When I first began working as a college counselor, comprehending the universe of schools available to students was mind numbing. There are 2,600 four-year colleges in the United States--a mish mash of public, private, religious, and secular schools--each with its own set of admission requirements. Consequently, when parents asked me to distill a list of factors that might provide uniformity across the admission practices of multiple schools, I became a bit dumbfounded: such a list would not be easy to produce, nor uniformly accurate. I continue to witness this issue, many years later. Still, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, our mother organization, periodically performs a survey across the vast collegiate universe and places the most important factors into a list called the ‘Factors in the Admission Decision’. Whenever I review this lengthy list, I try not to lose track of the diversity it encapsulates. 'GPA in college preparation courses', the factor … [Read more...]
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