kitchen table math, the sequel: deferred admissions

Monday, April 11, 2011

deferred admissions

Interesting article in the Times today:

Admission to College, With Catch: Year’s Wait

By LISA W. FODERARO
Published: April 10, 2011

How difficult is it to transfer into a selective school?
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9 comments:

MagisterGreen said...

Hmmm...apart from the obvious ploy to help "selective" schools game the ranking systems by letting them claim they only admit the very topmost students while quietly admitting less-than-top students (along with their tuition checks) through the downstairs entrance, I wonder how much of this is a response to under-prepared students coming out of high schools around the country. One certainly hears enough of high-GPA students being placed in remedial classes for writing, math, etc..., and it rather makes the cynical side of me run off on flights of imaginative fancy.

Of course, good luck ever getting colleges to admit to anything other than the very purest of intentions. Heh.

April 11, 2011 at 1:24 PM
Anonymous said...

All of the stats about success, completion, etc. are based on "first-time freshmen who enroll in the fall."

Students outside of that specific description are not included in statistics.

We find that our athletic department encourages spring enrollment for many of their most notable recruits.

April 11, 2011 at 1:32 PM
Catherine Johnson said...

lollll!

As I understand it, both NYU and U. Penn have '2nd tier' programs that exist primarily as a replacement team of students who move into the liberal arts program when others drop out or transfer.

The article mentions NYU's 'liberal studies' program, which I think is the 'feeder' program that keeps enrollment stable.

Until I read the article, the rankings hadn't occurred to me as a rationale for having a separate, less-selective program.

I **think** that students in 'liberal studies' take the same courses students in the liberal arts college take (but I'll ask Ed).

April 11, 2011 at 2:16 PM
ChemProf said...

Really selective liberal arts colleges (say the top 20 on the US News and World Reports list) have quite high retention rates and so don't admit many transfers. For the rest of us, transfers are an important source of students, and yes, they don't count in many of the retention statistics that are used to compare schools.

April 11, 2011 at 7:21 PM
Jean said...

AFAIK Berkeley's been doing it for years with selected JCs. The deal was that if you got a high enough GPA at your JC--it had to be one on their list, not just any one--you were guaranteed admission to Cal as a junior. My brother did it 10 years ago, but I don't know if it's still something they do. By now there might be too many students with stellar GPAs at those JCs.

It seems fine to me--lots of students hit their stride after high school and prove their worth, and after all, top colleges have to turn away zillions of entirely qualified candidates. My brother was a very good HS student--but so were thousands of other kids.

I was admitted as a second-semester freshman. I didn't get in the first round, but I did qualify to apply for the second semester, so I did and got in. Some freshmen crash and burn quite soon, so a little space opens up. (For example, the valedictorian from the other HS in my town--he got a ton of scholarships, which he spent on a car and enjoying his freedom. Oops.)

April 11, 2011 at 9:11 PM
Anonymous said...

Seven of the UCs have Transfer Admission Guarantee programs:
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/transfer/guarantee/index.html

April 11, 2011 at 10:37 PM
Bonnie said...

Schools have had those second tier programs for years. I went to Boston University back in the early 80's - they had a 2 year program called the College of Basic Studies(CBS) where students who didn't meet the "official" acceptance criteria were placed. I was a regular admit, but it often seemed that we were outnumbered by CBS admits. I think it worked out well for everyone - most CBS students were able to transfer into the regular programs after their 2 year CBS stint was up. In any case, this isn't a new thing.

April 12, 2011 at 5:35 AM
Crimson Wife said...

My brother was a bit of a "late bloomer" in high school. He got much better grades in 11th & 12th than he did in 9th & 10th. He had strong SAT's but his overall H.S. GPA was only around a 3.6 because of his weak performance early on. He got admitted to the spring semester at a "name brand" school and went on to graduate with honors.

April 12, 2011 at 8:04 AM
Jean said...

Or there's my middle brother--he spent all of HS thinking about nothing but skateboards and bass guitars. Now he's a tenure-track professor. Go figure.

April 12, 2011 at 8:37 AM

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