NEWS ON INDIVIDUAL COLLEGES

The University of Massachusetts, like many state schools, is facing a 50+ million dollar budget gap for next year. Student fees will most likely go up. When you are researching athletic programs at state schools, it is a good idea to try and inquire about what athletic programs might be on the chopping block

California Berkeley saved three sports that were to be eliminated. Men's rugby, women's lacrosse and women's gymnastics teams were all saved through fundraising. Men’s baseball and men’s gymnastics were not so lucky as those two sports will be eliminated.

Harvard University - one of the most competitive schools in the country received over 35,000 applications for roughly 1,600+ spots in 2010. Of those 35,000+ applications, roughly 2,100 were admitted. The rejection rate was about 94% and we can guarantee you that the majority of the rejections were probably students that were more than qualified to attend Harvard had they not been competing with 34,999 other applicants for so few spots. Harvard also has a high yield, roughly 80 percent. This is why Harvard can only accept a few hundred more students than they actually have places for, because so few students turn down the opportunity to attend Harvard. The good news? For families with annual incomes below $60,000, Harvard is free. For families with annual incomes of up to $180,000, the college asks, on average, no more than 10 percent of income.

Northeastern University – Also located in Boston, received a record number of applications as well. Over 43,000 applications were received by the school for roughly 2,800 spots in the freshman class. This was a 15 percent increase over the previous year. The number of international applicants has jumped by more than 42 percent in one year, to 4,438 mostly due to the fact that the school hosted 700 admissions conferences for high school counselors abroad. Normally known as a co-op school where students attend for 5 years, the school has recently allowed students to graduate in 4 years. The school also received applications from over 600 new high schools throughout the country. To make things more challenging, over 14,000 students applied to the non-binding early action program.

Staying with the Boston theme. – Boston University received a record number of applicants this year with 41,700. The good news: Applying early to Boston University isn’t that common and the school only accepted about 9% of their class via their binding early decision application.

The University of Pennsylvania accepted 1,195 early applicants out of over 4,500 early applicants. The bad news is the binding early decision makes up roughly 49 percent of available spots for all freshman applicants.

MIT received 6,500 early applications, an increase of over 800 from the previous year.

Stanford University has admitted 754 students for early admission from a record number of early applicants for its undergraduate class of 2015. Some 5,929 students - also a new record for Stanford - had applied for the non-binding early action program. In 2010, Stanford admitted 2,340 of 32,022 applicants for the class of 2014. Of those admitted, 1,674 enrolled as freshmen.

Dartmouth College has admitted 444 students into the Class of 2015 from a pool of 1,759 early decision applicants. This makes up about 40 percent of the class. The applications for early decision rose 12 percent over last year and have increased 37 percent over the past five years. Early Decision is binding at Dartmouth. Among the students who attend secondary schools that report rank, 25 percent are ranked first in their class, and 87 percent are ranked in the top 10 percent. The combined mean SAT I score is 2144. Students admitted during the early round come from a variety of backgrounds and bring a range of talents and interests to the College. The group includes a 2010 Olympic gold medalist, the principal trumpet player for the Boston Youth Symphony, other highly recruited athletes and artists, and many students who have had a positive impact on their schools and communities through their engagements beyond the classroom. Hmm, do you have Olympic Gold Medalist on your college application? Source: Dartmouth Now Website.

Georgetown University admitted 17% of over 6,600 early action applicants.

Johns Hopkins - Accepted 518 accepted Early Decision applicants from a record applicant pool of 1,330, a 15 percent increase in Early Decision applications from last year. The bad news: This represents 41% of the total available freshman admission spots.

Duke University – Accepted 645 early applicants from a pool of 2,282 that applied for an admit rate of 29% 695 applicants were deferred.

Yale - Of 5,257 early applicants, 761 were notified of their acceptances this evening or roughly 14%. Yale offers what they call a single-choice early action program which is as follows…If you would like an admissions decision by mid-December, you may apply under Yale’s Single-Choice Early Action program. The program is like other non-binding plans in that candidates who are admitted early need not respond to the offer of admission until May 1, and may apply to other schools for Regular Decision. Being admitted to Yale early would, for example, still allow you to compare offers of financial aid in the spring. Yale’s Early Action plan is unlike many other programs in that if you apply for Single-Choice Early Action at Yale, you may not simultaneously apply for Early Action or Early Decision to any other school. If you apply early to Yale, you will be asked to sign the Single-Choice Early Action Agreement

MAJORS OFF THE BEATEN PATH!

Tired of accounting or business management as career choice. Check out these 3 unique programs offered at college.

Racetrack management: The Race Track Industry Program (RTIP) at the University of Arizona is the only program of its kind. We offer two paths based on student interest. The Business Path prepares students for employment in the areas of race track management, regulation and pari-mutuel racing organizations. The Equine Management Path prepares students for employment in areas dealing with racing and breeding animals.

Packaging: According to the University of Wisconsin-Stout, they have a package for you at UW-Stout. The bachelor of science degree in Packaging. This package leads to interesting, challenging, and rewarding careers in package printing; business and sales; foods and packaging; package graphic design; manufacturing and quality management; or package design, research and development. The packaging career field involves the use of materials, methods, design concepts and machinery to develop and produce the packages that protect and preserve a product, help market the product and instruct the consumer in its proper use

Turfgrass management: Michigan State University This major develops scientists for the rapidly expanding area of urban agriculture. Graduates have career opportunities in the industries involved with lawn management, athletic fields, golf courses, and park and grounds maintenance.