California Institute of Technology: Serious Science

students standing in california institute of technology

I spent a few hours last week on the campus of the California Institute of Technology (a.k.a. Caltech), and was pleasantly surprised by the attractive campus, and our tour guides–both women–who demonstrated that not all Caltech students are total science dweebs.

There are only 800 undergraduate students and only 1500 graduate students in all disciplines. The rest of the campus community is made up of post docs, faculty, and research scientists. This place is not for anyone who wants merely to dabble in science. So while undergraduate students do pursue curricular and extracurricular interests outside the sciences, this would definitely not be the place for someone whose major is “undecided.”

Not that an undecided major could ever get in the place. Only 17% of applicants are admitted. It might help to be a woman: the undergraduate population is only 30% female. But our female tour guides expressed that this gender imbalance didn’t make much of a difference. All the kids on campus are scientists, and their peers treat them as fellow scientists. So while the administration would like to attract more women (they admitted a class in 2007 that was 37% women), the students on campus stressed that the gender imbalance was merely a fact of life in the sciences.

When asked about the differences between Caltech and MIT, this is what the admissions director had to say.

    1. MIT has more engineering and more breadth in its academic majors and programs than Caltech.
    2. MIT has more undergraduate students: the culture of Caltech is older.
    3. The quarter calendar at Caltech makes the curriculum more compressed and therefore more demanding.
    4. 25% of Caltech students participate in varsity athletics (which belies the geeky stereotype).
    5. Most courses are capped at 15 students at Caltech.

Residentially, Caltech is divided into houses, which students apply to belong to throughout their time on campus. Just as other students on other campuses “rush” a fraternity or sorority, Calech students engage in a “rotation” to gain entry into the house of their choice. The tour guide likened these to the houses in the Harry Potter novels, and house spirit is very strong. Each has its own dining hall, and all except one serve sit-down dinners at which nearly all students are present. This helps build a strong sense of community among the undergraduates. It also provides personal and academic support in a very challenging environment.

Here are some other interesting facts I learned while on campus:

  • Interviews are not a part of the admissions process.
  • Extracurricular activities do count as part of the admissions process; academics are necessary but not sufficient.
    Caltech does not factor a “demonstrated interest” in the school into the admissions process.
  • Caltech has an incredibly effective honor code. All tests are take home. None are proctored. Trust is an essential element of the academic and professional community. Students have 24-hour passes to get into any building on campus.
  • Collaboration is an academic cornerstone of science education at Caltech.
  • Undergraduate students develop a strong adult network while on campus, in large part because they are completely outnumbered by professional scientists. Students are regularly employed in the major research laboratories.
  • The first two terms of freshman year are taken “Pass/Fail” no matter how good you are. Some kids find that their freshman year courses are the most challenging they have ever taken.

I really enjoyed my time on campus, walking underneath the olive trees that seemed to be everywhere on campus. This is a fantastic place for the academically gifted math and science student who wants to launch right into his or her scientific career. As the director of admission stated, this is a place for kids who are academically prepared for graduate school, but who “need to get an undergraduate degree first.” This is a special place for special students.

Mark Montgomery
Student of California Colleges
Montgomery Educational Consulting

Chapman University: the Liberal ARTS college of Los Angeles

Today I spent a few hours on the campus of Chapman University in Orange, California. The first pleasant surprise was the drive into town. The old town of Orange is actually quite quaint for the Los Angeles area. If it weren’t for the palm trees, I would have thought I was in a small town in rural Virginia or New England. The main street was replete with little cafes, coffee shops, restaurants, and antique stores (okay, so maybe most college students won’t be furnishing their rooms with heirlooms). But it’s a nice little town on the edge of the campus.

The Chapman campus is relatively small, belying the size of the student body (just under 4,000). But it’s architecturally coherent, with nice walking paths and open spaces. The student center and library are both relatively new, and the residence halls are also well designed and modern–and all contained within a “residential village” adjacent to the academic campus.  One drawback is that campus housing is not guaranteed after freshman year, so 60% of upperclassmen live off campus.

I met a few very enthusiastic students who had nothing but positive things to say about their experiences. The 4-1-4 calendar allows students to keep motoring through the curriculum, helping keep kids on track for graduation within four years. And the winter interterm allows for some interesting curricular offerings, some of which include travel abroad or within the US.

