College Conundrum

A n e w h a m p t o n s c h o o l

photograph courtesy of yale University

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�collegeconundrumthere are few certainties these days in the world of

college admission. but one is increased applications,

making the college process an experience something to

which most parents and grandparents cannot relate.

� � � � � � � � by derek krein � � � � � � � �new hampton school director of college counseling


the words seem to be on arepeating loop: “This is the most competitiveyear ever in college admission.” For nearlytwo decades, the needle has kept moving,and the rate of change in college admissions,programs, and offerings in dizzying. The land-scape and terrain of the “college process”change so rapidly that it is difficult for stu-dents and families to get their bearings.

In many ways, the college process (reflec-tion, research, application, and choice)frenzy has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.FDR’s incisive admonition “The only thing wehave to fear is fear itself,” comes to mind.Over the years of deconstructing this speechwith high school juniors in US History class,one can appreciate a college counselor’sdesire to teach US History in the sophomoreyear. An understanding before the start ofjunior year of just how paralyzing fear can beon the human psyche would go a long waytoward making the college process the ener-gizing, enlightening, and empoweringexperience that it can and should be for stu-dents and their families.

increase in applicationsFor 35 years and counting the CommonApplication has served to reduce significant-ly the hours a student spends filling in thebiographical and academic information com-mon to every college application, as well as apersonal statement (the college essay) andshort answer response. Yet the time oncesaved by this work simplification is nowspent applying to more colleges. As morestudents choose to apply to a greater num-ber of colleges, and often the same cohort ofschools where class sizes remain constant, itis inevitable that the percentage of appli-cants that a given school accepts (“admit

rate”) will go down. As that acceptance per-centage drops each year, students becomemore and more fearful (think back to FDR’sfear here) about their chances for collegeadmission and thus apply to a greater num-ber of schools than the class before them.This fear is the catalyst for a vicious cycle.The list of two or three colleges or universi-ties to which today’s parents of high-schoolaged students applied in their senior year ofhigh school has grown to nearly eight forcurrent seniors. And that’s the average,which means it is not uncommon for somestudents to submit anywhere from 15 to asmany as 20 applications.

Generally, the number of colleges towhich a student applies is inversely propor-tional to the time spent on researching eachschool. A bigger list too often does notreflect consistent student criteria. Why notjust add an Ivy College or two to the list “justto see what happens?” Almost every IvyLeague institution has an admit rate at orbelow 10 percent. The pools for those schoolsremain the best and brightest students, andno longer draw only from within the UnitedStates but span the entire globe. From acollege standpoint, the spike in receivedapplications, borne out of fear, disrupts themodels colleges employ for offering admis-sion and managing yield. The perceivedunpredictably creates fear in students.

the business ofcollege admission For a time, demographics suggested that theadmit belt would loosen when the popula-tion bubble of high school graduates burst in2008–09. Though the sheer volume of highschool students might be on the decline, thepercentage of high school students who

choose to apply and matriculate to collegecontinues to rise at a faster rate. And that’sjust high school students from the UnitedStates. In teasing out what factors contributemost to fueling the college admission fearand frenzy, the increase of high school grad-uates matriculating to college alone pales incomparison to the concurrent effects of bothmore aggressive mainstream media publica-tions and more aggressive marketing andbusiness practices on the part of colleges.

US News & World Report and similar enti-ties do more harm than good with theircollege rankings cottage industry. For far toomany students and families these publica-tions become the college process equivalentof SparkNotes: shortcuts to a substantiveunderstanding of a college’s appropriatenessfor a student. These publications offer moredistraction than guidance—“Best Collegesand Universities” for whom, exactly?

When students deliberately and thought-fully consider who they are, identify whatthey need and seek from a college—and why,and commit themselves to creating a bal-anced (likely, possible, reach) college listconsisting of schools that match their per-sonal criteria and meet family circumstances,there is no need to apply to 20 or even 10schools. The more students know aboutthemselves and the more purposeful theirprocess becomes, then the quicker the irra-tional and debilitating fear surrounding thecollege process dissipates.

In addition to the mainstream media, UScolleges and universities today employ bet-ter, more efficient business practices toattract candidates, predict application vol-ume and characteristics, and manage yield.Social media, a current reality non-existent10 years ago, has changed this landscape.

us news & world report and similarentities do more harm than good with theircollege rankings cottage industry.


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College admission offices have at least onestaff person singularly dedicated to update,maintain, and direct these new technologicaltools to market, attract, connect, and landnew customers—prospective and currentapplicants and their families.

