James Conroy, New Trier Township High School, Winnetka, Illinois

Posted on Wed, 11/02/2011 - 21:14

Each month we feature a high school college counselor so you can get to know them -- their pet peeves and personal heroes -- but also so you can learn something from all that they know about applying to college.

This month we welcome James Conroy, Chair of the Post-High School Counseling Department at New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. A graduate of Michigan State University, where he received a B.S. in political science, Conroy also holds a Masters in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  Born just outside Boston, Conroy later moved with his family to Grosse Pointe, Michigan, but a trace of the Bay State remains in his speech. Conroy and his staff counsel about 2,000 juniors and seniors each year at New Trier, where he has been a tireless -- and bracingly honest, we suspect -- advocate for college applicants for the last twenty-six years. 

Dean of Admission Lee Coffin, Tufts University

Posted on Tue, 11/01/2011 - 19:11

This month 5 Questions for the Dean is delighted to host Lee A. Coffin, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Tufts University inMedford, Massachusetts. Join Dean Coffin to hear more about Tufts' creative "optional" essays and the school's future direction. And did you know that the Tufts all-male a cappella group The Beelzebubs are the voice behind Glee's Warblers?!?

Lee A. Coffin, Tufts University

Posted on Tue, 11/01/2011 - 19:09

This month 5 Questions for the Dean is delighted to host Lee A. Coffin, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Join Dean Coffin to hear more about Tufts' creative "optional" essays and the school's future direction. And did you know that the Tufts all-male a cappella group The Beelzebubs are the voice behind Glee's Warblers?!?

1. Tufts is known for its “optional” essays on the application—for example, creating a video, or the direction to do something with a piece of paper.  What is the value of giving applicants an alternate means of expressing themselves?

 

There are a couple of important questions bunched together in this one, so let me split up my answer.

More Opportunity for Students

Posted on Mon, 10/31/2011 - 20:40

In More Students Migrate Away From Home, the Chronicle of Higher Education looks at the expansion of public universities' recruiting efforts across the country. In some cases that reflects budget problems at universities where declining state revenues have made bringing in higher tuition out-of-state students a larger priority. But in general this is good news for students as it opens up more universities -- and opportunities -- across the country to them.

Financial Aid: Deconstructed

Posted on Fri, 10/28/2011 - 18:56

Here's a nifty video presented at the College Board Forum by Duke University's  financial aid director -- and College Admission contributor -- Alison Rabil. You'll find it here in this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education, which makes the valuable observation that "words that mean one thing in regular conversation can mean something entirely different in the financial-aid office."

Can you negotiate merit aid?

Posted on Thu, 10/27/2011 - 18:24

The Choice blog at the New York Times has a nice round-up on the “Merit Aid Negotiation” panel at the annual College Board conference which aimed to answer the question we posed in our headline here. The panel included two Deans of Admission featured in True Admissions' "5 Questions" -- Purdue's Pamela Horne and University of Chicago's Jim Nondorf. Check it out here.

Media Madness

Posted on Wed, 10/26/2011 - 22:26

Headlines we hate: "Volunteering. A Secret Step to Make You Really Stand Out." First of all, there are no secrets in college admission. And, in fact, this particular canard has achieved the status of myth it's been around so long. The truth: NO ONE ACTIVITY is necessarily valued more than another by admission offices.