I don’t know, it just seems like S has received a LOT of emails about extended deadlines. Was it like this in previous admissions seasons?
Yes
I believe two of my D’s schools pushed out deadlines back in '18. RPI was one but I can’t remember the other.
I get that. But I’m not sure there are many schools that send out EA admissions decisions post-rd and ED2 deadlines that have the desire to read more apps more quickly and get decisions out before the holidays.
Regardless, good luck next year, I hope you get a reading gig, there are plenty of schools that use them!
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Even hiring more readers still creates a bottleneck if applications are up significantly over the previous year. At the end of the day, readers do not “shape the class”- they summarize the application and make a recommendation. But an individual reader working on the midwest region application pile isn’t going to know that the orchestra needs a viola player and a bassoonist; the U is about to hire a new diving coach who needs a pool full of possible recruits; that the history department is going to have a named fellowship in post-war Britain within the next two years and so future historians are of keen interest admissions-wise.
Readers read and summarize. But if you find out midway through the application season that your numbers are way up, you can’t go out and bring in two new assistant directors of admissions, get them onboarded and up to speed within a month. Hence the bottleneck. Same number of decision-makers evaluating a greatly expanded number of applications, even if those applications are getting processed and read very quickly.
Most colleges are happy to have readers flag the “deny” applications. But that still leaves thousands (and sometimes tens of thousands) of applications of “over the bar, clearly can do the work, interesting story to tell” and most colleges do NOT want their readers making those judgement calls.
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techno, if it were me, I’d first apply for any temp, parental leave coverage, or part-time clerical roles at the college (usually posted on the main talent website). That gives you an edge if you aren’t an alum. And they often pay better than being a reader… but having two part-time jobs at the same institution might not be the worse thing in the world!
Schools are extending deadlines because the Department is Education changed how schools can count the number of applications they received. In the last, they could count apps that were started but not completed. These applications were counted in the total but, obviously, were not accepted.
This inflated number made stats like total apps and acceptance rate look better. Without these incomplete apps this year, some schools maybe concerned that their numbers will look worse and are thus extending deadlines to encourage more applications.
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I was surprised by some of the schools that sent unsolicited emails extending their deadlines (schools my son hadn’t previously expressed interest in). Just as examples from skimming through emails, I see Union College, Lehigh, Vassar, Fordham, Reed, U Denver, U Portland, etc. My dummy account email that had signed up for CollegeVine also received deadline extensions from RPI and CWRU.
Union specifically mentioned weather, “We know that some communities are facing challenges relating to extreme weather. We’ve extended our deadline to January 22 for California students.”
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You should be commended for your research and thoughtfulness in all aspects of the application process.
I am consistently disappointed in how many parents don’t take a similar approach in understanding the current environment, including financials.
In real life and online, many parents will say that their child is the one who should be driving applications. Of course students should be taking an active interest, writing their own essays, etc., but it’s critical that parents who can do take an important role. There are certainly families for whom the parents aren’t equipped to do so, but when I hear college-educated parents of some economic means saying it I cringe.
This is the biggest investment of time and money many families will spend, aside from maybe a house, yet lots of people research a new car more than they do their children’s college education. If you wouldn’t expect a 16- or 17-year-old to navigate a car buying experience, why would you expect them to do something far more complex on their own?
I realize that I am mostly preaching to the choir on CC, but I am still often amazed at how many come late and haven’t done the kind of due diligence that @kevi2900 has done. It’s not new information that admissions is far more competitive and college is far more expensive than ever. A lot of parents need to hold themselves more accountable.
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Making the policy specific to a region would suggest that the reasons are not to artificially boost application stats, but show lenience to students who had been prevented from finishing applications on time due to exceptional circumstances.
I’ve seen other colleges initially extending their 12/31 deadline specifically for applicants from mainland China, due to the effects of having lifted the zero-covid policy. Then came the weather pattern in late December that affected big portions of the U.S., and at least one college concluded “heck with it”, and expanded the extension to all (with the majority of applicants only finding out only after they had already completed timely - as they should.)
