Category: college admissions trends

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ChatGPT and School

If you have been following the news, you may have read about ChatGPT and the controversy surrounding the use of ChatGPT for college application essays and schoolwork. I thought it would be interesting to ask ChatGPT some questions about these topics and share its response with you. Here are the questions I asked and the written responses that ChatGPT provided.

What is ChatGPT?

“ChatGPT is a language model developed by OpenAI, capable of generating human-like text based on the input it receives. The model was trained on a massive corpus of text data and uses deep learning techniques to generate responses to prompts in a conversational context. ChatGPT can be used for various purposes, such as answering questions, generating creative writing, or even as a chatbot for customer service. The goal of ChatGPT is to generate text that is contextually relevant and grammatically correct, allowing for a more natural and fluid interaction between users and the model.”

Explain the dangers of using ChatGPT to write college application essays.

“Using an AI language model like ChatGPT to write a college application essay can be dangerous for several reasons:

  1. Lack of authenticity: Since ChatGPT is trained on vast amounts of text data, it may generate essays that are not truly reflective of the student’s own thoughts, experiences, and perspectives. This lack of authenticity can raise red flags with admissions committees who are looking for evidence of a student’s individuality and character.
  2. Poor language and grammar: While ChatGPT can generate text that is grammatically correct, it may not always generate text that is well-written and engaging. Admissions committees are looking for evidence of strong writing skills, and an essay that is poorly written or lacks coherence could hurt a student’s chances of admission.
  3. Lack of creativity: AI language models like ChatGPT are trained on patterns and rules, which can limit their ability to generate truly original and creative ideas. An essay that lacks creativity and uniqueness may not stand out to admissions committees and could harm a student’s chances of admission.
  4. Ethical concerns: Using an AI model to write an admission essay can also raise ethical concerns. Submitting an essay written by a machine, rather than by the student, can be seen as a form of academic dishonesty and could have serious consequences, such as being rejected from the college or having an admission offer rescinded.

It’s important to remember that college admissions committees are looking for evidence of a student’s character, interests, and potential to contribute to the university community. Using an AI language model to write an admission essay is unlikely to provide that evidence and could have negative consequences for the student’s application.”

Explain the dangers of using ChatGPT to do school writing assignments.

“There are several potential dangers associated with using a language model like ChatGPT to write school assignments, including:

  1. Plagiarism: ChatGPT generates text based on patterns it has learned from large amounts of text data, so there is a risk that the text produced may be identical or similar to existing text that can be easily detected by plagiarism checkers. This could result in serious consequences for students, including failing the assignment or even being expelled from school.
  2. Lack of original thought: By relying on a language model to write an assignment, students miss the opportunity to engage in critical thinking and develop their own ideas and opinions. This could harm their education and limit their future opportunities.
  3. Inaccurate information: While ChatGPT is trained on a large amount of text data, it may contain inaccuracies or outdated information. This could lead to students submitting assignments with incorrect information, which could negatively impact their grades and reputation.
  4. Lack of understanding: By relying on ChatGPT to write an assignment, students may not fully understand the concepts they are supposed to be learning. This could lead to difficulty in retaining the information and applying it in future assignments or exams.

In summary, using a language model like ChatGPT to write school assignments can be tempting, but it is important for students to understand the potential dangers and to consider the long-term consequences of their actions.”

My advice:

Don’t use ChatGPT for college application essays or school writing assignments.

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Senior Year Blues

If you are a high school senior and not feeling great about your future because of the following all is not lost:

  • You didn’t apply to college, but you recently decided want to go
  • You applied to college, but you didn’t get accepted into any of the schools you applied to
  • You applied to college, but none of the schools you got accepted to are affordable for your family or
  • You applied to college, but you don’t like any of the schools you were accepted to.

Here are three approaches you might take:

  • Attend a local community college or a college with open admissions in the Fall
  • Take a gap year, and apply to colleges in the Fall
  • Check the list of colleges with available space in the Fall on the NACAC website (https://www.nacacnet.org/) typically posted on May 2 or 3. Apply to the colleges that you would like to attend and that you believe will be affordable for your family.

