College Conundrum

05NOV12_College_Feature_07:15SEP08_Hamptonia_Text_Draft_07.qxd

photograph courtesy of yale University



A

new hampton school

11/9/2012

7:49 AM

Page 64

05NOV12_College_Feature_07:15SEP08_Hamptonia_Text_Draft_07.qxd

11/9/2012

7:49 AM

Page 65

the

college conundrum

there are few certainties these days in the world of college admission. but one is increased applications, making the college process an experience something to which most parents and grandparents cannot relate.

by derek krein

new hampton school director of college counseling

hamptonia

A

ď™‰ď™ˆ

05NOV12_College_Feature_07:15SEP08_Hamptonia_Text_Draft_07.qxd

11/9/2012

7:49 AM

Page 66

us news & world report and similar

entities do more harm than good with their college rankings cottage industry. the words seem to be on a repeating loop: “This is the most competitive year ever in college admission.” For nearly two decades, the needle has kept moving, and the rate of change in college admissions, programs, and offerings in dizzying. The landscape and terrain of the “college process” change so rapidly that it is difficult for students and families to get their bearings.

In many ways, the college process (reflection, research, application, and choice) frenzy has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

FDR’s incisive admonition “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” comes to mind.

Over the years of deconstructing this speech with high school juniors in US History class, one can appreciate a college counselor’s desire to teach US History in the sophomore year. An understanding before the start of junior year of just how paralyzing fear can be on the human psyche would go a long way toward making the college process the energizing, enlightening, and empowering experience that it can and should be for students and their families.

increase in applications For 35 years and counting the Common Application has served to reduce significantly the hours a student spends filling in the biographical and academic information common to every college application, as well as a personal statement (the college essay) and short answer response. Yet the time once saved by this work simplification is now spent applying to more colleges. As more students choose to apply to a greater number of colleges, and often the same cohort of schools where class sizes remain constant, it is inevitable that the percentage of applicants that a given school accepts (“admit



A

new hampton school

rate”) will go down. As that acceptance percentage drops each year, students become more and more fearful (think back to FDR’s fear here) about their chances for college admission and thus apply to a greater number of schools than the class before them.

This fear is the catalyst for a vicious cycle.

The list of two or three colleges or universities to which today’s parents of high-school aged students applied in their senior year of high school has grown to nearly eight for current seniors. And that’s the average, which means it is not uncommon for some students to submit anywhere from 15 to as many as 20 applications.

Generally, the number of colleges to which a student applies is inversely proportional to the time spent on researching each school. A bigger list too often does not reflect consistent student criteria. Why not just add an Ivy College or two to the list “just to see what happens?” Almost every Ivy League institution has an admit rate at or below 10 percent. The pools for those schools remain the best and brightest students, and no longer draw only from within the United States but span the entire globe. From a college standpoint, the spike in received applications, borne out of fear, disrupts the models colleges employ for offering admission and managing yield. The perceived unpredictably creates fear in students.

the business of college admission For a time, demographics suggested that the admit belt would loosen when the population bubble of high school graduates burst in 2008–09. Though the sheer volume of high school students might be on the decline, the percentage of high school students who

choose to apply and matriculate to college continues to rise at a faster rate. And that’s just high school students from the United States. In teasing out what factors contribute most to fueling the college admission fear and frenzy, the increase of high school graduates matriculating to college alone pales in comparison to the concurrent effects of both more aggressive mainstream media publications and more aggressive marketing and business practices on the part of colleges.

US News & World Report and similar entities do more harm than good with their college rankings cottage industry. For far too many students and families these publications become the college process equivalent of SparkNotes: shortcuts to a substantive understanding of a college’s appropriateness for a student. These publications offer more distraction than guidance—“Best Colleges and Universities” for whom, exactly?

When students deliberately and thoughtfully consider who they are, identify what they need and seek from a college—and why, and commit themselves to creating a balanced (likely, possible, reach) college list consisting of schools that match their personal criteria and meet family circumstances, there is no need to apply to 20 or even 10 schools. The more students know about themselves and the more purposeful their process becomes, then the quicker the irrational and debilitating fear surrounding the college process dissipates.

In addition to the mainstream media, US colleges and universities today employ better, more efficient business practices to attract candidates, predict application volume and characteristics, and manage yield.

Social media, a current reality non-existent 10 years ago, has changed this landscape.

