Day and night the locals chatter. They counsel and console, bicker and rant. Their questions are endless. Though often hopeful, they never stop pounding the drums of worry. This is College Confidential, a vast virtual realm where visitors can find the best and worst of human nature. Here, in moderated discussion forums, people help strangers. They…

College is often a fresh start for students, but some have pasts that follow them. Take, for instance, "S.D.," an 18-year-old man from Pennsylvania who wanted to go to Temple University. When he was 17, he put an image on a file-sharing network that resulted in his being charged in juvenile court with one count of disseminating child pornography.…

Boston College saw a 26-percent decrease in applications this year, a drop officials largely attribute to a new essay requirement. Last year the private Jesuit institution received a record 34,051 applications for 2,250 spots in its freshman class. This year approximately 25,000 students applied, and all of them had to do one thing their…

The author reports on the U.S. Supreme Court hearing regarding the Texas admissions case that exposes gaps in the affirmative-action law. As the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging race-conscious admissions at the University of Texas at Austin, it became evident that the court's past rulings on such policies have failed to…

Over the next decade, more students of color than ever before will pass through the gates of the nation's colleges and join the ranks of its work force, according to new projections by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. By the year 2020, minority students will account for 45 percent of the nation's public high-school…

Each year, admissions officers know that a small percentage of admitted applicants who sent deposits will not show up. The phenomenon, known as "summer melt," has many causes. Students might change their plans because they suddenly get off their first-choice college's waiting list--or because they opt to spend a year caring for penguins in…

With 16,000 graduate and undergraduate students, the International College for Experienced Learning (ICEL) is widely considered among the better for-profit universities in Mexico, where such institutions have flourished over the last 20 years by offering degrees that can be earned relatively quickly, and flexibility in terms of fee payments and…

Most people in admissions have a road story. There are tales of wrong turns, lost suitcases, and days when they were just well-dressed ghosts, walking in and out of high schools where no students came to see them. These are the trials of admissions representatives who leave their campuses for several weeks each fall. They trek near and far to meet…

If coming back to work after winter break seems daunting, consider the plight of college-admissions officials. While most high-school students are breathing a sigh of relief after finally submitting their applications, those on the receiving end are rolling up their sleeves. January is crunch time for many admissions offices. Admissions officers…

College admissions essay coaches have been hanging out shingles since the early 1990s. The business has grown sharply over the past decade thanks to the ease of editing via the Internet and students' desire to gain any possible edge as many colleges have become more selective. The companies, with names like Cambridge Essay Service, EssayEdge,…

Homegrown musicians from all over Africa gather at auditions for scholarships to the Berklee College of Music. The Africa Scholars Program, as the scholarship is called, offers a four-year, full scholarship, to begin in 2009. It was established by Berklee's president, Roger H. Brown, and his wife, Linda Mason, both of whom have worked extensively…

Jeff Rickey is a numbers guy. But three years ago, a colleague asked him about something he'd never counted: applicants who came out of nowhere. The question intrigued Mr. Rickey, dean of admissions and financial aid at Earlham College in Indiana. He found that 17 percent of the college's applicants that year had not called, taken a tour, or…

In this article, the author reports on an annual survey on foreign applications to American graduate schools performed by the Council of Graduate Schools. The results suggests that while American graduate schools have continued to attract an increasing number of applications from international students, the rate of increase appears to be slowing.…

Over the past two decades, college admissions has become a prime-time preoccupation. Most people know at least something about the process, especially if they have a teenager in high school and a college guide on their coffee table. Nonetheless, widespread public misconceptions persist about admissions requirements, the selection process, and the…

Universities are not immune to the effects of the slumping economy, yet many of them are reporting their highest application and enrollment rates ever, as hard times compel people to look for new ways to increase their skills. Students' efforts to improve their job prospects, along with colleges' marketing efforts, have, indeed, translated to…