The brightest stars in the Chapman crown, however, are the arts programs. The school of performing arts includes music, dance, and theatre. The facilities and the faculty attract a talented bunch of students. So the campus as a whole has an artsy feel to it, but the focus on the traditional liberal arts disciplines plus the popular business school helps keep the campus as a whole very well-rounded.

Then there is the film school. One word: amazing. This is one of the best undergraduate film programs in the United States. The few and the proud who are admitted to this competitive program not only complete general liberal arts requirement, but they also receive a BFA. The facilities are tremendous.

The faculty members are all practitioners in the entertainment industry (including some very well-known names). The first year students are able to launch right into their creative work, and all students who want to are able to pursue professional internships. The one thing our tour guide admitted is that the program is especially intense–lots of late nights, hard work shooting on the weekends, and pressure to produce. But graduates from the film program are among the most successful in gaining entry to the industry.

All the arts programs require an audition and a supplemental application, the requirements for which are available online.  Anyone interested in the film school MUST apply by the early action deadline on November 15.  This is an extremely competitive program, and there is virtually no possibility of acceptance during the regular process.  Merit and talent scholarships are available for the artists.

One drawback to this excellence in the arts is that non-theater majors cannot participate in some of the main stage productions, which are reserved for theater majors.

All in all, I was enormously impressed by Chapman. A pleasant town, a challenging liberal arts curriculum, an active Division III sports program, and a vibrant arts community who could ask for anything more?

Sports Recruiting Visits to Colleges: Questions That Need Answers

A couple of my current clients are in the midst of athletic recruiting, and are visiting colleges. I always recommend that they be prepared to ask some pointed questions of coaches, admissions officers, and other students when they make the visit.
The list of questions below comes from a book on sports recruiting that I particularly like, and that I recommend to all my clients who hope to play college sports. It’s called The Sports Scholarships Insider’s Guide, by Dion Wheeler, published by Sourcebooks, Inc.
The questions are divided in to four categories: Athletic, Academic, Legal, and Financial.

Athletic

  1. How much time is spent in practice?
  2. When does the season begin? End?
  3. Are there additional training periods?
  4. What are practice hours?
  5. What are my off-season responsibilities?
  6. Can I compete in other sports?
  7. What is the team’s past record?
  8. What conference and division does the team compete in?
  9. How often does the team travel?
  10. Can she/she describe the athletic facilities? (If not, wait and observe during the visit.)
  11. What is the coach’s philosophy?
  12. What are my chances of regularly competing and when?&
  13. What position/event/class am I being considered for?
  14. How many freshmen at your position are being recruited?
  15. What position am I on the recruiting depth chart?
  16. Will I be redshirted?
  17. What are the housing arrangements for athletes?
  18. Have you seen me play or compete?
  19. Do my skills fit into your program?

Academic

  1. Are my career goals compatible with the college’s majors and programs?
  2. Am I allowed to make up classes and tests missed because of the competition schedule?
  3. Am I qualified to meet the admission standards?
  4. Are tutors provided for athletes?
  5. What percent of freshmen graduate? Graduate with their class?
  6. What is the college’s policy toward student athletes during summer session?
  7. Will I have an academic advisor?
  8. Will the coaches provide any guidance if I have academic problems?
  9. How many hours of studying per day is average for my major?
  10. Do professors teach?

Legal

  1. Do I receive a written contract/tender?
  2. If I get injured or become sick,will I lose my financial aid?
  3. What medical expenses does the college cover?
  4. How many credits are required for me to be eligible to compete? How many credits are required for me to keep my financial aid?
  5. What is the status of the college’s relationship with the NCAA?

Financial

  1. Is there academic or need-based financial aid available?
  2. What is the amount of financial aid being offered?
  3. How many years is it being offered?
  4. What criteria is used to determine renewal of aid?
  5. What portion of the total (yearly/semester) cost is covered by the financial aid I receive?
  6. What expenses does the financial aid cover (tuition, room, board, books, special assessments, supplies, etc.)?
  7. What sources and types of financial aid will be include in the total financial aid package (state, Pell, USEOG, institutional, special awards, grants, loans, etc.)?
  8. Am I eligible for additional financial aid now? In future years?
  9. If I need five years to graduate, will I continue to receive the same amount of financial aid as the other four years?

