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From the Desk of College Guidance – A Ranney School College Guidance Series

Pull up a chair at the desk of Ranney’s College Guidance Office, as its new series, From the Desk of College Guidance, takes an in-depth look through the eyes of Ranney’s very own college counselors and out into the ever-changing world of college admissions. This informative series will include articles on such topics as the Ranney college guidance process, specialized schools, the value of community service and more.
Tackling Trends in Early Decision
The College Guidance process at Ranney begins as early as grade nine. By the time senior year rolls around, students are well-equipped with the information needed to make important decisions in regards to furthering their education. These decisions are supported by what students experience during college visits, at lectures given by university speakers, and when preparing college applications with members of the College Guidance Office.

As a duty to their students, counselors within Ranney’s College Guidance Office remain up-to-date on trends and data relevant to the college admissions process by attending conferences and workshops across the nation. This past September, college counselors Myra Simpson and Adam Materasso, along with approximately 5,000 other attendees from around the globe, attended the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC) 67th National Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. Aside from participating in three days of educational sessions, visiting nearby colleges and universities like Tulane and Loyola and networking with colleagues, Ms. Simpson and Mr. Materasso also discussed an increasing trend in early application deadlines nationwide.

In its 2011 State of College Admissions report, which highlights counseling and admissions trends and educational data relevant to college admissions, the NACAC found that although 38% of colleges are seeing an increase in Early Decision (ED) applications, only 26% report an increase in ED admissions. This data is relevant to Ranney’s College Guidance Office; a rise in early applications has been observed throughout the Ranney School community in recent years as well.

This year in particular, the Ranney College Guidance Office saw 90% of its seniors from the Class of 2012 apply either Early Decision or Early Action (EA). While Early Decision requires a binding commitment to the school, Early Action does not require a student to choose that specific school following acceptance. Of those 56 Ranney students who applied ED/ EA this year, 82% have already gained admission — a huge number considering recent facts and national trends.

According to an article featured in Forbes, although the number of ED applicants steadily increases with each passing year, the number of slots in each freshman class reserved for early decision students remains the same. To that end, the ratio of applications per student continues to rise, while national acceptance rates have decreased.
With that said, no longer are students accepted to a college based solely on their academic standing. Instead, extracurricular involvement is now also essential for acceptance at competitive colleges — something that students from Ranney certainly possess. In addition to earning the best grades possible, Ranney students understand the value of seeking involvement in extracurricular, community service, and volunteer activities, as a way of discovering their passions and interests. Because of this unique characteristic found in many students at Ranney, 69% of the 29 applications submitted through ED I were already accepted by such schools as Dartmouth College, Stevens Institute of Technology and The George Washington University. A full list can be viewed at the end of this article.

One such acceptance came true for scholar-athlete Craig Slater ’12, who will attend Harvard University next fall. Aside from raking in outstanding grades and test scores in the classroom throughout his academic career, — earning high honor roll and induction into the National Honor Society — Craig also participated in numerous extracurricular activities, serving as vice president of a student-run government program known as Junior Statesmen of America, secretary of the Student Council and a member of the Math League. Craig also made significant contributions to the Ranney crew program, earning the school national recognition at an SRAA Regatta in May, 2011.

Similar to Craig, the combined strong academic record and extracurricular involvement of student Maura Guyler ’12 aided in her being among 25% of applicants chosen for ED I acceptance to Duke University. While Maura is a member of the National Art Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and National Honor Society, she is also a three-season athlete, editor-in-chief of the Ranney School yearbook, Horizons, and a participant in numerous community service activities including Cinderella’s Closet.

While the average number of applications submitted per Ranney student this year was seven (over 425 to 160 different institutions in all), a majority of students were already, or will be, admitted into their first or second-choice schools, and may even receive scholarships; approximately $694,000 in scholarships have been awarded to Ranney seniors thus far this year.

A first-choice school for many students at Ranney each year, five seniors from this year’s graduating class have already earned acceptance into New York University (NYU) through Early Decision. According to Mr. Materasso, Ranney students choose NYU for various different reasons. “While applying to NYU may seem somewhat commonplace at Ranney,” said Mr. Materasso, “our students are attracted to different schools and programs within NYU including the College of Arts and Science, Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and Tisch School of the Arts.”

“Past statistical data has also shown that applying ED to NYU gives students a slight advantage versus applying Regular Decision given their robust pool of applicants,” added Mr. Materasso.

Although the College Guidance Office must constantly adapt to changing trends within the admissions process at a national level, it has found that many of its students are actually benefitting thanks to the Ranney School curriculum, which encourages all to practice for their college career by taking advantage of all the valuable resources, activities, and athletic teams offered to them now.

Class of 2012 College Matriculation List
as of January 4, 2012
Barnard College
Brandeis University
Bucknell University
College of Charleston
The College of New Jersey   
Columbia University
Dartmouth College (2)
Duke University
The George Washington University (2)   
Harvard University
Johnson & Wales University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola University Maryland
New York University (5)
Stevens Institute of Technology (2)
Susquehanna University
Tufts University
Washington University in St. Louis


Read more articles in this series on the College Guidance page.
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society.