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Overview of the 2011 College Admissions Season

One of the great benefits to working with a group such as Dunbar is the opportunity to pool resources and impressions. In a couple of weeks, we will sit down for two days for our annual review of our students' results one by one, a great opportunity to learn from our collective experience and apply that knowledge to future students. But in the meantime, we've shared our observations about this year's admissions season with each other, and now we share them with you.

The 2010 - 2011 admission season has been another very competitive one, with the numbers of applicants to virtually all the more competitive colleges at record levels. Once upon a time, predictions of application outcomes could be counted on quite accurately. As the years have progressed, this predictability has decreased, for a variety of reasons. A circular logic has been created where students feel less secure about their chances, so they submit more applications; colleges find it increasingly difficult to distinguish between students who are truly interested in attending and those who are simply trying to increase their chances of admission somewhere, anywhere. And as college admission offices seek to maintain their various academic and interest areas, their athletic teams, their diversity representation, etc., etc. strong and well represented, and as they strive to develop new initiatives, the outside world is not always aware of what the various admission committees are looking for. With the growth in sheer volume of applications and the difficulty in making admissions decisions, students become more unsure of their chances - so the next year's class submits even more applications. Simply put, those students with the highest scores are not necessarily the ones getting the offers.

Other observations:

• Each year, a student's expressed or perceived "interest" in a school appears to be a more important component in the decision making process. It's important to show genuine interest by, whenever possible, visiting campuses, interviewing and communicating with admissions reps, coaches and other college officials.
• The athletic recruiting timetable seems to be getting earlier and earlier. Therefore it is important for student athletes to plan ahead.
• We are working with more students applying to colleges from outside the US. The process of applying to a US college is more involved for an international student and requires careful planning.
• Increasing interest in early admissions options, both in terms of numbers of applicants and colleges filling larger portions of their freshman classes, is very evident. There may be advantage in applying early but only after careful consideration of the implications.
• More applications are being filed by those not applying "early" to improve their chances of getting accepted. Rather than applying to more colleges, students would be better served by applying to a carefully selected list that includes a few that are likely to accept them.
• The ability to pay tuition, without seeking financial aid, can have a significant impact. Fewer colleges are "need blind" and even some of those are "need aware" when using their waitlists.
• We saw more waiting list decisions this year as colleges sought to manage their yields more efficiently. This was particularly true for students who had the necessary qualifications but had not shown clear interest.
• More colleges are making use of the little-known "guaranteed admission" where a student is accepted as a future transfer on the condition that they attend an approved college or university and maintain a specific GPA.

We would be happy to discuss with you any aspects of the application process and the observations made above any time. One thing is certain, the "rules" are changing constantly and we are doing our best to stay on top of these shifts to serve our students as well as possible!

Ned Bigelow

nbigelow@dunbarconsultants.com

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Our seniors applied to and were accepted at colleges from Maine to California, from American University to Yale College, representing a broad spectrum from small liberal arts colleges to Ivy League and their equivalents to architecture and design programs.

Congratulations to all of you!

View a complete list of 2011 College Acceptances

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