Berea City School District

The College Landscape TodayBerea-Midpark High School

January 19, 2017

College Planning

Tonight:

• Importance of post-secondary education today

• Trends

• How to approach the process

• Things people miss

• What is important

Importance of a Post-Secondary Education

• Education tends to provide a better lifestyle; more opportunities, increases the amount of money a person earns

• College graduates tend to give more to their communities through volunteering, leadership roles and giving back

• Education expands ones skills, not only technical, but decision-making, critical thinking, reasoning, creativity

Education Pays 2016For detailed data, visit: trends.collegeboard.org.

Education Level of Individuals Age 25 to 34,

1940 to 2015

SOURCE: The College Board, Education Pays 2016, Figure 1.5A

Education Pays 2016For detailed data, visit: trends.collegeboard.org.

Median Earnings of Early Career and Mid-Career College

Graduates Working Full Time, by College Major, 2013–2014

SOURCE: The College Board, Education Pays 2016, Figure 2.9

Education Pays 2016For detailed data, visit: trends.collegeboard.org.

Median Earnings (in 2014 Dollars) of Full-Time Year-

Round Workers by Age and Education Level, 2010–2014

SOURCE: The College Board, Education Pays 2016, Figure 2.7

Today’s College Landscape

• Students apply to several colleges (on average, 5-6); we recommend a Reach/Match/Safety approach

• Resumes (brag sheets) start when 8th

grade ends; summer is no longer down time

• College admissions is now global in scope; internationals are courted (6,437 international students in the OSU 2016 freshman class)

• College admissions is competitive and quirky

• College costs continue to climb

Most parents feel like this . . .

Or this . ..

Most guidance counselors feel like this . . .

Or this . . .

Trends

• HS counseling loads & job descriptions are increasing (e.g. testing)

• Tuition costs have outpaced inflation -- OSU $21,703 (tuition and R&B)

• Application numbers continue to rise – and acceptance percentages are declining (2016):

Harvard 5.2% Ohio State 49%

Stanford 4.69% Ohio University 74%

• Some schools are no longer able to be “need-blind”

Latest trends in college admissions. . .

• Reduced resources for higher education

• Increase in students planning to attend public colleges (more top students attending in-state; test score averages are increasing) (average ACT composite in Ohio last year was: 22.0)

• Financial aid calculators ; transparency; need to understand the financial aid process; FAFSA moved up earlier so college application deadlines are being moved up as well

• Colleges are paying more attention to yield rates; students who may actually enroll if offered admission; some are offering more money after students say “yes”

• Transfers are now on the college radar; this is a recent trend

• Students are spending less time evaluating the “fit” of their college options--National Association for College Admission Counseling, 2015

College & Career Readiness

THEN

• Only the affluent could look at highly selective schools

• Lots of merit aid available

• College was viewed as an option for some, but not a need

• Students mostly attended in-state schools

• College was considered to be 4 years for an undergraduate education

NOW• Many students aspire to more

selective schools; financial aid is mostly need-based, but many schools have merit aid

• A college degree is needed for many of the jobs of today and tomorrow

• Students think globally about college choices

• Many students complete their undergraduate degrees anywhere from 2 years to 10 years.

$$$$$

Cost of some colleges

OSU $21,703

Case $60,829

Bowling Green $19,296

Ohio University $24,012

Miami Univ. $29,532

Cornell $67,613

Purdue $41,994

Harvard $63,025

Carnegie-Mellon $67,980

Sticker Price

What is happening in Ohio?

Trends Specific to Ohio

• State funding is now tied to retention and graduation(student outcomes).

• Officials at colleges have said that they are seeking more academically qualified students.

• Students who need remediation are encouraged to enroll in community colleges or satellite campuses first.

• College Credit Plus is very popular• Tuition at Ohio public colleges and universities is 15%

higher than the national average; students graduate with more debt than in the nation as a whole

--Unintended Impacts of Performance Funding on Community Colleges and Universities in Three States (Community College Research Center), Columbia University, 2014; Toledo Blade editorial 10/15/2015

The Ohio State University

OSU mid-range: ACT 27-31 [25% above and 25% below]

Average ACT score is 29.2

Autumn 2016 Freshman class: 7,885 students entering

Total enrollment at OSU: 66,046 (Columbus = 45,831 UG)

Freshman profile: 63% are in the top 10% of their high school class; 95% are in the top 25% of their class

Source: Ohio State University (Office of Enrollment Services), 2016

What is happening at most State Schools

THEN

Ohio State 1995

Average ACT 22.8

Top 10% of Class 21%

Top 25% of Class 46%

# of Applications 15,748

NOW

Ohio State 2016

Average ACT 29.2

Top 10% of Class 63%

Top 25% of Class 95%

# of Applications 49,388 (Columbus)

Remediation Free

ACT Readiness Benchmarks/ (Ohio percent in meeting benchmark)

Test Benchmark % Reaching

English 18 71%

Reading 22 54%

Math 22 49%

Science 23 45%

ALL 33%

PSAT & SAT Readiness Benchmarks

Evidence-Based

Reading &

Writing

Math % Reaching

10th

Grade PSAT

430 480

11th

Grade PSAT

460 510

SAT 480 530 41.9%

How to Approach Your College & Career Search

• Career interest inventories

• What are your strengths?

• What are your favorite subjects?

• Look at DNA

College or Career?

• College isn’t for everyone.

