Posts by Klemmer Educational Consulting

As I try to make sense out of admissions results this year, I may sound a bit like a broken record. Applications continued to hit record highs while admission rates fell to new lows. More waitlist activity, more surprises (both good and disappointing), but for the most part, uncertainty abounds making it virtually impossible to…

As a musician, I was drawn first to the photo of a young person’s hand hovering over piano keys. The picture accompanied a New York Times opinion piece written by The New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik that explores the distinction between achievement and accomplishment. According to Gopnik we tend to place greater emphasis on…

When it comes time to fill out college applications many students panic at the thought of having to list their extra-curricular activities. They question whether they have enough activities, the “right” ones, and if their list will persuade the admission staff of their commitment to these pursuits. “If I don’t have a passion, will colleges…

The cost of college today has put affordability truly out of reach for most Americans, including many who are comfortably middle class. I am not stating anything that someone who is currently putting children through college hasn’t realized. While higher education has always come at a cost, it has reached a price point that now…

By Jane Klemmer The real cost of attending a college often remains a mystery prior to receiving the actual financial aid award letter. This can lead to a great deal of disappointment for students if they are not aware of how financial factors may impact their final college decision. However, families do have access to…

College admissions has become increasingly unpredictable with little transparency, but decision makers are actually willing to shed light on a seemingly opaque process. Recently I attended an IECA (Independent Educational Consultants Association) conference and was fortunate to hear admission officers from Haverford College and Johns Hopkins University speak about their processes. They walked us through…

Standards in U.S. college admissions is a bit of an oxymoron. Colleges have their own application requirements, essays, deadlines, factors for evaluating students, institutional needs, academic offerings, and financial aid policies. It’s often difficult to find consistency and answers to frequently asked questions. Even a college website, part repository of facts and information, part marketing…

The 4% barrier has now been broken. Harvard received more than 57,000 applications this year, a 42% increase, resulting in a stunningly low 3.4% admit rate for the class of 2025. In fact, every Ivy League university saw at least a double digit increase in applications, with Columbia at the high end, up 51%, and…

What do Cornell University, Trinity College, Bucknell and the University of Chicago have in common, aside from being highly selective colleges?  They all consider character and personality traits among the handful of Very Important factors they assess in their admission process. The concept of character is not new to college admissions. Yet within the last…

While ascending the never-ending sequence of hills in Virginia last month, I wasn’t thinking about grit. I was purely determined to pedal my way to the crest of each climb and be that much closer to my destination: the next college on our itinerary. Cycling with other college guidance counselor colleagues in Virginia one recent…