College Admissons, Didn’t Get In? Maybe Celebrate!

How to Survive the College Admissions Madness – NYTimes.com. Here is my take. I taught math at one of those “elite” schools. (Wash. Univ. in St Louis) and my advice (in many cases) is not to “relax” if you didn’t get into some of them, but CELEBRATE. Celebrate because many schools are “elite” only in […]

Mistaken Acceptance Letters Could Be Avoided

Johns Hopkins Mistaken Acceptance Letters: Part of a Long Tradition. I found this, after I saw the news that Carnegie Mellon had mistakenly sent acceptance letters for the CS M.S. program. I talked to an expert (who didn’t want to be identified).  That expert told me that “It isn’t a matter of money.  It doesn’t […]

Worrisome Admissions Stats When Compared to What a Lot of the Rest Get

Best, Brightest and Rejected: Elite Colleges Turn Away Up to 95% – NYTimes.com. “This is interesting news and good coverage.  Here is my comment: These statistics are worrying for all of us, socially, economically and politically.  I can only speak from my experiences teaching at a regional college, and then teaching at an “elite” school.  […]

An Interesting Program For Community College Attendance, Then Top School

I read about the program in the New York Times.(http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/education/top-students-at-community-colleges-to-have-chance-to-raise-ambitions.html?ref=us&_r=0 ) I haven’t looked into it but it sounds interesting from the description in the article, so I am posting this link here. One thing that I find encouraging is this statement from the article: ““We won’t guarantee admission or transferring credits, but these students will be at a […]

Columbia University – Another 3-2 Program Like Wash. U.’s?

Maybe.  I won’t make this post long.  I will just give the links. Here is the link to the list of affiliate schools for Columbia: http://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/combined_plan_affiliates_2012-13.pdf Here is the link to the program “guarenteed admissions” information: http://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/apply/combined-plan In a later post, I will explain why I think it matters and why I think these programs may be just money […]

Want to be an Engineering Major at an “Elite” School But Your ACT Composite is 25? Washington University in St. Louis Has a Special Program For You.

First, about the program. This is from Wash. U.’s website: “…Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) cooperates with a select [itlalics added for emphasis] group of affiliated colleges and universities to offer the opportunity to earn a liberal arts degree (from their current school) and an undergraduate engineering degree (from WUSTL). Participants are undergraduate students […]

What the Engineering School at Washington University in St. Louis Wants You to Know – And What It DOESN’T Want You To Know

They want you to know: that “…the average SAT verbal and math scores … for admitted undergraduate students…” in 2013 was Math 762, Verbal 722.  Here is the link to the Engineering School’s Spring 2013 issue of Engineering Momentum, a magazine that they publishe. http://engineering.wustl.edu/contentfiles/marketing/Engineering%20Momentum%20Spring%202013.pdf (Go to page 3, the “At A Glance” page and […]

College Loans – Who Benefits the Most? Best Bond Manager Ever Comments

About 40 million people owe over one trillion dollars in student loans.   Bill Gross, the most successful bond manager ever, and the founder of PIMCO (the largest bond management company in the world), gave this explanation: “…Universities are run for the benefit of the adult establishment, both politically and financially, not students. To radically change the […]

Discriminatory Pricing

Universities use this all the time.  What is it?  It’s a common business pricing technique.  Suppose you have a lemonade stand.  You determine the optimum price to charge by computing the price that will maximize your profit.  (You use Calculus, of course!)  After you determine that price (say $50 a glass), you realize that you could sell […]