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There is a new policy in place. The U.S. Department of Education is now requiring stricter guidelines on application reporting. In the past, many colleges included incomplete applications in their totals. This enabled colleges to boast about a record-number of applicants while deceiving the public. Students with incomplete applications never got admitted because they were missing required information, yet they were counted by the colleges as if they had a viable chance of admission.
This will be the first year that the DOE’s new requirements will impact colleges.
Previously, a college could have hundreds of incomplete applications in a given year. If
those incomplete applications do not convert to completed ones, colleges will see
a decline in application totals, thus affecting acceptance rates and yield rates. That is
why admissions offices are working harder than ever to convince students to finish or
submit their applications.
Extending deadlines appears to be a generous offer for students, especially from
elite colleges who rarely do this. But these extensions are self-serving. Application
totals are everything to a college. Now colleges will need to value the students
behind the applications much more.
This is from Sara Harberson, former UPenn admissions counselor.
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Okay - so it’s about the IPEDS.
They updated FAQ #3 in section ADM to clarify how incompletes are to be reported - or not (e.g., whether any partial information is still reviewed, or whether it disqualifies from the onset).
It will be good to “normalize” that data point!
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CC, most people do more research on where to order lunch (Yelp, Instagram mentions, reading reviews of the daily special) then they do before they purchase life insurance, home owners insurance, or choose the asset allocation for their investment portfolio.
How many people in real life have ever said to you, “We had a bad flood and then couldn’t believe it wasn’t covered by our homeowners” (or only partially covered). I have to bite my tongue- in my area (a coastal state) the list of exclusions on homeowners is four pages long. How many people do you know now-- with HS seniors-- who are surprised that the value of their 529 is down vs. last year- even though their first tuition check is due in August? My 529 vendor would send monthly reminders to recheck your asset mix to make sure you were moving to cash when your kid was in HS-- do people just throw these out?
Financial illiteracy is pretty high across the board.
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State schools don’t yield protect.
If you seek prestige, you suffer. It is like getting a six pack (not beer) or running a marathon.
Why on earth someone would pay $40K or more average or more to go to Tulane that has ~25% students not making loan payment progress or some other school like that is beyond me when just about every study shows that major matters more than where you go to school.
Only 40% of students that graduate from college get a full-time benefit paying job within 1 year of graduation.
And that certain professions logic – all 18 kids from UNC globe is going into IB or management consulting. Very similar outcomes at the other two business programs at UNC.
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I think for a lot of students and parents there’s more to it than employment outcomes. The experience, the relationships, the intellectual growth. Not going to argue Tulane would be my choice for any of those, but there are prestigious schools (that yield protect) that I would choose, and pay for, over a state school.
I’m a product of state schooling (couldn’t afford otherwise) while my DH is an Ivy alum. I hated nearly every moment of college while he has fond memories and life long friends. We ended up in extremely similar careers.
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Don’t disagree with the premise but I’m seeing Tulane at a 3% default rate - which is 3% too high. What am i missing?
My apologies. Not making progress on loans (27%) upon graduation and forbearance (8%).
Source here: College Scorecard | College Scorecard
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That is anecdotal as my example will be. Both my kids went to state schools in Virginia and also made lifelong friends. It may be your particular university, your personality, etc. that kept that from happening for you. We have family members that went to privates, including Ivy League. Not much difference there.
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Using Tulane as an example is a bit misleading.
The key villain in the student loan crisis is the (mostly PE backed) private, for profit colleges which provide reasonably worthless degrees (you don’t need a degree in Court Reporting to become a court reporter) while taking kids up to the debt limit AND using up their Pell in the process. This is where the bulk of the blame goes.
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My personality? Thanks. You’re a gem.
My point was NOT that one cannot make friends at any state schools. My school was a commuter school. Most students, including me, worked many many hours and commuted from elsewhere. No campus life. This is the case at many public universities.
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