Don’t be alarmed if the financial aid letter you received in your admissions packet is about as understandable as a Chinese roadmap. Financial aid administrators (FAA’s) speak in their own jargon and think little of throwing around acronyms or blurring costs and expenses, which potentially get lost in translation for the novice FA recipient trying to decipher the bottom line.
To show families what they should watch out for in the letters they receive, both US News & World Report (USNWR) and FinancialAidLetter.com posted financial aid “decoders” on their websites. Using real letters from colleges in different regions of the country, experts parsed out meaning and graded each for clarity and content.
Responding to a financial aid letter from Northeastern University, USNWR graders noted that total costs were underestimated and no indication was given as to whether or not awards were “renewable.” Similarly, the letter from Allegheny College underestimated total costs and provided confusing information relative to the need to repay loans while in school.
Closer to home, American University was also called on the carpet for underestimating total Cost of Attendance by about $1600. On the plus side, readers praised American for informing students that they have the option of declining an offered loan.
But even the experts are confused. In a recent interview with USNWR’s Zach Miners, noted financial aid guru Mark Kantrowitz suggests that many financial aid award letters are not entirely upfront about costs and “apples-to-apples” comparisons among institutions may be complicated by omissions in information provided.
“Schools might not be listing the same set of costs,” Kantrowitz suggested. “Some might just be listing tuition and fees; others might be listing the total cost of attendance, which includes room and board, books, transportation costs, and miscellaneous expenses.”
You’d think there would be some uniformity here or at least the myriad oversight organizations involved in the allocation and administration of financial aid might demand it.
It would be nice to believe that FAA’s operate in their own little worlds of dollars and cents, and they don’t intentionally obfuscate the value of awards. Luckily, most are willing to answer questions and if you have some, don’t hesitate to call or email a college’s financial aid office. It’s better to get the explanations now and not be surprised later.
Apr 9, 2010
Apr 7, 2010
College 'Yield' Puts New Admits in the Driver's Seat
Many congratulations to all the college-bound high school students currently in the enviable position of sorting through offers of admission. You are now officially in the ‘driver’s seat.’
Yes, you worked hard in high school carefully crafting portfolios boasting of challenging courses, good grades, and significant accomplishments. You volunteered in your community, participated in school activities, and revealed your leadership potential.
You spent years making your case for admission. Now the colleges have one month to make their case for you to accept the invitation. And you should enjoy every minute.
Between now and May 1, colleges will work hard to earn your business. There will be invitations to ‘admit weekends’ and local events designed to get you signed on the dotted line. You will receive emails, brochures, pleading letters in the mail, and phone calls from enthusiastic admissions offices or current undergrads who are deliriously happy with their experience.
A few lucky students will get offers of free trips and will be flown in for a total VIP weekend chocked full of parties, concerts, and all varieties of entertainment solely directed at winning you over.
Why would colleges go to so much effort? The answer lies in the almighty “yield”—the percent of students accepting an offer admission to any institution. It works this way: colleges typically send out many more letters of admission than they expect to be accepted. Those with historically lower yields send out more letters than the more those with established panache like Harvard which has an annual yield hovering around 76 percent.
Yield is important because it is sort of a gauge of popularity—the higher the yield, the more popular the school. This popularity contest feeds certain rankings like USNWR which makes yield a fairly significant factor in its computations.
Colleges try very hard to peg their yield exactly every year because it makes life a whole lot easier. Too high a yield and dorms get overcrowded. Too low and the waitlist may get drained or the incoming class might not be full. Careers ride on yield, and admissions offices don’t want to mess it up. Beyond a popularity measure, yield is a clear indication of admission office skill in predicting numbers and match between institution and the individual student.
USNWR has used its access to Common Data Set information to generate lists of college yields ranked from highest to lowest. The following is a summary of the highest yields posted by liberal arts colleges and universities across the country last year:
US Naval Academy: 83%
US Military Academy: 79%
Brigham Young University—Provo: 78%
Harvard University: 76%
Stanford University: 71%
University of Nebraska—Lincoln: 69%
Yale University: 68%
Thomas Aquinas College: 68%
Yeshiva University: 67%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 66%
Local colleges and universities have mixed results:
University of Virginia: 48%
Virginia Military Institute: 48%
Georgetown University: 45%
Washington & Lee University: 42%
Virginia Tech: 40%
University of Maryland—College Park: 36%
College of William and Mary: 35%
George Washington University: 34%
St. Mary’s College of Maryland: 32%
Howard University: 31%
Johns Hopkins University: 30%
Catholic University: 22%
American University: 19%
Yes, you worked hard in high school carefully crafting portfolios boasting of challenging courses, good grades, and significant accomplishments. You volunteered in your community, participated in school activities, and revealed your leadership potential.