Never go into the process of athletic recruiting underprepared. The whole process is a snake pit, and students and parents need to fully understand the process so that they can “play the game” to their advantage. That is why so many parents are turning to consultants to help them navigate these roiling waters.
Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant
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Universal College Application Gains Steam

I wrote a post a couple of days ago about reversals of policy at the Common Application, and I mentioned that the Common App now has some competition from the Universal Common Application. This upstart is not really an upstart at all. Actually, it is operated by the same folks who provide the technology platform behind the Common App. The Common Application then went off to find another technology platform and make some policy changes (about which much ink has been spilt). In the meantime, the folks at what is now the Universal College Application started a new initiative to broaden out participation to include any accredited university, and to compete with the the Common App.
As it happens, a college can be a member of both. And the number of colleges signing up with the Universal College Application is growing. The ball really got rolling when Harvard signed up. Now look at the list:
Bard College
Bryant University
Carroll College
Clark University
Colby-Sawyer College
Creighton University
University of Dallas
Drew University
Drexel University
Duke University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Guilford College
Hampden-Sydney College
Harvard College
Hawai’i Pacific University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Wesleyan University
Iona College
Johns Hopkins University
Johnson & Wales University
University of Maine
University of Maine Farmington
Marquette University
Monmouth University
Montana State University
Niagara University
Nichols College
Prescott College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rider University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rockhurst University
San Francisco Art Institute
Seattle University
St. Joseph’s College – Brooklyn Campus
St. Joseph’s College – Long Island Campus
Susquehanna University
University of Tampa
Texas Christian University (TCU)
Ursinus College
Villa Julie College
Wagner College
Wake Forest University
Warren Wilson College
Washington University in St. Louis
Wesley College
Whitworth University
WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)
While I have no particular bone to pick with the Common Application, I dowish the folks at the Universal College Application well. As a student of economics, I’m all for competition in the marketplace. It helps give consumers (i.e., my clients) more choices, better service, and ultimately more efficient and open access to college.
Mark Montgomery
Giver of Great College Advice
Technorati Tags: Univesral College Application, Common Application, Harvard, college admission, access, free market economics

Carnival of Education…Latest Edition

The Carnival is up and running again at the Education Wonks. As usual, it’s a heady spin around the EduSphere.
Here are the posts related to higher education, including college admission:
Higher Education:
Here’s a roundup of “college rankings” by several MSM outfits.
How about 7 ways to get into college without a high school diploma?
When it comes to high school seniors applying to numerous “safety schools,” in hopes of being admitted to a top-level college or university, high school math teacher Darren of Right on the Left Coast presents his version of “Dr. Stangelove or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Admissions Process.”
You’ll want to give these a look-see.
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting

Common Application Retains Its Flexibility–A Victory for Students Everywhere

Today the members of the Common Application removed the straight jacket they had previously imposed upon students. This decision is a victory for students, in that it allows them to retain control of their applications and make slight modifications to the forms submitted to each college or university to which they apply. As such, it is a victory for the rights of consumers over the rights of producers of educational services. The move to lock down the system and prevent students from making these modifications can be likened to the economic behavior of a cartel–trying to limit consumer choice.
For those who have not been following this story in the past few weeks, here’s the jist in bullet-point form.

  • The Common Application was originally designed to increase convenience for both applicants and institutions of higher education by standardizing most aspects of the college admissions application.
  • The Common App system, until a few weeks ago, allowed students to make some changes to applications it submitted to each school. One oft-cited example is the ability to choose different majors for different schools. To use the example in today’s InsideHigherEd article, if a student was interested in environmental science, she might not be able to find that major at all her selected schools, and she might want to modify for those schools to select “biology” instead. Colleges might assume she was ignorant of their programs if the selected major was not offered at their schools, reducing her chances for admission.
  • The members of the Common Application (all colleges and universities that use the Common App) wanted to reduce the perceived “gaming of the system” by students and dampen down the admissions frenzy.
  • So they “locked down” the system to prevent the previously-allowed ability to applications to individual schools.
  • The decision was poorly communicated and hastily announced at the beginning of the busy college admissions season.
  • College counselors had a fit; the assembled multitudes at the National Association for College Counseling convention at the end of September gave the Common App representative an earful.
  • The leaderships of the Common App handled the controversy badly–with a tone of arrogance and defiance at first.
  • Finally, today, the Common App folks backed down and returned the functionality to its system.