As colleges angle and jostle for marketshare, the proliferation of application solicita-tions, types, and deadlines is staggering. Somehave a Publishers’ Clearinghouse ring to them:“You have been selected to apply to theUniversity of East Coast! Just complete oureasy online application, and we will waive theapplication fee. Parts of the application havealready been completed for you. You willreceive your decision within the next month.”

This sort of appeal seduces many studentsinto believing: “This college knows me; theywant me.” The right student-college match isthe end goal and a worthwhile and necessarydebate. A college’s business practice shouldnot be driving a student’s process.

As with any successful business, collegeadmission practices are now being measuredand guided by their own institutional econo-metric models, particularly yield projections.Based on three to five years of data, everyapplication is analyzed and measured, basedon as many tangible factors as possible,including but not limited to GPA, merit schol-arship, demonstrated interest (Has thestudent visited campus? Has the student

met with a representative on the NewHampton campus?), demonstrated financialneed, and so forth, to determine the likeli-hood that a student, or a student with thosecharacteristics, will decide to enroll if offeredadmission. The Chronicle of Higher Educationillustrated the business model transforma-tion most admission offices have undergonein recent years in “Those Tweedy OldAdmissions Deans? They’re All BusinessNow” (June 26, 2011).

College admissions have begun to out-source their marketing initiatives toprofessional businesses that help manageenrollment, all of which use market-drivenanalytic and benchmarking data. Since the

t h e c o l l e g e c o n u n d r u m

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Class of 2012 Class of 2013 Class of 2014 Class of 2015

Early Decision Applied 1,428 1,550 1,574 1,759

Early Decision Admitted 399 401 460 442

Total Applied 16,538 18,132 18,778 22,385

Total Admitted 2,228 2,279 2,193 2,270

Overall Admit Rate 13.5% 12.6% 11.7% 10.1%

Total Enrolled 1,095 1,094 1,138 1,113

Dartmouth CollegeAdmission Data 2008–11 source: dartmouth college

photograph courtesy of princeton university



photograph courtesy of vanderbilt University


economic downturn in late 2008, collegeadmissions offices have had to slash theirbudgets, retain fewer personnel, and travelless. Admission deans (or “Vice Presidentsfor Enrollment Management” as they aremore commonly titled today) aspire to belofty and warmly idealistic as they craft anincoming class and create a communitywhile at the same time they must be prag-matic and coldly calculating in order to fillthe beds and make the budget. The financialrealities that restrict a college budget dictatethat increasing money—specifically thetuition revenue streams—has led to collegesactively recruiting students who can paymore and state institutions pursuing out-of-state or international students who paysignificantly more than in-state students.

As with most educational institutionscommitted to fostering greater global aware-ness and collaboration, American collegesand universities understand the value ofglobal diversity for their classrooms andcampuses and they aggressively pursue it.Institutions like Dartmouth College, PurdueUniversity, and Occidental College, to namethree examples of thousands, are just as eas-ily accessible to international applicants asthey are to domestic students.

student successin the process andimplications for nhsSuccess, of course, has many definitions andmarkers. In the college process, success isabout fit and match between the studentand the college. Self-reflection, ownership,and attention to detail, then, become criticalcharacteristics for the high school studentaspiring to have an enjoyable and successfulcollege process. Students must understandtheir own needs and wants (and the differ-

ence between the two) before embarking ontheir college search. And this is not to say astudent’s criteria cannot change once theyhave the first meeting with a college coun-selor; this is a very dynamic, often fluidprocess. For many students the necessarycontemplation has begun well before theyfirst sit down with a college counselor.

On the whole, this entire process is asmuch art as it is science. If there were aneasy “science” formula to follow, there wouldbe no fear or stress since everyone couldsimply and accurately calculate outcomes.Thankfully there remains an “art” element toit all, and this is where the authentic individ-ual shines. It’s the “art”—the subjective—that most often differentiates: a stellaracademic record alone will not ensureadmission to the most selective colleges.

“College Preparation” is a broad concept,which encompasses preparation both forsuccess in college academic, social, andservice endeavors, as well as preparation forpositive outcomes for college admission. Thecollege counseling office pivots between thetwo in service of the student, family, andgreater community.

Establishing and managing expectationsof the college process is an institutionalimperative. Student emphasis is on self-dis-covery and the importance of student-collegematch. We work closely with all students,helping each demonstrate their interests andabilities—seeking out opportunities andexperiences that match them well—whilealso being mindful of their needs.

