Inside the Admission Office

. . . What Every Family Needs to Know in

an increasingly Competitive College
Environment

Don Betterton
Betterton College Planning
dbett@princeton.edu
 Types of Colleges ~(4200 total)
In the U.S. there is a higher education opportunity for every
level of student interest and ability. My categories:

Category # Description
Register & 190 Routine enrollment
attend 0 process
Specialty Admit on interest and
schools 300 talent
Meet Basic 165 Admit > 75% of
Std. 0 applicants
Competitive Admit 40% - 75% of
250 applicants
 2000 4-yr 1650
Meet Basic Standards
C+/B Avg (7’s and below)

Top 1/2 to 1/3

Competitive SAT 450-600

Selective
(7’s, 8’s, 9’s,10’s) Pre-College Courses (10’s, 11’s, 12’s)

Some participation 75
250 Good HS Citizen A Avg
B +/A- Avg Top 5-10%

Top 15-20% SAT 700’s

SAT 600-700 Almost all Honors/AP

Strong
Some Honors, AP
Activities/Talent,
25 Personal
Good
Activities/Talent, A/A+ Avg Top of
Class
Personal
SAT Mid /High 700’s Most
All Hard Courses Selective
Unusually Strong (13’s, 14’s)
Activities, Talent,
Personal in
combination

No Negatives
© Betterton College Planning, LLC
 Competitive and Selective
Although these colleges make up only
about 20% of the 4-yr schools, more than
½ of undergrads attend one of them.

• They are the types of colleges where good

admission planning is needed.

• They tend to be more expensive and

information about how to pay, with or
without aid, is important.
 Admission Recruiting Methods Create
Unrealistic Expectations

• It is hard to judge where a student stands

because colleges send “We Want You”
messages knowing they will only admit some
of the students they encourage to apply.

• Beware of cheerful assurances by admission

reps
Why is it Harder Than When Your Parents
Went to College?

• In Econ 101 language, it’s because of the

relationship between supply and demand.
 Supply and Demand
• Supply is steady.
 While there are many more students seeking to attend
college, the number of openings has remained about the
same.

• Demand is growing overall.

 The number of high school grads has never been higher.
• Now about 3.3M
 The percent going to college is increasing.
• From 45% to nearly 2/3 since 1980’s
 More international students want to study in U.S.

Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac 2008

 What to Do
When you are among a great many who want to attend
a competitive college, it pays to know the selection
standards.

This knowledge can help in 2 ways:

• It can help you prepare, both inside and outside the
classroom, to meet those standards
 Courses, grades, standard tests
 Achievement, activities

• It can help you make a realistic college list

 Life Isn’t Easy in Admissions
• While admission offices strive to
generate more applications, it does
create a problem.

• There are more and more students to

evaluate, and it is increasingly hard
to choose among them.
 Consider:
There is academic “Bunching”

Increased enrollment in hard courses

• Honors, AP, International Baccalaureate
• College courses in high school, summer
enrichment
Distinctions are blurred
• Grade inflation
• Multiple valedictorians
• SAT re-centering, take the highest score,
subject tests, ACT strategy
• Test prep courses (ePrep recommended)
 And
There is personal “Polishing”

• Students are more savvy about building a resume

with activities and accomplishments, strategizing
the essay, using summer for extra college prep

• High schools feel the pressure -- reluctant to lessen

student chances – inflation in teacher and
counselor recs
 To Complicate Matters Further ..
 College admission offices have a split personality
• They are a meritocracy
 Admit the best
• They also practice “institutional engineering”
 Admit to meet other objectives

 The result is not one, but two admissions processes

• One for “Untagged” applicants
• One for “Tagged” applicants

 This is where confusion increases and predictability decreases.

 What To Do
• The most common reason a good student does not get
admitted to a competitive college is that he is in the
Untagged category and doesn’t realize the admission
standards for him are well above the published averages.

• In fact, there may not be that many average admits.

A public university publishes: 1300 SAT, 3.6 GPA
(1400, 3.9 out-of-state; 1000, 3.2 in-state)

• In making college list and estimating chances, important to

know if you are Untagged or Tagged.
 Special Categories

 The 4 most common Tagged categories are:

• Recruited athlete (+25-30%)
• Underrepresented minority (+25-30%)
• Legacy (+10-15%)
• Early Decision (+10%)

 One that is growing in popularity:

• Disadvantaged, low income, first generation
college, overcoming obstacles
College Board Survey of
Colleges 2007
 Other Tagged Categories

 These tend to vary a great deal by

institution.
• State residents
• Institutional need: arts talent, special
academic ability
• Connections
• Demonstrated interest
• Misc: geographic, gender, full pay
 Level 1  Level III
• Div I, II schp athlete • Legacy
• Early Decision
 Level II • Connections
• Non-schp athlete • State resident for some
publics
• Affirmative action
minority

 Level IIA  Level IV

• Low incm, disadv, • Geography
obstacles • Demonstrated interest
• Inst. Need – arts, • Misc: gender, full pay
academic
 Let’s Do Some “Tagged”
Math
• Mid-size private, freshman class of 1200.
Spots an Untagged app may not be
competing for:

