College Admissions Weekly Roundup Jan 21 2012

The snow is finally here.  It’s sort of nice when it happens on a Saturday morning – not having to rush out to work (like Mrs. I getting to her first High School class at 7am!), being able to get cozy with a cup of hot java or tea….ahhhhh….

Back to reality!  Have to fire up the snowblower and trudge through the snow to get one of the cars out for a track meet!  Oh well…

In college admissions this week, we see a transition period and a waiting period.

Juniors and Sophomores are starting to think about searching for colleges (and parents are searching for ways to pay for it!), while Seniors are waiting for those acceptance letters coming this early spring.

Financial Aid is a big concern right now for a lot of American families – so our first news item focuses on that topic.

The NYTs, The Choice blog author, Jacques Steinberg appears with Matt Lauer on the Today Show, talking about the FAFSA and financial aid.  Also appearing are Monica Inzer, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Hamilton College, in upstate NY.  Read more about it, and watch the video at, “The Choice on ‘Today’: Tips on Fafsa, and Net-Price Calculators“.

Are applications to the countries’ top colleges slowing down?  Are students and parents not “taking a chance they’ll get in” amid high application fees and impossible odds?

In Bloomberg Businessweek‘s, “Applications at Top Colleges Retreat Amid ‘Impossible’ Odds“, by Janet Lorin, you’ll find some of the stats regarding the slowing down of applications – and some of the suspected reasons why.  Ms. Lorin provides an inside view of the recent application season, and how students and parents have handled applying to the top schools.

Kiplinger’s Best Values in Public Colleges was published this week, with UNC at Chapel Hill and the University of Florida taking the top 2 spots.  With filtering by state, you can check out the tool to find the best value schools in your state. Kiplinger also published “How We Rank the Top Public College Values“, which gives insight into how their list was compiled.  The categories “Cost and Financial Aid” and “Competitiveness” are the top factors in the ranking.

Scholarship money can make or break a decision to attend a particular college.  The NYTs, The Choice blog, in “MTV’s Latest Facebook App is About Scholarships, Not Snooki“, by Daniel E. Slotnik, is about a new Facebook app, My College Dollars, a joint effort between MTV, The College Board, and Get Schooled – funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  The app is designed to match students with scholarships, and also make linking to the FAFSA form easy.

“A Facebook app?”, you say.  Aren’t they DANGEROUS?  Well, being the developers of a different Facebook app, bragTAG, designed to help students get into great colleges – we’d have to inform you, “NO!”.  Facebook apps are NOT inherently dangerous!  In fact, what’s dangerous is not locking down the privacy of your Facebook account, and letting college admissions officers see things they shouldn’t see!

While you’re researching your Facebook apps, we’re going to ride off into the snow – and wish you Happy Trails until next week!