Dim White Kids at Nation's Elite Private Colleges

An article the day before yesterday at Boston.com provides yet another look into the college admissions process. What it reports is enough to make you completely jaded about the whole admissions game. Here’s a piece of the introduction.

Surf the websites of such institutions and you will find press releases boasting that they have increased their black and Hispanic enrollments, admitted bumper crops of National Merit scholars or became the destination of choice for hordes of high school valedictorians. Many are bragging about the large share of applicants they rejected, as a way of conveying to the world just how popular and selective they are.
What they almost never say is that many of the applicants who were rejected were far more qualified than those accepted. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, it was not the black and Hispanic beneficiaries of affirmative action, but the rich white kids with cash and connections who elbowed most of the worthier applicants aside.
Researchers with access to closely guarded college admissions data have found that, on the whole, about 15 percent of freshmen enrolled at America’s highly selective colleges are white teens who failed to meet their institutions’ minimum admissions standards.

The fact is, college admissions is not–and has never really been–the merit-based system we might believe. Colleges are businesses, and they do what they need to do to make payroll and keep their doors open.
My job is to help kids and their families navigate what is not a rational process. It’s very confusing, and information is skewed in favor of the providers of educational services, not the consumers. No matter whether you’re dim or bright, black or white, kids needs more and better information. That’s what I provide.
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting
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Southwestern University in Texas–The Stars Shine Bright

I spent a day this week on the campus of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. It’s one of the 40 Colleges That Change Lives identified by Loren Pope. I was very impressed with the quality of the liberal arts education afforded its students. I stopped to talk to students on the quad, in the dining halls, and in the library. Every single one of them was pleased with their experience. I also spoke with the reference librarian, who could not stop raving about the quality of the students and the academic atmosphere on campus.
There only two drawbacks I can see. The first is Texas. It’s sometimes hard to sell a school in Texas to my clients on the East Coast or in Colorado, because of stereotypes and prejudices. Of courses, these hold no water, but it is often difficult to get around these impressions.
The second is that in comparison to some schools in the northeast or Midwest or California, Southwestern comes off as a generally more socially conservative place. Again, this has more to do with Texas than with the school, which to me seems to be pretty darned liberal. However, most if not all of the dorms are single-sex, and perhaps the campus is a bit more conservative because Texas is a relatively conservative state, politically. But students and faculty assured me that the students are intellectually curious, involved in politics and social issues, and are usually just as liberal as their counterparts down the road at the University of Texas.
So if you’re looking for a small liberal arts college of high quality, like warm weather, and want to try a brand-new geographical and cultural experience, you won’t go wrong to check out Southwestern.
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting

Lousy Tour Guides Can Ruin First Impressions of Colleges

Today I’m in Austin touring the University of Texas. I’m here with a group of college counselors from all over the country who are descending upon the city for the annual convention of the National Association of College Admissions Counseling (NACAC). The visit went pretty well. The food was nice, and for the most part the information delivered was useful.
However, the student volunteer who led a group of us around campus was completely useless. Low speaking voice. Inability to walk backwards (you may giggle, but this is important!), and a complete lack of useful information (how many students are at UT? don’t you think she ought to know even a ballpark figure?).
Anyway, I fell back from the tour and began to walk up to students randomly and quiz them about their experience. What did they love most? Is the campus politically active? What was the worst aspect (not the size insisted one student)? Was the campus safe? I got tons more useful information this way.
What is my point? Depends on the audience.
For admissions offices: Train your tour guides. Pay them. Monitor the tours. These kids are the front lines of your marketing campaign. A terrible tour guide can leave a negative impression. Good tour guides can help you sell the school. Don’t neglect this element of your recruitment efforts.
For parents: Plan more time than you think you’ll need to visit each campus. The tours organized by the admissions office are either bland and uninformative (as was my experience today) or they are polished, marketing presentations. In order to get a better idea of whether a school is right for your child, you need to take the time to get off the beaten track, wander around, find the departments or programs that your child is interested in, and ask questions of random people you meet. So plan for the extra time this takes and don’t try to visit too many schools in a single day.
For prospective students: remember that the tour guide is only one student of many (at UT, our tour guide was one of nearly 50,000). The guide’s perspective cannot be taken as representative of the entire school. Sometimes you’ll “click” with a tour guide. Sometimes you won’t. The tour is an important aspect of your overall evaluation of a college. But try to separate the tour from the tour guide. Furthermore, you need to become inquisitive. You need to ask questions of everyone you meet. Walk up to information desks. Ask the woman behind the counter what she thinks of the students. Ask the student at the library reserve desk where he likes to study, or what dorm he lives in, and ask him about his experience. Talk to the waitress at the local diner what the students are like. And most important, try to corner a professor for a few minutes…they are generally the best sources of information of all. Walk around classroom buildings and look for open faculty doors. Introduce yourself as a prospective student and ask a couple of pertinent questions (see my previous post here for some tips of what to ask).
Everyone needs to remember that colleges are businesses. You are a potential customer. Look before you buy. Kick the tires. Go for a test drive. You need to get as much information as possible to know whether the school is right for you.
Don’t pay too much attention to the sales pitch, whether it’s a good one or a bad one. Know what you want. Know what you like. And then compare the options against your criteria.
It takes time. And it often takes guidance. That’s what we independent college consultants provide: expert guidance through the college admissions and selection process.
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting
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More College Data, More College Confusion?