So what led the Common App to revert to the previously flexible system?
Well, the lobbying of the folks at NACAC was undoubtedly critical. College counselors everywhere were fit-to-be-tied over the bungled change. At the convention in Austin last month, the halls were abuzz with strategies to circumvent the straight jacket, and by recommendations that if the Common App system was inflexible, then students may as well abandon the Common App altogether and go back to using individual college’s applications.
But other economic factors probably came into play, too. First is the rise of the Universal College Application, launched by the same consulting firm hired by the members of the Common Application. Nothing helps focus a business decision like good, old-fashioned competition. And the Universal Application is not the only new player in the online application world. A couple of new upstarts are lurking on the horizon, including one here in Denver.
In the end, there is and should be a free market in the world of higher education. This is part of the genius of American higher education. Of course, a free market can be chaotic. It can also foster a sort of “frenzy” that the folks at the Common App, which they thought they could eliminate or at least reduce. But if reducing the frenzy leads to a reduction in choice and control by consumers, then we have a cartel in which the producers (colleges and universities) call the shots.
Whether a response to pressure or to economic competition, the Common Application’s decision today to return to a more flexible online application system is a victory for students.
And isn’t that what it’s all about? Helping students select and matriculate to the college that is the best fit for them? That’s certainly my professional priority.
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting
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Denver Post Article on College Admission

A front page article in last Sunday’s Denver Post is headlined,

College admission gets dose of sanity:
Counselors say most kids get into their first-choice school despite anxiety

True enough. The whole admissions process is pretty insane, which is why so many students and their families in the Denver area are turning to independent counselors for assistance in alleviating the pressure.

But there were some snippets from this article that I thought I would share.

In the past decade, the ranks of some private counseling services have doubled, college marketing budgets are up 50 percent and the number of students applying to 12 or more colleges has more than doubled.
While the number of slots at colleges remains relatively stagnant, the echo-baby-boom surge of seniors peaks next year at 3.3 million. The percentage of those kids going to college returned to an all-time high of 67 percent in 2004, up from 62 percent in 2001.
And yet a growing sanity movement among counselors, higher-education analysts and college admissions officers now rails against application anxiety that reaches levels of academic hypochondria.
“Collectively, we have robbed students of their senior year,” says Lloyd Thacker, an education writer who has campaigned to get 65 universities to stop ranking their peers in the oft-purchased, much-maligned U.S. News & World Report survey. “There’s a diversity of interests beginning to realize something is wrong.”

(If you’d like to read more that I’ve written about the US News ratings and other data reporting systems, go here and here).

“What if all health care coverage focused on the Mayo Clinic and the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center?” asked Scott Jaschik, editor of the magazine Inside Higher Ed. “It’s not as if they don’t matter, but very few people will get cured at the Mayo or Sloan-Kettering.”

The article also has a neat graph that shows the factors students use in choosing a college:

These are, indeed, the primary reasons for choosing a college, and it does my heart good to know that most kids are like my clients–they are looking for a school, not a country club or a way to pad their list of accomplishments. It is, really, all about finding the right fit.
The article goes on:

More than 80 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges accept more than half the students who apply. The average acceptance rate among all schools, even when the formidable H-Y-P axis is included, is 69 percent.
More than two-thirds of college freshmen still report they are attending their first-choice school. Of those at their second choice, half report they were accepted at their first- choice school but did not attend because of financial-aid or other reasons.
The portion of students applying at a dozen schools or more remains tiny at 2.2 percent; the median number of applications per student in 2006 was four.
High-quality teachers and students as measured by test scores and degrees have trickled down to a far broader group of schools than the Ivy Leagues, Stanford, Duke, MIT, and the liberal Ivys such as Amherst and Wesleyan. For example, U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Washington 42nd on its list of top 50 national universities; 84 percent of freshmen were in the top 10 percent of their high school classes. And yet Washington accepts 68 percent of applicants.
The message here is that parents and students need to relax more and worry less. There is a good college that fits there interests, abilities, and aspirations. We just need to look beyond the elite or “brand name” colleges and consider what are the attributes of a college that will make a student happy and successful.

