.

Aft

er s

ubtr

acti

ng th

e pl

aces

res

erve

d fo

r th

e ch

ildr

en o

f al

umni

and

big

don

ors,

the

re a

re n

ot

man

y ch

airs

lef

t, m

akin

g th

e st

atis

tica

l od

ds o

f ge

tting

in

illo

gica

lly d

iffi

cult.

7. Is

the

Ivy

Leag

ue m

ystiq

ue o

verb

low

n?

Yes

an

d no

. T

he

Ivy

Lea

gue

scho

ols

have

m

aint

aine

d th

eir

repu

tati

on i

n pa

rt b

ecau

se t

hey

mos

tly

have

str

ong

grad

uate

sch

ools

. Fo

r ex

ampl

e, U

. P

enn

has

clim

bed

up f

rom

the

bot

tom

·of

the

Ivy

rank

ings

on

the

back

of

its

st

rong

W

hart

on

busi

ness

sc

hool

(a

nd

sham

eles

s us

e of

ear

ly d

ecis

ion)

. C

orne

ll ha

s gr

abbe

d re

cent

hea

dlin

es w

ith i

ts d

omin

atio

n of

the

Mar

s R

over

pr

ojec

t. Ivy

Lea

gue

scho

ols

also

te

nd

to

have

he

fty

endo

wm

ents

. Fo

r ex

ampl

e,

Har

vard

's e

ndow

men

t is

ov

er $

18 b

illio

n,

whe

reas

Tuf

ts'

is $

677

mill

ion

and

Geo

rget

own'

s is

abo

ut $

650

mill

ion.

T

he I

vy L

eagu

e sc

hool

s al

so h

ave

been

aro

und

long

er,

sinc

e at

lea

st t

he

time

of t

he C

ivil

War

or

muc

h ea

rlie

r.

Thu

s, t

here

are

si

mpl

y m

ore

grad

uate

s,

both

liv

ing

and

dead

. A

mon

g ot

her

thin

gs,

that

mea

ns m

ore

grad

uate

s to

giv

e yo

u a

firs

t job

aft

er c

olle

ge, o

r a

brea

k in

a jo

b in

terv

iew

. W

heth

er i

t is

fai

r or

not

, an

Ivy

Lea

gue

degr

ee i

s st

ill

a ta

ngib

le

adva

ntag

e in

th

e re

al

wor

ld,

who

se

bene

fits

you

rea

p fr

om t

he d

ay y

ou a

re a

dmit

ted

unti

l th

e da

y yo

u di

e (a

nd e

ven

afte

r, be

caus

e th

ey

may

m

entio

n it

in y

our

obitu

ary)

. O

n th

e ot

her

hand

, w

ith t

he w

hole

wor

ld b

ecom

ing

mor

e br

and-

cons

ciou

s an

d gr

avita

ting

to b

rand

nam

es

like

G

ucci

, P

rada

an

d R

alph

L

aure

n,

Ivy

Lea

gue

adm

issi

ons

will

lik

ely

beco

me

even

mor

e co

mpe

titiv

e in

th

e fu

ture

.

~~ .,

'til

r~*~~~~~il&il

tl$.

fE@:

iti:

tfl

A~$lli~~-·~*~~~~*£

c • ~

JE~~~iiT~~~£t&:ilHJ

tfl

o

facu

lty

is

nurt

urin

g an

d re

ally

ca

res

abou

t un

derg

radu

ates

. I

cann

ot h

ones

tly s

ay t

hat

abo

ut

mos

t of t

he I

vy L

eagu

e sc

hool

s.

8.

I w

ant

to b

e th

e Pr

esid

ent

or t

he U

nite

d St

ates

; sho

uld

I go

to a

n Iv

y Le

ague

sch

ool?

It

is

a n

odd

coin

cide

nce

that

an

in

ordi

nate

nu

mbe

r of

rec

ent

pres

iden

tial

can

dida

tes

have

gon

e to

Yal

e.

The

rea

sons

are

com

plex

, bu

t pr

obab

ly

trac

e ba

ck t

o th

e pu

blic

-m

inde

d et

hos

prom

oted

by

then

pre

side

nt,

Kin

gman

B

rew

ster

and

un

iver

sity

ch

apli

n, W

illia

m S

loan

e C

offin

. B

ut t

he o

ppos

ite w

ay t

o lo

ok a

t th

is i

s:

colle

ge

cons

titut

e pr

obab

ly t

he m

ost

form

ativ

e ye

ars

of y

our

life.

Ja

mes

Bar

ber,

the

pol

itic

al s

cien

tist,

wro

te a

n en

tire

boo

k on

the

cha

ract

er o

f th

e pr

esid

ents

bas

ed

mos

tly

on

thei

r co

llege

ex

peri

ence

. P

resi

dent

s R

eaga

n an

d N

ixon

, ar

guab

ly t

he t

wo

mos

t in

flue

ntia

l pr

esid

ents

in

rece

nt y

ears

, w

ent

to E

urek

a C

olle

ge

and

Whi

ttie

r C

olle

ge,

resp

ectiv

ely.

A

t th

ese

tiny

colle

ges,

eac

h of

the

m w

as a

"B

MO

C",

tha

t is

, bi

g m

an o

n ca

mpu

s, o

r an

othe

r w

ay t

o pu

t it

, bi

g fi

sh i

n li

ttle

pon

d.

In c

ontr

ast,

I kn

ew,

from

m

y fi

rst

wee

k as

a

fres

hman

at

H

arva

rd

that

I

was

not

th

e sm

arte

st

pers

on i

n th

e w

orld

--as

I h

ad th

ough

t w

hen

I w

as i

n hi

gh s

choo

l. T

here

wer

e cl

assm

ates

who

wer

e tw

ice

as s

mar

t, m

aybe

ten

tim

es a

s sm

art,

as I

was

. T

his

chan

ges

your

wor

ld v

iew

. Y

ou a

re a

ver

y li

ttle

fish

in

a ve

ry b

ig p

ond.

A

nd

alth

ough

I

was

lu

cky

enou

gh n

ot

to b

e am

ong

them

, I

had

clos

e fr

iend

s w

ho w

ere

in t

he

botto

m q

uart

er o

f th

e

clas

s.

By

defi

nitio

n,

one

quar

ter

of t

he c

lass

mus

t be

in

the

bott

om q

uart

er o

f th

e cl

ass.

It

is

not

plea

sant

to

be i

n th

e bo

ttom

qu

arte

r of

th

e cl

ass,

at

an

y sc

hool

. A

nd

the

expe

rien

ce w

ill c

hang

e yo

ur v

iew

of

the

wor

ld,

of

your

self

and

of y

our

plac

e in

it.

Of c

ours

e, th~

re a

re t

he c

ount

er-e

xam

ples

(fr

om

anot

her,

les

s m

erito

crat

ic,

era}

, of

Geo

rge

W.

Bus

h,

who

rec

eive

d a

gent

lem

en's

C a

t Y

ale,

an

d D

ick

Che

ney,

w

ho

was

ba

sica

lly

kick

ed

out

of Y

ale.

G

eorg

e B

ush

's S

AT

sco

res

wer

e:

566

Ver

bal,

640

Mat

h. So

, yes

, th

ere'

s st

ill h

ope.

•