A Postcard From Connecticut đź’Ś IECA Conference 2024
I’ve just returned from a conference of the IECA (Independent Educational Consultants of America). The conference was held at the Mohegan Bay Casino & Resort: fitting, as applying to college is feeling more like playing the slots every year. (We played the slots too! The first day we were up enough that my wife could take her winnings to Sephora and stock up. The second day is a different story.) We had a great time and learned a lot. I’ll be using much of what I learned and observed with my clients on a case by case basis, but here I want to lay out some general trends.
Panels
The main attraction of the conference, for me, anyway, is the selection of panels offered by both other consultants and admissions officers. Some topics:
What do elite colleges really look for (featuring admissions officers from Boston College, Tufts, Gonzaga, and Wellesley), including their views on optional testing, AI, activities, legacy, and affirmative action?
How to evaluate majors for students “interested in computers” to know which majors truly suit them based on their learning styles (and which are more accessible than others)
How do we assess college readiness for LD students (including ASD1)?
How do we help Jewish students find a college home where they can feel safe, be recognized and thrive depending on their needs (Kosher food available? Shabbat services? Hillel Centres?)?
I took notes on each session and have copies of all the slide decks, so even my faulty memory should be able to summon up the important points from each panel!
College Fairs
Another important feature of the conference is the College Fair. Over 150 colleges send representatives who are available to talk about their institutions. I had great conversations with folks representing schools from England to Canada, and from Maine to California. I learned an awful lot about schools both newer to me and old favorites who are changing with the times. In many cases, I had a specific query from a student I could pose, or if I had a hunch about a school I wanted to confirm (or debunk), I could ask about that. In any event, I expanded my collection of college logo giveaway pens. (One of the many perks of this job: I never have to buy pens.)
Vendors
An unexpected benefit of the conference is the presence of vendors who want to sell their products. “But David,” you might ask, “what products does an educational consultant need?” Not many, to be sure, but the ones I use are crucial. I spent time speaking with a firm that organizes study for US citizens in the UK, a couple of SAT/ACT tutoring programs, a firm that arranges internships for rising juniors and seniors, a couple of firms that arrange research mentorships for students, and, finally, a startup from two MIT grads who have built a new software portal for solo IECs like myself (I have a call set up with them next week to see about adopting their platform).
The Vibe
The least tangible aspect of the conference may be the one that I value most: the mood. We each know how the year went for our own clients and what the blogs have been saying, but how do boots-on-the-ground consultants feel about things? Here’s my read on the consultant’s-eye-view of a few major issues:
Standardized Testing: The dominos are falling as more and more schools go back to requiring the SAT or ACT. Any school could return to the tests at any moment (even schools who planned to be test optional for the next few years have contradicted themselves and gone back to testing early). The common wisdom is that students should definitely take these tests; even if your schools don’t end up requiring it, a good score can improve your odds of admission.
Selective Schools: The top fifty schools aren’t getting any easier to get into. While Harvard experienced a very slight downturn in the number of applications, every other top fifty school had more applications this year than last. We don’t have acceptance percentages from most schools yet, but the evidence is that they’ll be lower than ever.
Admissions Acceptance Rate Trends: While the tough schools are getting tougher to get into, there are genuine gems out there just begging for students (and offering significant financial aid). Midwestern liberal arts colleges have been especially fruitful: College of Wooster, Bucknell, and Earlham are a few examples. Big southern football schools are very much in vogue for candidates from all over, but it’s spotty. Auburn is about twice as hard to get into as Alabama, despite the fact that the schools have more similarities than differences. Tennessee is about twice as hard to get into as Ole Miss, although, again, they’re not terribly different schools. Pitt and Penn State were weirdly hard to get into this year. Admissions trends are not always decipherable, and when they are, it’s often only in hindsight.
Conditional Admissions Offers: Speaking of Penn State and Pitt, many schools were more notable this year for making acceptance offers that were not REALLY acceptances. Some schools offered two years at a satellite campus before a guaranteed transfer to a flagship campus (e.g., two years at U Pitt Bradford followed by two years in Pittsburgh). In this case, the school may be aggressively trying to grow a satellite campus as a way of scaling up the university system. Others offered a fall semester abroad before a spring semester on the main campus, and still others simply offered admission in the spring. In these cases, the colleges know they will have some “melt” (accepted students who don’t ever show up or who drop out after their first semester), and so schools can fill those holes by bringing in some “fresh” freshmen in the spring. In many cases, these are good deals, but be sure and investigate thoroughly.
In Summary…
What does this all mean for you, the aspiring applicant (or parent of the aspiring applicant)? It means that it’s a good thing you know me! It’s my job to stay on top of these trends which seem to change almost daily. YOU are not a trend, a fad, or a fashion; you are who you are and you need what you need from a university. Call today (+1 888 997 4945), or browse my website and fill out an interest form. I can help you find the right places and write the right applications to find your perfect fit college.