One of my most popular posts is about how to calculate your “real” GPA.  Some readers have asked how to translate grades expressed as a percent into letter grades, and then into a GPA based on a 4.0 scale.

Yesterday Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed reported in a lengthy (but characteristically thorough) article that despite the economic downturn, the number of early decision applications to many expensive, private colleges is up this year over last. Mr. Jaschik offers the following possible explanations:

1.  Colleges are better communicating that college fit matters, so students are making decisions earlier about which colleges fit them best.

Brad Ward and his colleagues in the admissions office at Butler University put together a short, little video about what happens to your college application when it arrives in their office.

While the video is meant for students applying to Butler, it’s a great explanation of the process in place at most smaller, privat colleges.

I’ve received a number of questions from readers, clients, and friends about how to navigate the college admissions and financial aid process in tough economic times.  By far the biggest worry on everyone’s mind is finding the resources to pay for college.

In some ways we have a perfect storm a-brewing.  As personal savings and college funds shrink, colleges are tightening their belts, and are likely to be stingy with financial aid.

The financial downturn has high school seniors and their parents running scared.  How can we reduce costs?  How can we get the best deal?

The conventional wisdom says that an in-state college is the cheapest option.  As with most conventional wisdom, this assumption is wrong.

Let’s compare costs for a Colorado student considering majoring in business at three state universities in the region.

We’ve come to the Fabulous Fourth Edition of the Carnival of College Admission.  And what better way to celebrate than to bring the original Fab Four to help us sing their classic songs?  So join in the Sing-A-Long as we present the Beatles’ Greatest College Admission Hits.

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS

Clients have asked me repeatedly to explain the relationship between the financial aid and admissions offices, and to help them to understand how financial need is factored into admissions decisions.  Usually these questions revolve around whether a college is “need blind” or “need aware.”  So in this post, I’ll try to shed some light on how the admissions and financial aid offices at private colleges and universities work together.

A few days ago I wrote a post providing some of my predictions about how the credit crunch will affect college admissions.  The New York Times ran a story yesterday about how both rich and poor