Minority -- 170
Athlete -- 180
Legacy -- 140
Internat’l -- 60
Misc -- 50
600
 Tagged Strategies
• Minority -- Find out if they give a preference
• Legacy -- Apply to college parents attended (check grad
school, grandparents, sibs)
• Athlete – Apply to colleges where you will be a recruit
• Apply early – Early Decision (Early Action)
• LI/Disadv/Obstacles – Ask admission rep
• Instit. need – Complete Arts Supplement or make contact,
demonstrate ability, request support
 College List Making Advice

 Untagged– compare yourself to the 75th

percentile of the academic profile

 Tagged -
• Minority: 25th - 50th percentile
• Recruited athlete: The coach will tell you
what your chances are.
• Legacy and E.D.: 40th - 60th percentile
 An Admission Exercise
• Colleges rate applicants on academic and personal
scales.
• Because colleges have to sort through so many
apps, they use a number system.
• This system is 1 (low) to 8 (high) on both academic
and personal.
• Academics are weighted more heavily then
personal
 ACADEMIC RATING TABLE™
Average Rank Courses SAT ACT SAT Acad
GPA (UW) (5 solids) (M+CR/2) (Comp) Subject Awards
8 A+ 1-2% Most 750-800 35-36 Intern/
4.0 Demanding** 780-800 National
97-100

7 A 3-5% Most 710-740 33-34 Region/

3.9 Demanding 760-770 State
94-96

6 A- 6-14% Very 680-700 32

3.7-3.8 Demanding 730-750 County
90-93

5 B+ 15-20% Demanding 650-670 29-31 School

3.3-3.6 680-720
87-89

4 B/B- 25% Demanding 600-640 26-28 None

2.7-3.2 630-670
80-86

3 C 33% Average 550-590 23-25 None

2.3-2.6 590-620
77-79

2 C 50% Below 470-540 19-22 None

2.0-2.2 Average 500-580
74-76

1 C- Below Below Below 470 Below 19 Below None

Below 2.0 50% Average 500
Below 74

© Betterton College Planning, LLC

 Personal Ratings
 The personal rating is based
on a combination of attributes
in different areas. They
typically include:
• Achievement
• Talent
• Leadership/positions of
responsibility
• How you are revealed in the
application, interview, essay
• Service to others
• Overcoming obstacles
• Personal attributes
 Personal attributes primarily come
from school and teacher reports
and required interviews. The
categories are:
• Respect accorded by faculty
• Class participation
• Academic achievement
• Intellectual promise
• Writing quality
• Creativity
• Work habits
• Maturity
• Motivation
• Leadership
• Integrity
• Reaction to setbacks
• Concern for others
• Self-confidence
• Initiative
• Independence
 © Betterton College Planning, LLC
PERSONAL RATING TABLE™
Non- Talent Other Service to Leadership Personal
Academic Achievemen Others Characteris
Achievemen t tics
t
8 International/ Rare in Major Rare for Extraordinary Quite
National High School Contribution Extraordinary
Student
7 Regional/ Unusual in Unusually Significant Role Extremely One of Top Few
State Major Strong in Important Strong in My Career
Service
6 County League Quite Strong in Important Well Beyond Widely Outstanding
Important Typical Service Respected Top 1-4%
5 Major School Very Good Above Average Well Meaning Very Good Excellent
Service Top 5-10%
4 Minor School Good Typical Typical Good Very Good
Good Class Contribution

3 Class Average Minimal Only What is Average

Required Good/Average

2 Very little Minimal/None Very Very little/None None to Speak Below Average
/None Little/None of

Non-Academic School related group activities such as government, newspaper, debate, theater,
Achievement: music, athletics
Talent: Individual achievement in areas such as music, art, theater, dance, creative writing,
athletics
Other Achievement: Outside of school) such as scouting, religious, club sports, employment
Services to Others: Volunteer work to disadvantaged, elderly, hospital, etc.
Leadership: Positions of responsibility such as elected or appointed positions
 COMBINED ACADEMIC/PERSONAL
RATING TABLES
Personal 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Academic
8

© Betterton College Planning, LLC

 STUDENT RATINGS COMPARED TO COLLEGE RATINGS™

14 Super Selective Princeton, Yale

13 Most Selective Swarthmore, Penn

12 Most Selective/Selective Lehigh, BC

11 Selective NYU, Carnegie Mellon

10 Competitive TCNJ, Holy Cross

9 Competitive BU, Dickinson

8 Lightly Competitive Rutgers, Delaware

7 Lightly Comp/Meet Basic Standards Quinnipiac, VA Tech

6 Meet Basic Standards Ramapo, Drew

© Betterton College Planning, LLC

 Betterton College Planning EVALUATOR™
Name John Rating 5/4 Date
Here are your admission prospects comparing your credentials with those of
each college’s most recent freshman man class. Green shading indicates
Core colleges.
Very Difficult Somewhat Good Solid Strong V.G. to
Difficult Difficult Choice Chance Chance Excellent
Chance
(10-30%) (20-40%) (30-50%) (40-60%) (50-70%) (60-80%) (70-90%)

