Wait lists have been big news recently:
The New York Times reports “Top Colleges Dig Deeper in Wait Lists for Students.”
The Daily Princetonian reports that Princeton is accepting more students off the wait list this year.
Time explains why more schools are turning to wait lists and reminds us that ending up at your “second-choice” school can turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
The Boston Globe says wait lists are growing due to a variety of factors.
If you find it tough to memorize word lists, check out DictionarySquared, a free website that helps you build your SAT vocab.
What makes DictionarySquared different? Each word not only comes with a definition, but also comes with sample sentences to give you a sense for the word’s flavor and how it’s used in context.
As you progress, DictionarySquared quizzes you, keeps track of your words, creates printable flashcards, and even lets you customize those cards with your favorite sample sentences and definitions. There are also more cool features in the pipeline, although the site’s creator, a Stanford grad, asked me to keep them under wraps 
The New York Times reports that colleges are beginning to take campus dining very seriously: “As palates grow more sophisticated and admissions become more competitive, many top colleges are paying attention to dining rooms as well as classrooms.”
The University of California is contemplating major changes in its admissions process:
Why the change? “Each year, about 15 percent of UC applicants are found to be ineligible, although many are strong students with high grades…Many were rejected because they had failed to take the SAT subject exams and others because they had a minor variance from the required curriculum. UC found about 64,000 applicants eligible in 2007.”
You can read more in SFGate.
If you’re applying to competitive colleges, demonstrated interest could help tip the scales for you.
Here are an article andan opinion piece on demonstrated interest.
Starting with the class of 2010, students will be able to pick and choose which SAT Test and SAT Subject Test scores colleges will be able to see. This is promising news for nervous test-takers, though critics point out that the new policy unfairly favors affluent students who can afford more retakes than their less-wealthy counterparts.
To read more, see the L.A. Times article and the official information from College Board.
According to Newsweek, the trend towards big tuition breaks for the upper-middle class at the most elite universities might have some unintended consequences: drawing stellar students away from flagship public universities, and driving some top colleges to cut funds for low-income students in order to attract star students who are upper-middle class.
Vermont’s Marlboro College has dropped its SAT/ACT requirement. For more score-optional schools, visit fairtest.org.
Yale is poised to expand enrollment by 15% with the addition of two new residential colleges (dorms). The New York Times also notes that Princeton, Stanford and Amherst are also considering expansion. Read more.
A Dean of Admissions at Vanderbilt, Douglas Christiansen, addresses common questions in this 23-minute video Q&A.