Northwestern Number One For Some

As a Northwestern alum, I am always curious to know how NU ranks each year. For the most part it has hovered right outside the top 10 for over a decade. While that might seem like stagnation, recent admissions statistics prove that it has certainly become more competitive.

This year, Northwestern admitted only 18 percent of its 31,000 applicants, five percentage points lower than the previous year.

Northwestern is just another example of a top-tier school that has become more choosy as the applicant pool has increased each year. This natural evolution, which has been discussed here previously, makes me wonder if the previous graduating classes would have been accepted in today's world. Morton Schapiro, the current president of Northwestern says yes. In his mind, the people who got into these top-tier schools in the past were competitive on the level that was necessary back then. He assumes that those people would have risen to the occasion had the circumstances been more like they are today.

I like that answer.

Chicago Schools Get More School

Education reform is at the top of every newly elected official's agenda.

So it comes an no surprise that Chicago's Rahm Emanuel, who replaced the 20-year-plus tenure of Richard Daley, has stepped into his new role with a mission to fix Chicago's public schools.

Interestingly, he has chosen to do what educators have debated about for years: extending the length of the school day and year. As the argument goes, in more competitive countries, school is a year-round endeavor. So why not here?

Emanuel's latest legislative maneuver attempts to test this plan out with small steps, something that might influence how other metropolitan school systems handle their calendars down the road.

Of course, in an era where most education news involves the phrase "cost cutting," one wonders how this plan will play out amongst the unions and fiscal conservatives.

For the present, however, Chicago students could take comfort in knowing that more school is coming their way!

Great Questions, Thoughtful Answers

Once again, the New York Times has taken the lead in providing valuable college admissions information. It amazes me that anyone would protest the idea of paying for access to this publication, believing that such a resource should be able to survive in the marketplace without capital from those who consume it. But that's another story.

The reason I'm extolling it today is due to a Q&A column written by one-time admissions officer Bruce Poch that has been featured everyday this week.

In this limited series, Poch takes questions about what to do when it comes down to picking the right school after getting accepted to several of the ones you were interested in. I especially enjoyed Poch's response to the first question, which involved what to do and expect from the waiting list.

Five New Words (or More)

You asked for it, you got it. Okay, no one really asked for it, but here it is anyway.

The latest edition of Five New Words comes from an opinion piece by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. I especially enjoy how she employed the use of the word "trellis." As always, look up these words. They are colorful, powerful, and ripe for the picking.

From "Hunting Birds of Paradise" by Maureen Dowd

“You!” he yelled, pointing at me in a sartorial “J’accuse” moment, “are wearing the wrong stockings with that dress!”


I wave at him when I see him around Manhattan, a slight, gray-haired man in a tweed cap turned backward, standing sentry outside Barney’s, pedaling on his red Schwinn through Times Square or darting around taking pictures at the opera.


As on that first night, he always looks happy and busy and kind, a Boston Irish priest of street fashion, an aesthetic meritocrat who moves through New York’s seductive trellis of money, power and status and stays pure somehow.


He admires anybody who looks good, the obscure as well as the famous, the old stylish gals as well as the young, women elegantly draping garbage bags against the storm as well as women in couture.


A new documentary about Cunningham offers a tonic of simplicity and a paean to women after Sheen’s excesses and contempt for women.

Register for those Subject Tests

You can never be reminded too much to register for subject tests, especially if you still haven't done so.

The registration deadline for the May 7 subject test exam is April 8. 

Why should you take this test? Hopefully by now you have cultivated a list of schools that you intend to apply to. In doing so, you should check to see if these schools require or "strongly recommend" subject tests. Many of the top-tier schools would like to see two of these subject tests. Some, such as Georgetown, want to see three. 

These tests, which are graded on an 800 scale, allow schools to see how students perform on a comprehensive test in a specific field. Most of the subject tests offered line up with an advanced placement curriculum. Ideally, students will score above the 700 range on these tests, which means preparing for them is essential. 

It's also important to note that you can take up to three of them in one day, but we suggest that you take only take two in one sitting. 

It Ain't Over

Getting rejected from your first choice is not the end of the world. That will occur when either the sun goes supernova or Rebecca Black gets a Grammy.

So if you have a case of the rejection blues, know that there's a smart way to deal with it. 

What Happened?

In an era when actually speaking to someone on the phone seems quaint, it is interesting to note that the timeless holiday-like tableau of high school seniors opening real life mailboxes with tangible envelopes from colleges around the country has retained its cultural cachet.

Yes, those letters have arrived, and, along with them, alarming statistics. It appears that the selective schools have gotten more selective as acceptance rates have dipped again for most of the prestigious universities. 

This is when parents have to try to reason how their children got rejected after having a flawless performance in every class since kindergarten. The test scores were high. The extracurriculars interesting. So what happened? 

There are a few factors at play here. For one thing, population growth. If there are more people applying to colleges, there are naturally more highly intelligent people. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean the spaces at these colleges have grown. So, in short, something's got to give. 

Another point is that it has gotten so easy to apply to a dozen universities as a result of online tools and common applications that people are applying to more places now than ever before. Increased applications coupled with a static number of acceptances equals a lower acceptance percentile. 

Finally, universities have become as selective as the students who want to attend them. Having a lower acceptance rate actually helps a university's overall ranking, so it's in its best interest to cause temporary pain and suffering. 

But all is not lost. Again, the skills gained in college are more important than the institution's name on the top of the diploma.