Getting beyond the rankings is an essen-tial step for families. Our office informsparents about the realities of the collegelandscape and why the match is paramountfor the student given immediate costs andfuture investments tied to higher education.

Along similar lines, international familiesneed to understand the US college admis-sion system is not so much numbers-drivenas rankings suggest.

Managing the expectations of and dis-seminating information to other keyconstituencies, such as the Board ofTrustees, our broader alumni base, as well asprospective students and families is equallyimportant. The range of excellent collegematches available is so much greater than itwas even 15 or 20 years ago.

the future and the pastIn a 1990 essay in Independent SchoolMagazine, titled “College Admission: FailedRite of Passage,” psychologist MichaelThompson, PhD. noted that the collegeadmission process comes at a crucial time inadolescent development. Cultural rites ofpassage are times when people transitionfrom one phase to the next; in the case of ahigh-school senior, he or she is leaving theage of childhood and entering adulthood.“For those students who go on to college, itseems that getting in to college is a moresignificant ritual than graduating from highschool; it certainly occupies more time,attention, and family preparation and anxi-ety. The major transitional step for theseyoung people is the departure for college,and the series of rituals preparing for thatstep is the college admission process.”

So how do we try to improve this “failedrite of passage” here at New HamptonSchool? How do we achieve the adage ofparenting, giving our children both “rootsand wings”? We acknowledge whom we areguiding: adolescents who are at varioussteps along a developmental continuum.Some are ready immediately to engage in

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on the whole, this entire processis as much art as it is science.

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After three years as the Director of CollegeCounseling, Marty Elkins took her passion forindependent schools to the Philippines. Elkins,who has had stops at Holderness School andGroton School—is the new Head of School atthe Beacon Academy in Manila where her hus-band, Paul Elkins, former Associate Director ofStudents at NHS, will join her. Marty reflectedon the state of college counseling at NHS thelast three years.

As the college admission landscape contin-ues to shift and churn, New Hampton Schoolstudents continue to be read well by admis-sions officers. The Class of 2012 wassuccessful in their college process, gainingadmission to colleges and universities wellsuited to their talents. The matriculation listreveals, yet again, that New Hampton Schoolstudents attend an eclectic mix—applying tomore than 300 different colleges and gainingacceptance to 200-plus colleges—that accu-rately matches our types of students.

In my three-year tenure at New HamptonSchool, I have witnessed a subtle culturalshift regarding college attendance. There area decreasing number of students who donot engage in the process, and more stu-dents who are seeking pathways towardsexciting futures in business, research, andallied health professions. New HamptonSchool will always have students attendinghighly selective colleges such as Brown,Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore andWilliams. Our skilled athletes will land spotson the basketball, football, lacrosse andhockey rosters at Division I places such asBoston College, Notre Dame, University ofMichigan, Penn State, Colgate, UNH and U.Maine. Our artists will attend Rhode IslandSchool of Design, The School of the ArtInstitute of Chicago, and Savannah Collegeof Art and Design. Our thespians will attendstrong performing arts programs, at PaceUniversity’s Musical Theatre Program, ournurses and physical therapists will attend

top-notch health programs at FairfieldUniversity and Endicott College, and our sci-entists will engage in active research asundergraduates at Massachusetts Collegeof Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Our stu-dents will go to colleges that support theirlearning style differences, that engage inactive environmental stewardship, that offerprograms in their co-curricular passions ofrock-climbing and snowboarding, and thatare communities full of compassionate andenthusiastic people.

Why? Because that is what NewHampton School offers and is: a groundedand unpretentious community with a clearsense of mission. The past few years theSchool’s leadership has taken NewHampton’s proud heritage and tradition andmoved it into the 21st century. We still haveathletes and artists and scholars living andworking in a caring community. We still eatlunch together, sit in McEvoy Theatertogether, and celebrate commencement onthe Meservey Lawn. But now we use tech-nology more effectively in our classrooms,

integrating not just projectors and smart-boards, but iPads and e-textbooks. Ourteachers still care deeply about their subjectcontent and their students; and now weoffer flip teaching and collaborative projectscreating robots, windmills, and solar instal-lations. Our student body is still small andcaring, but now we share our space withothers from China, Vietnam, Columbia,Spain, Kuwait, and Nigeria, sending applica-tions around the world to more than 25universities, reflecting a truly global sense ofcommunity.

