Wait Chapel

A ratings alternative

Jeffrey Brenzel, dean of admissions at Yale, says colleges are missing the point to simply criticize U.S. News for its college rankings. They do satisfy the raging public demand for information and clarity in a process that is very complicated and time-consuming for most families. […]


Ending with a bang

The final session of the conference promises to be a great one. Robert Morse, director of Data Research for U.S. News & World Report; Jeffrey Brenzel, dean of admissions at Yale; and Richard Vedder, professor of economics at Ohio University and the architect of a […]


Helping students succeed

Omari Swinton, a professor at Howard University, discussed a study he conducted on Benedict College’s policy of grading students on both effort and knowledge. Because Benedict College has an open admissions policy, SAT scores and high school GPAs are irrelevant to whether or not a […]


Holistic vs mechanical assessment

Scott Highhouse, professor of industrial-organization psychology at Bowling Green State University, challenged the current assumption that “holistic approaches” to college admissions is better than mechanical ones. “I’m not going to advocate for the SAT,” he said right off the bat, but for standardized […]


Educational experience varies according to discipline

Panelist Steve Chatman presented findings from his study with University of California students that suggest those factors predicting success vary according to what discipline a student chooses. “Academic major impacts a students experience, and we deal with it very little as a profession,” […]


Texas rethinks admissions

Bruce Walker, vice provost and director of admissions at the University of Texas, gave one of the most interesting and impassioned presentations of the conference. He described Texas’ “top 10 percent solution,” adopted 10 years ago. That guarantees admission to every in-state student […]


We can do it. Yes, we can!

“No one likes what’s going on in college admissions,” said panelist Lloyd Thacker, “and we each have a role to play in improving college admissions.” Colleges have more to gain by working cooperatively than competitively. Many road marks suggest that colleges and universities are rethinking […]


Commercialism in education

Commercialism has transformed education into product and students into consumers. Lloyd Thacker asked the conference participants to identify these billion dollar industries that affect education. Test prep, enrollment management consultants, a consultants for kids industry, and a “how to beat the system” industry were shouted […]


The role of the student not the school

There are many studies that show that it is student qualities that make for success in life – qualities much more important than the prestige of any one college or university. When conference participants were asked what student qualities inspired their work, potential, curiosity, hope, […]


Education as a ministry

Lloyd Thacker, the director of Educational Conservancy, delivered an inspired presentation. The room enthusiastically responded to his focus on education as a ministry. “Education as a ministry reminds us of common purposes and shared commitments to serving something of such profound importance, and it might […]


About

On April 15 and 16, 2009, Wake Forest University hosted top admissions officers and leading researchers from Berkeley, Duke, Harvard, Ohio State, Princeton, Texas, Virginia, Yale and other universities along with the director of data research for U.S. News & World Report for the Rethinking Admissions conference.

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