BC (12) NYU (11) TCNJ (10) BU (9) Rutgers VA Tech Ramapo

(8) (7) (6)

Notes:

© Betterton College Planning, LLC

 Tags
• Strong Tags, e.g., Minorities and Athletes,
might add 2 points to rating

• Legacy might add 1 point

For example, a minority or athlete 5/4 (total of 9)

would have the same admission chance as an
Untagged 11.
 Betterton College Planning EVALUATOR™ w/ TAG
Name John Rating 5/4 ATH 11 Date
Here are your admission prospects comparing your credentials with those of
each college’s most recent freshman man class. Green shading indicates
Core colleges.
Very Difficult Somewhat Good Solid Strong V.G. to
Difficult Difficult Choice Chance Chance Excellent
Chance
(10-30%) (20-40%) (30-50%) (40-60%) (50-70%) (60-80%) (70-90%)

Prin (14) Penn (13) BC (12) NYU (11) TCNJ (10) BU (9) Rutgers
(8)
VA Tech
(7)
Ramapo
(6)

Notes:

© Betterton College Planning, LLC

 Factors That Limit the College
Evaluator
• Data for freshman class two years ago
• Some missing factors like essay, interview
• Publics can have different resident, non-resident
selection standards
• Within a college, some schools/majors can be
more competitive
• Admission ratings are objective for sorting groups
of students, become more subjective in individual
decisions*
• Nevertheless, the Evaluator is a good system for
making a realistic list and showing where
improvement is needed
 Do the Student Ratings and
College Matching Make Sense?
Kerry 6+/6- 3.9 top 7% 670 SAT 3AP, 2H
Dance, obstacles: 4 high schools, type 1 diabetes
UCLA (12), W/L Princeton (14), legacy

Alex 3/3+ 2.7 top 30% 510 SAT regular courses

Swimmer, but not recruited
UNH (6), reject Chapman (9)

Krystle 6+/4 3.9 top 10% 520 SAT 4AP, 1H

Routine personal
U MD (10), reject NYU (11)

Addie 7+/6 4.0 top 3% 760 SAT 3AP, 2H

School activities and leadership, nt’l level speaker
Princeton (14) ED, legacy

Emily 7/5+ 3.8 top 3% 750 SAT IB program

School activities and leadership, circus performer
Princeton (14) ED, legacy
 More Examples
Eric 6/5 3.7 32 ACT (1420) AP/IB 5’s on 3 APs
State ranked fencer, music, lots of service – Kids Rock, Emory
Schp
Emory (12) ED

Kevin 4+/4+ 89 630 SAT Regular courses

Leader national caliber robotics team, service to aunt with MS
support from Penn and Lehigh faculty
Lehigh (11) ED

Jason 5/4 3.3 670 SAT 2AP 1H

Some tennis and soccer, sports editor of newspaper,
v.g. essay, demonstrated interest, visit, 2 interviews
Syracuse Newhouse (10) ED

Katie 6+/5+ 4.0 top 5% 680 SAT 1AP 3H

Some school activities, state/national competitive dancer
Richmond (10) ED $10,000 Richmond Scholar

Cassidy 7/4 3.6 top 20% 750 SAT 800’s SAT Subj 4AP
National Chem, Math, Physics awards routine activities
RPI (10) $8000 schp. Full schp Rutgers (8), Stevens (9)

No: MIT, Harv, Stan, Cal Tech, Col, Rice, Cornell, Prin
Wait List: Wash U, Carnegie Mellon
 The Essay
First rule – Do No Harm
10% to15% Pulls you down
poorly written, too long, doesn’t answer question

15% to 70% Neutral

15% Positive impression
5% Big help

Write with a conversational tone, avoid grand topics like hunger, peace, and
global warming

Answer the question, make it about you and something you care about. Show
attractive quality, endearing flaw better than bragging
 Try to Avoid Speculation
 My daughter won’t be admitted
because:
• Too many students from her high school are applying
• No one from her high school has ever applied
• She didn’t apply E.D.
• Only athletes and minorities get admitted there
• We applied for aid
• She didn’t take all AP courses
• She got a B
• She worked in the summer rather than take a language
immersion course in Spain
 How To Improve Your Chances
 Make a realistic list:
• Concentrate on CORE, other colleges on either side
• Be enthusiastic about Good Choice, Solid Chance schools
 Take good courses. Plan test taking strategy
 Add colleges where you might be Tagged
 Look at personal side. Avoid resume fillers, try to
distinguish yourself.
• The “2 strong” profile is appealing
 Pay attention to teacher recs, essay, evaluative interview
 Below top-level demonstrated interest can be important
 Conclusion
• Plan ahead to present the best version of
who you are, not a makeover. Look for
polish, not plastic surgery.

• Finding a college that fulfills your

academic potential and is a good fit
personally is more important than
attending the “better” school.