News from the 2014 College Reception Circuit

Claremont Mckenna travels with 8 of the Best Colleges

Once the books close on the Class of 2018, admissions offices will begin the process of retooling and hit the road in search of prospective candidates for the Class of 2019.  And because recruitment dollars are increasingly scarce, quite a few colleges and universities will opt for group presentations as opposed to individual high school visits to get the word out in targeted communities.

If you’ve registered to receive information from a particular school, it’s likely you will receive invitations to these kinds of events.  And short of actually visiting a campus, these presentations offer opportunities for you to get basic information as well as make yourself known to area representatives—some of whom may be reading your application next fall.

Although these sessions are usually open to the public, it’s generally a good idea to pre-register if the opportunity is offered. Otherwise, how are the folks running the event going to know how many folding chairs to set up?

The following are some of the more popular spring events (follow the links provided for the schedule of events in your area).

• Big Ten College Tour:  In early May, the Big Ten Universities will co-host several evening programs in California.  These events will provide a brief overview of the Big Ten community as well as a chance to meet representatives from each university in a college fair forum.
• Exploring College Options: This is a special recruitment program sponsored by the undergraduate admissions offices of Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford. The tour has three stops in the DC area, with the first scheduled for Sunday, May 4, at the Grand Hyatt Washington. Two additional sessions will be held on May 5, at the Fairview Park Marriott, in Falls Church, and the Bethesday North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in Bethesda.
• Colleges That Change Lives: This year, CTCL will visit the Washington DC area on Sunday, May 18, at the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner. Each program begins with a 30-minute information session followed immediately by the college fair.
• The Claremont Colleges:   The Claremont Colleges (Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Pomona and Scripps Colleges) periodically schedule information sessions in different parts of the country.  This year, receptions were held in Bethesda, MD and New York, NY.
• Exploring Educational Excellence:  Join Brown, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, and Rice for an information session targeted to prospective students and families. Sessions include an overview of each institution, information on admissions and financial aid, as well as a chance to speak informally with admissions representatives. Events will be held at the Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center, on Monday June 2, as well as at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, on Tuesday June 3.
• 8 of the Best Colleges: Claremont McKenna, Colorado College, Connecticut College, Grinnell, Haverford, Kenyon, Macalester, and Sarah Lawrence invite students and families to learn more about these eight nationally recognized liberal arts colleges. Programs are scheduled for Wednesday, May 21 at the Sheraton North Hotel, in Towson, MD, and Thursday, May 22, at the Hyatt Regency, in Bethesda, MD.
• Coast to Coast Tour:  Dartmouth, Northwestern, Princeton, UC Berkeley, and Vanderbilt visit 10 cities in six states.  The evening includes a brief information session about each school and time to interact with admissions representatives in a college fair format.  The tour comes to the DC area on Thursday, May 22, at the Washington Marriott.
• SEC College Tour:  The 14 universities in the Southeastern Conference will be visiting 3 cities in California in April.
• Boston University:  This program will provide insight into the “complex admissions process.”  Admissions staff will be coming to Georgetown Prep, on Sunday, May 4, at 7:00 p.m.
• Carnegie Mellon University:  Admissions counselors will present a general information session to high school students who may be in the early stages of their college search. You can register now for the event scheduled for Sunday, June 1, at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel.
• Johns Hopkins University:  Explore Hopkins events allow students to join admissions representatives at presentations around the country to learn more about academics, student life, the application process and financial aid.
• New York University:  Each spring and fall, NYU holds off-campus receptions for prospective students and families. Students are invited to register for the DC-area event scheduled for Sunday, May 4, at 11:00 a.m.
• Northwestern University:  In addition to the Coast to Coast Tour (see above), additional sessions are open to students and their families in other parts of the country. 
• Purdue University:  Preview Purdue events are scheduled in different locations across the county.  The remaining spring schedule includes Dallas, Fort Worth, Cleveland, St. Louis, Boston, Louisville KY, Chicago, and Hartford.
• The University of North Carolina at Greensboro:  Two "First Look" sessions will be held in the DC area.  The first will take place on May 19, in Rockville, and the second is scheduled for May 20, at Tysons Corner.  Online registration will require you to open a SpartanLink account.
  
  
• Washington University in St. Louis:  The Office of Undergraduate Admissions invites you  and your parents to a presentation about Wash U, on Sunday, April 27, at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda.

UVa prepares to increase tuition burden on out-of-state students

University of Virginia "Grounds"

Already the second most expensive public institution in the country for out-of-state students, the University of Virginia is preparing to increase the burden on nonresidents by as much as $2,200, or 6.2 percent.  Combined with fees already approved by the university’s Board of Visitors, out-of-state students could be paying $2,340 more, or an additional 5.9 percent, starting next fall.

