bmanners, Author at Get Into College

Will Algorithms Change Admissions?

USA Today: “Relax, the robots aren’t coming for college admissions quite yet. Real people will still be deciding on applicants for quite some time, and in all likelihood will always have the final say on admissions. Yet, just as artificial intelligence is in the relatively early stages of impacting practically every business, AI will almost certainly assume a bigger role across college campuses, too, and perhaps help university staffers decide whether you ultimately make the cut.”

“While University of Texas at Austin isn’t currently using or planning to use AI in its admissions process, UT-’s executive director of admissions Miguel Wasielewski told USA TODAY in an emailed statement that AI could become a useful tool. He wrote that, in conjunction with a robust ‘holistic review,’ AI ‘could have potential to reveal additional perspectives that might inform the admissions review process and … could support some of our practices around determining, based on a student’s application materials, what student success interventions might be important for timely graduation’.”

“That holistic review, Wasielewski makes clear, is still a ‘human endeavor,” and it is people, not machines, that will pore through and evaluate an applicant’s written responses to essay and short answer questions, transcripts, test scores and letters of recommendation.”

Grade Inflation: Putting the ‘Grit’ Back in GPA

Mitch Daniels: “In many cases, the GPA proves to be a reliable indicator of discipline, persistence and resilience — characteristics necessary to succeed at the college level (to say nothing of adult life). In the current vernacular, these traits are often collectively called ‘grit.’ Enrollment experts agree on its significance. The problem is in knowing when a high GPA reflects it and when it doesn’t. The challenge for today’s college admissions officer is like the one faced by corporate recruiters: In an era of rampant grade inflation, which grades can you believe?”

“Last year, researchers reported that nearly half of high school seniors in 2016 — 47 percent — graduated with an A average. That’s up from 38.9 percent in 1998. As ordinary students increasingly ‘earn’ higher marks, teachers help top students stand out by granting them extra credit of various kinds. The result: It is now not unusual for colleges to see high-school GPAs above a ‘perfect’ 4.0 … It is increasingly clear that, though a strong high-school GPA may indicate grit, it can also just be a sign of lax grading — producing not resilience but its opposite.”

“Of course, one easy solution for colleges is just to go with the grade-inflation flow, and obviously many institutions of higher education have chosen that route. Places determined instead to stretch and challenge students, aiming to help them achieve their full potential, will have to take on the trickier task of identifying and fostering true grit, providing quality counseling everywhere it’s needed … Meanwhile, let’s hope the College Board comes up with a new GPA — Grit Potential Assessment. I guarantee you, our university will be the first customer.” (Mitch Daniels is President of Purdue University)

Aw, Snap: Admissions Interest in Social Media Drops

Adweek: “The emergence of social platforms and features where content disappears or is not easily available for viewing by people who are not friends or contacts, such as the Stories format on Snapchat and Instagram, has reduced college admissions officers’ focus on applicants’ social media profiles, according to the latest survey from Kaplan Test Prep.”

“Kaplan surveyed 364 admissions officers from national, regional and liberal arts colleges and universities in the U.S., and it found that only 25 percent visit applicants’ social media profiles to learn more about them, down from 40 percent in 2015, prior to the emergence of the Stories format and similar features on other social platforms. Indeed, 52 percent of college admissions officers that did visit applicants’ social media profiles said those applicants have become more savvy about hiding their social media presence or using platforms where their content is not easily found by the public.”

“In Kaplan’s 2017 survey, 68 percent of admissions officers felt that it was ‘fair game’ for them to visit applicants’ social media profiles, but that number dropped to 57 percent this year. Meanwhile, 70 percent of students in a separate study conducted by Kaplan earlier this year felt that the practice was fair game.”

MIT 200.b: Brains in Toyland

“In class 2.00b, Toy Product Design, offered by MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, first-year students get hands-on engineering and product design experience while developing a prototype for a new toy.”

What Is Campus Life Really Like?

Her Campus: “It might seem silly, but a meme page can tell you more about a college than you’d think … Inside jokes between students can be about anything—fights with rival schools, the gross dining hall food and super strict professors. If you can learn about the things students usually make fun of or complain about on campus, you’ll have a much better idea of what student life is like. Just don’t take everything at face value—it’s a meme page, after all.”

“Instagram is a great way to find out about student lifestyle at a university. You can look through public pictures and comments posted by students there, and even reach out to someone if you’re interested. Most likely, they’d be willing to speak with you. Just make sure it’s not the school’s official Instagram—it probably won’t be any more insightful than a brochure … college newspapers can hold a treasure trove of information for you. From opinion pieces to campus news, you’ll find all the details on student ideologies and the latest changes on campus.”

“Believe it or not, reading student responses on a site like Rate My Professors can tell you a lot about student life. Whether they’re angry or happy with their professors, you’ll be able to see if students are petty about their grades or have actual, intelligible responses.” And, finally: “Make sure you check your school’s College Confidential forum for anything you want to find out about student life—from academics to intramural sports. It’s a great resource that you should check out at least once.”

Town & Gown: Colleges Develop Communities

The New York Times: “Many colleges and universities are taking a leading role in revitalizing local communities, recognizing that development not only can enhance the often fraught town-and-gown relationship but also make their institutions more attractive to students and faculty … Officials at the University of Maryland are working closely with local governments to create a zone called the Discovery District in College Park … The zone will include research firms, start-ups and shops and restaurants. A new hotel on university-owned land opened recently.”

