College applicants need to have the right mix of grades, standardized text scores, teacher recommendations and extracurricula actvities to make it into the college of their choice. An extra ingredient? How about Love?
That’s right. According the the Boston Globe, a new success factor in a college applications is showing the college that you love it:

In its annual survey of admissions trends, the National Association for College Admission Counseling found that 22 percent of colleges gave interest “considerable importance” in admissions, up from 7 percent in 2003. Another 30 percent of schools rated it as moderately important.

In terms of influence, it outranked such admissions standbys as counselor and teacher recommendations, interviews, and extracurriculars, and was narrowly behind class rank and personal essays.

This works for the college becuase:

Giving preference to students whose interest seems genuine also helps colleges boost their image. By targeting students who are more likely to attend, they can admit a smaller percentage and still fill out their freshman class, making them appear more selective and more desirable.

Ways to show the college that you love them:

• Be aware that many colleges track every contact they have with applicants.
• Always make sure the admissions office knows you are there when you visit campus. Look for a sign-up sheet and fill it out legibly.
• Avoid going overboard. Learn to practice the fine art of ‘admissions office flirting’ without being overbearing - a tip which applies to parents as much as students.

Given that President Obama’s proposed reforms for college tuition aid won’t take effect until 2010, The New York Times suggests that delaying college for a year could have benefits. There might be more federal aid available this time next year. Students will be wiser and more mature for having a “gap year” between high school and college.

The problem: this is not part of the “cultural norm” in the USA. People are unfamiliar with it. It’s much more common in Europe, where even Royalty take a gap year. Perhaps, like a partially-nationalized banking system and more affordable health-care, this is one of the changes in cultural norms that American’s are about to become more familiar with.

The current economic crisis is worrying to parents of college students. Where will the money come from to pay 2009 tuition bills? Will cash-strapped colleges with shrinking endowments implement tuition hikes to cover budget shortfalls? How will the economy affect college admissions?

Not necessarily.

According to the Sunday New York Times, colleges are actually expanding aid to draw in students in a downturn.

With only tiny endowments, they need full enrollment to survive, and they are anxious to prevent top students from going elsewhere. Falling even a few students short of expectations can mean laying off faculty, eliminating courses or shelving planned expansions.

The competition for students can play to the benefit of prospective parents:

California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks is advertising a public school price tag to any student accepted at the University of California, Santa Barbara, or at the University of California, Los Angeles — an average annual saving of $16,000 off the normal cost of $41,767.

One silver lining to the current economic crisis as you look at the college admissions process.