College Board is abusive; nothing newsworthy

29 Oct

Posted by Sam Jackson as Admissions, College, College Board, odd & fun

[14:13:57] me: i’m so pissed i’m going to have to pay CB another 9.50 on thurs to send off my new scores
[14:14:09] Ned Bennett: I KNOW
[14:14:13] Ned Bennett: STUPID
[14:14:18] me: stupid or CAREFULLY PLANNED?
[14:14:25] me: i.e. BRILLIANTLY EXPLOITATIVE
[14:14:28] Ned Bennett: hahaha
[14:14:31] Ned Bennett: obnoxious
Hooray for College Board. I’ll be back posting more […]

3 Comments

Mock Admissions with the Exeter CCO

25 Oct

Posted by Sam Jackson as Admissions, CCO, Exeter, Teenagers, personal

Today the entire senior class spent faculty meeting (a free block for students this morning) performing ‘mock admissions’ with their counselor groups. We had three former Exonians’ common applications in front of us and were given an academic profile for a school–we were to serve as individual readers. We had 10 minutes for the first […]

9 Comments

Phillips Exeter Academy 2006 College Profile

22 Oct

Posted by Sam Jackson as CCO, College, Exeter, Teenagers

A week ago I railed against early cum laude, the practice at Exeter where the top 5% of the senior class is recognized early in the year. However, it turns out that that 95% is more directly ranked than I had at first thought. Our dutiful friend Ryan Caro has once again enlightened me–this […]

8 Comments

Yale University Information Session (Chris Murphy)

18 Oct

Posted by Sam Jackson as College, Teenagers

Christopher Murphy, associate director of undergraduate admissions at Yale University, stopped by to talk to us this past Tuesday evening. I was initially very concerned by the fact that the session was scheduled for the assembly hall, thinking that this choice of venue must have meant that the Yale applicant pool was approximately the entire […]

3 Comments

College Board, college admissions sap seniors of strength this week

16 Oct

Posted by Sam Jackson as Admissions, CCO, Exeter, Teenagers, personal

All day today I was struck by how the entire senior class seemed to be wasting away intellectually, crushed beneath the mental burden of college applications with ED / EA deadlines looming and the SAT so recently behind us. I described myself as “on edge” this morning, after my math test; several of my friends […]

0 Comments

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Who is Sam Jackson?

I'm currently a freshman at Yale University and I've been blogging about college admissions and higher education marketing trends since I began my college application process in 2005. I now also write about my experience here at Yale, and am an official Yale blogger. Click here to read my 'about' page.

Kind words about my blog:

Andrew Careaga calls it “a service to all of us in the higher ed marketing business.”

Christian Long says it has “dramatically inspired college admissions folks to take notice”

Bob Johnson says “I like [it] because I agree with so much of what he says.” and that “Paying attention what Sam writes will let you focus more closely on students who will actually attend your school.”

Karine Joly says my witty and fresh style “offers a rare glimpse at the mind of our elusive prospective students”

and TargetX calls my blog “good reading” and me “wise-beyond-my-years.”