Best of luck!

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What’s new at NJ, NY and PA colleges

Admissions representatives from several universities shared highlights of what’s new at their institutions at the NJACAC fall kickoff. 
The Rider representative talked about:
  •  Special activities to commemorate the college’s 150th anniversary, including a gala, special performances, the breaking of a Guinness world record for the longest string of cranberries.
  •  The Westminster Choir College getting a new building. 
  • Sports management being offered as a new co-major.
  • The Musical Theater degree becoming a Bachelors in Fine Arts, requiring an application by January 1.
  • The current college president retiring on June 30th and the search for a replacement.

The Rutgers representative spoke of:
  • The opening of the Residential Honors College housing for 500 students and faculty in September 2015. 
  • Mason Gross having a new digital film making major starting in 2015.
  •  Rutgers planning for a 2016 celebration of their 250th anniversary.

Lehigh:
  • Will be celebrating their 150thanniversary in 2015 with a Lehigh vs. Lafayette football game in Yankee Stadium. 
  • Has purchased two Bethlehem Steel buildings and turned them into research space. 
  • Has a new college president who came from the University of Virginia. 
  • Is in the midst of a one billion dollar capital campaign.

NYU:
·         Has fully integrated the engineering school into the university. Has new majors including Design and Performance Study, and an interdisciplinary Business and Film/TV.
·         Is looking for a new president. 


TCNJ:
·         Is building a Campus Town Center which will open in August.  It will have a first floor with Panera,Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, and a pizza place, and a second floor housing 430 TCNJ students. 
·         Has a new STEM facility housing natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. 
·         Will be switching to a 4-1-4 schedule to encourage a higher 4-year graduation rate and to give more students the opportunity to study abroad. 

·         Will require students to complete the CSS PROFILE in order to get financial aid.  They expect this will enable them to give more aid to students whose families make between $75K and $150K per year.
The Rowan representative spoke of:
  •  Bringing in five companies, including Lockheed Martin, on property Rowan owns next to the college campus so students can do research and work with those companies.
  • Two new med schools and the integration of medical studies with arts, business, and STEM.  Students can get accepted into medical school right after high school; the med schools are focusing on community/family medicine. 
  •  The freshman class being 40% bigger than last year. 
  • Rowan focusing on improving their graduation rate and having a goal to reach a 90% graduation rate. 
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College Admissions Trends 2013 – Part 4

The high school guidance personnel on the NJACAC panel spoke about their experiences with college admissions trends.

Bernice Hornchak, School Counselor at Bridgewater-Raritan High School indicated that caseloads had grown in the sixteen years she had worked at the school, with the current caseload of about 260 students per counselor. Counselor time is spent about 50% on college counseling, 30% on academic/career counseling, and 20% on other issues including school phobia and depression. Students have the same counselor all four years and the school uses Naviance, including eDocs. She indicated that some parents are misinformed about the application process, are anxious and want to get started on the application process in the 9th or 10th grade, and are overly concerned with selecting electives. She sees increased interest in education, criminal justice, and allied health majors. More students are taking advantage of Raritan Valley Community College, the local community college, and the NJ STARS program.

John Semcer, Director of Guidance (Emeritus) Mother Seton High School and Montclair High School commented on growing college wait lists, merit scholarships being offered by some colleges requiring applications by September 1, colleges wanting commitments for wrestlers and football players in 10th or 11th grade, kids graduating high school early to get a head start on college sports, college application fees rising, and high school guidance counselors having less and less time for college counseling. John indicated that at public schools guidance counselors spent an average of 24% of their time on college counseling and in private schools they spent an average of 55% of their time on college counseling.

If you are a high school guidance counselor or an independent college admissions consultant, do you have any other trends that you would like to share?