The college acceptances of our studentsshould always match their aspirations andabilities. Our students attend colleges thatmatch their passions and interests, sense ofadventure, or desire for challenge. Becauseof their experiences here, and what they willlearn in their venues of higher learning, NewHampton School students are ready for theinterconnected and global world they willenter after college. �

— Marty Elkins


the class of 2012 had choices

marty elkins is now a head of school in the philippines.

background photograph courtesyof University of California, davis


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the process; some are more reluctant, evenunwilling; but we invest ourselves in teachinghow each student must follow the smallsteps or do the critical and analytical think-ing necessary to make the decisions theprocess requires. The College Counselorsoffer an extension of the curriculum of the

School, grounded in the mission, core values,and the Foundations of Learning. Therefore,we work individually with each student tomeet each where he or she is along thatadolescent continuum, preparing student,family, and the entire community to embracethe process in the healthiest ways possible.We help educate them on the choices avail-

able and help them see their talents realisti-cally. Despite the challenges of the newlandscape of college admission in 2012, NewHampton School has a purposeful, informed,and appropriate process that guides our stu-dents, our families, and our entirecommunity. �

University of New Hampshire [4]

Montana State University,

Bozeman [3]

Sacred Heart University [3]

Saint Michael's College [3]

St. Lawrence University [3]

College of the Holy Cross [2]

Gettysburg College [2]

High Point University [2]

Hofstra University [2]

Johns Hopkins University [2]

The University of Montana,

Missoula [2]

University of New Hampshire,

Thompson School of Applied

Science [2]

University of Vermont [2]

American InterContinental

University, London

Assumption College

Babson College

Bates College

Boston College

Bryant University

Casper College

Central Piedmont

Community College

Champlain College

Clemson University

Colgate University

Concordia University–Montréal

Connecticut College

Cuesta College

Dean College

Drexel University

Endicott College

Fairfield University

Franklin Pierce University

Full Sail University

Hobart and William

Smith Colleges

Lake Forest College

Longwood University

Marist College

Massachusetts College of

Pharmacy and Health

Sciences

Michigan State University

Nazareth College

Nichols College

Northeastern University

Pace University, New York City

Pennsylvania State University,

University Park

Princeton University

Providence College

Purdue University

Quinnipiac University

Rhode Island College

Rivier College

Rollins College

Saint Anselm College

Saint Joseph’s College–ME

Saint Joseph's University

School of the Art Institute

of Chicago

Stonehill College

Swarthmore College

The University of Akron

Towson University

University of British Columbia

at Vancouver

University of California at Irvine

University of California at

Los Angeles

University of Charleston

University of Connecticut

University of Hartford

University of Kansas

University of Maine

University of Massachusetts,

Lowell

University of New England

University of Notre Dame

University of Pittsburgh

University of Puget Sound

University of the Pacific

Vermont Technical College

Williams College

Wittenberg University

Xavier University

2012 nHs collegematriculation note: one student per school unless noted

photograph courtesy of northeastern University

continued from page 69


Derek has spent his entire 19-year profes-sional career as an independent high schooleducator (17 years in boarding schools).Most recently, Derek was Head of SeniorHouse at Stanwich School in Greenwich,Connecticut, where he took on the leader-ship role of designing and implementing aninnovative high school program for a newhigh school division. Prior to his post atStanwich, he spent a decade directing thecollege counseling offices at three independ-ent schools: Kimball Union Academy inMeriden, New Hampshire; The Hun Schoolof Princeton, New Jersey; and LawrenceAcademy in Groton, Massachusetts. Hebegan his teaching career at Brooks Schoolin North Andover, Massachusetts.

Derek received his Master’s in LiberalStudies with a History concentration fromDartmouth College and his Bachelor’s from

Connecticut College, where he double-majored in History and Psychology androwed on the varsity crew for four years. Heis a graduate of Kent School in Connecticut.Hamptonia caught up with Derek as hemoved into his new role on campus.

What are you most excited about as youreturn to work in a College Counseling Officeand specifically New Hampton School’s?I am most looking forward to the dynamisminherent in the college process (reflection,research, application, and choice) as awhole. It sounds cliché, but it is accuratethat no two are alike. For each student andfamily the process unfolds in different waysand at different rates, yet each has hard andmeaningful work that must be fulfilled.

New Hampton has been on my radar foryears now, and I’ve been waiting for the righttime and right opportunity to align. I amthrilled to join NHS at a point when, guidedby mission and core values, the School hasembraced the Foundations of Learning, theIB Diploma Programme, and global engage-ment. Having been part of an IB boardingschool community elsewhere, I’ve seen theIB tide lift all ships. The desire to know, tomake relevant connections, and to live ameaningful, purposeful life permeates all

members and aspects of community life.New Hampton has been very deliberate andintentional in how it has nurtured culture,program, and outcomes. It is energizing tojoin an educational community that at onceinspires and aspires.

