WSJ asks: ‘Is Admissions Bar Higher for Asians At Elite Schools?’ [part 1]

13 Nov

Posted by Sam Jackson as Admissions, College, Teenagers

This is a ‘part 1′ because this is a very big very thorny issue which concerns affirmative action and much more. As such I will in the near future be writing a ‘part 2′ which directly addresses any AA-related concerns I’m having about this topic here… but for now, my understanding of the issue:
Pulitzer prize [...]

24 Comments

Class of 2006 Senior SAT percentile scores number-crunching!

05 Nov

Posted by Sam Jackson as Admissions, College, College Board, Teenagers

That’s right folks, watch and be amazed as I process and condense charts and figures for your consumption! Compiled score report data for 2006 seniors was released at the end of August but I’m only posting about it now. You might recall the hub-bub back then about the score decline–that information was included in the [...]

8 Comments

Weekend reading, college admissions history style

04 Nov

Posted by Sam Jackson as Admissions, College, Irrelevance, Ivy League, Teenagers, odd & fun, personal

Sorry I have not been posting very much this week, I’ve been catching up with schoolwork some (ahh, what a diligent student I am!). The library has finally got in Price of Admission, Daniel Golden’s book that I requested when it came out. I am going to cuddle up with it along with my copy [...]

0 Comments

Just got back my new SAT scores… went up a bit

02 Nov

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

New SAT I Reasoning composite: 2350
800 Critical Reading
750 Math
800 Writing
A good improvement! I wasn’t planning to take new testing even if I’d had a 1950 on these, since my old 2150 was fine. I’m happy with these new scores.
College Board is still bad news. Huzzah.

7 Comments

Early Admissions deadlines and their effect on Exeter Seniors

01 Nov

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

Here at Phillips Exeter a fair number of people tend to apply early. Consequently a large number of people have been ‘freaking out’ for the last couple of days, culminating in today’s mass rush of the post office and general obsessive compulsive last minute essay editing. Those submitting online will probably be gnawing away their [...]

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Who is Sam Jackson?

I'm currently a sophomore 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.”