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College Admissions Trends 2013 – Part 3

The college admissions personnel on the panel spoke about their schools.  This focuses on the trends shared by admissions personnel from Rutgers University, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Manhattanville College.

Paul Johnson, Assistant Vice President, Research and Enrollment Services at Rutgers University, indicated that applications were up by 6% this year. Rutgers has a new president who oversaw the merger of Rutgers and the Medical School. On the Livingston campus there is a new residence hall and a new business building. Rutgers handles 32,000 applications and values the right high school courses, grades, and standardized test scores. They admit by school with mid-ranges for GPA and test scores varying by school; this data is on their website. Rutgers would like more out-of-state and international students. While 50% of students change majors, it is very difficult to transfer into popular majors. School- to-school transfer requirements are on-line.

Shane Topping, Director of Admissions at Stevens Institute of Technology, spoke of a 22% increase in applications this year. A new president started in July 2011. The most popular major at Stevens is Mechanical Engineering. There is increased interest in Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Engineering. International applications are up. The school has a popular 5-year Masters program where the scholarship and financial aid from the undergraduate years continues to the 5th year. Stevens students have an average high school GPA of 3.8. A 20-25 minute interview is required and is important. For engineering and science majors they are looking to see students who have had 4 years of Math and Science.

Kevin O’Sullivan, Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Manhattanville College said his school is known for its international students and diversity. One thousand of their 5,000 applications are from international students. The school has students from 56 countries, with the biggest representation from Ecuador, Vietnam, China, Brazil and Canada. Thirty percent of their students study abroad in their European Union (EU) program based in Southern Germany, in which students visit every EU country. Manhattanville has NGO status, allowing their students access to UN programs. The school went test-optional four years ago. The size of the freshman class has grown from 407 to 608 students in the last two years. The undergraduate Sports Management program is new to the school. Manhattanville is working on developing a new accounting major. Management is the most popular major. Manhattanville values demonstrated interest. Admitted students have a solid B average with an average SAT score of 1100 (for Math and Critical Reading).

If you work in Admissions or Enrollment Management at a college, do you have any trends you want to share about your college?

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College Admissions Trends 2013 – Part 2

The college admissions personnel on the panel spoke about the admissions trends at their colleges. This post focuses on the comments from Rider University, Fordham University and TCNJ admissions personnel.

Susan Christian, Dean of Enrollment at Rider University commented that there was growth in interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), education, and fine and performing arts programs at Rider. There was an increase in the percentage of Hispanic students. The school had a new academic building, a new residential hall, and had improved their theatres. Rider looked at the strength of the high school student’s academic program and transcript. They had 8500 applications for 950 freshman seats. For the Westminster Choir College, the audition is a critical factor.

John Buckley, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management at Fordham University, noted that 40% of students are undeclared majors to start. At Fordham the biggest majors are biology and communications. When he started working at Fordham, the school received about 4000 applications a year; now they receive about 36000 applications, including 2500 international applications. Fordham admits students with an average 3.7 Grade Point Average (GPA) and an SAT score between 1830 and 2050 (3 sections). They look for an upward trend in grades, students who are leaders, and students who give service to their school/community. It is difficult to do an internal transfer into the business school.

Grecia Montero, Director of Admissions at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) saw a 7% increase in freshman applications this year, with an 11% increase in applications for biology majors. There is a new Education building, as well as a new Arts & Communication building. There was an increase in applicants from Massachusetts and Connecticut. The SAT was optional this year, for the first time. Acceptance is based on the department you are interested in. There were 11,000 applications with 4,000 acceptances. Students are typically from the top 10-15% of their class with SAT scores between 1250 and 1360 (for Critical Reading and Math). High school rank and test scores needed for admissions are more difficult for certain majors including Chemistry, Biology and Nursing. The school keeps track of student visits and communications with the school. TCNJ has no cap on out-of-state or international students.

The next post on college admissions trends will focus on the comments from admissions personnel at the remaining three colleges: Rutgers University, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Manhattanville College.