What is the most enjoyable part of thecollege process for you? The college process often serves as the vehi-cle for adolescents to engage in the mostcritical components of a transformative highschool experience: the self-reflection andself-discovery, which lead to individuation. Ientered the teaching profession to help stu-dents develop a better understanding ofthemselves and the world around them, andhow to tap into both in order to be their best.No teacher wants students simply to parrotsomeone else’s understanding of a historicalera or piece of literature. In the collegeprocess, this philosophy often leads me toremind students, “You don’t want me runningyour process for you because I’ll make choic-es that reflect who I am, what I like, and howI see the world. You want you making themeaningful decisions and relevant choices.I’ve had my college experience; this is yourcollege experience, not your roommate’s, notyour siblings’, and not your parents’.” Theself-reflection and discovery, while at timeschallenging, is illuminating for students.

As the transition of leadership occurs,what will you try to build upon that Martysolidified in her three years?Marty Elkins and the team she assembledwith Keith Hrasky and Britney Cullinan havebeen celebrated for championing a change inthe college search, application, systems, andstructure surrounding the college processwithin the NHS community. My conversationswith college representatives confirm thatMarty and the NHS College Counseling Officehave changed the way that NHS and our stu-dents are perceived and understood bycollege admission offices. The School’s mis-sion, core values, Foundations of Learning,and signature experiential learning programs

Derek Krein became New

Hampton’s new Director of College

Counseling in June, taking over for

Marty Elkins who became the

Head of School at the Beacon

Academy in Manila, Philippines.



are congruent with what college and univer-sities aspire toward within their own learningcommunities. As they contemplate desiredintellectual characteristics, qualities of being,and educational experiences of their appli-cant pools, while very intentionally buildingcommunities through the admission accept-ances, there is much to celebrate and covetfrom New Hampton School candidates.

How does the College Office’s work relateto the rest of the independent school?The view into independent schools from thecollege counseling vantage point is like no

other. It is equal parts an internal and externalposition, much like wearing bi-focal glasses.The internal lens focuses on the here andnow of student aspirations, parent questions,curriculum development, program outcomes,and so forth. The external lens is drawn outto the realities of marketing, branding, tellingthe story, and making the case to collegeadmission representatives, prospective fami-lies, and alumni. It is imperative that I look atand understand an issue through both lensesto develop a full appreciation of its manyfacets. I am also reminded of the coachtelling a player to keep his or her “head on a

swivel.” That’s how it feels in college counsel-ing. We need to understand and believe inthe NHS programs in order to make the mostcompelling case possible when presentingthe NHS experience of our students to col-leges. Similarly, we need to be keenly attunedto the external realities and proactive in shar-ing those insights with the NHS faculty andadministration. Something as simple andseemingly innocuous as what we choose toname a course has far-reaching implicationsfor our students in particular and NewHampton generally. �

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2012 2011 2010College apps accepts rate% apps accepts rate% apps accepts rate%

Dartmouth College 23110 2180 9.43 22385 2178 9.73 18778 2165 11.53

Colby College 5241 1508 28.76 5175 1505 29.08 4213 1445 34.3

Cornell University 37812 6123 16.1 36392 6534 17.95 36338 6673 18.36

Washington University in St Louis 28826 4440 15.4 28826 4440 15.4 24939 5285 21.19

Duke University 31600 3751 11.87 29689 3739 12.59 26770 3372 12.6

Bowdoin College 6716 1060 15.78 6554 1022 15.59 6018 1183 19.66

Johns Hopkins University 20496 3636 17.74 19388 3550 18.31 18459 3787 20.52

University of Southern California 46030 8318 18.21 37107 8449 22.77 35794 8715 24.35

Tulane University of Louisiana — — — 37751 9376 24.84 43816 11384 25.98

Northwestern University 32066 4898 15.27 30975 5575 18.0 27615 6379 23.1

2010 and 2011 data from NYTimes “The Choice Blog”Data for 2009 from the National center for Education Statistics IPEDS Data Center, and from the colleges’ own web sites where IPEDS data was unavailable

A Spike in College Admission:A Three-Year Peak at the

Changing Landscapephotograph courtesy of University

of California, Los Angeles


Documents

College Conundrum