It’s not too late: colleges still accepting applications for fall 2014

Purdue University is still accepting applications.

I won’t lie.  It’s getting a little late in the game. 

But if you’re a little disappointed with the decisions you’ve received so far, take heart. 

There are literally hundreds of colleges across the country ready, willing and more than happy to consider an application for fall 2014.

In fact, a substantial number of wonderful schools situated on beautiful campuses will entertain applications from prospective students all the way into August.

And in this area colleges still accepting applications include St. John’s of Maryland, Stevenson University, Bridgewater College, Morgan State University, Notre Dame of Maryland, Virginia Union University, Coppin State University,  Randolph College, Hood College, Bowie State University, Washington College, Gallaudet University, Corcoran College of Art and Design, Trinity Washington University, Christendom College, Eastern Mennonite University, Hollins University, Shenandoah University, Marymount University, Mary Baldwin College, Lynchburg College, Longwood University, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

 

But don’t delay.  Even those colleges with “rolling” admissions eventually fill their seats.  And if you’re looking for financial support, be aware that scholarships are often given on a first come, first serve basis or until the money runs out.

In any event, if you’re still looking or thinking about submitting additional applications, here are a few insider tips to jumpstart your research:

1. Common Application member institutions still open to new applicants may be found by going to the Common App website.  Under Member Colleges, click on Search for Colleges.  Indicate that you’re looking for Fall 2014 and First Year, and complete the deadline box according to your interest. If you happen to be looking for colleges with deadlines on or after March 25, 2014, you will be rewarded with a list of 224 institutions.
   
   
2. The Universal College Application makes the search even easier.  Simply go to go to this link and find 21 UCA member colleges still waiting to hear from you!  And as a public service, the UCA includes an additional list of colleges that don’t even accept their application.
3. Using the College Board’s Big Future search engine, start by using the Type of School filter and select “4-year,” “private” and “public” (this eliminates for-profit institutions). Scan through the other filters and select your preferences for size, location, majors, etc. Click on “Close and see results.” Once results appear, go to the dropdown box labeled “Sort by:” (upper right) and click on “Application Deadline.” 
   Caution: The list starts with “01-Jan,” goes through the calendar year.  At this point, you’d want to start reviewing the colleges with late-March deadlines.  Schools with “no deadline” are listed at the end. It's a little confusing, and the information is only as good as what colleges tell the College Board.

Once you have a "starter" list of schools that may still be accepting applications, verify deadlines by visiting individual websites.

If websites are unclear as to the current status of the process, contact admissions offices directly and simply ask the question. 

You might be surprised to find many are very happy to hear from you!

The Common App will retain controversial pricing structure for next year

Offering 2 applications costs Harvard thousands of dollars each year.

Despite hopes that the Common Application would do away with the three-tiered pricing structure currently in place for member institutions, the Board of Directors announced in a private email on Friday that no changes would be made in pricing policies for 2014-15.

“The challenges of this year and feedback we have received from members have led the board to question if our current policy of differentiating Common Application membership between Exclusive and Non-Exclusive users serves our members well,” explained the Board notification to members.  “There is consensus on the Board that changes need to be made to the pricing structure in the future. However, implementing change without sufficient time for discussion and research would be ill-advised.”

What this means is that colleges not agreeing to be “exclusive” with the Common Application will be charged additional fees amounting to as much as $2.00 for each application submitted through their system:

• Non-Exclusive (college offers two or more application options including the Common App):  $4.75 app fee + $2.75 payment fee = $7.50
• Exclusive 1 (college offers only the Common App):  $4.00 app fee + $2.25 payment fee = $6.25
• Exclusive 2 (college offers only the Common App and agrees to common deadlines as well as other specific criteria):  $3.75 app fee + $1.75 payment fee = $5.50

This year, over 120 colleges  out of 517 agreed to the Exclusive 2 arrangement. In addition to the price break, they also receive a couple of upgrades including access to Slideroom for portfolio submission. Another 63 signed up for Exclusive 1.

For Harvard University, which has consistently used the Universal College Application (UCA) along with the Common Application, additional fees to maintain competition in the industry—not to mention provide backup in case of crashes—may reach close to $70,000.