• Some college might be the answer.

• Certifications.

• Community colleges

• Gap Year

Reach, Match & Safety

Finding reach, match & safety

• Some schools are reach schools for everyone

• A reach school for one student may be a safety for another

• Maybe start with the lists of schools known to have strong programs in the interest area then gradually look at the other criteria

• Look at the test score mid-ranges, look at entering freshmen profiles on school web sites.

• Goal: to have choices in April

How to Approach Your College Search

Finding your MATCH school.

Where will you thrive?

Where can you maximize your potential?

What is a good fit school for you?

Where Do You Start?

• What do you enjoy? Ask others what they see you doing in the future.

• Are you realistic about what is a R, M, or S school for you?

• Visit colleges, talk with older students

• Do some career shadowing, internships

• Discuss with parents

• Learn the terms; pay attention to DEADLINES

Criteria

• Big or small?

• Rigorous or easy?

• Close or far away? In-state or out-of-the country?

• Urban/Suburban/Small Town/Rural?

• Depth of programs

• Accepts AP credit? CCP Credit?

• Affordable?

What matters to Admissions Offices?

• Grades in college prep courses

• High School Curriculum (strength & rigor)

• Standardized Test Scores

• GPA

• Recommendations

What matters to Admissions Offices?

• Have you taken the most rigorous curriculum that you could manage successfully?

• Grades

• Course offerings at your high school

• Leadership, Community Service

• Work

• Research (for some schools)

Leopards tend not to change their spots

Freshmen ProfilesSchool GPA ACT Range

Univ. of Akron 3.33 20-26

Bowling Green 3.31 20-25

Univ. of Cincinnati 3.446 22-27

Cleveland State 3.22 19-25

Kent State 3.31 20-25

Miami Univ. N/A 26-30

NEO Med. Univ. 3.9 27-35

OSU N/A 27-31

Ohio University 3.4 22-26

Shawnee State N/A 19-23

Univ. of Toledo 3.23 19-25

Wright State 3.19 21.8

Youngstown State 2.97 17-23

Freshmen ProfilesSchool Top 25% ACT Range

Brown Univ. 98% 39-34

Harvard 99% 32-35

Princeton 98% 31-35

MIT 100% 32-35

Caltech 100% 33-35

Stanford 100% 31-34

Univ. of Chicago 100% 32-35

Georgetown 98% 29-33

Carnegie Mellon 96% 30-34

West Point 90% 27-32

Duke 98% 31-34

Harvey Mudd 100% 32-35

Purdue Univ. 80% 24-30

Look at what is happening

School Admission Rate – 2005 Admission Rate - 2015

Cleveland State University 79.94% 67.1%

Cornell 27.1% 14.2%

Duke 23% 11.4%

Harvard 8.9% 5.3%

MIT 14.3% 7.9%

Northwestern 29.7% 13.1%

The Ohio State University 75.6% 53%

Stanford 12% 5.0%

University of Cincinnati 76% 76%

University of Michigan 57% 32.2%

Vanderbilt 40% 13.1%

A word about admission rates . . .

A word about rankings . . .

• In 1999, US News & World Report named California Institute of Technology (Caltech) the number one college in America. Due to much criticism, the magazine then changed its criteria to reduce the importance of one measure: expenditures per student.

Source: Daniel Golden, The Price of Admission

• Different rankings emphasize different criteria:

Forbes: post-graduate success, debt & happiness

US News: selectivity, alumni giving and school

counselor opinions

Kiplinger’s: competitiveness, cost, aid, graduation rates

Princeton Review: Dorms Like Dungeons, Dorms Like Palaces, etc.

Test Scores

• PSAT: (cut-off for National Merit has ranged from 211 – 217 since 1999); less $$$$ at schools for Finalists

• SAT: different test than ACT; most highly selective colleges prefer it & SAT Subject Tests

• ACT: most popular in the Midwest

Perfect Scores in Ohio: 119 (Class of 2016)

Perfect Scores in the Nation: 2,235

Test scores matter since high schools, teachers and opportunities vary.

Financial Aid – Two definitions

• Many colleges are eliminating merit aid and only using need-based aid

• Most recommendations say “aim low” for better aid packages (schools where your child is overqualified) (Kiplinger’s)

• Apply to different types of schools (private, state, AP credit, etc.)

• Always apply for aid – note the earlier FAFSA deadline

• You can always share what the competition is offering

• Look at Financial Aid sites for merit aid (look at test scores needed for merit scholarships, scholarship criteria)

• Today more students work while in college to help lessen debt and to help parents

Important Things That People Miss

Deadlines (waiting too long to ask

for recommendations,

information or missing

scholarship deadlines)

Not completing ACT/SAT/Subject Tests early; not sending scores early enough before the deadlines

Not understanding the different admissions plans--

(e.g., Early Action, Early

Decision, Rolling Admissions);

tracking changes

Make sure you can get a job!

• Look at “in-demand” majors

• Follow your heart, not your pocketbook

• Do career shadowing

• Take classes to help improve your skills

Hot Majors

Artificial IntelligenceBiomedical engineeringBiometrics; Forensic ScienceComputer Game DesignCybersecurityData Science; Business

AnalyticsPetroleum EngineeringPublic HealthRoboticsSustainability (environmental

degrees)

Conclusion

• Start early

• Meet with your counselor; LISTEN

• Challenge yourself in school

• Get involved

• Use the available resources