Now that we’ve begun to receive applications for 2012, a few interesting things cross my mind: First, so far, only about five percent of our applicants are choosing to apply test optional. That’s lower than I thought it would be, but perhaps it shows that people know we’ve always emphasized GPA more than test scores, […]
If you’re interested, you can view or download the presentation I gave to High School Guidance Counselors, explaining DePaul’s decision to become the nation’s largest private, not-for-profit university to eliminate an SAT or ACT requirement for freshman admission. Click here.
Anyone who knows me knows I’m not an evangelist. I’m not a persuader. I generally allow people to have their own opinions about things. If you ask me mine, I’ll tell you, or if the need is especially pressing, I may jump in. “Get the hell out of the way of that truck,” is probably good […]
I’ve been asked to remove this post, as some people think it’s too inflammatory. While I don’t think so, I’ll allow cooler heads to prevail for now. For now, suffice it to say that Ms. Cepeda’s recent article in the Sun Times was mean-spirited, wholly uninformed, and devoid of rational thinking. Other than that, it was fine. And […]
Beckie Supiano at the Chronicle of Higher Education did a nice little blog post about my other blog, where I loaded 2010 IPEDS data into a visualization. You can read it here. If you want to go right to my other blog post with the data, it’s here.
I’ve worked in higher education for almost all of my 30 years after college, but I did spend some time in for-profit companies. As a result, one of my interests is the differences between the two. I’d guess, based on my interactions in the past, that we on the not-for-profit (NFP) side understand sales people […]
In the weeks since DePaul announced that we were going “test optional” for freshman admission, I’ve received quite a few phone calls and emails with questions. Fortunately, most of them have been very positive, and many of the questions have been thoughtful and engaging. As is often the case with Internet discussions, the ones who jumped into the […]
I’m pleased to announce today that DePaul University is going “test-optional” for students who apply as freshmen for the fall term of 2012. The only thing that will change on the application is the requirement that you submit an ACT or SAT; if you choose not to do so, you’ll be asked to submit responses […]
I wrote this several years ago, in response to an online discussion about whether or not sophomores were ready to think about college. Someone just asked permission to use some of it in a book she’s writing, so I thought I would post it here, too. An Open Letter to High School Sophomores (and probably […]
Another School Year: Why? Although John Ciardi was an accomplished poet in his own right, most people know him only through his translation of Dante’s Inferno. I discovered him quite by accident, as you will see. In 1988 or 1989, when I was working at the University of Dallas, I came across an old, mustard […]
Jon Boeckenstedt's Admissions Weblog 