"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."   John Adams, December, 1770


Vassar College – A Return to Need Blind Admissions
From Counselor Week: Ten years ago, Vassar College began factoring financial need into some admissions decisions, a move necessitated by ballooning aid costs that similarly affected the policies at other institutions. Last week, reflecting a growing concern over the accessibility of higher education as well as more favorable economic conditions, Vassar announced that it would buck the trend and return to completely need-blind admissions for first-year freshmen.


Antioch to Close Main College
Antioch University announced Tuesday that it would suspend operations of its main undergraduate college — which has played a historic role in American higher education — at the end of the next academic year. All of the approximately 40 faculty members teaching at the college will lose their jobs. Antioch’s other campuses, which focus on graduate programs and nontraditional students, will continue.


SUNY Geneseo
Last week, SUNY Board of Trustees voted 10-1 to allow Geneseo to start charging an annual "academic excellence fee" of up to $1,000 per year beginning in September 2008. The campus is the only SUNY school that will be charging the fee, but new regulations will allow other campuses to levy the fee if the schools can show there is a need for the extra money.
SUNY Geneseo sought permission to levy the fee so it could raise the bar academically. The money will be spent on SUNY Geneseo-specific initiatives, unlike general tuition, which is used to fund the SUNY system. SUNY Geneseo said it will spend the money on programs like academic support and advisement, undergraduate research, study abroad programs and facilities. SUNY Geneseo's President Christopher Dahl said the fee will help the school become "the premier public liberal arts college in the country," according to Gannett News Service.


Merrimack Students Beat MIT - Win New England Steel Bridge Competition
Civil engineering students at Merrimack College are headed to the National Steel Bridge Competition in Los Angeles, CA this May after taking 1st place and beating out MIT (2nd place), and UCONN (3rd place) in the NE regional competition. The annual Steel Bridge Competition challenges civil engineering students to design, fabricate and build a steel bridge. Students are provided with site conditions, spans, member sizes, weight limitations and design loads representative of a real bridge.


Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has decided to adopt a test-optional admissions policy.


Siena College School of Business has been accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).


University of Maryland University College is starting three undergraduate programs related to Homeland Security: homeland security, emergency management, and information assurance.


Rollins Announces SAT and ACT Test Scores Optional - April 16, 2007
Rollins College has announced that, for students applying for admission to the class entering in Fall 2008, submission of SAT or ACT scores will be optional.
"It is too easy to be distracted by low test scores that are not accurate predictors of a student's college academic potential," said David Erdmann, Dean of Admission for Rollins’ College of Arts & Sciences. "We want to take a more holistic approach and believe that a candidate’s academic record, level of challenge in course work, talents, interests, and potential to contribute to the Rollins and local community should be as important, if not more important, than test scores."


FAFSA4caster released by US Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid is pleased to announce the release of FAFSA4caster, a new Web tool designed to assist high school juniors and their families plan for education beyond high school. Students can receive an estimated Expected Family Contribution (EFC) by entering their information into FAFSA4caster, a simplified version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). FAFSA4caster also provides guidance on next steps for applying for admission, applying for federal student aid, and paying for education beyond high school.

FAFSA4caster is a companion piece to the official FAFSA on the Web. The free FAFSA4caster tool will assist high school juniors and their families in the following ways:

Instantly calculate an estimated EFC

Inform the student of potential Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) eligibility

Reduce the time needed to complete the FAFSA when the student applies as a senior

FAFSA4caster Access
Students and families interested in assessing their eligibility for federal student aid can access FAFSA4caster by visiting www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov. The links for FAFSA4caster are located in the lower right corner of the home page.


Rejected by Harvard? Your Valedictorian Probably Was, Too
Bloomberg News 3/30/07
Harvard College rejected 91 percent of applicants for the coming academic year, the highest rate in its history, after an expansion of financial aid encouraged more applications. A record 22,955 students applied to be part of the incoming freshman class at the college, the part of the university in Cambridge MA focusing on undergraduate education. The college sent out 2,058 acceptance notices in December and yesterday, according to a statement on its Web site. Harvard increased financial aid for the school year starting in September to allow students from families earning less than $60,000 to attend free.

In the CPS ARCHIVES:

Winter 2007 Newsletter
October 2006 Newsletter
August 2006 Newsletter
May 2006 Newsletter
April 2006 Newsletter
March 2006 Newsletter
February 2006 Newsletter
January 2006 Newsletter
November 2005 Newsletter
October 2005 Newsletter
September 2005 Newsletter
August 2005 Newsletter
July 2005 Newsletter
June 2005 Newsletter

Given the nature of the admissions process and the selectivity of many educational institutions, we cannot guarantee admission to any institution.