Out of the 4,551 early action applications that Stanford received for the Class of 2012, 16 percent have been admitted – 738 candidates. They have until May 1 to decide whether or not to enroll.
Another round of acceptances will be sent out in the beginning of April. Last year, Stanford received approximately 24,000 applications for about 1675 spots.
Wednesday
YALE ADMITS 885 EARLY
Yale admitted 885 students to the Class of 2012 in the early action round that has candidates submitting applications by November 1 and decisions made by mid-December. With Harvard and Princeton bowing out of the early admissions picture this year, Yale’s early pool swelled to 4,888 applications, an increase of 36% over last year’s early pool. By all accounts, early pools contain the strongest students. As a result, this has been considered by many to be the most difficult time ever to be accepted at Yale. Understandably, many students with Harvard or Princeton as first-choice, who normally would have applied early to those colleges if they had retained their early admission programs, may have chosen to apply to Yale early, since the decision is non-binding. Accepted students do not have to respond until May 1.
DUKE ADMITS 472 EARLY
Duke’s early decision program fielded 1,247 applications to the Class of 2012 this year, and accepted 472 of them, 233 women and 239 men, an acceptance rate of 37.9 percent.
Duke’s program is binding, with candidates agreeing when applying that they would attend if accepted.
Duke’s program is binding, with candidates agreeing when applying that they would attend if accepted.
Tuesday
WHAT COLLEGES LOOK FOR: NOT A WELL-ROUNDED STUDENT
The best colleges these days are not looking for a well-rounded student. They are looking for a well-rounded student body. There’s a big difference.
A well-rounded student body requires a variety of students with individual strengths, as opposed to individual students with a variety of strengths. A student with depth of talent or commitment in one or two areas may be much more appealing than a student with a bit of talent or a scattered commitment in many areas.
For example, in any particular year a college may be seeking students with passion and achievement in writing to fill anticipated openings in the school’s newspaper and literary journals. Or they may need soccer players – a goalie, in particular – since graduation will claim half of the starting team. Or they may seek students who have shown a passion for politics to fill spots in student government. Students with a passion a mile deep in one particular area will be much more desirable than students with a passion an inch deep in 10 different areas.
How does this play out in admissions? For candidates, the advice is simple: in your application, present as much of a singular profile as possible. It’s fine if you were involved in 10 extracurricular activities in the past few years, but choose the one or two that have interested you the most and every chance you get, emphasize their importance in your life.
If, for example, playing the oboe is your true love, talk about it, describe that passion in one of the essays in the Common Application, describe how you feel when you play it, explain how you got to perform with the local symphony orchestra, mention your oboe-playing idols and say why you like them. By letting the admissions office see the depth of your love for the instrument, you will stand out in the crowd, and with such intense competition these days in college admissions, standing out in the crowd is a path to the thick envelope.
A well-rounded student body requires a variety of students with individual strengths, as opposed to individual students with a variety of strengths. A student with depth of talent or commitment in one or two areas may be much more appealing than a student with a bit of talent or a scattered commitment in many areas.
For example, in any particular year a college may be seeking students with passion and achievement in writing to fill anticipated openings in the school’s newspaper and literary journals. Or they may need soccer players – a goalie, in particular – since graduation will claim half of the starting team. Or they may seek students who have shown a passion for politics to fill spots in student government. Students with a passion a mile deep in one particular area will be much more desirable than students with a passion an inch deep in 10 different areas.
How does this play out in admissions? For candidates, the advice is simple: in your application, present as much of a singular profile as possible. It’s fine if you were involved in 10 extracurricular activities in the past few years, but choose the one or two that have interested you the most and every chance you get, emphasize their importance in your life.
If, for example, playing the oboe is your true love, talk about it, describe that passion in one of the essays in the Common Application, describe how you feel when you play it, explain how you got to perform with the local symphony orchestra, mention your oboe-playing idols and say why you like them. By letting the admissions office see the depth of your love for the instrument, you will stand out in the crowd, and with such intense competition these days in college admissions, standing out in the crowd is a path to the thick envelope.
Thursday
3 SIMPLE STEPS TO AN ESSAY THAT WILL GET YOU IN
The essay is an opportunity for you to provide information about yourself that does not appear elsewhere in the application. Follow these steps and your essay will help you get admitted:
1. Write about YOU.
Colleges want to know about YOU. No matter what prompt they give you for the essay, the underlying question they are asking is "Who are you?" If, for example, the prompt asks you to name people -- living or dead -- whom you would like to go to dinner with and explain why you would choose them, or asks you to describe the profound influence that certain people have had on you, the admissions office really wants you to focus on the YOU part of the question. They don't want to know about the dinner guest or the one who has influenced you as much they do want to know about why you would choose that particular person, or what impact the person has had on your life. Similarly, if the prompt invites you to write about a world event or an historical figure, they seek to know the impact the event or the figure has had on YOU. Remember this as you write so that you do not get carried away and spend too much time on the event or the figure or the dinner guest. Write about YOU.
2. Separate yourself from the pack.
These days, selective colleges receive close to 20,000 applications, but can admit only a fraction of the candidates. If even 2,000 get in, that means that 18,000 good students get turned away. If your application merely blends in with all the others, your chances of getting admitted are not good. Your goal is to make the admissions office notice you -- not with some crazy gimmick -- but with a great essay that jumps out of the pile. There is something special about you -- there is. You may not be able to identify it right now, but if you think hard enough and review your accomplishments and views of the world, it will come to you. What makes you special may not be one single characteristic or talent or experience -- it may be a combination of characteristics or talents or experiences. If, for example, you play the sax, that may separate you a bit, but not as much as it would if you played the sax one special night with the Bruce Springsteen band. Or perhaps you get great grades -- that certainly does not separate you much in the competitive applicant pools these days. But if you are also a National Merit Scholar and an accomplished writer who has won a national writing contest and had your poetry published, then you are in a much smaller pool. It is not necessary to have high academic awards if, for example, you can cite some other major accomplishments -- say, all-star athlete in the state, or first violin in the local symphony, or newspaper intern at the hometown newspaper, or the like. You do not have to be a star as much as you have to be different -- separate yourself from the pack. And write about it in your essay.
