Tufts - College Admission Counseling

Best College Admission Video Essays–A Positive Trend?

Jared Hobson — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:19:02 +0000

Newsweek Magazine online recently put up a video montage about video essays that some colleges and universities are now accepting as part of the admissions process.
The video is fun to watch. Some of the ideas are pretty funny. And some of them are totally lame.
But my question is this: do admissions folks really think that these videos are important in the admissions decision? They may alleviate the boredom of reading yet another essay about some kid’s grandma or how Marie Curie provides inspiration to a budding scientist. But are they really necessary? At what point does the admissions decision revolve around marketing and self-promotion–instead of academic excellence and performance? What can you glean from these videos that you cannot get from teacher recommendations and the standard application?
Or is it that admissions counselors–mostly young people of the YouTube generation–just want to be entertained at work?
All these silly supplemental essay prompts add to the anxiety of the applications process. I spend an inordinate amount of my time counseling students on their essays, brainstorming topics, reviewing outlines, and editing for concision. If I’m to believe my colleagues at the Independent Educational Consultants Association, perhaps as many as 25% of students applying to selective universities use a consultant like me to help them figure out how to respond to these nutty prompts. Some colleges like Tufts, Wake Forest, and the University of Chicago have multiple wacky essays to complete. Is it any wonder that the college consulting profession is growing? Soon I’ll be a videographic consultant, too!
Have a look at this video of videos. And then think about whether this is a positive trend, or a negative one. Leave me a comment and share your thoughts.

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant

The post Best College Admission Video Essays–A Positive Trend? first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

Sick of College Essays? Apply to Tufts via YouTube

Jared Hobson — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:39:48 +0000

Tufts University is making a buzz from its new admissions option. Instead of writing yet another essay (Tufts requires quite a few), applicants were given the option of sending a 1 minute YouTube video.
More than 1,000 applicants took the challenge. This practice may revolutionize admissions. I wonder how many other colleges will offer this option next year?
Take a look at this article from the The Boston Globe. You can also see this article from the New York Times. And if you want to see some of the videos, just hit YouTube an go for Tufts Admissions. You’ll find bazillions. See which ones impress you!
Mark Montgomery
Educational Planner

The post Sick of College Essays? Apply to Tufts via YouTube first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

Early Decision Acceptances Rise at Tufts: A Harbinger?

Jared Hobson — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:15:25 +0000

An article in the Tufts Daily indicates that the university has accepted quite a few more students from its Early Decision pool than last year: 12% more.

It could be, as the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions says in the article, that the pool of ED applicants at Tufts was just outstanding this year. Or it could be that Tufts is hedging its bets in a tough economy and taking more from this pool of students guaranteed to matriculate.

While most admissions officers have a tough time admitting it, their desks are heaving with applications from qualified students. At the margins, the qualitative difference between the student who is denied and the student who is admitted is negligible. (See my article here about the randomness of college admission–as documented by admissions officers themselves).

I will be interested to see if Early Decision acceptances are up at other selective colleges. I will not be surprised if they are. Nor will I be surprised if deans of admissions swear on stacks of Bibles that the reason for this trend is the increased quality in their applicant pools. (Was the Tufts ED pool really 12% better–qualitatively?)

Colleges are businesses. They have budgets. And admissions offices are the sales and marketing arms of these big businesses.

So we’ll see how things continue to shake out in this admissions cycle.

Great College Advice

The post Early Decision Acceptances Rise at Tufts: A Harbinger? first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

More College Rankings: Best Global Universities

Jared Hobson — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:31:18 +0000

The Times Higher Education in the UK recently released its rankings of the top 200 universities in the world. Seven out of the top 10 are American universities. Can you guess which ones are near the top of the list?

I did my undergraduate work at number 54, earned my doctorate at number 157, was a graduate teaching fellow at number 1, and was a professor for four years at number 39.

Not too shabby.

Mark Montgomery

College Consultant

The post More College Rankings: Best Global Universities first appeared on College Admission Counseling.