<p>From time-to-time, the idea of a national college-choice registration center is mentioned here. The basic idea is that a student could apply to as many colleges as he wants, but hed tell the center which schools are his top four (or so) choices. </p>
<p>A college trying to decide on a particular applicant could send the applicants ID number to the center, and the center would tell the school whether it was one of his top choices. That way the college would get a better idea of their potential yield, and the student would get a better chance at the places he really wants to go to. </p>
<p>(Imagine a situation in which a student applies to, say, Amherst and Williams, because he really loves Amherst, but would be ok with Williams if his other choices didnt come through. Wouldnt the student have a better shot at Amherst if the Amherst adcoms knew the student really wanted to go there? Wouldnt someone whose first choice was Williams have a better shot at getting in if the Williams adcoms werent giving a spot to the similarly-qualified Amherst-lover?)</p>
<p>A strategically-minded student might register two reaches, a match, and a safety with the center, whereas a super-star student might register four reaches. The system should work to the advantage of both students and all the schools as far as I can tell. </p>
<p>It would still be worth applying to more than four schools in case one of the less-favored ones wanted to entice a student to go there. For example, a school thats desperate for a clarinet-player might have to pick someone who didnt list them as a top-four choice. Since theyre not at the top of her list, if they're a merit-based aid school, theyll probably also need to come up with a good financial aid package to get her. That seems fair.</p>
<p>The registration center seems like a good idea to me, and Im not sure why it doesn't catch on. Am I missing some big downside?</p>