You spent years making your case for admission. Now the colleges have one month to make their case for you to accept the invitation. And you should enjoy every minute.
Between now and May 1, colleges will work hard to earn your business. There will be invitations to ‘admit weekends’ and local events designed to get you signed on the dotted line. You will receive emails, brochures, pleading letters in the mail, and phone calls from enthusiastic admissions offices or current undergrads who are deliriously happy with their experience.
A few lucky students will get offers of free trips and will be flown in for a total VIP weekend chocked full of parties, concerts, and all varieties of entertainment solely directed at winning you over.
Why would colleges go to so much effort? The answer lies in the almighty “yield”—the percent of students accepting an offer admission to any institution. It works this way: colleges typically send out many more letters of admission than they expect to be accepted. Those with historically lower yields send out more letters than the more those with established panache like Harvard which has an annual yield hovering around 76 percent.
Yield is important because it is sort of a gauge of popularity—the higher the yield, the more popular the school. This popularity contest feeds certain rankings like USNWR which makes yield a fairly significant factor in its computations.
Colleges try very hard to peg their yield exactly every year because it makes life a whole lot easier. Too high a yield and dorms get overcrowded. Too low and the waitlist may get drained or the incoming class might not be full. Careers ride on yield, and admissions offices don’t want to mess it up. Beyond a popularity measure, yield is a clear indication of admission office skill in predicting numbers and match between institution and the individual student.
USNWR has used its access to Common Data Set information to generate lists of college yields ranked from highest to lowest. The following is a summary of the highest yields posted by liberal arts colleges and universities across the country last year:
US Naval Academy: 83%
US Military Academy: 79%
Brigham Young University—Provo: 78%
Harvard University: 76%
Stanford University: 71%
University of Nebraska—Lincoln: 69%
Yale University: 68%
Thomas Aquinas College: 68%
Yeshiva University: 67%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 66%
Local colleges and universities have mixed results:
University of Virginia: 48%
Virginia Military Institute: 48%
Georgetown University: 45%
Washington & Lee University: 42%
Virginia Tech: 40%
University of Maryland—College Park: 36%
College of William and Mary: 35%
George Washington University: 34%
St. Mary’s College of Maryland: 32%
Howard University: 31%
Johns Hopkins University: 30%
Catholic University: 22%
American University: 19%
Apr 5, 2010
Two Virginia Public Universities Announce Tuition Increases for 2010-11
Over the past week, two of Virginia’s public universities announced tuition increases for the 2010-11 academic year. Responding to state reductions in funding for public education, both James Madison University (JMU) and Longwood University will be asking students to chip in a little more for the coming year.
According to a press release from Longwood, total costs (tuition, fees, room and board) will go up by an average of 7.98 percent for in-state undergraduates living on campus and by 10.07 percent for out-of-state students. Compared with last year, total costs for in-state students will increase from $16,641 to $17,969. Costs for out-of-state students living on campus will go from $26,136 to $28,769.
“As a student, you expect to have a certain level of education, a certain number of professors, certain class sizes. We are trying to maintain that the best way we can,” explained Longwood vice president for administration and finance Kathy Worster. “We look at our total costs and the sources of revenue we have and see if there is a gap. That’s what causes an increase.”
Longwood was the first Virginia public institution to announce a tuition increase for next year. James Madison followed a couple of days later by voting to raise in-state undergraduate tuition and fees by 6.7 percent.
For the coming academic year, JMU’s Virginia residents will pay $7860, up from $7364. But unlike Longwood, JMU has elected to impose smaller percent increase on students attending from other states. For 2010-11, JMU’s out-of-state students will see their tuition bills increased by about 5.7 percent, or to $28,324, including room and board.
Undergrads at other Virginia public institutions expect to see similar announcements over the next few weeks. For now, the bigger names are taking a "wait and see" position allowing others to set the standard.
According to a press release from Longwood, total costs (tuition, fees, room and board) will go up by an average of 7.98 percent for in-state undergraduates living on campus and by 10.07 percent for out-of-state students. Compared with last year, total costs for in-state students will increase from $16,641 to $17,969. Costs for out-of-state students living on campus will go from $26,136 to $28,769.