Not including tuition differentials imposed by both the McIntire School of Commerce and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, students crossing state lines will be paying over $42,000 per year for the privilege of attending the University of Virginia.  And this doesn’t count close to $10,000 per year for room and board.

Ten years ago, students coming to Charlottesville from outside the Commonwealth paid $22,831.  Since then, almost $20,000 or about $2000 per year has been added to tuition for nonresidents—an 85 percent increase.

But even knowing they are paying top dollar and could be paying considerably more per year by the time they graduate, out-of-state students continue to apply and attend the University of Virginia in droves.  According to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the UVa class entering this fall included 35.1 percent students from out-of-state (second only to the College of William and Mary which enrolled 35.9 percent nonresidents).  And for fall of 2014, UVa received 22,028 applications from out-of-state students—up from 20,174 the previous year.

Clearly there is no shortage of students willing to pay what may be the highest tuition rates in the country for a public institution.

According to a release from the University, the Board of Visitors will meet on April 23 to set undergrad tuition rates for the 2014-15 academic year.  In addition to increasing the bills for nonresidents, the Board has proposed a 4.5 percent increase in tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergrads. 

If approved by the Board, the proposal would increase the total cost of attendance for a first-year Virginia resident by $949 to $27,417, which includes tuition and fees, room and board, and estimated expenses for books and travel.

The increased tuition rates come as UVa deals with continued criticism for replacing a portion of low-income student grants with loans, making financial aid packages far less desirable for many of the minority and first generation students UVa has tried to recruit to campus in recent years.

The ACT ushers in a new era with first computer-based college entrance exam

In case you missed announcements crowded out by all the hoopla surrounding the new SAT, ACT has been  While the SAT hints this may be a possibility in the future, ACT has already administered approximately 4,000 digital exams to students at various test sites across the U.S.

quietly working behind the scenes to usher in a new era of computer-based college admissions exams.

“This is an exciting step forward for students and for ACT,” Jon Erickson, president of education and career solutions at ACT, said in a press release. “We are making great progress toward the official launch of the digital ACT option for state and districtwide testing next spring.”

On April 12, the first computer-based version of the ACT was administered to an “invited” group of high school juniors in 80 schools across 23 states.  The schools were specifically selected by ACT and agreed to participate in the pilot administration.

“The administration went very well overall,” added Erickson. “As always at this stage, there were some technical issues, and we learned a great deal. We appreciate the participation of the students and high schools and their extra efforts during the process.”

The scores earned by participating students will be official and can be reported to colleges.  Although digital test-takers were given five extra minutes to complete both the reading and science sections—adding 10 minutes overall—ACT  ensured that content of the exam was identical to that of the paper-and-pencil version so that reported scores should “mean the same in terms of level of achievement” for this test.

While the first computer-based version of the ACT was administered on a “national” ACT test date, it will initially be offered only as an option for schools administering the exam as part of districtwide or statewide assessment programs.  The digital version will officially launch in spring of 2015, in invited states and school districts, with expanded release for school day testing in spring of 2016—just in time to compete with the new College Board product.

For the moment, there are no plans to discontinue the paper-and-pencil version of the test.  It will be offered as long as there is a demand for it.

Common App names interim CEO

Mr. Mott began his admissions career at Rollins College

The Common Application announced yesterday that Paul B. Mott has joined the organization as Interim Chief Executive Officer.  The announcement comes after the departure of Rob Killion, who headed the Common App for ten years.

In an email forwarded to Common App members, Thyra Briggs, president of the  board of directors and vice president for admission and financial aid at Harvey Mudd College, quotes colleagues who describe Mr. Mott as “smart, thoughtful, analytical and a clear communicator.”  She goes on to characterize him as a "leader in organizations going through transition."

The appointment of Mr. Mott follows a national search conducted by the board for someone to head the Common App as it begins the process of preparing for the 2014-15 admission cycle.  No additional information was provided as to the planned length of the appointment or the process for hiring a permanent Chief Executive Officer. 

Mr. Mott brings 15 years of experience in secondary and higher education as director of college counseling at St. Mark’s School of Texas, assistant director of admissions at Williams College, and admissions counselor at Rollins College.  While at St. Marks, Mr. Mott served as soccer coach and taught AP Government. 

According to the email from Ms. Briggs, he recently he served as marketing and communications consultant to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Stanford University.

Mr. Mott has also played professional soccer, served as head of club services for Major League Soccer (MLS), president of the New Orleans Hornets (NBA team) and principal of TeamBow Consulting—a private consulting firm with a specialty in sports business.

Married to Quenby Jackson Mott, who has served as vice dean/director of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania as well as an independent college counselor for College Coach, Mr. Mott is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

In the next few weeks, Mr. Mott will begin the process of introducing himself to the Common App membership and addressing the organization’s “strategic priorities” for the coming year.