Posted on August 28, 2008 by deanflagel
After the past few posts on test scores, I’m pretty bored with the subject. Nevertheless, amid reports that ACT scores are down this year (overstated – they’re just down 0.1, and that’s equal to 2006 scores), I hear again the question about whether the SAT or the ACT is better. Before I answer, I’ll remind [...]
Filed under: Admissions, Applications, College, College Admissions, Education, Family, George Mason University, High School, Life, SAT, University | Tagged: ACT, admission, College, Education, Family, Life, SAT | 5 Comments »
Posted on August 26, 2008 by deanflagel
As simple as the question sounds, it’s hard to answer. As I wrote in the last couple of posts, by and large your test scores are FAR less important than your overall academic records. They do count, however, and usually a lot more than most of the noncognitive factors (essays, recommendations, leadership, etc). Even so, [...]
Filed under: Admissions, Applications, College, College Admissions, Education, Family, GPA, George Mason University, Grades, High School, Life, Recommendations, SAT, University | Tagged: ACT, Admissions, College, Education, Family, Life, SAT, school | 13 Comments »
Posted on August 26, 2008 by deanflagel
A couple years ago our Provost took the unusual step of hiring a full time faculty member whose only job is to help our students obtain academic awards and fellowships. The results have been impressive with students winning more Fullbrights and Truman Scholarships, among others. This is probably another reason Mason rates the highest among universities [...]
Filed under: College Search Process, Education, Family, George Mason University, Graduate School, Scholarships | Tagged: Education, George Mason University, Scholarships | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 25, 2008 by deanflagel
Even though I do my best to convince students and families that the standardized tests, the SAT and the ACT, aren’t nearly as important to admission as the media might lead you to believe, I still get begged for advice on how to do better. Can test prep help? The College Board swore prep courses [...]
Filed under: Admissions, College Admissions, Education, Family, Grades, High School, Life, Parents, SAT, University | Tagged: ACT, College Admissions, Education, Family, Life, SAT | 20 Comments »
Posted on August 25, 2008 by deanflagel
The media attention driven by Mason being ranked as the Number One School to Watch in the Nation reminded me about all the attention Mason faculty receive. I get asked all the time how we get them so much coverage in so many places. The truth is that our faculty (and students) tend to not [...]
Filed under: Education, George Mason University, Life | Tagged: Education, George Mason University, Life, Media | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 24, 2008 by deanflagel
Over the next few days, I’ll try to get to some of the questions that have come in on essays, recommendations, etc. First, however, a bit about how we use the SAT/ACT, mostly repeating myself from a post last November: All I really remember about taking the SAT is dots. A LOT of dots. I [...]
Filed under: Admissions, Applications, College, College Admissions, Education, Family, GPA, Grades, High School, Life, SAT, University | Tagged: ACT, Admissions, College, Education, Family, Life, SAT | 1 Comment »
Posted on August 21, 2008 by deanflagel
I can’t bring myself to label this one a shameless plug. I’ve been sitting on this news for a couple of days, but since they finally put it on their website, it’s time to let loose: Disclaimer – if you read this blog you already know that I think most of the rankings are not [...]
Filed under: Education | 5 Comments »
Posted on August 21, 2008 by deanflagel
After the last few posts on grades some questions were swirling about how we judge courses students take, so I’ll steal liberally from my old posts and add some new stuff to create an overly verbose answer. In answering this question, admissions officers have been infatuated with the word, “rigorous.” I believe this is because [...]
Filed under: Admissions, Applications, College, College Admissions, Dual enrollment, Education, Family, GPA, George Mason University, Grades, High School, Life, University | Tagged: Admissions, Advanced Placement, College, Education, Family, Internatoinal Baccalaureate, Life | 10 Comments »
Posted on August 21, 2008 by deanflagel
Not long ago I posted a brag when Forbes Magazine listed the D.C. area as one of the 10 best places in the U.S. for college graduates. One of my minions (that would be Emily A, who you may periodically see cleaning up my messes on these pages) has been gently reminding me (one COULD [...]
Filed under: Education | 1 Comment »
Posted on August 20, 2008 by deanflagel
A few posts back I announced that I’m on a panel with some other folks talking about the local grading scales with a moderator from USA Today. The last time I dug into the subject here on the blog I got some great feedback (including being called full of excrement). Since that kind of robust [...]
Filed under: Admissions, Applications, College, College Admissions, Education, Family, Financial Aid, GPA, George Mason University, Grades, High School, Life, Scholarships, University | Tagged: admission, College, Education, Family, grading scale, Life | 8 Comments »
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