Analysis of characteristics of students (n=1,684) using the Postdoctoral Application Support Service found significant differences in applicants to various program areas. Applicants to pediatric programs had the most varied characteristics; applicants to oral and maxillofacial surgery were the most homogeneous. The study provides baseline data for…

Discusses the benefits of creating a resume in high school. Resume writing can be a sort of kick start into the world of postsecondary endeavors and the world of work. Resumes have been used with college admission applications, scholarship applications, job applications, and any other award or honor opportunity. (JBJ)

Discusses what is wrong with encouraging high school students to apply to their dream school as a college choice when they have no real chance of being accepted. Contends that concentrating on an unrealistic dream school steals away serious exploration of all other colleges. Suggests ways that college advisors can burst the bubble of the "dream…

Reviews 1993 book by Rochelle S. Rosen. Describes guide as easy-to-use and reliable. Suggests it is useful source of general information regarding applying to and preparing to attend college while providing specific information peculiar to colleges in California. Criticizes author for failing to include summary after each chapter. (CRR)

A study examined the relationship between the colleges students select initially to receive their college entrance examination scores (high-choice set) and their choice of institution to attend (college-of-enrollment). Data were drawn from records of 105,000 students taking the American College Testing (ACT) examination and enrolling in 1994. A…

British high school students (n=178) who used the Universities and Colleges Admission Service for college application mostly used a wide range of sources and the help of a career counselor when available. However, most felt that colleges and employers were not interested in the national Records of Achievement. (SK)

Estimates demand for 772 U.S. colleges in 1994 by relating new applications to easily confirmable institutional characteristics. Demand is positively related to out-of-state tuition but inversely related to in-state tuition. Those who apply to public and private colleges are distinct subpopulations. Private-school applicants are less price- and…

Applied the technique of artificial neural networks to predict which students were likely to apply to one research university. Compared the results to the traditional analysis tool, logistic regression modeling. Found that the addition of artificial intelligence models was a useful new tool for predicting student application behavior. (EV)

Joins the college access debate with an original proposal for fairness in college admissions. Tests an alternative method of college admissions, the "merit-aware model" proposed by William Goggin. First reconsiders the issue of racial preferences, then describes the merit-aware approach. Concludes with a few lessons that can inform admission…

The number of students who want to get into the University of California topped 100,000 for the first time this year, including nearly 9,000 students seeking one of the 1,000 spots at the new campus of Merced. Two-thirds of the applications, or about 76,000, were from freshmen looking to attend UC's nine undergraduate campuses this fall, a nearly…

A high school teacher has created a unit to help uninspired seniors write personal essays for college applications. Students could move away from formulas to regain their freedom and voice in writing with the help of carefully developed steps.

The data presented in this paper is taken from the results of two much larger studies of mature student decision-making and Higher Education (HE), which consider processes of agency from initial consideration of the "possibility" of becoming a student to eventually "becoming" one. In this paper, six categories of applicant to HE are discussed: (1)…

This paper aims to examine the information requirements and the importance of various types of information for potential students when selecting a university. Using data from 306 pupils studying at various schools in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland seven broad information categories relating to university selection have been identified. It…

Given the overwhelming popular appeal of merit-based college admissions, George La Noue advocates a new transparency in how colleges and universities select their students. He has some suggestions about how colleges might comply with court-mandated requirements for case-by-case evaluations. He also provides hints from which NAS members might…

The increasingly popular option of applying "early decision" (ED) requires a student to make a binding commitment that, if admitted to a particular college, she or he will enroll. Now offered by 184 U.S. colleges and universities, ED is a highly effective--and therefore highly seductive--tool for managing enrollment. This author argues,…