Best MBA, or EMBA Programs for Women

Pinkmagazine.com, a professional resource site for women, posted a list of their favorite business schools for women.  While the article focuses on MBA or EMBA programs, it is an important read for any female student thinking about an undergraduate business degree.  Business schools that have targeted programs for female graduate students often have similar programs for undergraduates as well.  These programs can lead to opportunities for networking, finding mentors and access to majors that women tend to find more interesting.  The bottom line is that business schools are definitely looking for strong female applicants and are creating some exciting opportunities to get more females to think about a business degree.
 
Katherine Price
Educational Consultant
Technorati Tags: best business schools for women, women business degrees, undergraduate business degree,

Land-Grant Universities Consider Restructuring to Cope Budget Crisis

Public universities, including the land grant universities, are being hard hit by the economic downturn. An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education today (registration required) reports on a survey of the members of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities.
Sixty of the 87 responding institutions say that they have experienced cuts to their state appropriations for the 2010 fiscal year, ranging from 5 to 20 percent.
How are the universities responding?

Laying off tenured or tenure-track faculty members was one of the least-common cost-cutting measures taken by responding institutions. Other uncommonly used approaches included redirecting restricted donations, eliminating athletics teams, laying off graduate assistants or student workers, and reducing scholarships.
To bolster their revenue, institutions have increased in-state tuition by a median amount of just over 7 percent, the survey found. The median increase for out-of-state students was close to 6 percent.
Institutions have also plugged their budget gaps with some of the nearly $40-billion in federal stimulus money meant to shore up public-school and higher-education appropriations for the current and coming fiscal cycles.

What does this mean for students planning their college futures?  Well, for students looking to institutions in their home states, be prepared for things like larger classes, reduced administrative support (and efficiency), and cuts to some programs.  Athletes should also research whether their sport may be likely to be cut during their four years–if you sign to a school that then eliminates its program, you’re out of luck.
Students who would like to attend a land-grant institution outside their home state may find it easier to get accepted this year, as institutions scramble to increase revenue by finding out-of-state families willing to pay the full price of admission.  (As always, money talks).
For a full listing of the members of the APLU, go here: https://www.aplu.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=249 .The list includes many of the major public universities in the United States:  UCLA, Berkeley, University of Colorado, University of Connecticut, University of Alabama, etc.), but also a few private universities (notably MIT and Cornell)
Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant

Carnival of College Admissions: Alex Takes Off!

The newest edition of the Carnival of College Admission is now up and running over at Accepted.com. You’ve got to take a look!

Not only are there great resources, but the story is clever. This is a fine community of bloggers who focus on the transition from high school to college. If you haven’t checked this out yet, the time is now!

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant


PS:  If you have a passion for furniture art, you might want to consider some art chairs.


M.I.T. Considers Increase in Student Body by 300–and Swears It's Not About Revenue

During rough economic times, it’s hard to get at the reasons college make policy changes. According to Jacques Steinberg in today’s New York Times, M.I.T. is considering an increase in the size of its student body.

On its face, this is simply a move to return the campus to the size it was back in the 1980s and 1990s, when 4,500 students roamed the Cambridge campus.  But with a policy change back then that required all freshmen to live in dormitories, the campus enrollment fell to about 4,200.  So the move seems like an attempt to return the campus to its traditional, historic size.

The Dean of Admission, Stewart Schmill, denies that the move to increase the student body has anything to do with revenue targets.  He pointed out that new dormitories will need to be built (which generally pay for themselves quite nicely, as the rents are guaranteed). He also pointed out that the move to expand enrollment may not happen in one fell swoop.  Plus, M.I.T. practices “need blind” admissions, so more financial aid will have to be allocated to the 300 new students.

I’m skeptical, frankly.  The fact is that many universities, especially large, research-oriented universities, have budgets that depend on a healthy revenue stream from undergraduate admissions.  It’s simply a numbers game–a sort of revenue pyramid.  In order to pay for expensive graduate programs, universities need plenty of undergrads to provide the bedrock financial foundation to support them.  Undergrad course sizes can be bigger so that graduate courses can be smaller.

So when a major institution of any type makes a decision to expand–or contract–and swears that the motivation has nothing to do with economics–well, I’m just a teensy bit cynical.

Here’s my logic.  Colleges are businesses.  Businesses make decisions based not on nostalgia, but on the financial interests of the business.  Ergo….

Whatever the truth, we’ll likely never know much more than what Schmill told Steinberg.  A private university like M.I.T. can keep its finances private.  So we’ll just take Schmill at his word.  Nostalgia for those halcyon days of 4,500!  Oh, how we miss those vital 300 students, who made our campus so much more vibrant and fun.  Ah, me….