“As a student, you expect to have a certain level of education, a certain number of professors, certain class sizes. We are trying to maintain that the best way we can,” explained Longwood vice president for administration and finance Kathy Worster. “We look at our total costs and the sources of revenue we have and see if there is a gap. That’s what causes an increase.”
Longwood was the first Virginia public institution to announce a tuition increase for next year. James Madison followed a couple of days later by voting to raise in-state undergraduate tuition and fees by 6.7 percent.
For the coming academic year, JMU’s Virginia residents will pay $7860, up from $7364. But unlike Longwood, JMU has elected to impose smaller percent increase on students attending from other states. For 2010-11, JMU’s out-of-state students will see their tuition bills increased by about 5.7 percent, or to $28,324, including room and board.
Undergrads at other Virginia public institutions expect to see similar announcements over the next few weeks. For now, the bigger names are taking a "wait and see" position allowing others to set the standard.
Apr 4, 2010
The Colleges of the Southeastern Conference Come to Town
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is not only one of the most formidable football recruitment machines in the nation, but these twelve schools are also powerhouse recruiters of local high school students drawing hundreds of applicants from Maryland, Virginia, and DC to their beautiful campuses.
This year the SEC is coming to Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia, on Wednesday, April 7, and the Waterford at Fair Oaks Mall on April 8. Each of the schools is scheduled to make a presentation and each will have representatives available to meet individually with students seeking more information, including seniors who haven’t quite made up their minds.
To get up to speed on the SEC, it might be helpful to know a little about the individual schools. Here is what the schools say about themselves on the SEC website (statistics are from the common data set information provided by each school):
University of Alabama: For three consecutive years, US News & World Report has named this school one of the ‘top’ public universities in the nation.
Size: 22,046 undergrads
SAT/ACT: 990-1210/21-27
Out-of-State: 37%
University of Arkansas: Funded research has grown dramatically, with Arkansas’ faculty winning major research grants from the nation’s most competitive programs.
Size: 14,861
SAT/ACT: 1020-1270/23-28
Out-of-State: 36%
Auburn University: Auburn has had a nearly $4 billion economic impact on the State of Alabama.
Size: 20,031
SAT/ACT: 1070-1270/23-28
Out-of-State: 43%
University of Florida: Florida is the only school in the nation to finish in the top 10 in national all-sports rankings every year since 1983-84.
Size: 34,094
SAT/ACT: 1160-1380/25-30
Out-of-State: 3%
University of Georgia: The Wall Street Journal includes UGA among 16 “Hot Schools” that are drawing increased attention from students and families because of cost, safety, and academics.
Size: 25,150
SAT/ACT: 1130-1320/24-29
Out-of-State: 16%
University of Kentucky: UK academic programs boast 80 national rankings for quality of education and the school is one of only a few universities in the country with a teaching and research campus and a medical center in one central location.
Size: 18,591
SAT/ACT: 1000-1250/22-27
Out-of-State: 20%
Louisiana State University: LSU is designated as a Research 1 University—the “top” category of the Carnegie Foundation’s ranking of research institutions.
Size: 23,057
SAT/ACT: 1070-1280/23-28
Out-of-State: 21%
Mississippi State University: Mississippi State is home to one of the ‘top’ 20 supercomputing sites among American universities.
Size: 13,204
SAT/ACT: 970-1270/20-27
Out-of-State: 25%
University of South Carolina: USC’s undergraduate international business program is one of the ‘top’ ranked programs in the country according to USNWR.
Size: 19,458
SAT/ACT: 1090-1290/24-28
Out-of-State: 38%
University of Tennessee: UT is the oldest and largest public higher education institution in the state, tracing its beginnings to the founding of Blount College in Knoxville in 1794.
Size: 21,378
SAT/ACT: 1070-1270/24-29
Out-of-State: 13%
Vanderbilt University: In two decades, Vanderbilt has put more than $762 million toward renovation and construction on its campus, including the addition of state-of-the-art buildings for psychology, chemistry, and music, among others.
Size: 6,598
SAT/ACT: 1330-1500/30-33
Out-of-State: 84%
This year the SEC is coming to Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia, on Wednesday, April 7, and the Waterford at Fair Oaks Mall on April 8. Each of the schools is scheduled to make a presentation and each will have representatives available to meet individually with students seeking more information, including seniors who haven’t quite made up their minds.
