Hacking college admissions

[Anonymous]

This was posted in a thread by someone, but it is extraordinary. Only John Katzman can relate college admissions to dating and explain it brilliantly. This is a must see for anyone applying to college.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le2dkeYnEzA

[Anonymous]

So it is easier to get into an Ivy than it was a generation ago? Which schools have added capacity!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So it is easier to get into an Ivy than it was a generation ago? Which schools have added capacity!

I think many schools have increased capacity, but the point he makes is that there are more elite schools than ever. His take on USNEWS is interesting too.

[Anonymous]

I thought the % of students going to college has increased over the past 2 or 3 generations. Does he address this? or does he look at total numbers of HS students compared to total numbers of IVY League spots?

[Anonymous]

Many more international students now. That is a major contributor to increased competition for spots at HYPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many more international students now. That is a major contributor to increased competition for spots at HYPS.

+1. And at all the top schools. This is a major change.

The other thing is that Ivies used to be more regional. Now they get apps from the whole country. They certainly reject more top students with tops scores than they used to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many more international students now. That is a major contributor to increased competition for spots at HYPS.

It’s only 11 minutes and worth watching rather than guessing what he might say.

Here’s a summary of the data presented in the first three minutes:

Top schools 25-50% more selective than 30 years ago, but it much easier to get into a top school than it used to be.

Why?

9% more kids coming out of high school than 30 years ago and % of kids ready for an elite university is up about 15%

Yet, Overall 45% more seats at the elite schools AFTER adjusting for foreign students.

He would probably agree that the chances are worse if you are focused on one or two elite schools, but if you apply to a decent number of top schools that chances of getting into at least one are better than in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many more international students now. That is a major contributor to increased competition for spots at HYPS.

+1. And at all the top schools. This is a major change.

The other thing is that Ivies used to be more regional. Now they get apps from the whole country. They certainly reject more top students with tops scores than they used to.

Yep, he addresses all that and still proves that is easier to get into a top school than in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many more international students now. That is a major contributor to increased competition for spots at HYPS.

+1. And at all the top schools. This is a major change.

The other thing is that Ivies used to be more regional. Now they get apps from the whole country. They certainly reject more top students with tops scores than they used to.

Yep, he addresses all that and still proves that is easier to get into a top school than in the past.

However, he expanded the list of "top schools".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many more international students now. That is a major contributor to increased competition for spots at HYPS.

+1. And at all the top schools. This is a major change.

The other thing is that Ivies used to be more regional. Now they get apps from the whole country. They certainly reject more top students with tops scores than they used to.

Yep, he addresses all that and still proves that is easier to get into a top school than in the past.

Sorry. The presentation is rubbish. He talks about the "elite schools" being the "top 5% of schools" (there are 3000+ 4 year colleges in the United States) which means the top 150 and he then changes gears and talks about the top 100. His definition of elite is not the DCUM definition of elite. The top 100 schools include schools like NC State and Drexel. The top 150 includes UMBC and Adelphi. Anything to get on a TedTalk, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many more international students now. That is a major contributor to increased competition for spots at HYPS.

+1. And at all the top schools. This is a major change.

The other thing is that Ivies used to be more regional. Now they get apps from the whole country. They certainly reject more top students with tops scores than they used to.

Yep, he addresses all that and still proves that is easier to get into a top school than in the past.

Sorry. The presentation is rubbish. He talks about the "elite schools" being the "top 5% of schools" (there are 3000+ 4 year colleges in the United States) which means the top 150 and he then changes gears and talks about the top 100. His definition of elite is not the DCUM definition of elite. The top 100 schools include schools like NC State and Drexel. The top 150 includes UMBC and Adelphi. Anything to get on a TedTalk, I guess.

+1

[Anonymous]

The point of the discussion is the definition of "elite". Berkeley, USC and UCLA have more students among them than the entire Ivy League combined. If Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin-Madison are "elite" then you have significant increase in available space. All are in the Forbes top 100 list which is a little more stringent as it combines the University and Liberal Arts College list (no NC State or Drexel here). So he says study hard, apply to 10 top 100 schools and be happy at any of them. If you take his advice you have a pretty low-stress answer to the typical DC type A parent-child experience. Kind of a "don't worry-be happy" college counselor. But try explaining that to the family that is hoping for Dartmouth, Williams and Amherst and end up at College Park.

[Anonymous]

Katzmann relies on the law of numbers, which is also the basis of The Ivy Coach's "Admission Assurance Guarantee" that students will be accepted to a minimum of one college from an approved list of at least 12 colleges.

http://www.admissionassurance.com/college-admission-guarantee.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many more international students now. That is a major contributor to increased competition for spots at HYPS.

It’s only 11 minutes and worth watching rather than guessing what he might say.

Here’s a summary of the data presented in the first three minutes:

Top schools 25-50% more selective than 30 years ago, but it much easier to get into a top school than it used to be.

Why?

9% more kids coming out of high school than 30 years ago and % of kids ready for an elite university is up about 15%

Yet, Overall 45% more seats at the elite schools AFTER adjusting for foreign students.

He would probably agree that the chances are worse if you are focused on one or two elite schools, but if you apply to a decent number of top schools that chances of getting into at least one are better than in the past.

I can't watch this video at work, but I will tonight.

Did he address the fact that this 9% more kids is sending in more than twice as many applications (200% the number of applications) compared to 30 years ago? Back in the day, most kids applied to 3-5 schools. Now, thanks to the Common App and electronic applications that allow for cutting-and-pasting, kids are applying to 8-10 schools, even more than that. So applications have even gone up 300%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't watch this video at work, but I will tonight.

Did he address the fact that this 9% more kids is sending in more than twice as many applications (200% the number of applications) compared to 30 years ago? Back in the day, most kids applied to 3-5 schools. Now, thanks to the Common App and electronic applications that allow for cutting-and-pasting, kids are applying to 8-10 schools, even more than that. So applications have even gone up 300%.

Yes