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant

Technorati Tags: MIT, M.I.T., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, admission, budget, administration, enrollment, New York Times, Stuart Schmill, Jacques Steinberg, policy, higher education Del.icio.us Tags: MIT, M.I.T., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, admission, budget, administration, enrollment, New York Times, Stuart Schmill, Jacques Steinberg, policy, higher education

Social Stereotypes and Campus Life–Carnegie Mellon University

College campuses have social stereotypes:

The geeky, intellectual campus.

The very conservative campus, both socially and politically

The earthy-crunchy campus where veganism is common

The laid-back, middle-of-the-road, “I-don’t-take-life-too-seriously” sort of place

The quirky campus full of off-beat individuals


Carnegie Mellon University has a reputation for attracting intellectually-intense math and science geeks who are studying computers, engineering, or likely both.  Students have sallow complexions from too many late nights in the lab or the library, and they think a social life is sitting next to someone while in the computer lab working on their problem sets.

Actually, CMU is more diverse than that.  It has a renown drama school and and excellent College of Fine Arts.  So there are plenty  of artsy-fartsy types, too.

Part of my job as a counselor is to visit colleges and investigate for myself the degree to which these stereotypes are true. And sometimes you just have to ask a student (or two or three or four) to get an idea of the sort of student who would be happy on that campus.

So I did.  I talked to a student about the stereotypes, and here is what he had to say.



Mark Montgomery
College Consultant



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Even Harvard Has Faced Budget Cuts

No more free hot breakfast?  The dance team sharing space with Harvard Taekwondo?  Recently, the NY Times reported on the budget adjustments being made at Harvard.  Administrators made some difficult decisions last spring, but after some controversy, students are now being included in the conversation.  Just goes to show that even the world’s richest university is affected by the current state of the economy.
Katherine Price

Like a Good Neighbor…

In yesterday’s Chronicle of Higher Education, a short article commented on a new survey that examined the relationship between colleges and universities and their surrounding towns. The results were presented at the annual conference of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities and top honors went to the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California.
Why is it important for colleges and universities to have good “civic partnerships” with their surrounding towns?
Well, a town is an extension of a college campus. Students should not only feel comfortable on campus, but they should also be excited to explore the world outside of the campus gates.
Also, towns and cities can determine if a college or universities is allowed to complete certain campus improvement projects, such as new buildings or stadiums. If there is a poor relationship, sometimes those projects may be delayed.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this survey recognizes schools that have given back to their communities. Community service is a great opportunity for any college student and it is great for students to see positive results right outside their front doors.
 
Katherine Price
Educational Consultant

The Numbers Are In!

Inside Higher ED published a story earlier this week on a survey that was released by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).  According to the survey, 90 percent of colleges saw an increase in financial aid applications this year.  While this number is not that surprising given the state of economy, some of the other numbers published do raise some eyebrows.  It is no secret that colleges were worried about enrollment decreases this fall due to “summer melt” (students who deposit, then decide to attend another institution over the summer) and no shows.  However, the numbers were not that staggering after all.  Another interesting note is that enrollment appears to be up for both public and private institutions.  So, what does this mean for the class of 2010?  Well, according to the article, several college officials reported that they plan to continue to use strategies such as offering admission to more applicants and increasing the amount of financial aid.    Don’t get too excited though. Even if a college increases the number of students they admit, they still probably won’t stray too far from their typical admitted student profile. Also, since increasing the number of admitted students and financial aid do not seem to be long-term strategies, it will be interesting to see what lies ahead for future college applicants.
Katherine Price
Educational Consultant
Technorati Tags: college enrollment numbers, college admission, NACAC, Insider Higher ED

I’d DYE to be a Yalie

A Dartmouth classmate send me a link to this video, developed by some of the creative minds of the Jack O’Lantern at Dartmouth.  Dr. Seuss got his start at the Jacko.

It’s some good admissions-related humor for a busy Friday afternoon.  Hope you enjoy.




Mark Montgomery
College Planner and Jacko Enthusiast

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Ivy League Education Leaves Man Homeless

Sometimes people think that an Ivy League education will guarantee success in life. Well, it all depends on your vision of success.

Ted Pascoe and I attended Dartmouth around the same time. Now he’s homeless.

By choice.

Sometimes you just have to take a stand. The non-profit program Ted runs for homeless seniors in Denver suffered a severe budget cut at the hands of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG). Incensed, Ted has decided to join his clients–by sleeping on the streets.

Some may call it crazy. Others will call it leadership. Ted is a gutsy guy. And get this: his mom is proud of him. Not many Ivy League grads would be so lucky.

Mark Montgomery