Performance more critical than ‘name’ school

Dear Mr. Bradshaw — I have been accepted by the University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Notre Dame, California-Berkeley and Northwestern.

I have a big decision to make, and I had no idea it was going to be this difficult.

How do I choose the college that is best for me? Should I choose the most elite college based on rank? — Confused

Dear Confused

— Congratulations on being accepted by so many elite colleges.

It is important to choose a school that is right for you, but in offering my advice, I want to downplay the notion that selecting a college amounts to a defining moment in your life.

It does not.

Would you be better off at Penn than at Berkeley, or at Columbia rather than Chicago? College ranking or name recognition is not a predictor of the personal fulfillment you will gain at a school. It is the area of study you choose and your accomplishments (social and academic) at the college of your choice that matter.

Is there a measurable tool that can help you make a decision?

In my opinion there is not.

Each year, I have parents who use a spreadsheet to plot the value of attending a potential college to within a thousandth of a percentage point. Categories include a school’s place in the national rankings, the quality of the faculty, department name recognition, powerful alumni — the list is almost endless. I even have had clients rank the number of parking spaces set aside for students!

For geographical location, diversity and the number of Nobel Laureates, Chicago ranks third, while Cal-Berkeley is sixth. Does that mean Chicago is better than Berkeley? Not necessarily.

Adding to the pressure of students choosing colleges are parents who are obsessed with getting their children into specific schools.

Harvard ranks at the top of every list for the Ivy League. The aura surrounding Harvard and the perceived benefits afforded students are greatly exaggerated and, in particular, are unsubstantiated if comparing income differentials with other college graduates.

Notre Dame ranks near the top for sheer alumni loyalty in the Midwest, but is that a reason to go there?

Ultimately, no matter where you choose to go to college, a degree from an elite school will not put you ahead in life if you are lazy and unimaginative.

An outstanding performance at a lesser-known college will trump a lackluster effort from a top college, and this levels the playing field.

Keep this in mind as you weigh your options.

Your college choice will not define you; it only will make it possible for you to discover yourself and prepare for a fulfilling career.

Acceptance time tough on high school seniors

Thursday, April 12, 2012

BY GERALD M. BRADSHAW

gerald_bradshaw@post.harvard.edu

Bradshaw College Consulting

(219) 663-3041

Acceptance time tough on high school seniors

It is again the time of year when high school seniors eagerly await letters notifying them of acceptance or rejection from the colleges of their choice.

It is seldom more nerve-wracking than when the college of choice is among the eight schools in the Ivy League. A record number of students applied to Ivy schools this year, and the odds of getting in are staggeringly low. Here is my 2012 admission-rate report.

Harvard: The acceptance rate was the lowest in the Ivy League, despite a slight decline in applications.

Harvard admitted 2,032 of the 34,302 students who applied — an acceptance rate of 5.9 percent. That is an all-time low, and down from last year’s rate of 6.2 percent.

William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid, told the Harvard Crimson: “We have always been conservative about the number of acceptances sent out at this time of year, in order to avoid the possibility of overcrowding. Harvard’s high graduation rate — typically 97 to 98 percent — leaves little margin for error.”

Fitzsimmons said more than 14,000 applicants had scores of 700 or higher (out of 800) on the SAT critical reading test; 17,000 had scores of 700 or higher on the SAT math test, and 15,000 scored 700 or higher on the SAT writing test. He added that 3,800 applicants were ranked first in their respective high school classes.

Yale: It admitted only 1,975 of the record-high 28,974 students who applied this year, a 6.8 percent rate that was down from 7.4 percent last year.

CNNMoney reported that Jeffrey Brenzel, Yale’s dean of undergraduate admissions, said: “We had another extraordinary applicant pool, and another challenging selection process. We could not make offers to a large number of immensely talented young men and women.”

Cornell: It admitted only 16.2 percent of the record 37,812 applicants this year — its lowest rate ever.

Dartmouth: It had a record-low 9.4 percent acceptance rate.

Princeton: It accepted only 2,095 students of the 26,664 who applied, bringing its acceptance rate to a historic low of 7.9 percent.

University of Pennsylvania: It accepted 12.3 percent, also a record low.

Brown: Its admittance rate rose to 9.6 percent, compared to 8.6 percent last year.

Columbia: It admitted 2,363 students, or 7.4 percent of the 31,851 applicants — up from last year’s rate of 6.9 percent

Brown and Columbia were the only Ivy schools to accept a higher percentage of applicants this year.

Students admitted to Ivy League schools normally have until May 1 to accept their offers.

My next column will deal with how to get off of the waiting list.