“Other large universities are also working to strengthen partnerships with local governments and developers. During the past decade, officials at Yale have bought and redeveloped several commercial properties, leading to the creation of more than 110 new stores and restaurants in New Haven.”

“Drexel University in Philadelphia has completed about $500 million in real estate development since 2010 … In 2017, Drexel and the developer Brandywine Realty Trust broke ground on the Schuylkill Yards project, a $3.5 billion, 14-acre development that will include commercial laboratories as well as residential, retail, office and academic space … The development boom near campuses is not happening just in big cities. Smaller development has been spurred by the University of Toledo in Ohio, the Brownsville campus of the University of Texas and Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

Hello, Iowa: The Original Cornell

Cornell Daily Sun: “When Martin Rosenfeld was still a high school senior, his college application list included an Ivy League school in Ithaca. A few months later, he got into Cornell and decided to go there. But when he left for school in August of his freshman year, he headed for Iowa, not New York. Rosenfeld intended to apply to Cornell University, as he did to schools like Vanderbilt and Brown. However, during the highly stressful process, he accidentally applied to Cornell College, which is in Mount Vernon, Iowa. He ended up going there and he has no regrets about it.”

“Cornell College is a small, liberal arts school in Mount Vernon, Iowa. The school has an enrollment of about 1,000 undergrads. Although not as well-known as Cornell University, they proclaim themselves the original Cornell since they were founded 12 years before the University … What greatly intrigued Rosenfeld about Cornell College, however, was its curriculum design — ‘the block plan.’ At Cornell College, students take one course at a time and intensively study it for 18 class days – about three and a half weeks – and repeat it four times per semester.”

“Foregoing his acceptance to Vanderbilt, Rosenfeld instead headed to Mount Vernon, a decision that has caused confusion amongst those around him. Martin says that he faced multiple ‘outbursts’ from his peers in high school about why he decided to go to “some small, liberal arts college that practically nobody has ever heard of. His family, despite being supportive, also had a hard time wrapping their heads around this move. But according to Rosenfeld, attending Cornell College was the best decision he ever made.”

Holy Polynomials: SAT Advanced Math Tips

US News: “The Passport to Advanced Math subsection of the SAT, which includes 16 questions out of 58 total, or 28 percent, is perhaps the most complex part of the math section. While this can be intimidating to students, taking the time to study and ensuring you know your formulas will help you greatly … One thing worth noting about Passport to Advanced Math is its emphasis on equation simplification … For success on Passport to Advanced Math, you must know how to move variables within an equation without making errors, as well as the rules for the quadratic equation. You should also be comfortable with factoring before you sit for the SAT.”

“While you may be very comfortable solving equations or expressions in certain forms, you should also be prepared to move between different forms fluidly. To practice this fluidity, you can do something as simple as setting aside 10 minutes each day to work with equations and expressions in multiple forms … Get comfortable adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing polynomial expressions. The addition or subtraction of polynomial expressions is relatively easy – you simply combine like terms, such as 2x and 5x or -1 and 3. When dealing with subtraction, it is important to remember to reverse the sign in each term prior to adding the expressions; for example, -10y would become 10y.”

“For multiplication, remember to use the FOIL method – first, outside, inside, last. You should also ensure that you multiply each term in the second polynomial by each term in the first polynomial … When working with exponents in Passport to Advanced Math, remember that when simplifying expressions, you either need the same base or the same exponent in most cases. It can be helpful to recall that the ‘core’ exponent rules follow a similar pattern … For division, if the bases to be divided are different, but the exponent is the same, you divide the bases before raising them to the exponent. If the bases and the exponents are different, you calculate each term separately and then divide the results.”

Delaware to Demolish Christiana Towers

Delaware Online: “The University of Delaware has announced it will be closing both 17-story Christiana Towers residence halls at the end of the 2018-19 school year, several years earlier than expected. The plan had been to shutter the nearly 50-year-old Towers in 2023-24, after building a new residence hall. While the Towers were considered fairly innovative when they first opened in 1972, they are now a drain on resources and require heavy maintenance, university officials have said.”

“Closing them now may save money, but also creates a housing shortage. The Towers were still an option when students filled out their applications for 2019-20 housing, and many indicated a preference for apartment-style living. Students that can no longer be accommodated in remaining on-campus apartments have been notified they will have to live elsewhere, according to an announcement on UDaily, the university’s online news service.”

“The university plans on eventually demolishing the Towers, putting an end to an era and destroying one of UD’s most recognizable landmarks. On Facebook, hundreds of students and alumni shared stories about living there, as well of pictures of their apartments.”

Lehigh vs. Lafayette: A Rivalry for the Ages

WFMZ: “The annual Lafayette-Lehigh college football game took place Saturday afternoon in Easton. Better known as The Rivalry, it is the most-played football rivalry in the nation … The Leopards and Mountain Hawks own the most-played football rivalry in the nation. Prior to Saturday’s game, the two had played 153 times since 1884 with Lehigh taking the last three but Lafayette owning the all-time series record.”

“This is the only game that matters. None of the other games really matter,” Lafayette senior Magee said. “As I say to my buddies every year, it’s always a one-game season,” 1989 Lehigh grad Jeff Gendel said. “If you beat Lafayette it’s a good year. If you don’t beat Lafayette it wasn’t the best year.” But just having “The Rivalry” continue on is enough for some. “No matter how good or bad the teams are every year, there’s always something to play for and that’s to beat your arch rival on Lehigh-Lafayette football day.”

Lehigh won, 34-3.