Perhaps there is nothing so misunderstood as the College Board Student Search Service™ (SSS).  Each year, when students sign up for any of the suite of services College Board offers, they’re given the chance to participate in SSS, because they’re told they’ll get information from colleges about opportunities and scholarships and other things students are […]

Some early decision admission decisions are rolling in, from the sound of things. And the annual understandable confusion from parents, counselors, and students rolls in right behind them. Few of them, of course, are questioning or complaining about acceptances; it’s the denials (also called “rejections”) that cause the stress and strain. (Disclaimer: You know which […]

Below you can find the email I just sent to the FTC, opposing the merger or acquisition plans of College Board and Carnegie Dartlet. The email address, should you wish to object, is antitrust@ftc.gov I am writing to express opposition to a proposed merger of, or acquisition by, The College Board /  Carnegie Dartlet Communications.  […]

Yesterday, IECA and Oregon State University officially launched the AXS Companion, to help any student navigate the Common Application process.  The project is over a year in the making, and is a collaborative effort between IECA and Oregon State University, using the talent and resources of both, with special assistance from OSU’s award-winning Ecampus. The […]

Today is March 25, a day I have unilaterally labeled as test optional admissions day. Today is also the birthday of fellow Iowan Norman Borlaug, winner of the Nobel Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal, who was once described as “Greatest Human Being That Ever Lived” for his efforts that […]

I’ll do my best to make this an evergreen post: One I can just point to when we read yet another opinion article by the same types of people insisting that removing the SATs is going to harm first-generation and/or low-income and/or students of color and/or anyone who attends an under-resourced high school. The latest […]

I’ve been a member of NACAC for a long time, and even though I’m from Iowa, my most frequent observations about the organization’s limitations have centered on its propensity to avoid confrontation. It was usually more Iowa-nice than even I could handle. Of course, I can only imagine how hard it must be to run […]

I remember an early 1990’s encounter with a university president who had an interesting take on higher education: He pointed out that there are really only a few institutions that have existed largely in their current form since the latter part of the Middle Ages: Some German breweries, The Catholic Church, and Higher Education. I […]

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we were experiencing a wave of colleges and universities going test-optional for freshman admission. And with societal change in California, and all the Ivy League institutions deciding they can make admissions decisions without the benefit of an SAT or ACT score (at least for one year), the wave has […]