My Letter to the Editor

OK, in my last posting, I wrote about reading In Touch Weekly. Just to prove that I do have higher standards normally than reading bottom-of-the-barrel entertainment news, I thought I'd post here a letter I had published in last week's Chronicle of Higher Education. It's no big deal but, at the same time, it's nice to have someone judge that something you wrote was worth repeating in print. Here is the letter, as it appeared in the Chronicle. As the ellipses demonstrate, as usual I was too wordy and required a bit of editing . . .




http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i02/02b01702.htm

From the issue dated September 1, 2006

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Saying Yes to Several Colleges

To the Editor:

Thanks for the great bunch of articles in the special Admissions & Student Aid section in the July 7 issue. ... "When College Advising Must Cross Cultural Gaps" was particularly informative. I applaud Carolyn Alessio for her work and for her concern for students. One comment she made in passing, however, is troubling.

Alessio wrote: "One day my student Jimmy told me he was removing his application from consideration at an Ivy League university. Startled, I asked why. He said the state university that had accepted him needed a deposit of $100. I pointed out that many students put down more than one deposit, and encouraged him to seek a fee waiver."

She was right to push him to contact the university to ask about alternatives to the deposit. However, it was wrong to suggest that it is acceptable to submit a tuition deposit to more than one college. The National Association for College Admission Counseling's Statement of Principles of Good Practice includes the admonition that high-school counselors should "counsel students not to submit more than one admission deposit, which indicates their intent to enroll in more than one institution." ...

What's the harm in saving a place for yourself at two different colleges until you're certain you've made the best choice, or wrung the last financial-aid dollar out of one of them? There are potentially two victims. The first and most obvious is the jilted college, which has made plans based on the expectation that the student who has sent in a deposit will enroll. Perhaps more important, ... the student may lead the college into turning away another applicant who really did want to enroll.

It's a loss for both the deserted institution and the thwarted applicant, and a selfish choice on the part of the student who sent deposits to more than one college. ...

Palmer Muntz
President
Pacific Northwest Association
for College Admission Counseling
National Association
for College Admission Counseling
Alexandria, Va.

Director of Admissions
Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, Ore.

http://chronicle.com
Section: The Chronicle Review
Volume 53, Issue 2, Page B17

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Copyright © 2006 by The Chronicle of Higher Education