Recommendations and college admission

There’s been some recent traffic on the e-list for the national association for college admissions counseling (NACAC) about recommendations.  I’ll start with a few posts as an overview, and then get into some of the more controversial issues (unless I get distracted – again). 
Remember that each admissions officer or committee reads THOUSANDS of applications, so [...]

Speaking of propaganda: advice on the SAT from the SAT

As you probably know, the College Board LOVES the SAT and thinks you will too!! They send these nice notes to counsellors every few days about all the ways to improve your testing experience. Since it’s possible some of you may miss these pearls of wisdom, the most recent is pasted below. this is in [...]

Is basketball a good reason to pick a university?

Maybe not – but watching our Mason Patriots WHOMP the Drexel Dragons by over FORTY points may change my mind! check out the details at http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=273332244 or you can see how they beat South Carolina last weekend to take third-place in the very competitive Old Spice Classic at http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=273292579
I know I just posted a [...]

To buy a coach or not to buy a coach – and will it get you admitted to college?

Good debate sent to me by one of my astute colleagues. http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2007/10/college_coaches.html
My two cents – you can get most of the advice for free on this blog that you would get from anyone who tells you they can get you into a school if you just pay them a wad of cash. If, however, [...]

Campus admission visit fun part 2

In a recent post I suggested that campus visits can be fun, and that one way to try to achieve a level of enjoyment is to play a game I call “Make the admissions officer cry”.  An important disclaimer  – I do not in any way recommend you in any way harm an admissions officer, [...]

What goes into admission decisions? A look at an SAT essay section grader

I love this article about one of the SAT Essay section graders from today’s Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/25/AR2007112501492.html
 If you’re wondering, no this hasn’t changed my mind about all the good reasons Mason DOESN’T use the SAT writing score.  But, if for some strange reason you’re applying somewhere else that does use it, now you have an [...]

admission to college – even Disney gets in on the act

There are a ton of movies about college life, and even a few about getting into college. Few, if any, have even a passing resemblance to what really happens. I doubt the new Disney version will be much better. I got tipped off by the blog “The Teen Scoop” (http://teenscoop.wordpress.com/2007/11/17/video-college-road-trip-trailer-starring-raven-symone/) about the [...]

Make your admissions campus visit fun?

Are you dreading your campus visits?  Or worse, have you already gone on a few and learned the dreaded secret…that most of those so-called “admissions counselors” sound an awful lot like salespeople, and worse yet say almost exactly the SAME THING at EVERY CAMPUS???  You know, “Our school treats you like a PERSON, not a [...]

shameless plug – basketball rules

Mason basketball (yes, those guys who went to the Final Four in 2006 and captured the world’d attention) are off to their best start at 4-0 after a win over nationally ranked Kansas State at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando.  check out the story at http://gomason.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/112207aaa.html
PS – updated from Friday night – we ended [...]

Admissions Thanksgiving Post

What would the holidays be without a little pointless sentimentality?  And so, before returning to advice on picking and getting into the school of your dreams, as I sit here in the great state of Michigan watching the snow fall on this holiday morning, a few thoughts on things I’m thankful for (and maybe you [...]