3. Grab the reader's attention with a startling opening.
Here's the deal -- it's 2 a.m. and the admissions officer has just read about 150 application essays. He's ready to pass out from reading the same old stuff -- "I was the editor of the newspaper," "I was the captain of the cheerleading team," "I really learned a lot from band camp," and so on. Now he reaches out and takes your essay from the pile. What is the first sentence going to say? If it's anything like the others, you're sunk. You have failed to make a significant impression. You are just like the other 150 ho-hum writers. But if you say something that startles him, something that reaches out from the paper and grabs him by the throat, now you've got a very good chance to find yourself in the "admit" pile.
1. Write about YOU.
Colleges want to know about YOU. No matter what prompt they give you for the essay, the underlying question they are asking is "Who are you?" If, for example, the prompt asks you to name people -- living or dead -- whom you would like to go to dinner with and explain why you would choose them, or asks you to describe the profound influence that certain people have had on you, the admissions office really wants you to focus on the YOU part of the question. They don't want to know about the dinner guest or the one who has influenced you as much they do want to know about why you would choose that particular person, or what impact the person has had on your life. Similarly, if the prompt invites you to write about a world event or an historical figure, they seek to know the impact the event or the figure has had on YOU. Remember this as you write so that you do not get carried away and spend too much time on the event or the figure or the dinner guest. Write about YOU.
2. Separate yourself from the pack.
These days, selective colleges receive close to 20,000 applications, but can admit only a fraction of the candidates. If even 2,000 get in, that means that 18,000 good students get turned away. If your application merely blends in with all the others, your chances of getting admitted are not good. Your goal is to make the admissions office notice you -- not with some crazy gimmick -- but with a great essay that jumps out of the pile. There is something special about you -- there is. You may not be able to identify it right now, but if you think hard enough and review your accomplishments and views of the world, it will come to you. What makes you special may not be one single characteristic or talent or experience -- it may be a combination of characteristics or talents or experiences. If, for example, you play the sax, that may separate you a bit, but not as much as it would if you played the sax one special night with the Bruce Springsteen band. Or perhaps you get great grades -- that certainly does not separate you much in the competitive applicant pools these days. But if you are also a National Merit Scholar and an accomplished writer who has won a national writing contest and had your poetry published, then you are in a much smaller pool. It is not necessary to have high academic awards if, for example, you can cite some other major accomplishments -- say, all-star athlete in the state, or first violin in the local symphony, or newspaper intern at the hometown newspaper, or the like. You do not have to be a star as much as you have to be different -- separate yourself from the pack. And write about it in your essay.
3. Grab the reader's attention with a startling opening.
Here's the deal -- it's 2 a.m. and the admissions officer has just read about 150 application essays. He's ready to pass out from reading the same old stuff -- "I was the editor of the newspaper," "I was the captain of the cheerleading team," "I really learned a lot from band camp," and so on. Now he reaches out and takes your essay from the pile. What is the first sentence going to say? If it's anything like the others, you're sunk. You have failed to make a significant impression. You are just like the other 150 ho-hum writers. But if you say something that startles him, something that reaches out from the paper and grabs him by the throat, now you've got a very good chance to find yourself in the "admit" pile.
Monday
TOP 12 WOMEN'S COLLEGES IN AMERICA
Some of the most highly regarded colleges in the country -- many with a simply breathtaking campus -- are for women only. Visit them online or in person. The following institutions top the list:
Wellesley -- MA www.wellesley.edu
Smith -- MA www.smith.edu
Mount Holyoke -- MA www.mtholyoke.edu
Barnard -- NY www.barnard.edu
Bryn Mawr -- PA www.brynmawr.edu
Hollins -- VA www.hollins.edu
Mills -- CA www.mills.edu
Scripps -- CA www.scrippscollege.edu
Sweet Briar -- VA www.sbc.edu
Randolph-Macon -- VA www.rmc.edu
Spelman -- GA www.spelman.edu
Converse -- SC www.converse.edu
Wellesley -- MA www.wellesley.edu
Smith -- MA www.smith.edu
Mount Holyoke -- MA www.mtholyoke.edu
Barnard -- NY www.barnard.edu
Bryn Mawr -- PA www.brynmawr.edu
Hollins -- VA www.hollins.edu
Mills -- CA www.mills.edu
Scripps -- CA www.scrippscollege.edu
Sweet Briar -- VA www.sbc.edu
Randolph-Macon -- VA www.rmc.edu
Spelman -- GA www.spelman.edu
Converse -- SC www.converse.edu
Thursday
THE PUBLIC IVIES
Visit online these highly regarded public universities that are often compared in quality to the colleges of the Ivy League:
College of William and Mary www.wm.edu
University of California, Berkeley www.berkeley.edu
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) www.ucla.edu
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill www.unc.edu
University of Virginia www.virginia.edu
College of William and Mary www.wm.edu
University of California, Berkeley www.berkeley.edu
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) www.ucla.edu
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill www.unc.edu
University of Virginia www.virginia.edu
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