Many colleges and universities have now postponed, from today (May 1st) until June 1st, the deadline for accepted students to formally enroll and submit their deposit money to join their college community. That gives students a bit more time, but not very much, to analyze so many factors that have suddenly come into play.
Since so much is still unknown, and will be for some time, students have to honestly weigh their priorities. They need to consider whether they are still thrilled at the prospect of being a part of their intended college community even if they will be attending their first semester classes online from home with absolutely no collegiate social life (football games to attend, sororities and fraternities to join, hundreds or even thousands of new people to meet).
Don’t throw out your SAT prep book just yet. While College Board has now announced the cancellation of the June 6th SAT exam, it has also clarified its plans for the future. The SAT will be offered on August 29, September 26, October 3, November 7 and December 5.
Students should not be lulled into complacency by announcements from some colleges that they will not be requiring SAT scores from the next applicant pool. Colleges are concerned with getting the greatest number of applicants as possible and will therefore do whatever they need to do to get on the radar of college-bound students. The more applications a college receives, the more competitive it can be in selecting its next incoming class. Those students who submit impressive scores will certainly have a leg up on those who choose to skip the exam.
“What is your four-year graduation rate?” This may be one of the most important questions that college-bound students and their parents can ask when considering a potential college. An article in Money magazine stated, “the failure to graduate students in four years has become so commonplace that schools are now showing you their six-year graduation rate.” Unfortunately, that fact often is not very evident.
The “Best Colleges” Guide by U.S. News & World Report, considered a top resource of college information, lists the graduation rate as one of its key criteria in ranking hundreds of colleges and universities. Readers may assume it indicates a four-year graduation rate. But buried on page 62 is a sentence indicating that it is actually a six-year graduation rate.
April 1st has passed. That’s the deadline day for most colleges to let students know whether or not they’ve been accepted. Now the ball is in the student’s court! Many students find themselves with a pile of acceptance letters (or emails). How should students make this pivotal decision?
First of all, remember the purpose of college. It’s certainly intended to make students more educated, in general, and more aware of the world and the issues surrounding them. But, more pragmatically, most students attend college with the goal of preparing for a career that will support them for the rest of their lives. So the best choice college is often the one with the strongest program in a student’s intended field of study. A little research will reveal the mid-career salary of alumni from all of the colleges under consideration, as well as the acceptance rate at medical and dental schools, law schools and graduate programs.