And this is way too much money for smaller colleges or those institutions which happen to have less money in the bank.

“What is surprising to me is the way they want to dominate the world, but still think in terms of the most selective institutions in the way they do business,” said one vice president for enrollment management.

Even colleges able to afford the additional expense think the pricing difference based on exclusivity is problematic.

“Although disappointed at the Common App’s most recent decisions, I believe it is important for schools to have more than one option to apply to safeguard against a situation similar to this year happening again,” commented another VP representing a highly selective research university.  “In general, [I am] not a fan of monopolies.”

The bulk of the Common Application’s annual income comes in the form of “fees” assessed on a per application submitted basis.  In 2011 (most recent available data), the Common App reported total program revenue somewhere near $13 million, with a membership of about 414 colleges and universities. 

 

This year, the membership stands at 517 institutions and so far, applications have been running about 15 percent above last year’s numbers which totaled 3.05 million.  Even using the lowest possible price per application, the Common App has the potential to bring in somewhere north of $19 million this year in fees alone.

Because they were concerned about poor performance after the launch of the Common App’s new electronic application, several colleges including Princeton, Cornell, Juniata, Tufts, Washington University, Duke, and Emerson brought on an alternative—the UCA—for students to use.

And for this year, they were not charged a differential.  If these colleges persist, however, they along with the University of Chicago—the most recent addition to the UCA for next year—will see an additional $2.00 tacked onto each application submitted through the Common Application (note that according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the UCA charges a flat fee of $4.50 per application).

“Members who elect to offer an alternate application will be charged as Non-Exclusive members, regardless of historical membership level,” according to the Common App Board of Directors.  “Members who plan for but do not launch an alternate application will be charged as Exclusive 1 or Exclusive 2 members.”

In other words, if a college keeps an alternate application in the wings—just in case—they still qualify for Exclusive membership.  If they make the decision to provide an applicant with a choice from the very beginning of the process, they will pay a hefty fine.

Over the years, the Common App’s pricing structure, which is clearly designed to push competition out of the industry, has come under fire.  And even the Board concedes that changes need to be made.

But taking the position that such changes unfairly penalize Exclusive members that have already budgeted application costs for next year, the Board elected to postpone consideration of the question until later.

In the meantime, colleges are being asked to decide which direction they will take during an Annual Update process culminating in a Member Conference scheduled to take place in D.C., May 8-9.  

Given the track record of the past year, unresolved changes in leadership, and a complete overhaul of the Common App management structure, opting to join the Exclusive club seems like risky business.

Top video game design programs for 2014

The University of Southern Californina

The Princeton Review recently issued its fifth annual report on undergraduate and graduate schools with the best programs for studying video game design.

And once again, the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts’ Interactive Media & Games Division came out on top of both the graduate and undergrad lists.

“It is a tremendous honor to continue to be recognized year after year,” said Tracy Fullerton, holder of the Electronic Arts Endowed Chair of Interactive Entertainment in the Interactive Media & Games Division and director of the USC Game Innovation Lab. “With the opening of the new Interactive Media Building within the School of Cinematic Arts, we’ve really begun to establish a center for cutting-edge, groundbreaking work in interactive media and storytelling.” 

And according to CNN, video game design is number 15 among the top 100 careers with big growth, great pay, and satisfying work.  In fact, the industry expects to grow 27.6 percent over the next ten years.

Formerly assigned to a far corner of the computer science department, game design has emerged as a highly respectable, multidisciplinary course of study. And schools hoping to get in on the growing market for designers are building glitzy new facilities tricked out with cutting edge technology and equipment.

“Game design is the next great design field,” according to the USC website. “Students emerge as thought leaders, fluent in many forms of media, with the sophistication to design and create innovative experiences that expand the state of interactive art and play.”

The Princeton Review together with PC Gamer Magazine selected schools based on a survey conducted during 2013-14 of 150 institutions in the U.S., Canada, and abroad offering video game design coursework and/or degrees.

