Preface

Introduction

College Recruitment Night
Kim Stafford, Director, Northwest Writing Institute, Lewis & Clark College

Let Them Be Students
William M. Shain, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, Vanderbilt University

Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation
William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Harvard College; Marlyn McGrath Lewis, Director of Admissions, Harvard College; Charles Ducey, Director of the Bureau of Study Counsel, Harvard University

Sanity Check
Bruce J. Poch, Vice President and Dean of Admissions, Pomona College

Editor's Stories I

Our Numbers Are Up! (Is That Good?)
Mark Speyer, Director of College Counseling, Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School

Faked Figures Make Fools of Us
James M. Sumner, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, Grinnell College

Admissions Messages vs. Admissions Realities
Paul Marthers, Dean of Admission, Reed College

The Rank Lyrics of the Sirens' Song
Sean Callaway, Director of College Placement and Internships, Pace University Center for Urban Education

Editor's Stories II.

Practical Perspectives: On Choosing the Right College
Richard H. Hersh, Former President, Trinity College

Admission Selection: Discerning Intrinsic Talents in a Confounding Era.
Karl M. Furstenberg, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Dartmouth College

Higher Education: The Status Game
William Adams, President, Colby College

You Must Re-member This
Ted O'Neill, Dean of Admission, University of Chicago

Editor's Stories III

College Admission: As If Learning Mattered
Michael Beseda, Vice Provost for Enrollment, Saint Mary's College of California

Thoughts From an Admission Officer Mother
Sid Dalby, Associate Director of Admission, Smith College

Knowledge for its Own Sake
Colin S. Diver, President, Reed College

Status vs. Substance: Is There a Choice?
Robert J. Massa, Vice President for Enrollment, Student Life and College Relations, Dickinson College

Editor's Stories IV

Establishing the Right Perspective Regarding College Admissions
Harold Wingood, Dean of Admission, Clark University

Students: You ARE Important, and You Can Take Control!
Matt Fissinger, Dean of Admission, Loyola Marymount University

Listening to What Matters
Craig J. Franz, FSC, President, St. Mary's College of California

Saving Imagination
Philip Ballinger, Ph.D., Director of Admissions, University of Washington

Summary and Discussion: Seeking Educational Clarity and Inspiration

Recommendations: Who can do what needs to be done?

What can students do?

What can parents do?

What can colleges do?

What can The College Board and the media do?

Hope and inspiration

Acknowledgements

A thirty-year veteran of the college admission and college counseling professions, Lloyd Thacker is executive director of The Education Conservancy. Thacker lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and their two sons.