Two Articles relating to College Admission

Both are interesting reads. The first one is about Skidmore College, my former institution, and a candid look behind their admissions decisions. The second is an op. ed. piece by a the Director of Admission at Pitzer College, a classmate of mine at Skidmore.

"The Silver Lining of the Recession"

Article in the Washington Post can be found here

Senior Slump

With spring in the air, it's only natural for students to let down a bit in their studies. It's also decision time for my counter parts on the other side of the desk, admissions counselors. While admission committees are busy making decisions, they are also checking grades of the students admitted through early decision. At my former institution, we would check for drops in performance for our accepted class and there were three levels of response from us (or three levels of "nots"). There was the "Naughty letter," the "Naughty, Naughty letter" and the "Not coming letter," or the relinquishment of your acceptance letters. Many schools are infamous for doing this (probably the UC system in California is most known for this- quite ironic given what happened at UCSD this week). So why rescind admissions decisions? At the end of the day, the most important statistic that colleges and universities are trying protect and improve is retention and graduation rate, or simply the percentage of students returning the next year or graduating in 4 years. A student enrolling with a declining academic performance is (theoretically) not as well prepared to do well in college (at least not as well as someone who is performing well through graduation). The St. Luke's School College Counseling experience should not be about getting in to college, but more importantly, to prepare for college. So with decision letters out, please continue to excel in your classes and activities.

"The Beauty of America"

Sure, there are a number of things that makes the United States an incredible place to live. Ironically, I failed to recognize one of the amazing things about our country. Give Mr. Izzo, seventh grade English teacher credit. We were talking the other day, specifically about my radio show on Tuesday, and he brought up the notion that one of America's strengths is the fact that we have thousands of these amazing academic campuses spread across the country.
Food for thought

NY Times Q and A with Four Admission Deans

Article found here.

PSAT and PACT scores; What does it all mean?

The sophomores and juniors at SLS have recently received their PSAT and PACT scores. We know the score report can be somewhat confusing so please feel free to call Mr. Smitobol at 801 4959 with help interpreting your score report. We also have a list of test prep companies/people available in this area.

This link explains the key differences between the PSAT and SAT exam.

Sophomore Advising (November-December)

I have started to meet with sophomores in my office. I have met with approximately half of the class and look forward to meeting the rest of the class as soon as possible. Please advise any sophomores to come to my office (321) during their free period for an individual or group meeting. The meeting serves as an informal way for the college counseling office to get to know this class at an important time in their high school career. The meetings are very relaxed and students do not need to bring anything.