The 50-question survey asked schools to report on a range of topics from academic offerings and faculty credentials to graduates’ employment and professional achievements.  Critical to the assessment were program curriculum, facilities, career services, and technology.

"For students considering careers in video game design, these are the 'cream of the crop' institutions to attend,” explained Robert Franek, the Princeton Review’s Senior VP/Publisher. “Some are among the nationally best-known universities in higher education. Others have well-deserved regional reputations in this field. Collectively, they have graduated many of the field's top developers, artists, designers, and industry professionals."

Although too new to be included on the Princeton Review list, George Mason University is just graduating its first video design majors and has applied to State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SHEV) to extend the program to the masters level. Response to the new major has been overwhelming and far exceed all estimates.

In addition, American University , Old Dominion University, University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Lynchburg College also have programs considered among the best in the country.

And for the record, the Princeton Review’s top 20 undergraduate schools to study game design for 2014 are:

• University of Southern California
• University of Utah
• DigiPen Institute of Technology
• Drexel University
• Hampshire College
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• The Art Institute of Vancouver
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• New York University
• Shawnee State University
• Michigan State University
• Northeastern University
• Oklahoma Christian University
• Savannah College of Art and Design
• Champlain College
• Becker College
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Vancouver Film School
• DePaul University

NOTE:  George Mason University will be holding Game Design Open Houses on March 22 and April 26, 2014.  This is a great opportunity to learn about game design in general and the George Mason program in specific.  Interested students can reserve a space by emailing Mary Bean (mbean3@gmu.edu) or calling 703.993.5734.

Students submitting more applications than ever

UCLA alone received over 86,000 freshman applications for fall 2014.

The average college applicant is submitting more applications than ever before, according to UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute (HERI).

In its annual survey of nearly 166,000 first year students, HERI found that the proportion of students submitting applications to four or more colleges jumped substantially in 2013. 

In fact, more than half (55%) of incoming students in 2013 applied to more than three colleges in addition to the application submitted to the college they currently attend.   This is up by more than 10 percentage points in the last five years (44.5% applied to four or more colleges in 2008).

While nearly 11 percent reported applying to one college, almost a third (31.6%) applied to seven or more colleges last year.

These numbers generally support a recently released survey by the Princeton Review in which the majority of parent and student respondents (48%) projected that they or their child will apply to five to eight colleges—up by four percent from 2013. Another 21% told the Princeton Review that they/their child will apply to nine or more colleges.

Clearly both surveys suggest a sea change in application strategy from 1975, when 40.5% of students entering college submitted one and only one application.

HERI speculates that students perceive stronger competition in the college admissions process and are applying more broadly to increase the likelihood of being admitted to at least one campus.

In addition, “The increase in the number of applications may also be due to services such as The Common Application making the process of applying to multiple institutions less burdensome for students.”

The Common Application does not dispute that they’ve contributed to an overall increase in applications submitted.  Last year, about 3.05 million applications were submitted through their system alone.  And this year is coming in at a significant increase over last.

But when looking at individual applicants, the Common App found that without counting transfers and single Early Decision applications, the average Common App user submitted 4.6 applications during 2012-13.  Students from New England topped the list submitting an average of 5.4 Common Applications while those in the Midwest and South submitted 3.6.

Other electronic applications serving multiple colleges, such as the Universal College Application, as well as the availability of system-wide forms used by various states (California and Texas for example) have also contributed to an overall uptick in numbers based on ease of submission.

And this is borne out by numbers generated by the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) which found that nearly two-thirds of colleges (64%) reported an increase last year in the number of applications they received.

 

So how many applications are enough?

The College Board suggests there is no magic number, but “five to eight” applications are usually enough to ensure that a student will be accepted to a “suitable institution,” depending on the student’s record and circumstances as well as how much effort has gone into finding schools representing a strong fit.  

Similarly, NACAC recommends six to eight applications.

But at the end of the day, it’s the pressure students sense from the seemingly randomness of the process that drives how many applications they will submit.  

And that’s not likely to change anytime soon.

 Disclosure: Nancy Griesemer is a member of the Princeton Review National College Counselor Advisory Board, 2013-2014.