Today’s College Admissions Landscape

“No way.” Mrs. Addison exclaimed when I suggested a certain college in the Boston area for her son, Mike, a rising senior at at an elite Connecticut high school. The college matched the criteria for what Mike wanted. But Mrs. Addison’s reaction stemmed from her understanding of colleges thirty years ago. “The C students went to that college” she continued. Then she proceeded to mention names of underachieving students from her 1985 graduating class that meant nothing to anyone else in the room.  I didn’t want to tell her at that moment but there was a reasonable chance that Mike would be rejected from the college in question.

For Connecticut parents, UCONN is perhaps the number one college with such misperceptions. Only recently has the current reputation of The University of Connecticut caught up to parents who graduated from high school in the 1980s. Even a few years ago, I would need to explain to many Connecticut parents of college bound students that UCONN has very high admissions standards.

In the present day, UCONN – Storrs generally desires an average of 600-650 on verbal and math SAT scores. That alone eliminates UCONN as an easy admit for all but top SAT scorers.

There are many great colleges.  Good planning and an understanding of the present college admissions landscape can ensure that your children attend a desired college.  But parents should be forewarned that their college aspirations for their children should be amended to the present day.