To get up to speed on the SEC, it might be helpful to know a little about the individual schools. Here is what the schools say about themselves on the SEC website (statistics are from the common data set information provided by each school):
University of Alabama: For three consecutive years, US News & World Report has named this school one of the ‘top’ public universities in the nation.
Size: 22,046 undergrads
SAT/ACT: 990-1210/21-27
Out-of-State: 37%
University of Arkansas: Funded research has grown dramatically, with Arkansas’ faculty winning major research grants from the nation’s most competitive programs.
Size: 14,861
SAT/ACT: 1020-1270/23-28
Out-of-State: 36%
Auburn University: Auburn has had a nearly $4 billion economic impact on the State of Alabama.
Size: 20,031
SAT/ACT: 1070-1270/23-28
Out-of-State: 43%
University of Florida: Florida is the only school in the nation to finish in the top 10 in national all-sports rankings every year since 1983-84.
Size: 34,094
SAT/ACT: 1160-1380/25-30
Out-of-State: 3%
University of Georgia: The Wall Street Journal includes UGA among 16 “Hot Schools” that are drawing increased attention from students and families because of cost, safety, and academics.
Size: 25,150
SAT/ACT: 1130-1320/24-29
Out-of-State: 16%
University of Kentucky: UK academic programs boast 80 national rankings for quality of education and the school is one of only a few universities in the country with a teaching and research campus and a medical center in one central location.
Size: 18,591
SAT/ACT: 1000-1250/22-27
Out-of-State: 20%
Louisiana State University: LSU is designated as a Research 1 University—the “top” category of the Carnegie Foundation’s ranking of research institutions.
Size: 23,057
SAT/ACT: 1070-1280/23-28
Out-of-State: 21%
Mississippi State University: Mississippi State is home to one of the ‘top’ 20 supercomputing sites among American universities.
Size: 13,204
SAT/ACT: 970-1270/20-27
Out-of-State: 25%
University of South Carolina: USC’s undergraduate international business program is one of the ‘top’ ranked programs in the country according to USNWR.
Size: 19,458
SAT/ACT: 1090-1290/24-28
Out-of-State: 38%
University of Tennessee: UT is the oldest and largest public higher education institution in the state, tracing its beginnings to the founding of Blount College in Knoxville in 1794.
Size: 21,378
SAT/ACT: 1070-1270/24-29
Out-of-State: 13%
Vanderbilt University: In two decades, Vanderbilt has put more than $762 million toward renovation and construction on its campus, including the addition of state-of-the-art buildings for psychology, chemistry, and music, among others.
Size: 6,598
SAT/ACT: 1330-1500/30-33
Out-of-State: 84%
Apr 2, 2010
Ivy League Admissions Results Crash College Confidential
Unless my computer was playing some serious games with me yesterday afternoon, the College Confidential discussion board crashed under the weight of all the Ivy League admissions results that came flooding in.
The official explanation, while less direct, suggests I was right. “We’re still sorting out what happened, but it looks like a key part of our hardware infrastructure failed at the most inopportune moment,” said Roger Dooley, CC website administrator. “This is unprecedented in our 9 years of operation. We apologize for letting you down at this critical time.”
If you’re not in the business, you may not know about the tradition of posting admissions results within specific college or university “threads” on College Confidential. In fact, there’s a prescribed format that breaks into five general areas:
• Decision: accepted, waitlisted, rejected
• Objective (data): scores, awards, courseload
• Subjective (data): extracurriculars, essays, recommendations, interview
• Other: state, country, school type, ethnicity, gender, income, hooks
• Reflection: strength, weakness, where else accepted
Thoughtful posters even include a description, if relevant, of the envelope and the date and time it arrived in a specific geographic area.
This year, the big day for results coincided with April Fool’s Day, which isn’t all that unusual for the Ivies. But the irony was not lost on the thousands of high school students desperately trying to log on to compare outcomes with others entered in the Ivy sweepstakes.
Even before the crash, results were looking grim. Over the weekend, Georgetown, which has stuck to the traditional snail mail operation, reported applications from 18,100 students, 3400 or 19 percent of whom received a green light to join a projected class of 1580.
UVa received 22,516 applications and admitted a scant 31 percent. Stanford and MIT admitted 7.2 percent and 9.7 percent respectively. While Duke’s applications went up by 12 percent, acceptances dropped to an all-time low of 15 percent. And with a 42 percent increase in applications, the University of Chicago reported that acceptances dropped from 27 percent last year to 18 percent for the class of 2014.