05NOV12_College_Feature_07:15SEP08_Hamptonia_Text_Draft_07.qxd

11/9/2012

7:50 AM

Page 67

the college conundrum

Dartmouth College Admission Data 2008–11

source: dartmouth college photograph courtesy of princeton university

Class of 2012

Class of 2013

Class of 2014

Class of 2015

1,428

1,550

1,574

1,759

399

401

460

442

16,538

18,132

18,778

22,385

Total Admitted

2,228

2,279

2,193

2,270

Overall Admit Rate

13.5%

12.6%

11.7%

10.1%

Total Enrolled

1,095

1,094

1,138

1,113

Early Decision Applied Early Decision Admitted Total Applied

College admission offices have at least one staff person singularly dedicated to update, maintain, and direct these new technological tools to market, attract, connect, and land new customers—prospective and current applicants and their families.

As colleges angle and jostle for market share, the proliferation of application solicitations, types, and deadlines is staggering. Some have a Publishers’ Clearinghouse ring to them: “You have been selected to apply to the University of East Coast! Just complete our easy online application, and we will waive the application fee. Parts of the application have already been completed for you. You will receive your decision within the next month.”

This sort of appeal seduces many students into believing: “This college knows me; they want me.” The right student-college match is the end goal and a worthwhile and necessary debate. A college’s business practice should not be driving a student’s process.

As with any successful business, college admission practices are now being measured and guided by their own institutional econometric models, particularly yield projections.

Based on three to five years of data, every application is analyzed and measured, based on as many tangible factors as possible, including but not limited to GPA, merit scholarship, demonstrated interest (Has the student visited campus? Has the student

met with a representative on the New Hampton campus?), demonstrated financial need, and so forth, to determine the likelihood that a student, or a student with those characteristics, will decide to enroll if offered admission. The Chronicle of Higher Education illustrated the business model transformation most admission offices have undergone in recent years in “Those Tweedy Old Admissions Deans? They’re All Business Now” (June 26, 2011).

College admissions have begun to outsource their marketing initiatives to professional businesses that help manage enrollment, all of which use market-driven analytic and benchmarking data. Since the

hamptonia

A



05NOV12_College_Feature_07:15SEP08_Hamptonia_Text_Draft_07.qxd

11/9/2012

7:50 AM

Page 68

photograph courtesy of vanderbilt University



A

new hampton school

05NOV12_College_Feature_07:15SEP08_Hamptonia_Text_Draft_07.qxd

11/9/2012

7:50 AM

Page 69

the college conundrum

on the whole, this entire process is as much art as it is science.

economic downturn in late 2008, college admissions offices have had to slash their budgets, retain fewer personnel, and travel less. Admission deans (or “Vice Presidents for Enrollment Management” as they are more commonly titled today) aspire to be lofty and warmly idealistic as they craft an incoming class and create a community while at the same time they must be pragmatic and coldly calculating in order to fill the beds and make the budget. The financial realities that restrict a college budget dictate that increasing money—specifically the tuition revenue streams—has led to colleges actively recruiting students who can pay more and state institutions pursuing out-ofstate or international students who pay significantly more than in-state students.

As with most educational institutions committed to fostering greater global awareness and collaboration, American colleges and universities understand the value of global diversity for their classrooms and campuses and they aggressively pursue it.

Institutions like Dartmouth College, Purdue University, and Occidental College, to name three examples of thousands, are just as easily accessible to international applicants as they are to domestic students.

student success in the process and implications for nhs Success, of course, has many definitions and markers. In the college process, success is about fit and match between the student and the college. Self-reflection, ownership, and attention to detail, then, become critical characteristics for the high school student aspiring to have an enjoyable and successful college process. Students must understand their own needs and wants (and the differ-

ence between the two) before embarking on their college search. And this is not to say a student’s criteria cannot change once they have the first meeting with a college counselor; this is a very dynamic, often fluid process. For many students the necessary contemplation has begun well before they first sit down with a college counselor.

On the whole, this entire process is as much art as it is science. If there were an easy “science” formula to follow, there would be no fear or stress since everyone could simply and accurately calculate outcomes.

Thankfully there remains an “art” element to it all, and this is where the authentic individual shines. It’s the “art”—the subjective —that most often differentiates: a stellar academic record alone will not ensure admission to the most selective colleges.

“College Preparation” is a broad concept, which encompasses preparation both for success in college academic, social, and service endeavors, as well as preparation for positive outcomes for college admission. The college counseling office pivots between the two in service of the student, family, and greater community.

