I just learned that the man who gave me a chance and hired me into my first admissions job, Don McCormick, has passed away. He was one of the people I had in mind when I wrote a brief, completely inadequate post of thanks to everyone who had set me on my path. And, of […]
One of my favorite quotations is so delightfully complex and paradoxical that it’s often attributed to Yogi Berra, who almost certainly didn’t say it: “In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is.” In the spring of 2024, our theories and our practices are on a collision course with […]
I’m sick of this crap. To reiterate, I don’t care about tests, other than to point out repeatedly the essential absurdity of the very concept. Use them if you want, Love them if you want. I work at a university that doesn’t require them, and I work on the west coast, where they’re essentially meaningless. I’m retiring in three […]
Two quick stories might help you understand how the FAFSA delays and how you deal with them are not just mechanical or operational: They’re cultural. Many years ago, back when we used to get our reimbursements as physical checks instead of direct deposits, I grabbed mine and walked to the Student Accounts Office on campus […]
I’ve seen a lot of press recently about the revivial of the SAT, in both big national papers and smaller, narrower market publications. There is a lot to hash out in the discussion of the value of these tests, but let’s get one thing out of the way: Statistics don’t prove much in this debate, and […]
Last week I had written about the David Leonhardt article in the NY Times (if you haven’t seen it by now, don’t bother, as the statistics it cites have been widely dismissed by people who know the reality), in which I suggested that it was yet another College Board plant, where they pre-deliver a nice […]
Blog posts have half-lives of about 72 hours, and my most recent one is no exception. It got some good traction on Twitter, although I believe many people are as tired of debating the SAT as I am; it was picked up and posted in the Chronicle of Higher Education morning update (and to my surprise […]
It’s a popular meme, and it’s a good one for today. I had said I was just going to point people who ask me about the latest SAT or ACT news to this blog post. It’s long and cumbersome, but it did sort of summarize all the points I talked about too often. Use the SAT if […]
This is the third electronic–and perhaps the 33rd mental–draft of this I’ve attempted. You see, December 5th, 2023, marks my 40th anniversary in this profession in one way or another. I’ve been trying to figure out what to say, and how to say it to mark the occasion. knowing full that that nothing is required […]
TLDR: You can share a link to help underserved students apply to college. Much Longer Version: A while ago, Marilyn O’Toole contacted me on behalf of IECA. She and organizational leadership were concerned—as almost all of my admissions, financial aid, enrollment management, and high school and independent counselors are—about underserved students getting support during the college […]
Jon Boeckenstedt's Admissions Weblog 