8 Big Changes to College Admissions in 2010 and 2011

Applying to College
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<p>@samuck:</p>

<p>what’s a BWRK?</p>

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<p>BWRK= bright, well rounded kid, ie. one of those who according to CC lore doesn’t stand much of a chance in elite college admissions. And no, he wasn’t a legacy (well, he was, but not at this particular ivy) - and I made a point of mentioning his essay because it was on subjects that, again according to CC lore, are trite and best avoided: service trip, ill health of friend/family member. In short, college admissions are not an exact science - which I think we all know!</p>

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<p>One of my d’s schools asked for a graded paper. I was impressed and wished this were more regularly requested. For one thing, it helped to put the level of writing at disparate high schools in context and for another it allowed an applicant to submit a representation of his best work. It doesn’t take the place of a personal statement but I think it’s an excellent piece to an application and provides a better glimpse of a student’s scholastic writing ability than what the essay can provide.</p>

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<p>I feel like the article was too geared toward private schools. Hardly any of the information applied to state school admissions.</p>

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<p>@goodwood8: Well, just because it would be easy for a student to cheat on an essay, doesn’t mean that colleges should lower the value on them…</p>

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<p>The article says that essays are more important to more colleges but it is still a minority (26%) that give essays lots of weight. And two of the “trends” are in direct conflict - how can they give increased weight to an essay (which takes time to read) when they have less time to spend on applications?</p>

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<p>They probably just skim it.</p>

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<p>I live in Ann Arbor and know they have staff who read the essays and this year with the increase in applications, they are swamped! The UM is currently looking to hire someone who will be an admin person for all the documents for students who come from outside the country. More overall applications and more applications from students outside the US. But they do read the essays.</p>

<p>Prediction: many students will get waitlist letters this year, who would have been enrolled last year.</p>