Establishing and managing expectations of the college process is an institutional imperative. Student emphasis is on self-discovery and the importance of student-college match. We work closely with all students, helping each demonstrate their interests and abilities—seeking out opportunities and experiences that match them well—while also being mindful of their needs.

Getting beyond the rankings is an essential step for families. Our office informs parents about the realities of the college landscape and why the match is paramount for the student given immediate costs and future investments tied to higher education.

Along similar lines, international families need to understand the US college admission system is not so much numbers-driven as rankings suggest.

Managing the expectations of and disseminating information to other key constituencies, such as the Board of Trustees, our broader alumni base, as well as prospective students and families is equally important. The range of excellent college matches available is so much greater than it was even 15 or 20 years ago.

the future and the past In a 1990 essay in Independent School Magazine, titled “College Admission: Failed Rite of Passage,” psychologist Michael Thompson, PhD. noted that the college admission process comes at a crucial time in adolescent development. Cultural rites of passage are times when people transition from one phase to the next; in the case of a high-school senior, he or she is leaving the age of childhood and entering adulthood.

“For those students who go on to college, it seems that getting in to college is a more significant ritual than graduating from high school; it certainly occupies more time, attention, and family preparation and anxiety. The major transitional step for these young people is the departure for college, and the series of rituals preparing for that step is the college admission process.”

So how do we try to improve this “failed rite of passage” here at New Hampton School? How do we achieve the adage of parenting, giving our children both “roots and wings”? We acknowledge whom we are guiding: adolescents who are at various steps along a developmental continuum.

Some are ready immediately to engage in continued on page 71

hamptonia

A



05NOV12_College_Feature_07:15SEP08_Hamptonia_Text_Draft_07.qxd

11/9/2012

7:50 AM

Page 70

background photograph courtesy of University of California, davis

the class of 2012 had choices After three years as the Director of College Counseling, Marty Elkins took her passion for independent schools to the Philippines. Elkins, who has had stops at Holderness School and Groton School—is the new Head of School at the Beacon Academy in Manila where her husband, Paul Elkins, former Associate Director of Students at NHS, will join her. Marty reflected on the state of college counseling at NHS the last three years.

As the college admission landscape continues to shift and churn, New Hampton School students continue to be read well by admissions officers. The Class of 2012 was successful in their college process, gaining admission to colleges and universities well suited to their talents. The matriculation list reveals, yet again, that New Hampton School students attend an eclectic mix—applying to more than 300 different colleges and gaining acceptance to 200-plus colleges—that accurately matches our types of students.

In my three-year tenure at New Hampton School, I have witnessed a subtle cultural shift regarding college attendance. There are a decreasing number of students who do not engage in the process, and more students who are seeking pathways towards exciting futures in business, research, and allied health professions. New Hampton School will always have students attending highly selective colleges such as Brown, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore and Williams. Our skilled athletes will land spots on the basketball, football, lacrosse and hockey rosters at Division I places such as Boston College, Notre Dame, University of Michigan, Penn State, Colgate, UNH and U. Maine. Our artists will attend Rhode Island School of Design, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Savannah College of Art and Design. Our thespians will attend strong performing arts programs, at Pace University’s Musical Theatre Program, our nurses and physical therapists will attend



A

new hampton school

marty elkins is now a head of school in the philippines. top-notch health programs at Fairfield University and Endicott College, and our scientists will engage in active research as undergraduates at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Our students will go to colleges that support their learning style differences, that engage in active environmental stewardship, that offer programs in their co-curricular passions of rock-climbing and snowboarding, and that are communities full of compassionate and enthusiastic people.

Why? Because that is what New Hampton School offers and is: a grounded and unpretentious community with a clear sense of mission. The past few years the School’s leadership has taken New Hampton’s proud heritage and tradition and moved it into the 21st century. We still have athletes and artists and scholars living and working in a caring community. We still eat lunch together, sit in McEvoy Theater together, and celebrate commencement on the Meservey Lawn. But now we use technology more effectively in our classrooms,

integrating not just projectors and smartboards, but iPads and e-textbooks. Our teachers still care deeply about their subject content and their students; and now we offer flip teaching and collaborative projects creating robots, windmills, and solar installations. Our student body is still small and caring, but now we share our space with others from China, Vietnam, Columbia, Spain, Kuwait, and Nigeria, sending applications around the world to more than 25 universities, reflecting a truly global sense of community.

