Class Struggle: Admissions 101


Posted at 02:38 AM ET, 06/07/2012

Admissions 101: 25 colleges that do more for veterans
By Jay Mathews
Would they make your list?

By Jay Mathews  |  02:38 AM ET, 06/07/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Admissions 101, 25 colleges with incredible veteran support, surprisingly supportive of veterans: Santa Barbara City College, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Harvard, Vassar

Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 04/11/2012

How to get off that college wait list
By Jay Mathews
#1: Tell your parents to butt out.

By Jay Mathews  |  12:00 PM ET, 04/11/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  higher education, admissions 101

Posted at 01:35 PM ET, 04/04/2012

Why getting into Harvard is no longer an honor
By Jay Mathews
You may have seen that Harvard just set a record for low undergraduate admission rate. Only 5.9 percent of applicants for the class of 2016 were accepted.

By Jay Mathews  |  01:35 PM ET, 04/04/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  higher education, admissions 101

Posted at 11:43 AM ET, 03/27/2012

Admissions 101: What are you getting out of the last-chance April college visits?
By Jay Mathews
Hundreds of thousands of high school seniors will be showing up for April college visits next month. We need to help them decide what to do while they are there.

By Jay Mathews  |  11:43 AM ET, 03/27/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  higher education, admissions 101

Posted at 11:36 AM ET, 03/20/2012

Admissions 101: Ban parents from final college visits
By Jay Mathews
Why mess up your April visits to the campuses that have accepted you by having all those parents there?

By Jay Mathews  |  11:36 AM ET, 03/20/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  higher educaiton, admissions 101

Posted at 11:42 AM ET, 03/13/2012

Admissions 101: Do you prefer college acceptances and rejections be done by Web site or envelope?
By Jay Mathews
At the end of this month, college acceptance and rejection notices go out. If you had the choice, would you prefer to hear by Web site or envelope?

By Jay Mathews  |  11:42 AM ET, 03/13/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  admissions 101, Higher Education, Colleges

Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 03/06/2012

Admissions 101: AP takes step toward International Baccalaureate-like credential
By Jay Mathews
Will this help our schools and the college preparation process?

By Jay Mathews  |  12:00 PM ET, 03/06/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  admissions 101

Posted at 12:14 PM ET, 02/28/2012

Admissions 101, GOP Primary edition: Are we pushing kids too hard to go to college?
By Jay Mathews
Sen. Rick Santorum may have gone too far in suggesting that it’s snobbish of President Obama to put such emphasis on college, but many readers have made the point to me in other ways.

By Jay Mathews  |  12:14 PM ET, 02/28/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  admissions 101

Posted at 12:25 PM ET, 02/21/2012

Admissions 101: Getting college credit for International Baccalaureate courses
By Jay Mathews
I have been ranting about the failure of most U.S. colleges to give proper credit for IB courses successfully completed with good IB exam scores.

By Jay Mathews  |  12:25 PM ET, 02/21/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  admissions 101

Posted at 08:00 PM ET, 11/28/2010

If your child resists the college search
By Jay Mathews
A frustrated parent brought an unnerving problem to my Admissions 101 discussion group on washingtonpost.com. The student (many of us in the group immediately assumed it was a boy) had gotten into a well-respected public university in his state and, the parent said, “adamantly refused to go on college visits or apply to any schools other than” his one and only choice.

By Jay Mathews  |  08:00 PM ET, 11/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Metro Monday | Tags:  Admissions 101 discussions group, be patient, child resists college search, he can always transfer. Barack Obama, student will apply to only one college

Posted at 12:23 PM ET, 03/30/2010

Should only top students get financial aid?
By Jay Mathews
The latest topic for my Admissions 101 discussion group is a new book by Rutgers emeritus professor Jackson Toby, "The Lowering of Higher Education." He argues that high schools and colleges will be far more likely to have engaged and motivated students if we change the college financial aid system from recognizing financial need to recognizing academic merit. In other words, you couldn't get financial aid when you applied to college unless you scored well on a national standardized test, something like the exams used in British Commonwealth countries. It is a radical idea, but thought provoking. Join our often raucous group of regular discussants to thrash this out.

By Jay Mathews  |  12:23 PM ET, 03/30/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Jay on the Web | Tags:  Admissions 101 discussion, Jackson Toby book, give financial aid only to top students

Posted at 03:00 PM ET, 03/25/2010

Admissions 101: The 2/2/2 rule
By Jay Mathews
The latest topic for my Admissions 101 discussion group is the 2/2/2 rule for making sure the college campus visits many of you are making, or planning, do not deteriorate into hurtful family squabbles. I like the first 2 of the 2/2/2 rule but not the last 2. Confusing? Not really. Take a look and join the back-and-forth in this most electrifying of discussion groups.

By Jay Mathews  |  03:00 PM ET, 03/25/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Jay on the Web | Tags:  New Admissions 101 topic, how to survive campus visits

Posted at 03:54 PM ET, 03/18/2010

New Admissions 101 topic
By Jay Mathews
Today's Local Living column on this blog inspires the latest topic for my Admissions 101 discussion group: Should we rate high schools based a long essay designed to show how much students' analytical abilities have improved?

By Jay Mathews  |  03:54 PM ET, 03/18/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Jay on the Web | Tags:  Admissions 101 topic, new high school rating system

Posted at 01:30 PM ET, 03/16/2010

LSAT: the devil's work?
By Jay Mathews
Various people I respect, including my boss, tell me I should be less secretive on this blog about another forum at which I spend time, my Admissions 101 discussion group. We have very lively---some think occasionally too lively---exchanges over issue related to getting into college and other forms of higher education.

By Jay Mathews  |  01:30 PM ET, 03/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Jay on the Web | Tags:  Admissions 101, college admissions, raucous admissions discussion group

Posted at 11:12 AM ET, 07/07/2009

Admissions 101: Are Low Grades in AP/IB Classes Better than High Grades in Regular Classes?
By Sarah Mimms
A few weeks ago, Jay Mathews asked readers a tough question in his Admissions 101 - which is better: an A or B in a regular course or a C in a more challenging course like an AP or IB class? Jay sided with AP, saying that all students interested in tier 1 or tier 2 schools should take at least 2 AP or IB courses. Even if that means a C on a high school transcript, Jay argued, colleges will appreciate a student who is willing to take on a challenge. Reader reactions have been pouring in ever since:

By Sarah Mimms  |  11:12 AM ET, 07/07/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  AP Advanced Placement International Baccalaureate IB, Admissions 101, Jay Mathews