There are some interesting stories going today as we move toward the release of the Ivy League's decisions today at 5 PM EST. Here are some links to distract you until that time.
First, there's a new college admissions blog, The Choice, over at the New York Times. Though I don't quite understand why they waited to start it until the end of March (the drama of decision day? an emphasis on the post-waiting days of April?), it's pretty compelling thus far. Check it out here: The Choice Blog
Additionally, NYT had an article yesterday about the growing trend of need-aware admissions. This means that some schools are taking a family's financial need into the equation as they admit students--and not in the way you might expect. That is, as college endowments suffer in the economic downturn, colleges are choosing to admit students who can afford to pay tuition out of pocket. This is a sea change in many ways, not the least of which speaks to a middle-class family's relationship to the FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid). In the past, many families have told me that they didn't want to fill out the FAFSA because they didn't think they'd qualify for any aid and didn't see any point in doing so. However, if this trend continues and colleges have less money available in the financial aid budget, it may be advantageous to demonstrate that your family does not have large demonstrated financial need. It's unlikely that this would make or break an admission decision, but it certainly might not hurt. NYT: Paying in full may be the ticket into college
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