Colleges and universities continue to try to make an end run around US News & World Report’s annual rankings. Everyone in the education business knows that the rankings are great for selling magazines, but poor indications of what makes a college better than another. For in the end, it all depends on what one seeks. Choosing the college that fits is not something that can be boiled down to a formula or algorithm. The choice is deeply personal, so it makes sense to avoid the rankings and search for solid, objective information elsewhere.
According to a recent article in Education Week (registration required), colleges and universities are in the beginning stages of creating their own websites to give data about their “products and services” directly to the “consumer”:the prospective student. Five education associations are planning web portals to allow consumers to compare data directly, and then create their own ratings based on their own criteria. The five organizations include the National Association of Independent Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities plus the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, the Annapolis Group, the Education Conservancy, and the Association of American Universities.
It’s important to keep in mind that US News and World Report rankings constitute only one factor that is leading colleges and universities to disclose student’s test scores, graduation rates, and other information in a consumer-friendly format. The US Department of Education, led by Secretary Margaret Spellings, is another important factor. The same push for accountability that led to “No Child Left Behind” as a way to make meaningful comparisons of K-12 schools is leaking over into the realm of higher education.
Equally important is a dose of skepticism: with five different groups leading this effort, it’s hard to know which source will become the voice of authority. Or whether each of these groups will develop separate methods of reporting. Or whether they could ever replace the US News rankings.

Patrick J. O’Connor, the director of college counseling a the private Roper School in Birmingham, Michigan, and past president of the Alexandria, VA-based National Association for College Admissions Counseling, said many newly minted counselors have had no coursework in college advising.
Given their largely ad hoc, on-the-job training, and their ever-larger student caseloads, he said, “I would imagine that many of them see the rankings as a tool to help them in their first few years to sort things out.
Scott White, the director of guidance at the public Montclair High School in Montclair, NJ, and a 25-year counseling veteran, said he’s encouraged by the rankings-alternative movement, but he’s not sure the idea will take off.
“Having an effective list is important if it’s read and respected, but it’s going to be hard to get it off the ground,” he said.  “US News has really set the bar, not necessarily in terms of the quality of the information, but in terms of what people are reading.”

Assuming that these alternative data sources are successful, what would the availability of raw data mean for prospective college students and their families? Will more data mean easier choices? Unlikely, I think, because (once again) choosing the right college is a deeply personal process.
While greater access to data is generally a good thing, it is not necessarily going to mean that expert college planners (like me) are going to be out of a job. Think of investment advisors. There are all sorts of data about companies that are freely available, but most people trust their investments to fund managers or private investment counselors to do vet the choices and tailor investments to our particular financial circumstances and risk preferences. Or consider real estate agents: the fact that you can surf online and compare properties has not meant the demise of Realtors. And while you could read up on the law using online sources, you’d never, ever want to represent yourself in a lawsuit.
Actually, greater access to information will only increase the need for students and their parents to seek expert advice in navigating the college selection and admissions process. The data can only tell you so much. You may very well need the guidance of an expert to help you interpret that data in light of your personal abilities, interests, and aspirations.
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting
College Planning and Advising
Related post on the US News and World Report rankings.
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Feeding Frenzy: The SATs, Grade Inflation, and Colorado Students

students sitting in a classroom

I attended a counselor briefing organized by the Colorado Council on High School / College Relations. I’m a member, and this annual event is designed to give counselors an update on what’s new at Colorado colleges and universities.
One little statistic caught my attention. The presenter from the western regional office of the College Board cited these two statistics:
11,000 students took the SAT I Reasoning test in Colorado last year.
58% of them reported that they had an “A” grade point average.

So that means that 6,380 students who took the SATs in Colorado had an A average. So if your child is planning to go to a selective college, he or she had better hope to do well on the SAT. Because GPA alone is not going to help him or her stand out in a crowd.

Of course, in Colorado, more students take the ACT than the SAT. In fact, the state mandates (and pays for) every kid to take the ACT.
Still, when you consider how many admission slots are open at the most competitive colleges in the country. And you consider that Colorado is not one of the most populous states in the Union, the competition is going to be pretty stiff.

Either that, or grade inflation truly is rampant, and grades have become meaningless indicators of student achievement. If this is the case, then we might argue that the standardized tests are actually better indicators of student achievement or capability or aptitude than inflated transcripts.

