Response to Elena: there are few early birds

Posted by Dee 

Glad you sent in your question, Elena! (on the AdmitSpit post titled, “Just got a comment…“)

“What’s the point of sending SAT/ACT scores to colleges before senior year? I was trying to guess-timate the costs of applying to college, and I was guessing it’d be about $100 per college with all the tests and whatnot needed to be sent in addition to the actual app. I’ve heard that large colleges like the UCs don’t bother looking at students’ scores because they receive so many, and I’m guessing many privates hold the same policy? Do you know if colleges keep these files on record, or do you have to re-send the scores when you apply there?”

You are partially correct.

The University of California campuses (and probably also most other large public institutions) DO NOT keep your scores on record if you send them before you

Response to Kathleen: Common App and stickers?

Posted by Dee

Kathleen left a very sweet comment on our latest AdmitSpit post titled, “Just got a comment…” saying:

“… I recently visited a college, and they gave me a sample of the 2006-2007 common application. On this application was a sticker saying “application fee waived”. The problem is, the application is for the 2006-2007 season, and I won’t be applying until this fall. Should I remove the sticker from the common application papers? Also, does the common application require fees to send online?”

I think Kathleen that the whole point was indeed to give you a “sample” of the Common App so you could get the gist of the types of questions they give in essays and short answers, etc. I don’t think that they necessarily actually wanted you to use that 2006-2007 form to apply for the 2007-2008 year. So no, you shouldn’t remove the sticker from the common application papers because you shouldn’t actually use those papers at all (and if you’re thinking of reattaching the sticker to the correct version of the Common App papers, I say that’s just a bad idea!)

The Common App does require fees — but those are simply the fees that the

Just got a comment…

Posted by Dee 

So, we just enabled a comment from Theron on the AdmitSpit post titled “Response to Theron: A-levels, SATs, and decisions, oh my!“

And, first I wanted to say, glad to be of help!

And second, I wanted to say that I’m sorry we haven’t posted for some time now — I must admit I’m sort of stuck for content ideas. Please send comments our way with any issues you have in general about the college admissions process so we can write again!

Thank you, thank you!!

The DBQ: 11 Steps to Success

Posted by Michael

Here are 11 tips that I used to ace the document-based question (DBQ) essay part of the AP US History exam.

1. Use the reading period to its full extent.
And, if you’re not done planning, spend an extra five minutes or so doing so. Planning helps to write a better (maybe shorter) essay as opposed to a longer and badly written one. Readers only have such little time to read each essay, and after reading thousands each day, they’ll look for the most clearly and well thought out to grade higher, and will frown down upon super long, unorganized essays.

2. (ⁿ/₂) + 1.
This is the golden rule in terms of how many documents to use (n = number of docs). It is not important to use all the documents, just use half of them given, plus

A “duh” tip #6

Posted by Dee

When deciding on what college you should go to, talk to people that go to the schools you’re looking at!

In this day and age when there are so many ways to connect to college students (especially via the Internet… facebook anyone?) you should have no excuse about not seeking out information from students who already attend a given school.

Usually students are all about promoting the schools they go to, but they’re also usually pretty honest about any downsides they’ve experienced too — so, don’t be shy! Call them, email them, facebook/myspace message them, instant message them, whatever — just talk to students about their experiences and you may have an easier time dictating your own… especially as that statement to register is due tomorrow folks! May 1st = National Reply Date… good luck!

Marilee… she rolls along

Posted by Dee

Did you hear about MIT’s ex-admissions dean?

Yeah, the one who’s been preaching about not stressing out students and how people should just relax over college admissions and how doing what you love is more important than shooting for an incredible resume, etc. for the past few years?

Well, if you haven’t heard, she just resigned. Why? She lied on her resume… and not something small either! Here are the links to the articles about it… cream-of-the-crop college admissions gossip indeed!

Here’s the Associated Press article about it, and here are the statements released by MIT and Marilee Jones.

All I can say is… total irony.

Appealing UC admissions decisions

Posted by Dee

Denied admission to a UC you really wanted to attend? You may be able to appeal the decision. Know that each UC campus deals with appeals for admissions decisions separately and they each differ in their policies. Below is a breakdown for each campus based on the information I could find about their appeals process; I regret if some of the information in terms of deadlines is now obselete!

UC Berkeley: No information about the appeals process on their website that I could find.

UC Los Angeles: Basically UCLA says that you can appeal if you “bring to light new academic and personal information… that was not present in the application” and that high senior year grades are not a basis for appealing. You’d need to send a letter requesting your application to be reconsidered; this should be postmarked April 16, 2007. The letter needs to explain reasons for appealing the decision, including “new and compelling” information that doesn’t repeat what’s already in your app. Also, you can include up to two letters of recommendation with your

How “x” does academics: x = UCLA

Posted by Rotem 

At first I was intimidated to come to such a large school like UCLA, but I have found that classes are not as daunting as I expected.

UCLA runs on a quarter system. Fall, winter, and spring quarters are each ten weeks long with one week for finals. Fall quarter begins in late September, and Spring quarter ends in mid-June. There are also two summer sessions that are each six weeks long. The quarter system is a great way to try out many classes you are interested in. And if you dislike a class, it goes by fast anyways!

Students need a minimum of 180 units to graduate. Unfortunately, there is also a

They told you to wait

Posted by Doreen 

I know how frustrating it is to be waitlisted. I applied to six private schools last year, five of which were Ivies, and when I got the responses from the Ivy schools, two of the five had waitlisted me, one of which was one of my top choice schools.

Naturally I was frustrated — yes I had other options – I had other great schools I could go to in the fall, but being waitlisted was almost as bad as being rejected since I had little idea about where I stood! Should I wait around for their response before submitting an affirmative answer and deposit for another school? When would they make a final decision on my admission? Would they ever make a final decision or would they just leave me hanging forever? Did being waitlisted and then getting accepted make me less than my peers who were accepted first? How many other people were waitlisted? Did they rank the waiting list? How can I find out how high up I am on the list? Or… how low I am on the list?! If there is a list that is… the unanswered questions go on and on. So, here are some thoughts in retrospect.

The decision letter:

The letter they send you saying that you’re waitlisted will tell you little beyond the fact that you were put on the waiting list; they’ll probably comment that you’re a great student and that there were so many qualified students that they couldn’t have space for all of the wonderful applicants and yadda yadda. Some schools may include percentages of applicants that were waitlisted with you, but this is rare — usually they leave you in the dark on those things.

The postcard:

Usually, the school will give you the option though of staying on the waitlist or not.

Decisions are out: season 2007

Posted by Doreen 

So decisions are mostly all out for most of the colleges and universities across the country, and whether you’re in heartache or heaven right now, we’ve got a lot of content planned for you readers for the next few days… here’s what’s on the schedule, folks:

Tonight: Post about being waitlisted to the private universities

Later (yeah, I know that’s not very specific!): A post about connecting online to fellow accepted students, a post about admit weekends, an article about academics at UCLA, a post about being accepted for the spring semester at a school but not for fall freshman status, and a post about contesting a declined admission for the UCs.