There have been several articles lately concerning the rising number of applications to Ivies such as Harvard and Princeton. Janet Frankston Lorin’s Bloomberg article says, “More students are seeking admission to top-ranked universities because they think a degree from these schools can help them land a job after graduation, particularly during a time of economic uncertainty.” While this seems like a smart and obviously good choice, there are other options out there.

New Ivies

The rising tide in terms of qualified applicants to Ivy and other elite schools has created a bumber crop of “Sub-Ivy” category colleges. These new elite include some of the nation’s best liberal arts colleges and universities with that have experienced skyrocketing application rates including, on the West Coast, The Claremont Colleges (Pomona, Claremont, Scripps and Pitzer colleges) and Occidental, Reed and Whitman colleges, In the South ,Vanderbilt University, Univeristy of Richmond and Washington and Lee University, and Davidson College; In the Northeast these new ivies include: Sarah Lawrance, Hamilton College and Colgate University and in the Mid-West Carleton, Colorado, Macalester, and Washington University have all benefitted greatly from this increased competition to become a new defacto group of Sub-Ivies.

The rise of West Coast colleges can now be measured in terms of both the quality and quantity of applicants. West Coast universities and liberal arts colleges now feature more prominently in the admission picture and often overlap increasingly with Ivy League and Little Ivy (Amherst, Wesleyan and Williams) applications. “West Coast Ivies” include: Caltech, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Occidental, Pomona, Reed, Scripps, Stanford, USC, and Whitman.

Which College Grads Earn the Most?

Most data show that attending certain elite liberal arts colleges may give applicants to graduate school better preparation thus resulting in better access to premium jobs like consulting and investment banking, etc. But now a very interesting Business Week article tells us just how much these graduates may expert to earn versus those from top research universities. For example, among the Ivies, the leading earner is Dartmouth College– not Cornell or Harvard as we might expect. “Interestingly, median starting salaries for alumni of MIT, California Institute of Technology, and Harvey Mudd College, which have strong engineering programs, are the highest in the country ($75,500, $72,200, and $71,800). But the salaries do not get as high for midcareer professionals from those schools as they do for graduates of the elite liberal arts schools.”

It may surprise parents to learn that Bucknell University’s mid-career grads often earn more than MIT’s or that Dartmouth grads earn, on average, more at mid-career than any other school in the country. According to a recent survey published in Business Week, where you go to school matters because “a strong network of well-positioned alumni can lay the foundation for a high-paying job”. This is a network you buy with your tuition dollars. (Source: Which College Grads Earn the Most, Newsweek, 2008)

What are colleges and universities really looking for in admission?

FIrst, you should know that colleges are selfish—first they must meet institutional needs. What really matters to colleges isn’t what you think and it changes. It is a “what’s-in-it-for-me?” approach to admission on behalf of colleges.

Here is what colleges often look for:

-high class rank (GPA), test scores (SAT/ACT) to improve their image
-academic success in specific areas to further their mission and improve their image; strong academic symbols help, preferably at the state or national levels
-developing leaders to improve their reputations; strong extra-curricular leadership helps; state or national level
-winning sports teams–you might help if you are recruited to play for the college’s team
-money to grow their nest-egg (endowment); meaning for example, that you do not require financial aid.

Image enhancement is a pre-occupation with colleges and universities. They worry about being relevant and thriving in the long term. How does this effect the applicant? Applicants who get in do so because they further the aims and goals of a particular college or university–in other words, they help enhance the college’s image.

Some advice to college applicants: there is more to admission than your GPA/SAT’s. While colleges need this information, they will often go far beyond grades and test scores in making their final admission determinations. You should think about what you bring to colleges that will help them achieve their goals. Extra-curriculars are key; I would say nearly 50% of the total admission picture

Colleges are looking for individual experts and NOT looking for well-rounded generalists. Find something you care about and excel at the state or national competition level.

Athletics is often one of the top routes to admission. Another thing to consider is that most top tier schools do not offer scholarship money to athletes– they just just admit the person. Be sure to take an active role in the recruiting process. You should start by giving coaches at your colleges a resume and cover letter and possibly a video of your skills and competitive play.

For more information about how to stand out from the pack in the admission process, please review our college consulting services: http://www.collegematchus.com/services.html

Students are individuals. But, unfortunately, colleges can’t admit everyone who looks worthy. Students have to communicate what it is about them that will be of possible value to a specific college. This means managing effectively not just data like grades and test scores, but taking time to cultivate depth in particular area such as a hobby or activity outside of class. Say, for example, that a high school junior volunteers in community soup kitchen and also has penchant for designing and building architectural-model houses. It would be best to begin to unify the disparate and unrelated activities into one symbol, such as the creation of actual homes in the community for low-income residents.

While 30 percent of adults in the U.S. hold a bachelors degree, today 65 percent of all high school seniors are applying to four-year colleges, both illustrating the cultural and economic necessity of higher education and further compounding the college admission challenge. And many students and their families are ill prepared for the process of college application, let alone planning.

A unique approach to college counseling based on student history and identity, strategic communication throughout the application process, careful analysis of target schools’ applicant pool and current study body, and specific admission needs and goals. Robin Mamlet, former Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at Stanford, recently noted that the applicants offered admittance displayed talents and academic excitement that fit perfectly into the Stanford community. With so many students applying for college today, admissions offices increasingly use this criterion in the final cut: Who are the students who would fit best and benefit most from what their schools offer. Unfortunately, this is an area frequently overlooked or under-examined by many applicants today.

Starting the planning process earlier and using an education consultant to develop a communications strategy, a student’s chances for admission to a college of his or her choice can be improved dramatically – in some cases by as much as 50 percent. It is more important than ever to understand each student’s strengths, weaknesses and passions in order to apply to the appropriate range of colleges.