Class Struggle: college admissions


Posted at 05:30 AM ET, 08/20/2010

Best (and most unsettling) college admissions book ever
By Jay Mathews
Bissonnette is 22 now, a senior at the University of Massachusetts. He has written the best and most troubling book ever about the college admissions process, "Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching Off My Parents."

By Jay Mathews  |  05:30 AM ET, 08/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Trends | Tags:  best college admissions book ever, author Zac Bissonnette only 21, new book, still in college, suggests students make better use of state schools, warns against taking out loans

Posted at 10:00 PM ET, 05/23/2010

Why transparency in college admissions is bad
By Jay Mathews
Impose transparency on the holistic system used by selective colleges--a subjective judgment based on several factors--and the result is no less maddening. The admissions office would have to issue statements like "the candidate's extracurricular involvements were not as intense and her teacher recommendations not as impressive as those of candidates we accepted."

By Jay Mathews  |  10:00 PM ET, 05/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Metro Monday | Tags:  Andy Pettis, college admissions transparency is bad, parents upset they don't know why children are rejected, transparency will also upset people. transparency leads to unpopular standardized measures

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 03:37 PM ET, 08/25/2009

Admissions 101: To Take or Not to Take AP and IB
By Washington Post Editors
Over at Admissions 101, Jay Mathews is discussing the answer to a prickly question: The Question: Is it better for college admissions to take an IB or AP class and receive a C or D or take a standard class...

By Washington Post Editors  |  03:37 PM ET, 08/25/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  AP, IB, college admissions

Posted at 02:04 PM ET, 08/12/2009

Jay on the Web: Pitfalls for Poor Students, Pt. 2
By Washington Post Editors
Yesterday, we wrote about Jay Mathews' column this week, which took on the conventional wisdom that talented, but poor, kids are often turned away from college. Jay challenged readers to point to a real life example of this happening and...

By Washington Post Editors  |  02:04 PM ET, 08/12/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Jay on the Web | Tags:  college admissions, underprivileged students

Posted at 01:55 PM ET, 08/11/2009

Admissions 101: College Pitfalls for Poor Students
By Washington Post Editors
It's conventional wisdom that talented, but underpriveleged, students are often turned away from college for lack of funds. Jay Mathews tried to dispell that idea in a column this week. He asked for readers to throw out examples of such...

By Washington Post Editors  |  01:55 PM ET, 08/11/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  college admissions, underprivileged students

Posted at 11:35 AM ET, 08/10/2009

Metro Monday: Here's a Wise Investment: Help Students Who Need Money to Finish College
By Washington Post Editors
Two weeks ago, I challenged Columbia University professor Andrew Delbanco's claim that "a great many gifted and motivated young people are excluded from college for no other reason than their inability to pay." I had never found a student like...

By Washington Post Editors  |  11:35 AM ET, 08/10/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Metro Monday | Tags:  college, college admissions, scholarships, school loans

Posted at 01:09 PM ET, 08/04/2009

Admissions 101: Boot the SAT?
By Washington Post Editors
Jay Mathews is looking for feedback over at Admissions 101: My latest online column addresses the growing trend of colleges telling many of their applicants they do not have to submit SAT or ACT scores. This is one of the...

By Washington Post Editors  |  01:09 PM ET, 08/04/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  ACT, SAT, college admissions

Posted at 03:02 PM ET, 06/23/2009

Admissions 101: A Class Quandry
By Washington Post Editors
Jay posted a true quandry in Admissions 101: Is it better for students to get good grades in easy classes, or mediocre grades in tough ones? Jay is specifically talking about AP and IB classes and how top tier schools...

By Washington Post Editors  |  03:02 PM ET, 06/23/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions 101 | Tags:  AP, IB, college admissions

Posted at 05:24 PM ET, 06/09/2009

Admissions 101: Should Colleges Ditch the SAT for AP as the Main Admissions Exam?
By Washington Post Editors
A little while back in Admissions 101, Jay asked whether the day of the SAT might be numbered: Matt Gray, spokesman for Bryn Mawr College, just alerted me to their new admissions policy that, I think, anticipates a day when...

By Washington Post Editors  |  05:24 PM ET, 06/09/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  AP, SAT, college admissions