The college acceptances of our students should always match their aspirations and abilities. Our students attend colleges that match their passions and interests, sense of adventure, or desire for challenge. Because of their experiences here, and what they will learn in their venues of higher learning, New Hampton School students are ready for the interconnected and global world they will enter after college.

— Marty Elkins

05NOV12_College_Feature_07:15SEP08_Hamptonia_Text_Draft_07.qxd

11/9/2012

7:51 AM

Page 71

the college conundrum

2012 nHs college matriculation

note: one student per school unless noted photograph courtesy of northeastern University

University of New Hampshire [4]

Casper College

Nazareth College

University of California at Irvine

Montana State University,

Central Piedmont

Nichols College

University of California at

Bozeman [3]

Community College

Northeastern University

Los Angeles

Sacred Heart University [3]

Champlain College

Pace University, New York City

University of Charleston

Saint Michael's College [3]

Clemson University

Pennsylvania State University,

University of Connecticut

St. Lawrence University [3]

Colgate University

College of the Holy Cross [2]

University Park

University of Hartford

Concordia University–Montréal

Princeton University

University of Kansas

Gettysburg College [2]

Connecticut College

Providence College

University of Maine

High Point University [2]

Cuesta College

Purdue University

University of Massachusetts,

Hofstra University [2]

Dean College

Quinnipiac University

Johns Hopkins University [2]

Drexel University

Rhode Island College

University of New England

The University of Montana,

Endicott College

Rivier College

University of Notre Dame

Fairfield University

Rollins College

University of Pittsburgh

Franklin Pierce University

Saint Anselm College

University of Puget Sound

Thompson School of Applied

Full Sail University

Saint Joseph’s College–ME

University of the Pacific

Science [2]

Hobart and William

Saint Joseph's University

Vermont Technical College

School of the Art Institute

Williams College

Missoula [2] University of New Hampshire,

University of Vermont [2] American InterContinental University, London

Smith Colleges Lake Forest College

Lowell

of Chicago

Longwood University

Stonehill College

Assumption College

Marist College

Swarthmore College

Babson College

Massachusetts College of

The University of Akron

Wittenberg University Xavier University

Bates College

Pharmacy and Health

Towson University

Boston College

Sciences

University of British Columbia

Bryant University

Michigan State University

continued from page 69 the process; some are more reluctant, even unwilling; but we invest ourselves in teaching how each student must follow the small steps or do the critical and analytical thinking necessary to make the decisions the process requires. The College Counselors offer an extension of the curriculum of the

at Vancouver

School, grounded in the mission, core values, and the Foundations of Learning. Therefore, we work individually with each student to meet each where he or she is along that adolescent continuum, preparing student, family, and the entire community to embrace the process in the healthiest ways possible.

We help educate them on the choices avail-

able and help them see their talents realistically. Despite the challenges of the new landscape of college admission in 2012, New Hampton School has a purposeful, informed, and appropriate process that guides our students, our families, and our entire community.

hamptonia

A



05NOV12_College_Feature_07:15SEP08_Hamptonia_Text_Draft_07.qxd

11/9/2012

7:51 AM

Page 72

members and aspects of community life.

New Hampton has been very deliberate and intentional in how it has nurtured culture, program, and outcomes. It is energizing to join an educational community that at once inspires and aspires.

Derek Krein became New Hampton’s new Director of College Counseling in June, taking over for Marty Elkins who became the Head of School at the Beacon Academy in Manila, Philippines.

Derek has spent his entire 19-year professional career as an independent high school educator (17 years in boarding schools).

Most recently, Derek was Head of Senior House at Stanwich School in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he took on the leadership role of designing and implementing an innovative high school program for a new high school division. Prior to his post at Stanwich, he spent a decade directing the college counseling offices at three independent schools: Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire; The Hun School of Princeton, New Jersey; and Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts. He began his teaching career at Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts.

Derek received his Master’s in Liberal Studies with a History concentration from Dartmouth College and his Bachelor’s from



A

new hampton school

Connecticut College, where he doublemajored in History and Psychology and rowed on the varsity crew for four years. He is a graduate of Kent School in Connecticut.

Hamptonia caught up with Derek as he moved into his new role on campus.

What are you most excited about as you return to work in a College Counseling Office and specifically New Hampton School’s?

I am most looking forward to the dynamism inherent in the college process (reflection, research, application, and choice) as a whole. It sounds cliché, but it is accurate that no two are alike. For each student and family the process unfolds in different ways and at different rates, yet each has hard and meaningful work that must be fulfilled.

