<p>Wow!! My son ended up not applying to Conn College, and I was hoping my second son, a junior now, would apply. He is not the student his older brother is, but he has an 86 to 87% average, and probably will not send in his SATs if they are not great. He is a very good soccer player, a 3 sport varsity athlete, a jazz musician, and a great, although shy, kid.</p>
<p>My son's very good friend was waitlisted at Conn this year!! He had a 1550 old SAT, a 92 average, Academic Quiz bowl national qualifiers for two years in a row, just like my son, an Eagle Scout, etc., etc. He is very disappointed, he loved Conn college, and he got into Middlebury, but wants to go to Conn college. What happened?? If this boy didn't get in, my second son has NO chance!!</p>
<p>A little "Tufts Syndrome" here...probably thought your friend was going to Midd anyway. Conn is trying to create a little buzz, they like to think about the word "elite" there, but can't overcome the endowment $ issues, the deferred maintenance issues, the alcohol soaked culture, the high school located on campus with kids taking Conn classes,etc. The good friend
is better off at Midd. Tell your son to look at Union, SAT optional, great campus, no deferred maintenance there, better finaid. Gettysburg, another option.</p>
<p>Conn's visiting day sessions have to be the slickest, most well orchestrated I've encountered. Granted, they have lots of great programs and other things to point to which reflect a top quality education can be had there. And the student body is either well coached at being friendly to visitors or just plain friendly.</p>
<p>After looking more closely at the way the school approaches admission statistics, however, I had to conclude that prestige or perceived prestitge seems to carry the day. DuellingApps says as much, using the word "elite." Have to agree with that perception, Conn's of itself, that is. </p>
<p>Out of a dozen schools I looked at, Conn is the only one that does not make its Common Data set available. At an info session, the admission's officer was very quick to bandy about a 2080 SAT I "median"...which is something I never heard any other college or university use as a meaningful number. Moreover, there was no mention by that same admission's officer of what the "mean" SAT was, what the middle 50% numbers were, and clearly no mention was made of how many students' numbers made up the "mean" or any other numbers that might be available.</p>
<p>The school does not require the SAT, but relies on a "median" score as an expression of how competitive the school is? And, all the numbers available in its materials speak in terms of "admitted" students (GPAs, SATs and ACTs) and never mention ranges for "enrolled" students. My ultimate conclusion was that about 15-25% of enrolled students submitted SAT I scores, which is meaningless.</p>
<p>A top quality school, no doubt about it. But, an inordinate amount of gamesmanship going on...something that really turned me off when I started looking closely.</p>
<p>Endowment "issues" can always be overcome by growing the endowment as other colleges have done -- even those of lesser stature. I should think Conn can and will do so too. </p>
<p>Deferred maintenance - Didn't Conn just wrap up a multimillion dollar campus upkeep and renovation effort with laudable results? Is it not breaking ground this year for a new fitness center to be ready for fall of '09?</p>
<p>"alcohol soaked culture" - This is the first I have heard of it. Worse than any other college? I doubt it. In fact, I have heard that academic demands there act as a moderating influence on alcohol use...</p>
<p>I don't think Conn College has more alcohol than any other small LAC. Bates, lots of drinking, Colby, lots of drinking, Middlebury, lots of drinking, Wesleyan, lots of drinking - the kids drink at all of these schools.</p>
<p>My son's friend wanted Conn College, not Middlebury. He loved the campus, loved the friendliness of the kids. I understand about trying to be elitist, but really - getting into Midd and not Conn? Something else is going on this year.</p>
<p>Tell your friend's son to let Conn know directly that he will come if admitted. Conn often accepts a lot of students off their wait list. A few years ago, they took something like 80 students off the waitlist, and in the most recent year for which there's reported data, 2006, 40 students. </p>
<p>And encouraging words for your son, adigal: my D got in with 1900 SATs, a 25 ACT, and about a 92% average, with no hooks and a solid, but hardly demanding HS curriculum, only 3 APs. The pattern at her school was interesting: chances of admission seemed to correlate inversely with the amount of financial need. Conn may be need-sensitive over a broader swath of the applicant pool than some better endowed competitors. Could that be part of your friend's son's result?</p>
<p>Agree with slewnior about SAT numbers. A more meaningful measure would be the 25-75% ACT scores for enrolling students, since the ACT is one of the two options that Conn accepts to meet their standardized testing requirement. That range for 2006 was 25-29.</p>
<p>"...since the ACT is one of the two options that Conn accepts to meet their standardized testing requirement. That range for 2006 was 25-29."</p>
<p>That's the reported range....but, what is the percentage of "enrolled students" that submitted ACT scores in 2006? Can't tell, as far as I know, without the Common Data Set...which they closely guard.</p>
<p>FWIW, my D was rejected with a similar GPA to yours, same number of APs, but an ACT of 28. SAT's were not submitted, but may have made their way before admissions via her transcript....they were the same as your D's. No financial aid eligibility, but FAFSA and profile were submitted. Oddly, waitlisted at Trinity and, even more oddly, Stonehill.</p>
<p>My guess is that Conn (and many others out there) were very worried about yield this year with the huge increases in applications at most schools. I can't imagine there's much solid precedent for them to work with in light of some of the numbers I saw from schools.</p>
<p>
[quote]
That's the reported range....but, what is the percentage of "enrolled students" that submitted ACT scores in 2006? Can't tell, as far as I know, without the Common Data Set...which they closely guard.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>32% according to USNews, to whom they give most of the CDS data indirectly. In theory that figure should be reported according to CDS rules and include all enrolled students who submitted scores.</p>
<p>Thanks....pretty small percentage, I think. Certainly not one that merits posting a range publicly based on "accepted students."</p>
<p>Confirms my overall notion that Conn is focused on climbing the "prestige" ladder, nearly to a fault, and pushed the SAT I aside purely for that reason...it allows them to boost their "accepted student" SAT I range, averages and "median" for marketing purposes.</p>
<p>As I said, great school, but there's a ton of fluff in their focus on "elite" status.</p>