But the news that shut down College Confidential, no doubt involved the Ivy League. For the first time, Harvard applications numbered over 30,000 and acceptances dropped to 6.9 percent or only 2110 students for an incoming class of about 1660.
Yale accepted 7.5 percent or 1940 applicants out of 25,869 applicants and issued waitlist invitations to 932 students. Brown accepted 9.3 percent of 30,136 applicants, while Penn and Dartmouth accepted 14.2 percent and 11.5 percent respectively. And in New York, Columbia admitted 9.2 percent and Cornell admitted 18.4 percent of their applicants.
College Confidential slowly limped back on line throughout the evening. Responding to the official CC apology for technical problems, one student remarked, “Yeah man, don’t worry about it. [Two] hours is nothing compared to the 2 years CC has helped me!”
The official explanation, while less direct, suggests I was right. “We’re still sorting out what happened, but it looks like a key part of our hardware infrastructure failed at the most inopportune moment,” said Roger Dooley, CC website administrator. “This is unprecedented in our 9 years of operation. We apologize for letting you down at this critical time.”
If you’re not in the business, you may not know about the tradition of posting admissions results within specific college or university “threads” on College Confidential. In fact, there’s a prescribed format that breaks into five general areas:
• Decision: accepted, waitlisted, rejected
• Objective (data): scores, awards, courseload
• Subjective (data): extracurriculars, essays, recommendations, interview
• Other: state, country, school type, ethnicity, gender, income, hooks
• Reflection: strength, weakness, where else accepted
Thoughtful posters even include a description, if relevant, of the envelope and the date and time it arrived in a specific geographic area.
This year, the big day for results coincided with April Fool’s Day, which isn’t all that unusual for the Ivies. But the irony was not lost on the thousands of high school students desperately trying to log on to compare outcomes with others entered in the Ivy sweepstakes.
Even before the crash, results were looking grim. Over the weekend, Georgetown, which has stuck to the traditional snail mail operation, reported applications from 18,100 students, 3400 or 19 percent of whom received a green light to join a projected class of 1580.
UVa received 22,516 applications and admitted a scant 31 percent. Stanford and MIT admitted 7.2 percent and 9.7 percent respectively. While Duke’s applications went up by 12 percent, acceptances dropped to an all-time low of 15 percent. And with a 42 percent increase in applications, the University of Chicago reported that acceptances dropped from 27 percent last year to 18 percent for the class of 2014.
But the news that shut down College Confidential, no doubt involved the Ivy League. For the first time, Harvard applications numbered over 30,000 and acceptances dropped to 6.9 percent or only 2110 students for an incoming class of about 1660.
Yale accepted 7.5 percent or 1940 applicants out of 25,869 applicants and issued waitlist invitations to 932 students. Brown accepted 9.3 percent of 30,136 applicants, while Penn and Dartmouth accepted 14.2 percent and 11.5 percent respectively. And in New York, Columbia admitted 9.2 percent and Cornell admitted 18.4 percent of their applicants.
College Confidential slowly limped back on line throughout the evening. Responding to the official CC apology for technical problems, one student remarked, “Yeah man, don’t worry about it. [Two] hours is nothing compared to the 2 years CC has helped me!”
Apr 1, 2010
April Fool’s Day Is Alive and Well on College Campuses
Undergrads love a good joke. Here are some headlines appearing in student publications this April Fool’s Day :
The Diamondback, University of Maryland: “Panda to be university’s new mascot”
NYUNews.com, New York University: “NYU buys Columbia, eats Harvard University”
GW Hatchet, George Washington University, “'24' star takes over as chief of police”
YES Weekly, High Point University: “High Point to get new downtown stadium, major league baseball team”
Technique, Georgia Institute of Technology: “No more letter T”
But the best joke of all comes from a few Johns Hopkins administrators with way too much time on their hands. According to a report featured on their home page, Johns Hopkins University officially announced a name change to “John Hopkins” thereby eliminating the superfluous “s,” which has evidently tripped up more than one college applicant. University president Ronald J. Daniel comments, “We’re fighting a losing battle here. And we strongly suspect the extra ‘s’ was a typo in the first place.”
Enjoy the day!