So with the competition so stiff, it makes sense to use every resource available to ensure admission success. That is why 22% of first-year students at private, four-year colleges take advantage of some sort of consulting service during the admission process (according to the Independent Educational Consultants Association–IECA).

Call us now to learn how we can help prepare you for the rigors of the admissions process.

Mark A. Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting

Questions to Ask to Find a Good College Fit

questions word written on a black board

I recently attended a college fair hosted by College That Change Lives. This group of 40 small colleges is selected by a non-profit organization originally run by Loren Pope, who wrote a book by the same name. Several hundred high school students and their families attended, and I went to talk to a few admissions representatives to learn more about those colleges on behalf of my clients.

The organizers handed out a helpful list of questions to ask of admissions officers as students and their families investigate colleges. It is worth sharing with my readers.

On the Academic Environment

  • Do faculty members hold students to high standards?
  • How much time do students spend on work outside of class?
  • What type of evaluations (i.e., exams/papers) do faculty members use most often?
  • What type of thinking do exams and assignments require?
  • How do students receive feedback on academic work, and how often do they receive it?
  • Do students work together on projects?
  • How often are students required to do presentations in class?
  • How often do students discuss ideas in class?
  • Is there a required first-year program and a culminating senior experience?
  • Are students able to easily access courses outside of their major?

On the Campus Environment

  • Do students and faculty serve together on campus committees?
  • How well do students get along with each other?
  • How many students participate in community-based service projects?
  • How easy is it to be involved in student leadership activities?
  • How often do students interact with peers of different racial or ethnic backgrounds or social, political, and religious views?
  • How many students study abroad?
  • What do most students do for fun?
  • Are there opportunities for spiritual activities?
  • What kinds of activities are students involved in outside the classroom, and how accessible are these activities to first-year students?
  • Are activities in music, theater, and fine arts limited to students majoring in these areas?
  • Are the students satisfied with their experience? Would they make the same college choice if they had to do it again?
  • Is athletic participation limited to varsity athletes?
  • What percentage of students are involved in athletics or intramural sports?

On Campus Resources

  • What types of financial aid and academic scholarships are available? Are they renewable each year?
  • Who assists students with course selection and career advising? How often does this happen?
  • How accessible are library and technology resources?
  • What safety/security services are available, and how often do students use them?
  • What health and personal counseling services are available?
  • What career planning and job placement services and/or internship experiences are available? How early can these services be accessed? What data is available on graduate and professional school enrollment and job placement for students?

This is a pretty exhaustive list, but it gives you an idea of how to get beyond the marketing glitz and the official tours. Sometimes you have to get off the beaten track and ask students and random folks you meet on campus about college life.

Further, you need to tailor this list to your individual interests and priorities. My clients call upon me to help them develop a list of priorities, and together we map out a strategy for the college visits. There is no sense traveling half-way across the country to look at colleges just to passively absorb the marketing messages and take a look at the landscaping. You have to have a road map. This is what we provide at Montgomery Educational Consulting. Call us today to help you map your college journey.

Mark Montgomery
Educational Planner
Montgomery Educational Consulting

Top 5 Reasons to Get Great College Advice

FIND THE RIGHT FIT
With over 3,000 colleges and universities in the US, how do I know which is the best match for me? With our first-hand knowledge of colleges and access to the admission profession, we can provide in-depth, personalized advice that no guidebook or website can. We get to know you so that we identify several colleges that will allow you to thrive throughout your college years.
INVEST EDUCATIONAL DOLLARS WISELY
Aside from a home, a college education is the biggest investment that most families will ever make. And yet most would never think of selling their home without the advice of a professional real estate agent. When you consider that the cost of a private 4-year college (tuition, room, and board) ranges from $120,000 to well over $200,000, hiring a professional to help you make a sound investment makes good sense.
PLAY THE ADMISSION GAME LIKE A PRO
Colleges and universities compete for students. And then they deny admission to apparently strong applicants. They market their educational services the way companies sell toothpaste. Then they manipulate the game in a way that favors their national rankings–and not individual students. With our expertise in the field, we shed light on what can be a very opaque and confusing process. At the same time, we maintain a sharp focus on student needs and aspirations.
GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME
On average, the percentage of students who enroll in a college who actually graduate from that same college is under 50%. This means that the many, many transfer to other schools after having made the wrong choice. By guiding you toward colleges that are the best fit for your academic interests, extracurricular pursuits, and personality, you have a much better chance of matriculating and graduating from a school that suits all your needs from start to finish.
MAINTAIN DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY
The college admissions process can be stressful for everyone involved. Much seems to ride on the decision. And the tasks seem endless: choosing appropriate courses, registering and studying for standardized tests, researching colleges, completing applications, writing essays, filling out financial aid forms…the list goes on and on. With all the tension in the air, some families yearn for a way to remove the stress and reestablish equilibrium. We won’t let the process get you down; in fact, we’ll help you enjoy the discoveries along the way.

Colleges Love To Hate US News and World Report

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