What Colleges Want in an Applicant
A desire to see what students can do with their hands inspired a recent change at one of the world?s most renowned campuses. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (motto: ?Mens et manus,? Latin for ?Mind and hand?) now gives applicants the option of submitting a Maker Portfolio to show their ?technical creativity.?
Applicants can send images, a short video and a PDF that shed light on a project they?ve undertaken ? clothing they?ve made, apps they?ve designed, cakes they?ve baked, furniture they?ve built, chain mail they?ve woven. M.I.T. also asks students to explain what the project meant to them, as well as how much help they got. A panel of faculty members and alumni reviews the portfolios.
Thorough review has become more challenging over the last decade, with waves of applicants overwhelming big-name colleges, victims of their own popularity. The University of California at Los Angeles received more than 100,000 applications for about 6,000 spots this fall. Stanford got 44,000 for just over 1,700 spots, and M.I.T. juggled more than 20,000 for 1,450 seats.
Giving an advantage to the sons and daughters of alumni is one such practice. Some colleges admit legacies (and the children of potential donors) at a much greater rate than non-legacies. Legacies make up nearly a third of Harvard?s current freshman class, The Harvard Crimson has reported.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/education/edlife/what-college-admissions-wants.html
A desire to see what students can do with their hands inspired a recent change at one of the world?s most renowned campuses. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (motto: ?Mens et manus,? Latin for ?Mind and hand?) now gives applicants the option of submitting a Maker Portfolio to show their ?technical creativity.?
Applicants can send images, a short video and a PDF that shed light on a project they?ve undertaken ? clothing they?ve made, apps they?ve designed, cakes they?ve baked, furniture they?ve built, chain mail they?ve woven. M.I.T. also asks students to explain what the project meant to them, as well as how much help they got. A panel of faculty members and alumni reviews the portfolios.
Thorough review has become more challenging over the last decade, with waves of applicants overwhelming big-name colleges, victims of their own popularity. The University of California at Los Angeles received more than 100,000 applications for about 6,000 spots this fall. Stanford got 44,000 for just over 1,700 spots, and M.I.T. juggled more than 20,000 for 1,450 seats.
Giving an advantage to the sons and daughters of alumni is one such practice. Some colleges admit legacies (and the children of potential donors) at a much greater rate than non-legacies. Legacies make up nearly a third of Harvard?s current freshman class, The Harvard Crimson has reported.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/education/edlife/what-college-admissions-wants.html