College Admissions Forum

[edvadmin]

What have you noticed to be some of the college admission trends this year? Here is what I have found:

http://blog.howtogetin.com/college-admission/college-admission-trends-of-2010/

[patrickdanforth]

I am very late on your post. It is interesting to see that SAT tests are losing its importance.

[ermman12]

I've heard SAT's have been becoming less important for the past few years now. There are more tests available, and more people seeing the downfalls of placing so much importance on one test --- a standardized test that may not be fair across the board. The SAT subject tests and the ACT are said to be alternatives to the traditional SAT I in addition there is the CPT and the Accuplacer said to be more helpful in placing students of all learning types.

The SAT I is designed to predict first-year college grades - it is not validated to predict grades beyond the freshman year, graduation rates, pursuit of a graduate degree, or for placement or advising purposes. However, according to research done by the tests' manufacturers, class rank and/or high school grades are still both better predictors of college performance than the SAT I.

The poor predictive ability of the SAT I becomes particularly apparent when considering the college performance of females. Longstanding gaps in scores between males and females of all races show that females on average score 35-40 points lower than males on the SAT I, but receive better high school and college grades. In other words, the test consistently under-predicts the performance of females in college while over-predicting that of males.

[edvadmin]

Thanks for the post @ermman12 !!! Colleges definitely vary on the importance they place on standardized testing in comparison to other factors important to college success. For example being involved in extracurricular activities, class rank and GPA can be more important in some admissions decisions. Talk with a school adviser to evaluate your strengths and find a strategy to put your best foot forward!!! A lot of schools will give you the option to submit the SAT, ACT and SAT Subject Tests, but others still have strict requirements - so you just need to do some research on that.

I think overall people are talking about colleges just getting more expensive while some articles like this one: 'College is Too Expensive!' point out that tuition rates have steadily increased faster than any other market and colleges with tuition over $50,000 a year has recently exceeded 100 schools... other articles like this NYT article: "There is no college cost crisis" have highlighted points from a book written as an argument for colleges charging the rates they charge.

[skp123]

this is an awesome string
if you want great tricks and tips for applying to college, settling in, finding careers, etc, check out this awesome blog – http://talkofthecampus.wordpress.com
it has some really great ideas! subscribe on the main page to get free tips in your inbox each day