New Hampton has been on my radar for years now, and I’ve been waiting for the right time and right opportunity to align. I am thrilled to join NHS at a point when, guided by mission and core values, the School has embraced the Foundations of Learning, the IB Diploma Programme, and global engagement. Having been part of an IB boarding school community elsewhere, I’ve seen the IB tide lift all ships. The desire to know, to make relevant connections, and to live a meaningful, purposeful life permeates all

What is the most enjoyable part of the college process for you?

The college process often serves as the vehicle for adolescents to engage in the most critical components of a transformative high school experience: the self-reflection and self-discovery, which lead to individuation. I entered the teaching profession to help students develop a better understanding of themselves and the world around them, and how to tap into both in order to be their best.

No teacher wants students simply to parrot someone else’s understanding of a historical era or piece of literature. In the college process, this philosophy often leads me to remind students, “You don’t want me running your process for you because I’ll make choices that reflect who I am, what I like, and how I see the world. You want you making the meaningful decisions and relevant choices.

I’ve had my college experience; this is your college experience, not your roommate’s, not your siblings’, and not your parents’.” The self-reflection and discovery, while at times challenging, is illuminating for students.

As the transition of leadership occurs, what will you try to build upon that Marty solidified in her three years?

Marty Elkins and the team she assembled with Keith Hrasky and Britney Cullinan have been celebrated for championing a change in the college search, application, systems, and structure surrounding the college process within the NHS community. My conversations with college representatives confirm that Marty and the NHS College Counseling Office have changed the way that NHS and our students are perceived and understood by college admission offices. The School’s mission, core values, Foundations of Learning, and signature experiential learning programs

05NOV12_College_Feature_07:15SEP08_Hamptonia_Text_Draft_07.qxd

11/9/2012

7:51 AM

Page 73

the college conundrum

A Spike in College Admission: A Three-Year Peak at the Changing Landscape photograph courtesy of University of California, Los Angeles

2012 College

apps

2011 accepts rate%

apps

2010 accepts rate%

apps

accepts rate%

23110

2180

9.43

22385

2178

9.73

18778

2165

11.53

5241

1508

28.76

5175

1505

29.08

4213

1445

34.3

Cornell University

37812

6123

16.1

36392

6534

17.95

36338

6673

18.36

Washington University in St Louis

28826

4440

15.4

28826

4440

15.4

24939

5285

21.19

Duke University

31600

3751

11.87

29689

3739

12.59

26770

3372

12.6

Bowdoin College

6716

1060

15.78

6554

1022

15.59

6018

1183

19.66

Johns Hopkins University

20496

3636

17.74

19388

3550

18.31

18459

3787

20.52

University of Southern California

46030

8318

18.21

37107

8449

22.77

35794

8715

24.35

—

—

—

37751

9376

24.84

43816

11384

25.98

32066

4898

15.27

30975

5575

18.0

27615

6379

23.1

Dartmouth College Colby College

Tulane University of Louisiana Northwestern University 2010 and 2011 data from NYTimes “The Choice Blog”

Data for 2009 from the National center for Education Statistics IPEDS Data Center, and from the colleges’ own web sites where IPEDS data was unavailable

are congruent with what college and universities aspire toward within their own learning communities. As they contemplate desired intellectual characteristics, qualities of being, and educational experiences of their applicant pools, while very intentionally building communities through the admission acceptances, there is much to celebrate and covet from New Hampton School candidates.

How does the College Office’s work relate to the rest of the independent school?

The view into independent schools from the college counseling vantage point is like no

other. It is equal parts an internal and external position, much like wearing bi-focal glasses.

The internal lens focuses on the here and now of student aspirations, parent questions, curriculum development, program outcomes, and so forth. The external lens is drawn out to the realities of marketing, branding, telling the story, and making the case to college admission representatives, prospective families, and alumni. It is imperative that I look at and understand an issue through both lenses to develop a full appreciation of its many facets. I am also reminded of the coach telling a player to keep his or her “head on a

swivel.” That’s how it feels in college counseling. We need to understand and believe in the NHS programs in order to make the most compelling case possible when presenting the NHS experience of our students to colleges. Similarly, we need to be keenly attuned to the external realities and proactive in sharing those insights with the NHS faculty and administration. Something as simple and seemingly innocuous as what we choose to name a course has far-reaching implications for our students in particular and New Hampton generally.

hamptonia

A

