Tag: selectivity

  • November 10, 2023

Rankings: Usefulness

For a published college rankling to be useful during application season, it has to emphasize factors that matter to applicants. For example, if a ranking places significant weight (e.g. more than 25%) on the percentage of instructors who has a Ph.D., it is natural to ask if having a doctorate makes someone a better instructor. Alumni donations is another factor that may seem less consequential at first glance. However, generous donations can allow for more financial aid, better equipment and a greater selection of learning programs.

Because publishers do make their methodology public to some extent, applicants to elite colleges should take the time and examine these disclosures with family to make sure that they are following information sources that will lead to informed decisions.

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  • July 29, 2023

Video envy

High school seniors who post college acceptance reaction videos want to share their joy of success with the world at large for reasons of their choosing, but the sobering reality is that these public displays of victory come from a minority. To many who do not belong in that minority, such videos can feel like someone just wants to ‘rub it in’.

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  • July 14, 2023

To AI or not?

The short answer is no. Chat-based AI bots make for great publicity videos and have their place in shaping how we learn in the future. However, when it comes to composing essays, what they do is basically surveying a vast trove of existing content and then create sentences by pattern matching.

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  • June 12, 2023

Legacy consideration

Typically, when evaluating applications, the admissions staff of an elite college do pay attention whether an applicant has family members who are alumni. MIT, Caltech and Johns Hopkins are exceptions. What is considered legacy even varies between colleges, with factors like:

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  • March 24, 2023

What is an elite college?

The definition of an elite college can be as unique as the individual considering the question. For purposes of this blog, it is: a private college where the overall acceptance rate is less than 8%.