The Diamondback, University of Maryland: “Panda to be university’s new mascot”
NYUNews.com, New York University: “NYU buys Columbia, eats Harvard University”
GW Hatchet, George Washington University, “'24' star takes over as chief of police”
YES Weekly, High Point University: “High Point to get new downtown stadium, major league baseball team”
Technique, Georgia Institute of Technology: “No more letter T”
But the best joke of all comes from a few Johns Hopkins administrators with way too much time on their hands. According to a report featured on their home page, Johns Hopkins University officially announced a name change to “John Hopkins” thereby eliminating the superfluous “s,” which has evidently tripped up more than one college applicant. University president Ronald J. Daniel comments, “We’re fighting a losing battle here. And we strongly suspect the extra ‘s’ was a typo in the first place.”
Enjoy the day!
Mar 30, 2010
The Common Data Set: Where Admissions Pros Get Their Numbers
Have you ever wished you could tap into the same data source used by the publishers of all those weighty college guides? It’s not that difficult if you know the secret. And the secret is the Common Data Set.
A number of years ago, the Common Data Set (CDS) was created as a method of satisfying the endless appetite for college statistics among organizations such as the College Board, US News and World Report, Peterson’s, and Wintergreen Orchard House. The idea was to reduce duplication of effort and meet publishers’ needs by asking colleges to complete a single survey the results of which would be compiled into a shared data base.
So rather than answer a zillion questions from many different publishers, schools now fill out a lengthy standardized form each year and data is collected which may then be used for everything from college rankings to online college search tools. The secret is that many colleges are kind enough to publish their surveys on their websites so anyone can have access to the information. And it’s a goldmine covering everything from admissions statistics to graduation rates.
Typically, you can find CDS responses by going to a college’s Institutional Research Office webpage or by using the website search function and entering “Common Data Set.” You can also Google “Common Data Set” and institution name. If the information is posted, it will immediately appear as a link.
But not all schools post the CDS, so don’t be alarmed if after several attempts nothing comes up. A number of colleges simply don’t want the public to have easy access to what may be unflattering statistics. For example, several colleges abruptly removed or broke links to their data after investigations began into potentially discriminatory admissions practices.
Begin your explorations into the Common Data Set, by checking out a few local college webpages:
• American University: Office of Institutional Research & Assessment
• Catholic University: Institutional Research and Assessment
• College of William and Mary: Institutional Research and Reporting
• Frostburg University: Office of Information Services
• George Mason University: Institutional Research and Reporting
• George Washington University: Office of Institutional Research & Planning
• Loyola University Maryland: Institutional Research
• Salisbury University: Common Data Set
• Towson University: About TU
• UMBC: Office of Institutional Research
• University of Richmond: Office of Institutional Effectiveness
• University of Virginia: Institutional Assessment and Studies
• Virginia Commonwealth University: Center for Institutional Effectiveness
Note that the most recent data should be from 2009-10, but some schools are slow to post.
A number of years ago, the Common Data Set (CDS) was created as a method of satisfying the endless appetite for college statistics among organizations such as the College Board, US News and World Report, Peterson’s, and Wintergreen Orchard House. The idea was to reduce duplication of effort and meet publishers’ needs by asking colleges to complete a single survey the results of which would be compiled into a shared data base.
So rather than answer a zillion questions from many different publishers, schools now fill out a lengthy standardized form each year and data is collected which may then be used for everything from college rankings to online college search tools. The secret is that many colleges are kind enough to publish their surveys on their websites so anyone can have access to the information. And it’s a goldmine covering everything from admissions statistics to graduation rates.
Typically, you can find CDS responses by going to a college’s Institutional Research Office webpage or by using the website search function and entering “Common Data Set.” You can also Google “Common Data Set” and institution name. If the information is posted, it will immediately appear as a link.
But not all schools post the CDS, so don’t be alarmed if after several attempts nothing comes up. A number of colleges simply don’t want the public to have easy access to what may be unflattering statistics. For example, several colleges abruptly removed or broke links to their data after investigations began into potentially discriminatory admissions practices.
Begin your explorations into the Common Data Set, by checking out a few local college webpages:
• American University: Office of Institutional Research & Assessment
• Catholic University: Institutional Research and Assessment
• College of William and Mary: Institutional Research and Reporting
• Frostburg University: Office of Information Services
• George Mason University: Institutional Research and Reporting
• George Washington University: Office of Institutional Research & Planning
• Loyola University Maryland: Institutional Research
• Salisbury University: Common Data Set
• Towson University: About TU
• UMBC: Office of Institutional Research
• University of Richmond: Office of Institutional Effectiveness
• University of Virginia: Institutional Assessment and Studies
• Virginia Commonwealth University: Center for Institutional Effectiveness
Note that the most recent data should be from 2009-10, but some schools are slow to post.
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