This is what independent college counselors do. We alleviate stress and worry, and help families enjoy the process of selecting and applying to colleges.
Mark Montgomery
Independent College Consultant
Technorati Tags: Denver, Denver Post, college admission, counseling, advice, college selection

College and Finance–the Latest Carnival

The latest edition of the Carnival of College and Finance is up and running. It is hosted by our friends at, well, College and Finance.
Check out the great posts from the college cognoscenti. Some of my favorite posts this week include:
Saving for Kids College Education from Everything Finance, in which the author takes a quick look at the different savings options.
Three Characteristics All College Grads Need to Get Hired from Ask the Career Counselor, which are Professionalism throughout the selection process, Applicable Job Experience, and Enthusiasm and Optimism.
I’m pleased that my own post on College Navigator.
Mark Montgomery
Great College Advice

University of Dallas and the Classical Western Curriculum

Today I visited the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas. UD is a small Catholic college with a classical liberal arts curriculum. As one of the faculty members described it, UD offers a 21st Century Renaissance education. As such, UD is not a college that will appeal to everyone. But it has great strengths and knows how to serve its students well.
The curriculum is centered on a classical core stuffed with the best of the Western educational tradition: the classics, history, philosophy, theology, and the sciences. Here’s what’s required during the first two years of prescribed coursework:

  • 2 Theology Courses: Understanding the Bible, Western Theological Tradition
  • 4 Literary Tradition Courses: Ancient Epic Poetry (Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid), Christian Epic Poetry (Beowulf, the Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost), Ancient and Christian Tragedy and Comedy (Oedipus Rex, Shakespeare), Lyric Poetry and the Modern Novel (Crime and Punishment, Mansfield Park)
  • 4 Philosophy Courses: Philosophy & the Ethical Life, Philosophy of Man, Philosophy of Being, another philosophy course that compliments the major discipline of study
  • 4 History Courses: Greece & Rome and the Middle Ages; The Reformation, Enlightenment and Modernity; The Founding and the Civil War; World Wars, Cold War and Globalization
  • Principles of American Politics
  • Fundamentals of Economics
  • Foreign Language Study (to intermediate levels)

From my perspective, the curriculum is purposeful and well-constructed, and it nurtures reflection within an unabashedly Christian context. The curriculum is reading and writing intensive. Students read at least 60 books, most of which are part of the Western canon. And the students do not read the “Cliff’s Notes” versions…they read Dante and Milton and Homer in their entirety. The school does not offer “composition” courses per se, but in English courses alone, students will write 20-25 papers on topics that are well-developed, that are based on the great ideas of the great books.
The students are not completely cloistered (even though they are still taught by a small and aging group of Hungarian Cistercian monks–in addition to a larger group younger, dynamic faculty). Nearly 85% of students spend a semester on the college’s campus outside of Rome, Italy. While the students travel there in groups of over 100, the saving grace is that the students are given a substantive curriculum during this semester. The courses are not fluff as they are in so many study abroad programs. Students also take group trips to Greece and other parts of Italy. This brings the classical curriculum alive for students.
I enjoyed my time on this campus. I really admired the dedication and involvement of the faculty. They believe in what they are doing, and fervently support their students in their intellectual, social, and spiritual exploration.
So if you are interested in a small, Catholic school with a classical curriculum University of Dallas may be for you.
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting
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College Navigator Assists College Search Process

A new website from the US Department of Education was unveiled recently to help students in their college search process. The site is called “College Navigator.”  (Some know it by it’s handy acronym:  COOL, or “College Opportunities Online.”  COOL uses data collected by the US Department of Education as part of its National Center for Education Statistics.
I have used this data before, and I actually helped to compile it during my time at the University of Denver. It’s important to know that these data are compiled and reported NOT by offices of admissions, but by the offices of institutional research at colleges and universities.  These data, while still subject to tinkering by universities, are generally MUCH more reliable than any marketing propaganda generated by the marketing whizzes in the admissions offices.  While the data is good and has been accessible in the past, up until just the other day, the data sets on the government sites were beastly to manipulate.
Well, the beast has been tamed. The new site is a searchable database that allows students and counselors to select certain variables, and then the site pulls a list of colleges and universities that fit the selected criteria. Better, the site allows students to compare data side by side.
This government effort (which comes out of US Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings’ 2006 report on access to information and higher education assessment) goes a long way in giving consumers raw information upon which to base more informed decisions about colleges and universities. As I explored in a previous post, many college and university associations are trying to find ways to get around the deleterious effect of US News and World Report’s annual rankings. Their aim is to provide more and better information directly to students and their families. This College Navigator site may actually meet the need for more and better data, obviating the need for these private efforts.
I recommend this site wholeheartedly. It is a great place to start the college process. However, it is no substitute for expert advice. The issue is not only access to information. It is interpretation of that information in light of an individual student’s needs, interests, and aspirations. But at least College Navigator is not a site that is trying to sell books (like Peterson’s) or magazines (like US News). College Navigator is a welcome addition to the college search process.
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting
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